Mini PC

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The Acer AspireRevo nettop 2009 Taipei IT Month Day1 Acer Aspire Revo.jpg
The Acer AspireRevo nettop

A mini PC (or miniature PC, nettop, or Smart Micro PC) is a small-sized, inexpensive, low-power[ citation needed ], legacy-free desktop computer designed for basic tasks such as web browsing, accessing web-based applications, document processing, and audio/video playback. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Contents

The word nettop is a portmanteau of network and desktop . It is the desktop counterpart of the netbook. Modern (c. 2020) mini PCs or small form factor PCs can be much more powerful, being equipped with high-end laptop components or mid-range desktop components. [5] [6]

Compared with ordinary desktop computers, nettops are not only smaller and less expensive, [7] but they also consume much less power. For example, CompuLab's fit-PC2 consumes no more than 8 watts of power [8] whereas a typical desktop would easily consume more than 100 watts of power; consequently, nettops require significantly less cooling and may even be completely fanless. Some do not have an optical disk drive and use a solid state drive, making them completely silent. The tradeoff is that the hardware specifications and processing power are usually reduced [9] and hence make nettops less appropriate for running complex or resource-intensive applications.

History

During the "first wave" of mini PC devices, which occurred in the mid to late 2000s, they were commonly referred to as "nettops". These included devices such as the Acer AspireRevo seen above, and were commonly considered to be a kind of "temporary substitute" PC of a lower cost for users needing a second PC or for use in developing countries. Another commonly held view at the time was their use as a stepping stone towards a thin-client–based always online computer that would "replace inefficient PCs".

Netbooks as predecessors

A Gigabyte BRIX Gigabyte BRIX.jpg
A Gigabyte BRIX

As demand for these devices quickly waned, the industry responded by addressing the chief complaint that these devices would be better as portable devices such as a new form of laptop. The result was the netbook, a device which was considered the true future of the nettop. However, prevailing attitudes and economic issues in 2008 onward made these popular due to their low cost and portability along with the then-expanding feature-set. In August 2009, reports from reviewers were that a netbook of the time and a traditional laptop of the same price were otherwise identical.

The direct lineage between netbooks and nettops meant that the concept of a "net-" prefix was considered a failed idea. Devices such as Chromebooks, tablet PCs, Ultrabooks and other devices responded by branding themselves as a different type of device such as ChromeOS being exclusively a pure web client or the proposal that the ultrabook succeeded by compensating for its lighter weight and otherwise equal-performance parts with a higher price tag, but in 2015, a revival of the concept came about from a likely unrelated source, a technological form of convergent evolution. Via the likely-observed success of the stick PC, the idea of combining a system on a chip with a single-board computer has led to a continuation of the nettop's original product goals. Mini PCs such as the MINIX Z83-4 or the Azulle Access Plus are exclusively referred to as "mini PCs", despite being identical or near-identical on paper to the nettop architecture.

Hardware

Mac Mini 2020 (M1) Mac mini 2020 (M1) Anschlusse.jpg
Mac Mini 2020 (M1)

There are several platforms that are primarily intended for nettops and netbooks:

Some nettops have also adopted system-on-a-chip designs. Although many major parts such as chipsets, video cards and storage devices can also be found on desktops, the CPUs that are put inside nettops are the fundamental component that differentiate them from normal desktops. The list below contains a range of hardware components that a typical nettop may be assembled from.

Intel's Atom processor has been adopted by several hardware manufacturers, such as ASUS, MSI, and Sony, for nettops. Nvidia has also released its first generation ION platform, which puts GeForce 9400M Motherboard GPU alongside the Atom processor to provide better high definition video playback ability and lower power consumption. [13] In addition, Nvidia has announced that it will support VIA's CPUs this year. [14] To further reduce the manufacturing cost and improve power efficiency, many manufacturers and start-up companies have chosen to use CPUs that were originally targeted at embedded computing devices such as AMD's Geode and ARM Cortex-based CPUs.

