CompuLab Strikes Again; Intense PC Looks Sweet!

 

CompuLab, the company that brought us the Fit-PC series have a special place in my heart. Their little super-small-form-factor PCs hold an attractive quality that’s hard to describe.

I rather impulsively bought a Fit-PC2 even though I really didn’t have any need for it. The little 4″ square box is actually mounted on a VESA bracket on the back of an LCD monitor. It essentially turns that monitor into a net-top.

As cute and appealing as they were, a Fit-PC was never going to be my primary desktop. Sporting an Intel Atom running at 1.1 GHz they just didn’t have the CPU power to fill that role. However, that may be changing. The introduction of their latest offering, Intense PC, might make a viable replacement for my ailing desktop.

Intense PC has a form factor similar to Fit-PC3, but dials up the hardware specs quite a bit. Here’s an excerpt from the Feb 27 press release announcing the product:

 

Specifications

• Intel® Core™ i7-2610UE Processor (4M Cache, 1.50 GHz dual-core) with Intel® HD Graphics 3000
• Intel® Core™ i3-2340UE Processor (3M Cache, 1.30 GHz dual-core) with Intel® HD Graphics 3000
• Intel® Celeron® Processor 847E (2M Cache, 1.10 GHz dual-core) with Intel® HD Graphics 2000
• Intel® Celeron® Processor 827E (1.5M Cache, 1.40 GHz) with Intel® HD Graphics 2000
• Chipset: Intel® HM65 Express Chipset
• RAM: Up to 16 GB dual channel DDR3-1333 using two SO-DIMM sockets
• Storage: Internal 2.5” hard disk or SSD – SATA3 6 Gbps
• 2x eSATA ports – SATA2 3 Gbps
• mSATA socket (shared with mini-PCIe socket)
• Display: HDMI 1.4 up to 1920×1200 with 3D support
• DisplayPort up to 2560×1600
• Audio: 7.1 channels S/PDIF in/out, stereo line-out, mic
• LAN: 2x GbE ports
• WLAN: WiFi 802.11b/g/n (2 antennas) + Bluetooth® 3.0
• USB: 2x USB3 ports 5 Gbps
• 2 USB2 ports 480 Mbps
• Serial: RS232 full UART via mini serial connector
• Power: 8 – 16V
• Dimensions: 7.5” x 6.3” x 1.57” (19 x 16 x 4 cm)

The release indicated availability in Q2, but Amazon doesn’t show the device as offered yet. I’ve sent an email to inquire about pricing and availability. If the pricing isn’t outrageous I’ll definitely consider it as an alternative to traditional box.

I’d order it with the i7 CPU and add one of the Seagate Momentus XT hybrid disk drives. It just happens that I have one hanging around after last weeks debacle with the old desktop.

Of course, I’d not have the RAID 1 disk storage that I’ve come to appreciate these past few years. Perhaps I could work around that with a more diligent backup regime.

Fast. Small. Quiet. Cool. These are all good directions for a home office.