Mini PC with integrated power supplies as well as Intel N150

While Apple’s Mac mini is connected directly to a 230-volt outlet, many mini PCs with x86 processors require external power supplies. This not only makes computers more compact, but also cheaper.

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Some mini PCs now come with built-in power supplies. One of them contains a processor that Intel hasn’t even announced yet.

However, the sparrows are whistling that Intel is replacing the Alder Lake-N series processors about two years after their introduction. The Intel N97, N100, N200 and Core i3-N305 will apparently not really be followed by new chips, but by a so-called “refresh”, i.e. only slightly revised versions. Intel has not yet released any information, but more and more Chinese mini PC manufacturers are advertising devices equipped with Intel’s N150 and N250 Twin Lake-N series processors.

According to this, the N150 operates at a maximum frequency of 3.6 GHz, which is almost 6% higher than the N100 (3.4 GHz). This is not noticeable when working with the computer. Just like its predecessors, the N150 only has efficient cores (E-Cores), probably still from the Gracemont generation.

The integrated GPU increases by a third, from 0.75 to 1 GHz. However, the N100/N150 only has one RAM channel for either DDR4-3200 or DDR5-4800, meaning the GPU can only use a relatively low data transfer rate. And many cheap mini PCs are also designed for slower DDR4 RAM. As a result, the GPU remains rather lame despite the higher clock frequency.

Mini PC with integrated power supply

Apple’s latest generation of Mac mini shows that an integrated power supply can also be fitted onto the footprint of an Asus NUC.

Some Chinese mini PC manufacturers also offer devices with a built-in voltage converter, such as Beelink’s EQR5, EQi12 and EQ13 devices equipped with AMD or Intel mobile processors.

Beelink equips the EQ14, already available for order, with the Intel N150.

Maxtang also offers a Mini-PC with integrated power supply, the MAX-N100 with Intel N100.

An integrated power supply not only takes up space in the case, but also increases the costs of device development and certification. This is because power supplies must meet relevant standards, for example regarding electrical safety and efficiency, which also differ from country to country. This makes it much easier for PC developers to design their devices only for low voltage power and include external power supplies depending on the country of delivery.

More mini-twin lakes

Chinese company Newsmay is currently producing a second generation of AC8-N fanless mini PCs with Intel N150 or N250; the old version used N100/N200. The Newsmay AC8-N comes with an external power supply and is also available as Szbox AC8-N on AliExpress. Special feature, it also has a VGA output in addition to HDMI and Displayport. Unlike the Beelink EQ14, however, there are USB sockets with a maximum of 5 Gbit/s, while Beelink also uses USB 3.2 Gen 2 with 10 Gbit/s.

The GMKtec NucBox G3 Plus also uses the Intel N150, but with both an external PSU and a cooling fan. This device has an integrated network chip for Ethernet with 2.5 Gbit/s.

(ciw)