Operating systems

Many net-top models are x86-processor-based and as such are capable of running standard PC OSes. There are also operating systems designed specifically for nettops and other machines in the same performance class. Some high-end nettops are capable of running Windows 10. [15] Google's ChromeOS and Android are other options. Although Google's Android was originally designed for smartphones, it has also taken a seat in the nettop market. [16]

Linux is beginning to be the favorite choice of nettop users (considering the high commercial use of these machines), the flexibility and low-requirement capabilities of the OS are perfect for the product.[ citation needed ]

Market

Nettops fell into Intel's category of "Basic PC", which usually cost from $100 to $299. [17] Intel described nettops as a large potential market at that time. Nettops were said to be able serve as an affordable first computer for people in developing countries, or as an environmentally friendly choice as a secondary computer for people in developed countries. [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AMD</span> American multinational semiconductor company

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) is an American multinational corporation and semiconductor company based in Santa Clara, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for business and consumer markets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desktop computer</span> Computer designed to be used at a fixed location

A desktop computer is a personal computer designed for regular use at a stationary location on or near a desk due to its size and power requirements. The most common configuration has a case that houses the power supply, motherboard, disk storage ; a keyboard and mouse for input; and a monitor, speakers, and, often, a printer for output. The case may be oriented horizontally or vertically and placed either underneath, beside, or on top of a desk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VIA Technologies</span> Taiwanese Chipsets manufacturer

VIA Technologies, Inc. is a Taiwanese manufacturer of integrated circuits, mainly motherboard chipsets, CPUs, and memory. It was the world's largest independent manufacturer of motherboard chipsets. As a fabless semiconductor company, VIA conducts research and development of its chipsets in-house, then subcontracts the actual (silicon) manufacturing to third-party merchant foundries such as TSMC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chipset</span> Electronic component to manage data flow of a CPU

In a computer system, a chipset is a set of electronic components on one or more integrated circuits that manages the data flow between the processor, memory and peripherals. The chipset is usually found on the motherboard of computers. Chipsets are usually designed to work with a specific family of microprocessors. Because it controls communications between the processor and external devices, the chipset plays a crucial role in determining system performance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mobile processor</span>

A mobile processor is a microprocessor designed for mobile devices such as laptops, and cell phones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mini-ITX</span> 17 × 17 cm motherboard

Mini-ITX is a 170 mm × 170 mm motherboard form factor developed by VIA Technologies in 2001. Mini-ITX motherboards have been traditionally used in small-configured computer systems. Originally, Mini-ITX was a niche standard designed for fanless cooling with a low power consumption architecture, which made them useful for home theater PC systems, where fan noise can detract from the cinema experience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northbridge (computing)</span> PC chip handling onboard control tasks

In computing, a northbridge is one of two chips comprising the core logic chipset architecture on motherboards for older personal computers. A northbridge is connected directly to a CPU via the front-side bus (FSB) to handle high-performance tasks, and is usually used in conjunction with a slower southbridge to manage communication between the CPU and other parts of the motherboard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Netbook</span> Class of small and inexpensive laptops

A netbook is a small and inexpensive laptop designed primarily as a means of accessing the Internet. Netbooks were sold from 2007 until around 2013, when the widespread advent of smartphones and tablets eclipsed their popularity.

The AMD mobile platform is an open platform for laptops from AMD. Though little marketing was done on this platform, it has been competing with the Centrino platform in the segment to gain more marketshare. Each platform has its own specification, catching up the latest technology developments. Since the acquisition of ATI, AMD began to include Mobility Radeon GPUs and AMD chipsets as part of the requirements of the mobile platform; the first of such platforms is the Puma platform.

The Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) is a series of integrated graphics processors introduced in 2004 by Intel, replacing the earlier Intel Extreme Graphics series and being succeeded by the Intel HD and Iris Graphics series.

As of 2020, the x86 architecture is used in most high end compute-intensive computers, including cloud computing, servers, workstations, and many less powerful computers, including personal computer desktops and laptops. The ARM architecture is used in most other product categories, especially high-volume battery powered mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AMD APU</span> Series of microprocessors by AMD

AMD Accelerated Processing Unit (APU), formerly known as Fusion, is a series of 64-bit microprocessors from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), combining a general-purpose AMD64 central processing unit (CPU) and 3D integrated graphics processing unit (IGPU) on a single die.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asus Eee PC</span> Netbook computer line by Asus

