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  • Bob-o - Saturday, April 20, 2013 - link

    Heh, it looks like the head off an old air cooled motorcycle engine. Cool.
  • 55Tan - Tuesday, December 9, 2014 - link

    The CompuLab Intense PC is far from one of the better desktop if you ask me! /55Tan from http://www.topreport.org/desktop/
  • colinstu - Saturday, April 20, 2013 - link

    No SSD? *thumbsdown* Terrible
  • danjw - Saturday, April 20, 2013 - link

    You can get a bare bones version that doesn't include a drive or memory and add your own. The memory is SODIMM and drive 2.5".
  • DanNeely - Saturday, April 20, 2013 - link

    Not offering one for something targeted at industrial customers is rather disappointing. Vibrations/shocks are much more likely there and a small factory isn't likely to have someone like us to customize their systems to what they should've been shipped as. Big companies will probably want ti configured right out of the box because it makes things easier for their bean counters.
  • Intense PC user - Saturday, April 20, 2013 - link

    There are some inaccuracies in the review:
    Intense PC does support mSATA ( I guess it was added to the current revision of the machine)
    I posses this machine for couple of months and using CT128M4SSD3 mSATA SSD (for OS) together with 1T Hitachi HGST 2.5" HDD ( for DATA)
    Regarding to the 3517U Dell XPS - Intel claims 15% higher graphic (1.15Gz vs 1.0GHz) and ~12% higher CPU frequency (1.9GHz vs 1.7GHz) so the conclusion about ~20% lost performance isn't fair enough.
  • Dustin Sklavos - Saturday, April 20, 2013 - link

    Good lord I wish they'd made the mSATA thing clear on their site. Updating.
  • lehtv - Saturday, April 20, 2013 - link

    Little typo in the conclusion title: it's -> its
  • KaarlisK - Saturday, April 20, 2013 - link

    The 3470T is a dual core :)
  • Laststop311 - Saturday, April 20, 2013 - link

    The barebones ones are pretty frickin cool. Got lotsa Ram and HDD's lying around. The problem is I wish they had a little more cpu range offered. You either have to get the crappiest celeron for 400 or a top end i7 for 800. Wish I could get a middle i5 version barebones for 600. That would be perfect for an HTPC. But I would hold off and get it with Haswell chips. They will have the configurable TDP that will run with even less power than these 17 watt ivys with equal or even higher performance. Less power = less heat to dissipate = heatsink can be shrunk making it lighter and even smaller (potentially) or the same size with more thermal headroom for permanent turbo mode. Plus Haswell has greatly enhanced GPU the gt3e igp on haswell is a large jump in performance compared to ivy hd 4000 even has its own dedicated memory directly on die with it all for the graphics side of the chip. Obviously it won't be enough memory to hold everything like dedicated gpus with 4GB of memory I think its estimated to be on 128MB of on die memory for the IGP but intel probably has smart ways of putting the most used most important stuff on that directly connected memory.
  • HisDivineOrder - Sunday, April 21, 2013 - link

    Completely agree.
  • Death666Angel - Monday, April 22, 2013 - link

    I don't see the appeal of this thing for the normal consumer. In a business world where any moving part is a pain because of increased failure, downtime and service hours, I can see a completely fanless enclosure being great and paying a premium for it. For the consumer who wants a quiet HTPC, there are much better enclosures that offer silent fan configurations at better prices and more range in performance. :) I have a slightly modded mITX case where the top-blower CPU heatsink/fan draws cool air from the outside and pushes it out through the 2 sides. I don't hear anything.
    Don't get me wrong, this thing is cool, but I don't think it is worth the price for consumers unless you have a tiny room. :D
  • mgc8 - Saturday, April 20, 2013 - link

    I had a previous version of one of these (the FitPC2) and while small and quiet, it suffered from terrible heat problems -- it basically had to be rebooted once a day since it was locking up hard. As the intended purpose of the device was to serve as a router/gateway, needless to say it had to be replaced with another product. I would've appreciated a more thorough investigation of this device's resilience in 24/7 operation under high network load, as that is one of the most obvious use cases.
  • Intense PC user - Saturday, April 20, 2013 - link

