Igel thin clients run IGEL OS, and the vendor's knowledge base describes two ways to restore them to factory defaults: through the boot menu, or using the OS Creator (OSC) as described in the IGEL OS Creator manual. The IGEL knowledge base recommends the OSC method as best practice. If you are looking for a fanless alternative to an Igel thin client for pfSense firewall deployment, the Thinvent Treo Mini PC with AMD Ryzen 5 7430U and the Thinvent Neo S Thin Client with Intel J1900 are the closest matches.
Igel Thin Client vs Thinvent Treo Mini PC and Neo S Thin Client
| Igel thin client | Thinvent Treo Mini PC, AMD Ryzen 5 7430U | Thinvent Neo S Thin Client, Intel J1900 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | Not stated | AMD Ryzen 5 7430U | Intel Celeron J1900 |
| Cores/Threads | Not stated | 6 cores | 4 cores |
| RAM | Not stated | Up to 64 GB | 4 GB to 8 GB |
| Storage | Not stated | Up to 2 TB SSD | 32 GB to 256 GB SSD |
| Form Factor | Not stated | Mini PC | Thin client |
| Operating system | IGEL OS | DOS | DOS |
| Wireless | Not stated | No WiFi or dual band Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) | No WiFi |
Key differences
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The Thinvent Treo Mini PC supports up to 64 GB of RAM and up to 2 TB of SSD storage, giving more room for firewall, logging and virtualisation workloads than the Neo S Thin Client.
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The Thinvent Treo Mini PC offers a 6-core AMD Ryzen 5 7430U processor with a boost up to 4.3 GHz, which is a higher-performance class than the 4-core Intel J1900 in the Neo S.
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The Treo Mini PC is available with dual band Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) or without wireless, so you can choose the configuration that fits your network.
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The Neo S Thin Client is the more compact, lower-power option, with 4 GB to 8 GB of RAM and up to 256 GB of SSD storage, suited to lighter endpoint tasks.
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Igel thin clients run IGEL OS, while Thinvent products ship with DOS as listed here, so software compatibility should be checked against your pfSense and management requirements.
Which one should you choose?
Choose the Thinvent Treo Mini PC with AMD Ryzen 5 7430U if you need a fanless-style mini PC with more processing power, memory and storage for a pfSense firewall deployment. Choose the Thinvent Neo S Thin Client with Intel J1900 if you need a smaller, simpler device for lighter tasks with moderate memory and storage.