The ASUS Eee PC is a netbook computer line from Asus, and a part of the ASUS Eee product family. At the time of its introduction in late 2007, it was noted for its combination of a lightweight, Linux-based operating system, solid-state drive (SSD), and relatively low cost. Newer models added the options of Microsoft Windows operating system and rotating media hard disk drives (HDD), and initially retailed for up to 500 euros.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intel Atom</span> Microprocessor brand name by Intel

Intel Atom is a line of IA-32 and x86-64 instruction set ultra-low-voltage processors by Intel Corporation designed to reduce electric consumption and power dissipation in comparison with ordinary processors of the Intel Core series. Atom is mainly used in netbooks, nettops, embedded applications ranging from health care to advanced robotics, mobile Internet devices (MIDs) and phones. The line was originally designed in 45 nm complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) technology and subsequent models, codenamed Cedar, used a 32 nm process.

Nvidia Ion was a product line of Nvidia Corporation intended for motherboards of low-cost portable computers. It used graphics processing units and chipsets intended for small products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acer AspireRevo</span>

The Acer AspireRevo was a line of nettop computers from Acer Inc., first released at the end of April 2009. It is one of the first desktop computers to pair the NVIDIA ION chipset with Intel's Atom CPU.

Bonnell is a CPU microarchitecture used by Intel Atom processors which can execute up to two instructions per cycle. Like many other x86 microprocessors, it translates x86 instructions into simpler internal operations prior to execution. The majority of instructions produce one micro-op when translated, with around 4% of instructions used in typical programs producing multiple micro-ops. The number of instructions that produce more than one micro-op is significantly fewer than the P6 and NetBurst microarchitectures. In the Bonnell microarchitecture, internal micro-ops can contain both a memory load and a memory store in connection with an ALU operation, thus being more similar to the x86 level and more powerful than the micro-ops used in previous designs. This enables relatively good performance with only two integer ALUs, and without any instruction reordering, speculative execution or register renaming. A side effect of having no speculative execution is invulnerability against Meltdown and Spectre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Android-x86</span> Unofficial port of the Android mobile operating system

Android-x86 is an open source project that makes an unofficial porting of the Android mobile operating system developed by the Open Handset Alliance to run on devices powered by x86 processors, rather than RISC-based ARM chips.

The Lenovo IdeaCentre Q series are a line of nettop computers meant primarily for home and personal use. The Q Series nettops are described by the manufacturer as being multimedia-oriented nettops. Comparing the size to a typical paperback book, Lenovo describes the Q Series nettops as the smallest desktops in production. The general features of the Q Series desktops are the small size, low energy requirements, ability to play HD video, and low noise levels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryzen</span> AMD brand for microprocessors

Ryzen is a brand of multi-core x86-64 microprocessors designed and marketed by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) for desktop, mobile, server, and embedded platforms based on the Zen microarchitecture. It consists of central processing units (CPUs) marketed for mainstream, enthusiast, server, and workstation segments and accelerated processing units (APUs) marketed for mainstream and entry-level segments and embedded systems applications.

References

  1. http://techreport.com/articles.x/21556 Zotac's Zbox Nano AD10 Plus nettop – Zacate in the palm of your hand
  2. 'Netbooks,' 'Nettops' target secondary PC users Archived 11 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  3. hexus.net: What is a nettop
  4. whatis.com: Entry for nettop
  5. "The Best Mini Desktop PCS". The New York Times. 7 June 2021.
  6. "The Best Windows Mini PCS for 2021".
  7. Intel Nettop is all about cost cutting
  8. Fit-PC2 Specifications
  9. "Is a Nettop Right for You?". Archived from the original on 19 February 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  10. Archived 22 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  11. "Next-Generation NVIDIA ION Graphics Processors". Nvidia.com. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
  12. "News Release VIA Trinity Platform Brings Hi-Def to Small Spaces – VIA Technologies, Inc". Via.com.tw. 18 December 2008. Archived from the original on 29 October 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
  13. "Nvidia's Ion platform – The Tech Report – Page 1". The Tech Report. 3 February 2009. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
  14. "NVIDIA Ion platform to support VIA Nano processors this year". Engadget. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
  15. "The 9 Best Mini PCs to Buy in 2018". lifewire. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  16. "Asustek to Make Google Android Netbook, Says Report". PCWorld. 20 February 2009. Archived from the original on 5 September 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
  17. CNet article
  18. Netbooks and Nettops New category of emerging Internet Devices