Asus has unveiled a new line of compact, rugged computers. The fanless PL64 is aimed at industrial applications, kiosks and any other situation where durability is critical.
The PL64 is available with two different 15-watt Intel Alder Lake processors CPUs. Basic configuration ship with the Celeron 7305 and upgraded models with the Core i5-1235U. The sturdy, all-metal chassis measures just 20cm x 12cm x 3.4cm (7.8″ x 4.7″ x 1.3″).
Asus has packed the PL64 with ports. On the front you’ll find a trio of USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, an audio in/out jack and a pair of serial ports. On the back there are three HDMI and two Ethernet ports — one gigabit and one 2.5 gig.
In addition to wired network connections, Wi-Fi 6 and 6e are supported. Bluetooth 5 connectivity is also standard.
Inside the diminutive .81-liter chassis there’s room for two M.2 drives and two DDR4 SODIMMs. The PL64 supports up to 64GB of memory.
The systems are certified to meet the MIL-STD-810H standard and can tolerate working in temperatures up to 50º C. Asus is also committing to a four-year life cycle for the PL64, and that’s a welcome reassurance given the kinds of places they’ll be deployed.
Mounting the PL64 couldn’t be easier. ASUS offers a handy wall mount bracket and the system can be secured to any VESA mount.
via FanlessTech
It would be perfect if it had two 2.5G Ethernet ports. Why is that so hard?
I’d replace my bulky Linux firewall with this.
I know there are other options, but Asus makes products I trust.
I have to wonder what the Celeron 7305 was actually supposed to be. 5 cores, feels like something with a 6 core, just didn’t properly bin, so they disabled one, and now this has a market. With a 55watt boost tdp, I don’t think I’d dare run it fanless, even at it’s 12-15w tdp. That’ll just be living in throttle-town. Great looking otherwise.
The Celeron 7305 is a dumpster-fire. It’s coming in at about 45% the speed of the Pentium N6005 at 10W. Actually, to find its performance peer, you need to look back to the 6W Celeron N4100 series atoms.
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/4762vs4565vs3270/Intel-Celeron-7305-vs-Intel-Pentium-Silver-N6005-vs-Intel-Celeron-N4100