PRICE £383 (£460 inc VAT) from chillblast.com
The Chillblast WAP Ultimate is, in some ways, a product built for our times. Not only is it the smallest computer here by some distance, with roughly the same footprint as two iPhone minis placed side by side, but it also survives on a tiny 11W trickle of power when idling along. Even at 54p per kWh, and assuming you push it to the max for 90 minutes per eight-hour day, that works out at £29 per year. A pittance compared to all the other computers in this Labs.
Its one drawback is that when it does require more processing power (which is often when Windows 11 decides to embark on some mysterious errand of its own) the fans kick in, and you will notice them. Not because they're obnoxiously loud, simply because they switch tone. This is one of the drawbacks of such a small design, with no space in the chassis for bigger and thus quieter fans.
What's perhaps surprising is that you can access this PC's innards for repairs and upgrades. Four crosshead screws stand in your way, and then you simply pop the top off. Great news for IT departments and end users alike.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Key things to look for when buying a mini PC
Buying a mini PC isn't like buying a laptop or a fully fledged desktop PC, but a pitfall-laden experience that sits somewhere in between
BRANDS YOU CAN TRUST
Whenever you buy something in the coming year, why not draw on the experience of thousands of discerning buyers?
5 things we learned from Lenovo Tech World'24
In a landmark event where the CEOs of AMD, Intel and Nvidia all took to the stage, the theme of \"smarter AI for all\" was never far away, writes Tim Danton
The Darktrace leading to government
British security firm Darktrace has been mired in controversy. Now its former CEO is a government minister. Rois Ni Thuama and Barry Collins investigate
Microsoft is doing more harm to Arm than good, argues Jon Honeyball
You know that sinking feeling you get when something is not quite right? That nagging doubt that it shouldn't be like this? It was like that when I read that Qualcomm has cancelled its Snapdragon X developer kit, a desktop Mac mini-like box designed for developers to create and test apps for Windows on Arm (WoA).
How do we know how smart AI really is?
Maths questions. Silly word puzzles. Counting the letter \"r\" in a sentence. Nicole Kobie reveals how we're trying to work out exactly how intelligent AI is
Missed call Whatever happened to the Acorn Communicator?
When Acorn launched its 16-bit Communicator computer with a built-in modem, it struggled to get potential buyers to listen, as David Crookes explains
STEVE CASSIDY-"Getting workers to do simple jobs in the 16th century was not much different from the 21st"
Why 16th century \"networking\" legislation still has an impact, and why the term AI is confusing to punters as well as a waste of natural resources
JON HONEYBALL -"The more I have to do with UK telcos, the more broken their systems seem to be"
After being tempted by the iPhone 16 Pro Max - for professional reasons, honest - and the Watch 2 Ultra, Jon discovers not everything is perfect in Apple's new generation
Apple iPhone 16 Pro
A bigger display, borrowed 5x tetraprism zoom from the Max and no price hike make this the best iPhone
