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The Morefine M9 was one of the first mini PCs available with an Intel Alder Lake-N processor when the little computer debuted in January with an Intel Processor N100 chip.
But the Chinese PC maker has expanded the processor options since then, and now you can pick up models with a number of different processor options. Not only does that include Alder Lake-N chips with up to eight 12th-gen Intel Efficiency cores, but also the Intel Core i7-1260P processor, which features four Performance cores and eight Efficiency cores.
Available from the Topton or Morefine stores at AliExpress, there are now at least four different processor options available:
- Intel Processor N95 (15 watts, 4-cores, 4-threads, up to 3.4 GHz)
- Intel Processor N100 (6-watts, 4-cores, 4-threads, up to 3.4 GHz)
- Intel Core i3-N305 (15-watts, 8-cores, 8-threads, up to 3.8 GHz)
- Intel Core i7-1260P (28-watts, 12-cores, 16-threads, up to 4.7 GHz)
Prices start as low as $130 for a barebones model with an Intel N95 chip or as high as $305 for a barebones Core i7-1260P version.
Intel’s 12th-gen Alder Lake mobile family debuted in early 2022, but at the time the lineup consisted of U, P, and H-series chips which combined Performance and Efficiency cores onto a single chip.
Earlier this year Intel expanded the 12th-gen processor family with the launch of Alder Lake-N chips for low-cost, low-power computers. Positioned as the follow-up to Intel’s Atom-based Celeron and Pentium Silver Jasper Lake chips, these new processors bring big gains in CPU and graphics performance to Intel’s low-cost, low-power chip lineup. But since they lack any Performance cores, they’re not particularly competitive with Alder Lake-U or better chips when it comes to single-core performance.
So it’s interesting to see a company like Morefine basically leveraging the same chassis for mini PCs that come with a choice of Alder Lake-N or Alder Lake-P chips.
It’s unsurprising, though, that at least some of the marketing materials refer to the Alder Lake-P version as the Morefine M9 Pro.
Each version of the little computer measures 113 x 106 x 42.5mm (4.5″ x 4.2″ x 1.7″) and features a copper heat sink, a fan for active cooling, and:
- 2 x DDR4-3200 SODIMM slots for up to 32GB total memory
- 1 x M.2 2280 slot for PCIe storage
- 1 x M.2 2242 slot for PCIe 3.0 storage
- 1 x M.2 slot for a wireless card
The computer has four USB 3.2 Type-A ports (two on the front and two on the back), dual HDMI 2.0 ports, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a 2.5 GbE Ethernet jack with an Intel i225v controller.
If I’m reading the product descriptions correctly, models with Alder Lake-N chips come with an Intel AC7265 wireless card with support for WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 4.2, while it looks like models with the Core i7-1260P processor may have a WiFi 6/BT 5.2 card.
But I’d advise proceeding with caution and/or skepticism when ordering one of these Chinese mini PCs from AliExpress.
Folks who’d prefer to buy from a store with better customer service, support, and return policies may have other options… depending on where you live and what model you’re interested in. Customers in the US can pick up a Morefine M9 with an Intel N100 processor from Amazon for $162 and up, but no other processor options are available yet.
If you happen to be in Spain though, AndroidPC.es spotted a Morefine M9 Pro with a Core i7-1260P processor available for Amazon shoppers in that country.
Now that is a really interesting expansion for this line of models.
Still I have doubts about some of the specs. First of all the i3 n305 is a 15-watts part IIRC.
And then I haven’t seen a single board with an Alder Lake-N and two memory slots. Unlike the -P variant the -N has a memory controller with only a single channel (true bummer!). While in theory it’d easily be possible to connect two modules to a single channel, I’d expect the two slots to be a P-model only feature. There on the other hand the upper memory limit should be 64GB, not only 32.
But wouldn’t be the first time, a chinese manufacturer messes up the little details, no? 😉
The i3 TDP was my bad – I’ve updated the article to reflect that it should be 15 watts. As for the memory, your guess is as good as mine.
And it’s an interesting alternative anyhow! There are plenty of mini PCs with the n100, but if you prefer a little more horsepower while keeping the power consumption low, the options with an n305 are still rare.