At CES 2018, Asus has been
showcasing its range of mini PCs some of which are already available to
purchase and others that will be available with new tweaks and enhancements
during 2018. For example, a new Raspberry Pi-style Asus Tinker Board S mini PC
will be made available during the first quarter of 2018 priced at US$ 80. The new
Tinker Board S will now be equipped with 16GB of eMMC storage rather than
relying on a microSD card for storage. While other larger mini PC systems
designed for desktop, industrial and other applications will be rolling out in
the first half of 2018.
One such system is the new Asus PN40 mini PC which
measures roughly 4.5 x 4.5 x 1.9 inches in size and weighs just over 1.5lbs,
offering the choice between Intel Celeron or Pentium Silver, Gemini Lake
processors depending on your preference and budget. Other features of the
compact system include connections for USB 3.1 Type-C port, full-size USB port,
audio jack as well as offering support for VGA or COM connections. Asus has
also added a removable panel that allows access to memory and storage for easy
installation and upgrades.
If you are looking for something slightly larger,
then the Asus PB40 mini PC might be worth more investigation and is equipped
with additional connectivity and also supports optional stackable modules to
add such things as optical disc drives if required. A couple of different
options are available, in the form of a fanless system powered by an Intel
Celeron processor or a more powerful system equipped with a Pentium Silver
processor which is not fanless. As more specifications, availability and launch
dates are announced by Asus in the coming months; we will keep you up-to-date
as always.
