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The Firebat S1 N100 mini PC is on sale. Coming up as $113USD on AliExpress for me which is very cheap. Affiliate link here:  https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DB0xQsn 

Review here (ACEMAGIC Branded):  https://youtu.be/BC8cxnS0G-4 

Thought I'd share a channel update since there's been a lot going on! 

The next mini PC review will feature quad display testing. Someone commented a mini refused to display on four monitors and if I could test in the future. Well now I've got access to four displays, so it's been added to the routine. Other recent additions include testing USB-C power delivery and display claims (after buying a USB-C monitor), checking sleep mode works (will only be mentioned if it doesn't) and virus and malware scanning. Lack of time/manpower is the biggest impediment to further tests.

There are also many requests for "X" mini to be reviewed. Buying minis is completely unviable, I did it for two years and almost ended up having to quit YouTube as a result. What saved the channel in the second half of last year was the amount of review units being sent out (I have trouble keeping up with the workload) and more importantly the huge growth in affiliate sales (Amazon mostly) from you guys. And I'm hoping the affiliate sales growth continues to lower the reliance on sponsorships. Anything at all bought from Amazon through my links brings in a small cut and helps big time.

I want to cover as many mini brands as possible and channel growth from your support helps secure review units whether its samples or loaners. There's been some progress I'd like to share:

ASUS - Sending Intel NUC 14 Pro+ hopefully next week
MSI - Will provide a unit for review. I have a call on Monday to finalise the details.
Minisforum - First review unit coming up next
Gigabyte - Reached out again
ASRock Industrial - Reached out again
Zotac - Reached out again
Bmax - No response 

So this landed on my desk today (1st image). Look familiar? Yep, looks just like the Intel NUC 13 Pro Desk Edition (2nd image), which I didn't get a chance to review. Me thinks Intel bowing out of making mini PCs means the designs became available for others to use. It sure is a beauty. This one comes with the i9-12900H 

So after the whole ACEMAGIC malware debacle, I requested another budget mini PC sample and this time I've been sent the S1 N100 model (I reviewed the N95). I want to see if things have changed on the software front and gives me another opportunity to look at this mini with a different CPU. 

As for the previous review, after the news came out, I fired up the S1 I was sent and went to Defender to scan the drive. I found it strange that I didn't receive a notice from Defender during my review warning me that it had found malware. Well, after going into its settings, turns out it was turned off by default here! And that's how I missed it 😓

Now every mini gets scanned by Defender and Malwarebytes.
 

Any interest in this being reviewed? Seems pricey to me.  https://www.kinhank-retrogame.com/products/super-console-mp100?variant=42722734932133 

Received my first NAS mini PC for review. Going to take a different approach to the regular videos, while still testing all the important metrics. Luckily I have a couple of 3.5" hard drives lying around. If there's anything specific you want to see, let me know. 

After trying on and off for a year now to get some kind of contact with ASUS, I can say I've finally managed to get to the point of getting a loaner unit sent for review. I should have the only NUC 14 Pro sample in Australia arrive next week 😅 

Have you ever wanted your mini PC to have a touch screen and battery for portable Cinebench? Then this is for you. Up to 5 hours battery life apparently. Might be reviewing it in March. It's something I've thought about for many years. Will see if it's practical. 

I've been noticing more and more minis with smaller power supplies which is great to see. Here's an example of a 120W power supply from the GEEKOM IT13 and the 120W power supply from the GEEKOM A7 that just arrived. Huge difference. New one is 10cm (4") x 6.5cm (2.5") x 2.5cm (1") 

I've had a few requests now to create a website with my wealth of data and charts for easy comparison. This isn't something I have time or the skills to do, so I didn't think it would happem. But lately thanks to you guys, affiliate and sponsorship revenue has made the channel viable and I'm thinking about investing in someone building a comparison website for all the mini PCs I've reviewed. 

The problem will be to find the right person for the job and also to keep the scope reasonable. It will be free for everyone to use and I'm hoping to recoup the costs on affiliation links in the long run. Maybe some simple banner ads as well, we'll see. Here are my thoughts on what would be included in a best case scenario. But happy to hear suggestions.

1. Performance/Power/Noise/Temps chart viewer for budget, mid and high end minis from the reviews. 
2. Potentially customisable, allowing you to add and subtract the minis you want to compare.
3. A direct comparison between two minis once you've narrowed down your choice including charts and spec sheet.
4. This direct comparison will show the percentage difference for performance metrics between the two minis. 
5. Add your own performance numbers to compare your desktop/laptop/mini against one of the mini PCs.
6. Links to the video review and the purchasing link.
7. Mini PC awards for top picks.