6 ms·

This is the first I've heard of Qotom, can you elaborate?

phs2501 9y ago
They make/sell "industrial" fanless Intel boxes. I got one of these[1] for a router, and it's worked well so far. No moving parts with an SSD. [1] https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KX9OU58 https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KX9OU58
- throwanem 9y ago
  I have a similar one, but it gives up two NICs for an HDMI port - not ideal, but it was much cheaper at the time, and I have no need for a DMZ and no shortage of switches. It makes an excellent pfSense box!
chx 9y ago
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B019Z8T9J0 https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B019Z8T9J0 this is not Atom but a proper Broadwell core -- obviously a bit on the slower side but still it'll wipe the floor with any Atoms especially in single core performance. Look at http://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=2506&cmp[]=2723 http://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=2506&cmp[]=272... for example. It has HDMI and four Ethernet ports (not a switch, see my review down below), serving as router and media player both. My review https://www.amazon.com/review/R6U6MT4R6SQS4 https://www.amazon.com/review/R6U6MT4R6SQS4 here.
- meitham 9y ago
  I have my pfsense firewall running on this, and it's been very reliable and great performance.
mjrpes 9y ago
They make fanless metal body mini computers and come in many variations on aliexpress. I purchased a unit a few months back to run pfsense (free routing software based on freebsd). They normally use intel based motherboard/ethernet ports in 2-4 port configurations, making them good stable platforms. They usually take a few weeks to arrive because they ship from China. They don't have the polish of an apple product or sell under a popular brand name, so they are not well known.
- throwanem 9y ago
  You can get them on Amazon, too, and my impression is that buyer support is better there than on Aliexpress.
therealunreal 9y ago
It seems they're popular for routers running pfSense. Just make sure you get a CPU that supports AES-NI, because pfSense 2.5 requires it.
- Kali909 9y ago
  I didn't know it was mandatory, thought it was just practically necessary for VPN tunnels etc. http://www.pcengines.ch/apu2.htm http://www.pcengines.ch/apu2.htm I've recently bought one of these and it's been great so far. Though its a NanoBSD currently you can squeeze an SSD in there.
  - sp0ck 9y ago
    Twice the price of FX160 :) I have one FX160 for over a year with bunch of home software inside docker containers and works like a charm :)
    - Kali909 9y ago
      Yes true, I might pick one up. The Atom I wasn't too impressed with in an old Shuttle but that has changed I think.
INTPenis 9y ago
Another option for industrial and fanless in europe is Logic Supply. I bought my "home server" from them. A very simple Xeon box with internal SSD that I use as hypervisor with a homemade iSCSI NAS for storage.

They make/sell "industrial" fanless Intel boxes. I got one of these[1] for a router, and it's worked well so far. No moving parts with an SSD. [1] https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KX9OU58 https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KX9OU58

throwanem 9y ago
I have a similar one, but it gives up two NICs for an HDMI port - not ideal, but it was much cheaper at the time, and I have no need for a DMZ and no shortage of switches. It makes an excellent pfSense box!

chx 9y ago

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B019Z8T9J0 https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B019Z8T9J0 this is not Atom but a proper Broadwell core -- obviously a bit on the slower side but still it'll wipe the floor with any Atoms especially in single core performance. Look at http://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=2506&cmp[]=2723 http://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=2506&cmp[]=272... for example. It has HDMI and four Ethernet ports (not a switch, see my review down below), serving as router and media player both. My review https://www.amazon.com/review/R6U6MT4R6SQS4 https://www.amazon.com/review/R6U6MT4R6SQS4 here.

meitham 9y ago
I have my pfsense firewall running on this, and it's been very reliable and great performance.

mjrpes 9y ago

They make fanless metal body mini computers and come in many variations on aliexpress. I purchased a unit a few months back to run pfsense (free routing software based on freebsd). They normally use intel based motherboard/ethernet ports in 2-4 port configurations, making them good stable platforms. They usually take a few weeks to arrive because they ship from China. They don't have the polish of an apple product or sell under a popular brand name, so they are not well known.

throwanem 9y ago
You can get them on Amazon, too, and my impression is that buyer support is better there than on Aliexpress.

therealunreal 9y ago

It seems they're popular for routers running pfSense. Just make sure you get a CPU that supports AES-NI, because pfSense 2.5 requires it.

Kali909 9y ago
I didn't know it was mandatory, thought it was just practically necessary for VPN tunnels etc. http://www.pcengines.ch/apu2.htm http://www.pcengines.ch/apu2.htm I've recently bought one of these and it's been great so far. Though its a NanoBSD currently you can squeeze an SSD in there.
- sp0ck 9y ago
  Twice the price of FX160 :) I have one FX160 for over a year with bunch of home software inside docker containers and works like a charm :)
  - Kali909 9y ago
    Yes true, I might pick one up. The Atom I wasn't too impressed with in an old Shuttle but that has changed I think.

INTPenis 9y ago

Another option for industrial and fanless in europe is Logic Supply. I bought my "home server" from them. A very simple Xeon box with internal SSD that I use as hypervisor with a homemade iSCSI NAS for storage.