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Over the past few years we’ve seen a lot of tiny cube-like computers small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. But most have been powered by low-cost, low-power Intel processors.
Now Topton has introduced a new model sporting an AMD Ryzen processor. The new Topton M1 is a 78 x 78 x 55mm (3.07″ x 3.07″ x 2.17″) computer with an AMD Ryzen 3 5425U processor, 8GB of LPDDR4x-4266 memory, and an M.2 2242 slot for user-upgradeable storage. It also has a lot of ports for such a tiny computer, including four 2.5 GbE LAN ports. The Topton M1 is available from AliExpress for $180 and up.
Topton has been selling versions of the M1 with Intel processors for a few years, but the new model should bring a substantial performance boost when compared to the Intel N100 or Core i3-N305 Alder Lake-N chips often used in this sort of computer. That’s because even though the Ryzen 3 5425U was first released in 2022, it’s a 15-watt chip that was designed for entry-level laptops and mini PCs, while Intel’s Alder Lake-N chips are designed for even lower-cost, more energy-efficient applications where performance isn’t necessarily the most important metric.
The Ryzen 3 5425U processor features 4 Zen 3 CPU cores with support for hyperthreading (so it’s a 4-core, 8-thread processor). The base CPU frequency is 2.7 GHz, but there’s support for boost speeds up to 4.1 GH. The processor features 6-core Radeon Vega graphics with support for GPU frequencies up to 1.6 GHz.
But perhaps the most interesting thing when it comes to mini PCs like the Topton M1 is that the the Ryzen 3 5425U supports up to 20 PCIe 3.0 lanes. Intel’s Alder Lake-N chips top out at 9 PCIe 3.0 lanes, which limits their utility for networking or storage applications.
According to Topton, the new M1 with Ryzen 3 5425U supports up to 32GB of RAM, but since the memory is soldered to the mainboard it’s not user-upgradeable, and that means that you’ll need to wait for PC makers to offer models with more memory if you need more than the 8GB that’s currently available.
The computer’s M.2 2242 port, meanwhile, can support SATA or NVMe SSDs.
The mini PC’s ports include:
- 2 x USB Type-C (video and data)
- 1 x USB Type-C (power only)
- 2 x USB 3.2 Type-A
- 1 x 3.5mm audio
- 1 x HDMI 2.0
- 4 x 2.5 GbE LAN (Intel i226-V)
The new Topton M1 also has a fan in the bottom of the case for active cooling.