Fanless Linux Systems: What the Thinvent Range Offers
A fanless Linux system runs without a cooling fan. Heat leaves the chassis through the metal body, so the unit makes no fan noise and has no fan to clog with dust. Thinvent sells several fanless-design systems, and every one of them ships with Ubuntu Linux preinstalled.
Hardware compatibility is the first check before installing Linux. Most Intel and AMD processors, Ethernet controllers and NVMe drives work with the Linux kernel out of the box. Wi-Fi chips and discrete GPUs more often need firmware packages. Thinvent products that include Dual Band WiFi are supplied with Ubuntu Linux already set up, so the wireless adapter needs no manual driver work.
The range covers several processor families. The Thinvent® Industrial PC IPC3 and Thinvent® Aero Mini PC use the Intel® Core™ i3-1215U (6 cores, up to 4.4 GHz). The Thinvent® Industrial PC IPC5 uses the Intel® Core™ i7-1255U (10 cores, up to 4.7 GHz) and comes with 32 GB or 64 GB of DDR4 RAM. The Thinvent® Treo Mini PC uses the AMD Ryzen™ 5 7430U (6 cores, up to 4.3 GHz). Entry-level models use the Intel® Celeron N5095A (4 cores, up to 2.9 GHz) or Intel® J1900 (4 cores, up to 2.4 GHz).
Choosing a Model by Workload
| Model | Processor | Cores | Max Frequency | RAM | Storage | Wi-Fi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thinvent® Industrial PC IPC5 (32 GB) | Intel® Core™ i7-1255U | 10 | 4.7 GHz | 32 GB | 1 TB SSD | No |
| Thinvent® Industrial PC IPC5 (64 GB) | Intel® Core™ i7-1255U | 10 | 4.7 GHz | 64 GB | 1 TB SSD | Dual Band |
| Thinvent® Industrial PC IPC3 | Intel® Core™ i3-1215U | 6 | 4.4 GHz | 8 GB | 256 GB SSD | No |
| Thinvent® Aero Mini PC | Intel® Core™ i3-1215U | 6 | 4.4 GHz | 8 GB | 256 GB SSD | Dual Band |
| Thinvent® Aero Mini PC | Intel® Core™ i3-1315U | 6 | 4.5 GHz | 8 GB | 32 GB MLC SSD | Dual Band |
| Thinvent® Treo Mini PC | AMD Ryzen™ 5 7430U | 6 | 4.3 GHz | 16 GB | 256 GB SSD | Dual Band |
| Thinvent® Treo Mini PC | AMD Ryzen™ 5 7430U | 6 | 4.3 GHz | 64 GB | 1 TB SSD | Dual Band |
| Thinvent® Treo Mini PC | Intel® N5095A | 4 | 2.9 GHz | 4 GB | 128 GB SSD | No |
| Thinvent® 15" Industrial Panel PC | Intel® N5095A | 4 | 2.9 GHz | 4 GB | 128 GB SSD | No |
| Thinvent® Neo S Thin Client | Intel® J1900 | 4 | 2.4 GHz | 4 GB | 32 GB + 32 GB MLC SSD | No |
The IPC5 and the Treo with 64 GB suit multi-user servers, data processing and heavy multitasking. The IPC3 and Aero Mini PC suit general office work, kiosks and light automation. The N5095A and J1900 models suit thin-client and basic display tasks.
Industrial Use
The Thinvent® Industrial PC IPC5 includes Dual LAN ports, so it can connect to two networks at once or separate control traffic from data traffic. The IPC3 and IPC5 run on a 12V 7A adapter.
Thinvent Products Featuring Fanless Linux
Thinvent has fanless-design Linux systems across the Industrial PC, Mini PC, Panel PC and Thin Client lines. Each model ships with Ubuntu Linux. Compare the processor, RAM and wireless options in the table above to choose a model for your deployment.