    I guess Phoronix uses this model for more than half year as basis for Intel HD 4000 "Ivy Bridge" benchmarks:
    http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&...
  • HellDiver - Saturday, April 20, 2013 - link

    So is this just a NUC board in a custom case? Specs seem terribly similar.
  • cjs150 - Monday, April 22, 2013 - link

    At moment NUC is an i3 processor not an i7 (although I believe an i5 version is coming out shortly). From experience the i3 runs a bit too hot at idle for my liking (around 50C) unless you ramp up the fan when it becomes a bit too noisy.

    There are very few applications where a completely silent computer is needed (HTPC being the obvious one) I have a completely silent computer which can be run 24/7 but I always worry about heat for the memory
  • zepi - Saturday, April 20, 2013 - link

    How about a comparison with Intel DQ77KB + Akasa Euler?

    We can just hope that Intel releases similar packages for Haswell later this year.
  • danjw - Saturday, April 20, 2013 - link

    With Haswell release only 43 days out, I don't see why anyone would be releasing and Ivy Bridge product now. It just doesn't make any sense to me.
  • kyuu - Sunday, April 21, 2013 - link

    Just because Haswell is getting "launched" in 43 days doesn't mean you'll see products shipping with it immediately after. I'm guessing Haswell will probably be in short supply at first.
  • ViewRoyal - Saturday, April 20, 2013 - link

    So this CompuLab PC is:
    - about the same size as the quad-core Intel Core i7 Mac mini,
    - but it weighs more than the quad-core Intel Core i7 Mac mini,
    - has less connectivity than the Mac mini,
    - has a much less powerful processor than the Mac mini's quad-core Intel Core i7,
    - has less storage than the quad-core Intel Core i7 Mac mini,
    - and it costs MUCH more than the quad-core Intel Core i7 Mac mini.

    On top of that, the CompuLab PC can only run Windows and Linux... the Mac mini can run OS X, and Windows, and Linux.

    Why would anyone want buy this black lump???
  • A5 - Saturday, April 20, 2013 - link

    The Mac Mini will destroy itself if the fan fails or clogs. Like the article repeatedly says, you already know if this kind of thing is what you need.
  • Greg512 - Saturday, April 20, 2013 - link

    I am not sure if you are trolling or not, but this pc does not have fans, unlike the Mac. You wouldn't buy this unless you had a specific usage case in mind that required a fan-less computer.
  • ViewRoyal - Sunday, April 21, 2013 - link

    In answer to A5 and Greg512:

    No, I am not trolling... unless making a logical comparison is "trolling" to you. Yes the Mac mini does have a fan, but it rarely turns on since the solid aluminum enclosure acts as an excellent heat sync.

    The only time I've noticed the fan of a Mac mini turning on, was if the computer was in an excessively hot environment (for example in the hot sun by a window) or if the vents are covered. When the fan does come on, it is incredibly silent... and I've never heard of the Mac mini fan "clogging".

    There is a benefit to having a similarly small computer with a backup fan, which only turns on when conditions require it. The CompuLab Intense PC is hindered by relying entirely on its case design, and not having a fan to kick in when external conditions are too hot.
  • kyuu - Sunday, April 21, 2013 - link

    You obviously don't understand the intended application of this device (despite the article repeatedly stating it). This is for industrial applications, not your house.

    Please, do go ahead and put a Mac Mini in an industrial environment and let us know how that goes.
  • seanleeforever - Monday, April 22, 2013 - link

    yes you are trolling. unintentionally at the very least.

    this product, again, is not for home use. i assume you never use your computer other than home/office environment so i am not going to say harsh things to this comment.

    let's assume, if you want to have a log server on a air plane. your example of mac min will fail in no time. 1st. hot sun by a window is by no means a HOT temperature... anything industrial grade needs to go from -40 to 85. 2nd. environmentally sealed is a big thing. the fact that this guy is essentially in a seal box could potentially provide MIL spec 810, which is extremely desirable in a lot of places.
  • andymcca - Saturday, April 20, 2013 - link

