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The Quantum Dispatch

Mini Computers — Page 10

440 articles in this category

Cover illustration for Best Mini PC for Local LLMs in 2026: A Buyer's Guide
AI-Generated|Opinion
Mini Computers

Best Mini PC for Local LLMs in 2026: A Buyer's Guide

The best mini PC for local LLMs comes down to unified memory and bandwidth. Our 2026 buyer's guide compares top picks from budget to 128GB powerhouses.

Alex Circuit
Alex Circuit★Jul 15, 2026★9 min read
Cover illustration for Raspberry Pi Single Pair Ethernet HAT Adds T1S/T1L
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Mini Computers

Raspberry Pi Single Pair Ethernet HAT Adds T1S/T1L

Brechel Electronic's new Raspberry Pi HAT+ boards add 10BASE-T1S and 10BASE-T1L Single Pair Ethernet from €95, with a one-click Linux driver installer.

Alex Circuit
Alex Circuit★Jul 14, 2026★5 min read
Cover illustration for M5Stack Stamp-C5 Puts Wi-Fi 6 in a $6.50 Module
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Mini Computers

M5Stack Stamp-C5 Puts Wi-Fi 6 in a $6.50 Module

The tiny M5Stack Stamp-C5 packs dual-band Wi-Fi 6, BLE 5, and Thread into a 19mm ESP32-C5 module with up to 19 GPIO and USB-C — all for just $6.50.

Alex Circuit
Alex Circuit★Jul 14, 2026★4 min read
Cover illustration for Beelink EQi Puts Intel 18A Wildcat Lake on Your Desk
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Mini Computers

Beelink EQi Puts Intel 18A Wildcat Lake on Your Desk

The Beelink EQi packs Intel's 18A Wildcat Lake Core 3 304, a 24 TOPS NPU, dual Thunderbolt 4, and 10 GbE into a compact mini PC from just $509.

Alex Circuit
Alex Circuit★Jul 13, 2026★4 min read
Cover illustration for PocketMage Is a Fully Open-Source ESP32-S3 E-Ink PDA
AI-Generated|Opinion
Mini Computers

PocketMage Is a Fully Open-Source ESP32-S3 E-Ink PDA

PocketMage is a $185 open-source ESP32-S3 PDA with dual E-Ink and OLED displays, a physical QWERTY keyboard, and a ~7-day battery per charge.

Alex Circuit
Alex Circuit★Jul 13, 2026★4 min read
Cover illustration for Calixto AM62L STAMP SOM Puts Linux on a Postage Stamp
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Mini Computers

Calixto AM62L STAMP SOM Puts Linux on a Postage Stamp

The Calixto AM62L STAMP SOM fits dual Cortex-A53 cores at 1.25 GHz onto a 40x40 mm module for industrial automation, HMIs, and EV chargers alike.

Alex Circuit
Alex Circuit★Jul 13, 2026★5 min read
Cover illustration for ELM11-Feather Makes FPGAs Lua-Simple for $39
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Mini Computers

ELM11-Feather Makes FPGAs Lua-Simple for $39

The $39 ELM11-Feather puts a Gowin FPGA and a 75 MHz soft-core into a Feather board you program in Lua, with MIT-licensed firmware coming.

Alex Circuit
Alex Circuit★Jul 11, 2026★5 min read
Cover illustration for Norik Dongle Brings DECT NR+ 5G to a USB Port
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Mini Computers

Norik Dongle Brings DECT NR+ 5G to a USB Port

Norik Systems' nRF9151 USB dongle brings DECT NR+, the carrier-free 5G mesh standard, to developers with Zephyr samples and no debug probe.

Alex Circuit
Alex Circuit★Jul 11, 2026★5 min read
Cover illustration for KKSB Rack Panels Tidy Your Raspberry Pi Cluster
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Mini Computers

KKSB Rack Panels Tidy Your Raspberry Pi Cluster

KKSB's new 10-inch and 19-inch rack panels mount up to 10 Raspberry Pis per shelf, with room for HATs and active coolers in a homelab rack.

Alex Circuit
Alex Circuit★Jul 11, 2026★4 min read
Cover illustration for Open Book Touch Is a Hackable Open-Source E-Reader
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Mini Computers

Open Book Touch Is a Hackable Open-Source E-Reader

The Open Book Touch is a DRM-free ESP32-S3 e-reader with a 4.26-inch touch e-paper screen, open firmware, and a replaceable battery, from \$149.

Alex Circuit
Alex Circuit★Jul 11, 2026★5 min read
Cover illustration for Rikomagic DS04 Packs a 6 TOPS NPU Into a 4K Player
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Mini Computers

Rikomagic DS04 Packs a 6 TOPS NPU Into a 4K Player

The Rikomagic DS04 pairs a Rockchip RK3576, a 6 TOPS NPU, and dual 4K HDMI 2.1 in an Android 14 digital signage box for affordable edge AI.

Alex Circuit
Alex Circuit★Jul 11, 2026★4 min read
Cover illustration for Best Mini PC for Local LLMs in 2026: A Buyer's Guide
AI-Generated|Opinion
Mini Computers

Best Mini PC for Local LLMs in 2026: A Buyer's Guide

A practical 2026 buyer's guide to the best mini PCs for running local LLMs, comparing unified memory, NPUs, and price so you can self-host with confidence.

Alex Circuit
Alex Circuit★Jul 11, 2026★9 min read
Cover illustration for Raspberry Pi 5 Becomes an 8-Channel USB Sound Card With Optical Out
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Mini Computers

Raspberry Pi 5 Becomes an 8-Channel USB Sound Card With Optical Out

A clever open-source project turns a Raspberry Pi 5 into an 8-channel USB sound card with real TOSLINK optical output generated from a single blinking GPIO pin.

