Fanless Intel i7-14700T mini PC rackmount now available from Atlast Solutions

Intel’s T-series processors are essentially more power-efficient versions of the non-K and K-series desktop CPUs, so they can easily be integrated with silent setups featuring proper cooling solutions, as their base TDP is lowered to 35 W. However, these CPUs will not really fit inside a 4x4 design, since there would not be enough room for a proper passive radiator. Pairing an i7-14700T with a rather large NH-P1 passive cooler from Noctua defeats the goal of fitting this CPU into a compact mini PC. Instead, one could use a more exotic design like an Akasa Galileo TU3 Plus rackmount that is still slim enough, yet longer to allow for the inclusion of a custom aluminum cooling block and large passive radiator fins. Atlast Solutions is selling this design for €1,172.3.

Although the rackmount case is considerably larger than the average mini PC, measuring 482.6 x 278 x 43.6mm, it is still nowhere near as bulky as a micro-ATX build that would be needed for the Noctua NH-P1. The passive cooler represents 20% of the entire case and is able to keep the i7-14700T CPU running at normal parameters even when boosting to 5.2 GHz at 106 W TDP.

There is one major limitation with this system. Atlast Solutions includes an Asus Pro H610T mini-ITX motherboard, which, unfortunately, supports only up to 64 GB DDR4-3200 RAM. The port selection is rather outdated as well, with 4x USB-A 3.2, 4x USB 2.0, HDMI 2.1 + DP 1.4 video outs. 2x audio jacks and a GbE NIC. Besides the M.2 PCIe 4.0 slot for fast SSD storage, the motherboard also offers 2x SATA3 connectors. Wireless connectivity up to Wi-Fi 7 + BT 5.4 is offered an extra cost.

The €1,172.3 configuration from Atlast Solutions is equipped with 16 GB RAM, 500 GB Crucial T500 SSD and an AX201 Wi-Fi 6 + BT 5.2 card. For an additional €20, users can opt for the Wi-Fi 7 module, and more two SATA3 SSDs can be added for at least €107 each. No OS is offered by default, but Ubuntu 22.04.4 LTS comes as a free pre-install, with additional options for paid Windows 11 licenses.