    ? Most mfr environments are on concrete slab w rubber padding under each station/unit. What use case are you referring to which involves outside of 2.5" disk tolerances (most of which are designed for laptop use)?
  • andymcca - Saturday, April 20, 2013 - link

    ? Most mfr environments are on concrete slab w rubber padding under each station/unit. What use case are you referring to which involves outside of 2.5" disk tolerances (most of which are designed for laptop use)?
  • andymcca - Saturday, April 20, 2013 - link

    appears anandtech can't handle replies w/o insecure browsing features (java)....
  • NCAM - Sunday, April 21, 2013 - link

    Anandtech does not require Java.

    (Sent from my Java-free iPad.)
  • kyuu - Sunday, April 21, 2013 - link

    He probably means Javascript, not Java. I'm guessing his troubles are from using Scriptblocker, as I had the same issue until I figured out which scripts to enable.
  • SteelCity1981 - Sunday, April 21, 2013 - link

    for that much and it doesn't ship with a 256 or even a 128 SSD? yeah that's more then a bitter pill to swallow.
  • sylvez - Sunday, April 21, 2013 - link

    They should make it watertight at the back so u can dip it into a shallow pail of water
  • fteoath64 - Sunday, April 21, 2013 - link

    Great board with excellent ports layout and diversity but design-wise, why could they not make a copper based convection fins with heat-pipes going from CPU/chipset to the back of the metal casing. It would give this a wickedly stylish look rather than cylinder head block look and surface temperatures so high, it becomes hard to touch!. Some minor design changes can make this a great device for many uses ...
  • crashtech - Sunday, April 21, 2013 - link

    Taller/more fins might have helped. You'd think a design aimed at industrial applications would put functionality over aesthetics.
  • Souka - Sunday, April 21, 2013 - link

    One thing missing in the design... a cutout for my coffee cup!
    if it had that, I'd get one.

    Co-worker: "Hey, that's a really spiffy looking cup warmer!"
    me: "Yep... and it's also my computer!"
    me: "Dang, coffee isn't warm enough... time to run some SETI for a few mins"

    :)
  • Death666Angel - Monday, April 22, 2013 - link

    +1! :D
  • coolhund - Monday, April 22, 2013 - link

    The biggest problem I have with those small barebones is always the lack of enough USB ports.
    I need at least 10, more like 12 and an USB Hub is not an option because of bandwidth and stability issues.
  • Solandri - Monday, April 22, 2013 - link

    If you still have the review unit, see if the exterior temps get too hot to touch with a low-power fan blowing over it. Yes I know it defeats the purpose of a fanless system, but I ran into the same thing while recovering files from dismounted hard drives. If I ran them just sitting there, they got over 50 C within a half hour and stopped working (one hit 60 C according to its SMART log and has never been the same since).

    I bought a HDD cage to mount them in which came with I'm guessing a 500-700 RPM fan. It's dead silent, and you can barely feel any airflow even if you put your hand right next to it. But apparently that tiny bit of airflow is enough to keep the drives below 40 C.

    So I'm guessing you don't actually need much forced airflow over this to keep the exterior temps at a comfortable level. If you can mount it somewhere where it gets that airflow naturally, whether from an open window or a HVAC vent, the exterior temperature may be much cooler.
  • Googer - Monday, April 22, 2013 - link

    Several companies are selling this same exact kit.

    http://www.tinygreenpc.com/
  • CalaverasGrande - Monday, April 22, 2013 - link

    Who else want's to mount one in their car?
  • ZoeAnderson24 - Monday, April 22, 2013 - link

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  • rvdbos - Monday, April 22, 2013 - link

    They should have borrowed a page on design from Apple. This dust collector is UGLY.
  • iratethep - Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - link

    It makes no sense that the standard is not SSD, isntead of a harddisk.
  • Wwhat - Wednesday, May 8, 2013 - link

    Can't believe he didn't fix it. And that while you pointed it out long ago and it's on top of the comments.

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