A handful of Chinese PC companies including Topton and Kingnovy are selling a small fanless desktop computer with a starting price under $400 for a model with a 13th-gen Intel Raptor Lake-U processor, dual 2.5 GbE Ethernet ports, and support for up to four displays.

As of November 8, 2023, prices start as low as $358 for a barebones model with an Intel Core i5-1335U processor when you apply the 4% on-page coupon at the Topton or Kingnovy AliExpress stores.

You can also pay more for an Intel Core i7-1355U processor or to configure the system with 16GB to 64GB of memory or up to 2TB of solid state storage. Or you can bring your own, since under the hood the computer features:

  • 2 x SODIMM slots for DDR4-3200 dual-channel memory
  • 1 x M.2280 slot with support for PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe storage
  • 1 x M.2 2280 slot with support for PCIe 3.0 x4 SATA storage
  • 1 x 2.5 inch drive bay for a SATA III hard drive or SSD

The computer has an aluminum alloy chassis that measures 170 x 126 x 51mm (6.7″ x 5″ x 2″) and features a fanless design with fins on the top and sides for passive heat dissipation.

Ports include:

  • 1 x Thunderbolt 4
  • 2 x HDMI 2.0
  • 1 x DisplayPort 1.4
  • 4 x USB 3.2 Type-A
  • 2 x USB 2.0 Type-A
  • 2 x 2.5 GbE Ethernet (Intel i225/226
  • 1 x 3.5mm headphone/speaker out
  • 1 x 3.5mm mic input
  • 1 x DC power input (12V – 19V / 90W)

While the computer has a dedicated DC power input, you can also use the Thunderbolt 4 port for power input thanks to support for USB Power Delivery, which could come in handy if you’re looking to cut down on power cables, as you should be able to power the computer an a USB-C hub or monitor using the same cable.

There are also two antenna connectors on the back of the PC that should help improve wireless connectivity. The PC comes with a wireless card that supports WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2.

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  3. Really tempted for the promise of decent power in a small fanless package. The lack of any proper reviews puts me off – whether the cooling is sufficient and it isn’t just going to toast itself after a few months. Zotac’s option is nearly double the price and Shuttle’s DS50U is still nowhere to be seen.

    I don’t think the M2 has any cooling in this chassis. Unclear if it can be VESA mounted.

    Reply

  5. Putting the only USB-C/Thunderbolt connector on the front of the PC was a really unfortunate choice.

    Most people are going to want to use that for GPUs, storage, monitors, or to provide DC power to the PC. I wouldn’t want any of those things to have a cable connected permanently to the front of my PC.

    IO placement seems to be a really big struggle for most of these Chinese Mini PC makers.

    Reply

    1. What significance does the “Front” of this computer have in a device that can be put anywhere on, under, or around the desk? This isn’t a gargantuan Pentium desktop computer that has to be set up in a specific location in order to have access to CD drive bays. You can put this anywhere at all.

      Reply

      1. It’s about keeping the desk space in front of the computer clear, should you choose to put it there. Assuming your USB-C accessories all have a place for a cable to go into instead of a cable hanging off of them, anyway. Not that this is really a big deal since you can just unplug the cable or use a cable with angled ends or as you said put the computer in a better spot.

        But speaking of i/o, I just noticed, that this probably uses the same exact motherboard as on this “topton” box.

        Reply

      2. It doesn’t have any significance, other than the fact that there’s no reasonable way to orient this PC without an unwanted cable getting in the way.

        If I sit it on my desk, I can face the “front” forwards, and then a cable is running across the usable space on my desk.

        If I turn it 90 degrees, then the PC suddenly takes up a huge amount of space when you consider the space needed for the various cables that are coming out of both ends of the PC.

        If I mount the PC to the back of my monitor (VESA mount), the preferred orientation would be for the cables to face downwards (less clutter, easily routed, and less stress on the connectors), but I would still have 1 cable pointing upwards, and curving back downwards.

        There’s certainly a solution here, like mounting the PC to the underside of my desk, or something ridiculous, but that’s what makes this IO arrangement a bad choice, it’s not flexible.

        Reply