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There are a few ways to keep costs down when building a mini PC. One is to opt for an inexpensive, low-power processor like an Intel Alder Lake-N chip. Another is to just use older processors that are no longer state-of-the-art.
Chuwi’s new UBox mini PC takes the latter approach. It’s a small desktop computer with attractive features including two 2.5 Gb Ethernet ports, a “full featured” USB4 port, and user-upgradeable memory and storage. Available now for $329, the Chuwi UBox is powered by an AMD Ryzen 5 6600H processor. That chip may be a few years old, but it should deliver substantially better performance than the most powerful Intel Alder Lake-N processors.
AMD’s Ryzen 5 6600U processor was first released in early 2022 and it’s an 45-watt AMD “Phoenix” processor with 6 AMD Zen 3+ CPU cores, 12 threads, support for CPU frequencies up to 4.5 GHz, and 1.9 GHz Radeon 660M integrated graphics with 6 RDNA 2 GPU cores.
While it’s not as powerful as the newer Ryzen 7000, Ryzen 8000, or Ryzen AI 300 series chips that AMD has released in the years since the Ryzen 6000 family was released, this is still a chip that should be able to handle most basic computing tasks, and even some light gaming. It consumes more power than an Intel Alder Lake-N processor, but less than chips that are designed for full-sized desktop tower PCs.
The Chuwi UBox pairs that processor with 16GB of DDR5-4800 memory and a 512GB PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD. Both are user upgradeable: Chuwi says the system has two SODIMM slots and supports up to 64GB of total dual-channel RAM and two M.2 2280 slots with support for PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs.
Ports include:
- 1 x USB4 Type-C (full-featured with support for 4K/144Hz video output)
- 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A (10 Gbps)
- 1 x USB 2.0 Type-A (480 Mbps)
- 1 x DisplayPort 1.2 (4K/120Hz)
- 1 x HDMI 2.0 (4K/120Hz)
- 2 x 2.5 Gb Ethernet
- 1 x 3.5mm audio
- 1 x DC power input
The system also supports WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 and everything fits inside a case that measures 130.5 x 128 x 57mm (5.1″ x 5″ x 2.2″). The computer has a 3400 RPM fan for active cooling and comes with a VESA mount kit that lets you attach the PC to the back of a display.
via AndroidTVBox