MINIX NEO Z150 Aero Mini PC with Intel N150 Active Cooling

The Minix Z150 is a really well put together box, surprisingly dense and with a good selection of ports. The intention is to use it to run steamed TV such as BBC iplayer and it seems to do that very well. As delivered the box ran quite hot so looking online I found that you can throttle the thermal envelope that the Intel N100 runs within that and updating to the latest (181) firmware seems to have really helped, without hampering the performance. It now runs around 40C as a media player.If you want to do the same then look online for details of the P1 and P2 settings in the BIOS and the CTRL F1 keystroke to gain access, be careful when changing things!

The Minix Z150 AERO is a compact, quiet mini PC with a modern design. The ports on the sides are easily accessible, and the build quality is impeccable. The PC can be mounted on the back of a monitor.

The PC is equipped with an Intel N100 quad-core processor with integrated Intel UHD graphics. It features 16GB of DDR4 RAM and a fast 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD. This M.2 SSD is connected via a PCIe 3.0 lane. The RAM can be expanded up to 32GB, and a larger SSD up to 4TB can also be installed.

On the front, you'll find the power button, the reset button, a combo jack, 2x USB 3.2 ports, and 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port. This also allows for video output. On the back, there are 2x USB 3.2 ports, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort, and 2x LAN ports. These two Ethernet ports enable speeds of 2.5 Gbps and 1 Gbps, respectively. The mini PC also features Bluetooth 5.1 and 802.11ax dual-band Wi-Fi 5. It is possible to connect two monitors with a resolution of 4K@60Hz.

Windows 11 Pro 64-bit is pre-installed as the operating system and is activated after the initial setup of the PC. The well-structured BIOS offers a wide range of custom settings for optimal customization. When used as an office computer or media center, the expected performance is met. The built-in hardware allows for fast processing with short loading times. The computer is pleasantly quiet. Power consumption is approximately 10W for office tasks and 25W at maximum load.

I use this for menial tasks but it is quite powerful. I dug out some old games from 10 years ago and it plays them just like the old days except back then the screen wasn't as wide.

First impressions were that it's solidly built and that someone
obviously cared about the styling and the unboxing experience. Out of
curiosity I removed the bottom cover and could see that the memory and
storage were readily accessible should I ever want to upgrade them.

Regarding thermal management, it boots around 30C and ramps up to
around 60C over the course of several hours of watching videos and web
surfing, so nowhere near thermal throttling range (which would be
around 100C) despite the fanless design, a most welcome feature in a
home theatre setup. I haven't stressed it with anything more
intensive.

These things are fantastic for industrial types of uses. I've got one of the older N100 units back in maintenance and since it isn't sitting there sucking up dust, it's just as happy at a year old as it was out of the box. Also, the price is an absolute STEAL! Windows pro upgrade license is 100 bucks, and these are Windows 11 PRO out of the box! The wifi radio is a tad weak, but ethernet connections are better, and it's got a port for that. Perfect little web surfer!