Compact, Quiet Mini PC (MINIX Neo Z97)

MINIX is a company that produces a variety of mini PC hardware. They sent me the MINIX Neo Z97 to try out. It is powered by the Intel N97 CPU which offer slightly higher performance than the N100 CPU. Because of its tiny form factor, the RAM is soldered onto the motherboard. It comes with 12 GB of RAM which I believe is the minimum RAM you might want to have if you are running Windows 11 since Windows by itself can easily consume 4-6 GB of RAM so that only leaves about 6-8 GB of RAM to be used by your apps. The Neo Z97 comes with Windows 11 Home preinstalled on 512 GB NVMe storage, and it seems to be a legimate Windows 11 license with no bloatware installed. In fact, when the system boots up, it allows you to complete the last few steps of the Windows 11 installation before booting into the system. This alone is worth a lot compared to the full retail price of Windows 11 Home (which is $129). Companies like MINIX can get volume discounting so they don't have to pay the full retail price but if you are building your own system, you would have to factor in the retail Windows price into the cost of the build. The two upgradable components are the NVMe storage and the m.2 WiFi module. I tried replacing the WiFi 6 module with a WiFi 7 module but only noticed a few hundred Mbps increase -- not as significant as expected. I am curious if that interface is limited in performance because of how the PCIe lanes are allocated on that system. Other interfaces include 3 USB 3.0 ports, 2 HDMI and 1 DisplayPort, 2 Gigabit Ethernet ports (Realtek), and a headphone jack, a Kensington security slot so this tiny system has a good bit of connectivity options. All sides of the mini PC are full of I/O interfaces except for the side with the power button. One thing I wish this system had was 2.5 Gbps Ethernet ports instead of 1 Gbps since 2.5 Gbps is becoming more standard on newer systems. While 2.5 Gbps isn't necessary for general web browsing or streaming viideo content, having faster network interfaces is great when you have a NAS or other system where you want to transfer files quickly. In addition, if your Internet is faster than 1 Gbps, you can take advantage of faster downloads (for large OS updates, large game downloads, etc.) and faster uploads (for offsite backups, etc.). This mini PC is not fanless but that is not necessarily a bad thing since overheating can be an issue on a system this small. Overall the system is very quiet despite having a fan. I think MINIX did a good job using a fan that is barely audible even under load. When sitting a few feet away from the mini PC, I don't even hear it. Disclosure: MINIX sent me the Neo Z97 to try out and they do not see the video before it is released. Chapters: 01:17 Windows 11 Home 02:43 Very small form factor 04:13 Triple displays 04:38 I/O connectivity 05:01 Quiet fan 05:47 Temperatures 06:35 NVMe storage 07:02 WiFi module 08:11 Mounting bracket 09:06 Disclosure #Minix, #MinixZ97 https://bit.ly/4o9cC7q $30 off code: HNZ97 Amazon affiliate link (appreciate the support!): https://amzn.to/3L0aob7 EP81 Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvdHQkQv8KpwMnKkitmUVTQ/join