Overview
In the last few years, tons of new mini PCs have entered the market and there are more options than ever. They come from a variety of manufacturers. Some are brand new, but others like Minix have been around since 2008, around 17 years!
This review focuses on a comparison of two power efficient machines that leverage the intel N series of processors. These cpus (the N100 and N300) are modern cpus designed for lightweight server usage. They run at 6w TDP and 7w TDP respectively. The cpu cores are efficiency cores only, roughly equivalent to old i5-6500t cores, but these machines come manufactured on modern 10nm lithography, and with new hardware decode support (hevc, vp9, av1) in the igpu which makes them great for media playback and streaming.
The z100-aero: an efficient, quiet machine with a fan and dual ethernet ports
Specs
| Feature | Z100-Aero | Z300-0dB |
| CPU | Intel N100 (4 efficiency cores, max 3.4ghz) | Intel N300 (8 efficiency cores, max 3.8ghz) |
| iGPU | Intel UHD, 750 MHz, 24 EU | Intel UHD, 1.25ghz, 32 EU |
| RAM | 16gb DDR4 | 16gb DDR4 |
| SSD | 512gb NVME PCIE 3.0 | 512gb NVME PCIE 3.0 |
| Connectivity | (1) 2.5Gbps ethernet, (1) 1Gbps ethernet, wi-fi 5 | (1) 2.5Gbps ethernet, (1) wi-fi 6 (AX201) |
| Ports | 3.5mm audio jack, 4x USB-A 3.2, 1x USB-C 3.2, HDMI 2.0, and DisplayPort 4K@60Hz | 3.5mm audio jack, 2x USB-A 3.2, 2x USB-A 2, (1) USB-C, (2) HDMI |
Both of these machines are designed for high efficiency with the Intel N series cpus. The Z100-Aero leverages a fan to keep things cool, though a Z100-0dB miniPC is also available that was previously reviewed. The Z300-0dB is fanless and is a step up with the 8 core N300 cpu.
It’s also worth noting that the Z100-Aero has dual ethernet ports which can make it useful as a router/opnsense type machine.
Z100-Aero Benchmarks
First up, let’s take a look at the lower power Z100-Aero benchmarks
Cinebench R23 results: 921 ST / 2985 MT
One of the downsides is that Minix uses budget Foresee SSD’s in their machines, though one could argue that these are plenty fast for basic server needs and keep costs down.
Z300-0dB Benchmarks
OK, next up let’s take a look at the Z300-0dB to see how doubling the number of efficiency cores can help.
Cinebench R23 results: 865 ST, 2856 MT
Oddly the N300 seems to underperform the N100 model here over long periods of time, likely from throttling from the heat. In short term workloads though it performs about 25% better as seen with geekbench 6 results.
Noise, Power, and Thermals
Minix machines are wonderfully quiet. The Z300-0db, being fanless, was of course completely quiet. The z100-aero’s fan, even under higher loads, never exceeded 29-30db, which is close to ambient noise. For all intents and purposes, assume that both of these machines are virtually zero noise.
The Z100-aero idled at around 7w, and maxed out around 25-26w under heavier loads.
The Z300-0dB idled higher at 10w, and maxed out around 31w. With double the cores this makes sense.
With thermals, the z100-aero generally stayed around 70c, but the fanless Z300 hit as high as 95-98c under max loads. While this is considered safe for the intel processor, the chassis ran quite hot.
With that said, for typical use cases of these machines as file or media servers, these machines typically would never be running at true max load from benchmarking. They typically would sit more in the 70-80c range for medium levels of processing.
Key Takeaways
Z100-Aero Strengths
- Very quiet (29-30db) and efficient (7w idle) despite using a fan
- Dual ethernet useful for routing and server purposes
- External antennas good for wi-fi reception, a common problem on many miniPCs
- Affordable price
Z100-Aero Could Be Improved
- N100 limitations: DDR4, single channel RAM. Competes with low end AMD machines that have performance cores for $100 more.
- Generic Foresee SSD and RAM
- Plastic chassis, but keeps costs down
Z300-0dB Strengths
- Totally fanless, quiet operation
- 8 efficiency cores to better handle multi-tasking for server operations. At least 25% improved Geekbench 6 multi-core performance.
- Stronger igpu than N100 machines
- External antennas good for wi-fi reception, a common problem on many miniPCs
- Metal chassis
Z300-0dB Could be Improved
- Runs quite hot under maximum load, some throttling in heavy load conditions
- Intel N300 limitations (no performance cores, etc)
- Generic RAM and SSD
Overall I’m a big fan of Minix products. They have excellent build quality, proper external antennas for wireless connection, and have been around since 2008.
These Minix miniPCs are best purchased from Amazon today for easiest delivery and support:
Buy the Mini z100-aero at Amazon
Buy the Minix z300-0dB at Amazon
