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Intel may not be making mini PCs under the NUC brand anymore, but the 4×4 form factor the company pioneered continues to live on in products from other companies. And two of the those companies are vying to be the first to launch a mini PC that stuffs a 13th-gen Intel Core i9 processor onto a 4″ x 4″ motherboard.
The SimplyNUC Onyx is set to launch on August 29, but shortly after SimplyNUC began promoting that model, Geekom announced plans to launch the Geekom Mini IT13 on August 23.
According to SimplyNUC, the upcoming Onyx mini PC is powered by 45-watt, 13th-gen Intel Raptor Lake-H processor options, with support for up to an Intel Core i9 chip. The little computer also features “dual exhaust cooling,” and promotional images show that it’ll have two USB Type-A ports on the front, a 3.5mm audio jack, and built-in microphones.
But we’ll have to wait for the official launch for more information about specifications and pricing.
Geekom, meanwhile, has already provided plenty of details about the IT13 mini PC. It’s a compact computer that will be available with a choice of Core i5-13500H, Core i7-13700H, or Core i9-13900H processor options.
It supports up to 64GB of dual-channel DDR4-3200 memory and up to three storage devices:
- 1 x M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4 x4 SSD
- 1 x M.2 2242 SATA SSD
- 1 x 2.5 inch SATA HDD or SSD
Other features include two USB4/40 Gbps ports, two HDMI 2.0 ports, a 2.5 GbE Ethernet port, three USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports and USB 2.0 Type-A port, a 3.5mm audio jack, and an SD card reader.
Wireless capabilities include support for WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2, and the computer supports up to four displays (the HDMI ports each support up to a 4K/60Hz display while the USB4 ports can handle 8K/30Hz screens).
The little computer has a metal frame, and unsurprisingly, it has a fan for active cooling. It measures 117 x 112 x 49.2mm (4.6″ x 4.4″ x 1.9″) making it the same length and width as the previous-gen Geekom Mini IT12Â (which supports up to a Core i7-12650H processor), but a tiny bit taller.
Pricing information should be available soon.
Update: Geekom has announced three pricing/configuration options for the Mini IT13:
- Core i5-13500H/16GB/512GB for $499
- Core i7-13700H/32GB/1TB for $689
- Core i9-13900H/32GB/2GB for $789
The Geekom Mini IT13 is available now from Geekom.com, and it should be available from Amazon starting September 5, 2023.
Would be great to have something in the title to indicate if there is pricing or availability included. “… coming soon (!$#)”
!$ = no price yet, !# = no availability date yet.
So far my Chinese 4×4 is doing well. The price was 60% the NUC price and I am expecting 60% the expected lifetime (I would expect 5 years from a NUC, am fine with 3 years, but if it lasts longer I will buy the same brand again). The sweet spot is 4 years for me… I generally would like to upgrade to higher performance every 4 years… same for smartphones.
Thanks for keeping us all up to date on what’s going on in this space! I wish it were possible for this machine to be fanless. What would you say is the fastest fanless machine you can get these days?
I would say that the fastest fanless PC is going to be something you’d build yourself.
You could build a Mini ITX PC using a Noctua NH-P1 cooler, which is a fanless cooler for CPUs. It could only be used for something with a TDP as high as 35W or so. I believe AMD isn’t making any current-gen 35W chips right now, so the Intel 13th gen T-series CPUs would be your best bet.
The Intel i9-13900T would be the most powerful option available if you want to use a cooler like this, which allows a more traditional PC case (with perhaps some thought to the position of vents, etc)
You could go higher than that with a more custom heatsink-style case. I haven’t been following any of these products lately, but there are Mini-ITX cases that act as a heatsink for the CPU. Some people build fanless PCs with CPUs that have 65W TDP.
If you wanted to go up to 65W, your best options would be either the i9-13900 or the Ryzen 9 7900. I believe the i9-13900 is a fair bit more powerful than the 7900.