Alex Circuit
Alex Circuit★Jul 9, 2026★5 min read
Cover illustration for Mekotronics AI Box Puts NVIDIA Jetson Orin Into a Rugged Edge Computer
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Mini Computers

Mekotronics AI Box Puts NVIDIA Jetson Orin Into a Rugged Edge Computer

Mekotronics' new edge-AI box packs an NVIDIA Jetson Orin module and rugged industrial I/O into a compact computer built for robots, smart cities, and agriculture.

Alex Circuit
Alex Circuit★Jul 9, 2026★5 min read
Cover illustration for Makerfabs MaUWB Brings PoE Indoor Location Tracking to Home Assistant
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Mini Computers

Makerfabs MaUWB Brings PoE Indoor Location Tracking to Home Assistant

Makerfabs' new MaUWB board pairs an ESP32-S3 with a Qorvo UWB radio and PoE Ethernet to bring accurate, ESPHome-ready indoor location tracking to Home Assistant.

Alex Circuit
Alex Circuit★Jul 9, 2026★5 min read
Cover illustration for ESP32-C5 Devkits Bring Dual-Band Wi-Fi 6 to Cheap Maker Boards
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Mini Computers

ESP32-C5 Devkits Bring Dual-Band Wi-Fi 6 to Cheap Maker Boards

The ESP32-C5 is Espressif's first dual-band Wi-Fi 6 chip, and fresh touchscreen devkits are putting 5 GHz connectivity in makers' hands for under $40.

Alex Circuit
Alex Circuit★Jul 9, 2026★4 min read
Cover illustration for Titan Mini Packs a Real Edge-AI NPU Into a $44 Dev Board
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Mini Computers

Titan Mini Packs a Real Edge-AI NPU Into a $44 Dev Board

The Titan Mini pairs a 1 GHz Cortex-M85 with an Ethos-U55 NPU for genuine edge AI, putting on-device audio inference in a 65x55 mm board for about $44.

Alex Circuit
Alex Circuit★Jul 9, 2026★4 min read
Cover illustration for This E-Ink Handheld Runs a Game Boy Emulator at 60 Hz on ESP32-S3
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Mini Computers

This E-Ink Handheld Runs a Game Boy Emulator at 60 Hz on ESP32-S3

A maker coaxed an e-ink panel into 60 Hz gaming, running a Game Boy emulator on a touch-driven ESP32-S3 board by exploiting its parallel refresh interface.

Alex Circuit
Alex Circuit★Jul 9, 2026★4 min read
Cover illustration for Beelink EQi 304 Debuts Intel's Wildcat Lake in a Tiny 10GbE Mini PC
AI-Generated|Opinion
Mini Computers

Beelink EQi 304 Debuts Intel's Wildcat Lake in a Tiny 10GbE Mini PC

Beelink's EQi 304, launched July 5, 2026, is the first mini PC on Intel's new Core 3 304 Wildcat Lake chip — with 10GbE, Thunderbolt 4, and a 24 TOPS NPU from $509.

Alex Circuit
Alex Circuit★Jul 8, 2026★5 min read
Cover illustration for Inkterface Adds a Wireless E-Ink Faceplate to Valve's Steam Machine
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Mini Computers

Inkterface Adds a Wireless E-Ink Faceplate to Valve's Steam Machine

A maker built Inkterface, a magnetic battery-powered e-ink faceplate for Valve's Steam Machine, driven by an ESP32 and fully open-sourced with STEP and STL files.

Alex Circuit
Alex Circuit★Jul 8, 2026★4 min read
Cover illustration for This Kubernetes Homelab Hides Modern Compute Inside Retro Linksys Cases
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Mini Computers

This Kubernetes Homelab Hides Modern Compute Inside Retro Linksys Cases

Justin Garrison retrofitted a modern Raspberry Pi and mini-PC Kubernetes cluster into vintage early-2000s Linksys router cases — a nostalgic, fully working homelab.

Alex Circuit
Alex Circuit★Jul 8, 2026★5 min read
Cover illustration for PocketMage: An Open-Source ESP32-S3 E-Paper PDA for Makers
AI-Generated|Opinion
Mini Computers

PocketMage: An Open-Source ESP32-S3 E-Paper PDA for Makers

PocketMage is an open-source ESP32-S3 e-paper PDA with a QWERTY keyboard, dual displays, and hackable firmware. Now live on Crowd Supply from $185.

Alex Circuit
Alex Circuit★Jul 8, 2026★3 min read
Cover illustration for ESP32-P4 Runs Classic Mac OS: A BasiliskII Port on a $40 Devkit
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Mini Computers

ESP32-P4 Runs Classic Mac OS: A BasiliskII Port on a $40 Devkit

A tiny RISC-V ESP32-P4 touchscreen board now boots Mac OS 7.1 to 8.1 via a BasiliskII 68k emulator port, hitting ~24 FPS on a Quadra-class virtual Mac.

Alex Circuit
Alex Circuit★Jul 8, 2026★3 min read
Cover illustration for Mercedes-Benz Open-Sources ARDEP: An STM32 Motor-Control Dev Board
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Mini Computers

Mercedes-Benz Open-Sources ARDEP: An STM32 Motor-Control Dev Board

Mercedes-Benz just released ARDEP V2, an Apache 2.0 open-source hardware platform built on an STM32G474 for real automotive-grade motor control.

Alex Circuit
Alex Circuit★Jul 8, 2026★3 min read