Single Board Industrial Computer vs Thinvent IPC3

A single board industrial computer places the processor, memory, I/O and power circuitry on one board, and is sold in form factors such as 3.5-inch SBC, NUC, Pico-ITX and UTX. The query names Schneider Electric, but the facts available to us describe single board computers from ASRock Industrial, WINSYSTEMS, SECO, ASUS IoT, Portwell and LattePanda rather than a specific Schneider Electric model, so we could not confirm a Schneider Electric product for a direct comparison. The closest Thinvent alternative for a fanless, industrial-grade compact computer is the Thinvent IPC3 Industrial PC.

Single Board Industrial Computer vs Thinvent IPC3

Key differences

• The Thinvent IPC3 is a complete industrial PC in an aluminium housing, while the single board category is a bare board that needs its own enclosure and mounting.

• The IPC3 supports up to 64 GB of RAM and 2 TB of SSD storage.

• The IPC3 is fanless, with passive cooling rated from 0°C to 50°C, and carries RoHS and ISO certifications.

• The IPC3 has two front serial ports (DB9 RS232), one RS485 option, dual USB 3.2 and HDMI and VGA outputs.

• The IPC3 has Windows 11 Pro and five other operating systems to choose from, and Thinvent has Windows 11 IoT Value and Linux options.

• A single board computer can be smaller and more customisable at the board level, which suits embedded designs that build their own housing.

Which one should you choose?

Choose a bare single board computer if you are designing your own enclosure and electronics and need the smallest footprint. Choose the Thinvent IPC3 if you need a ready-to-deploy, fanless industrial PC with serial and RS485 ports, larger memory and storage, and a choice of operating system.

Buy the Thinvent alternative

• Thinvent IPC3 Industrial PC, Intel Core i3-1215U

• Thinvent IPC3 Industrial PC, Intel Core i3-1315U