Azulle’s Inspire Mini PC (starts at $169.99; $674 as tested) can fit almost anywhere, even behind a monitor with its available VESA mount, making it ideal for offices or homes where space is at a premium. Silence is another strength, in the fanless Intel Core i5-based configuration we’re reviewing. That chip gives it plenty of pep for multitasking, never a given with PCs this small, although it falls short of the mark set by the slightly larger (and actively cooled) Lenovo ThinkCentre M720q Tiny in raw performance. The Inspire otherwise stacks up favorably in features and price, and even includes an IR remote for flicking through presentations or couch-surfing. It’s an overall versatile pick for a PC that doesn’t compromise on the essentials for the sake of being small.
Mini-Mize Me
Small form factor (SFF) PCs come in a variety of shapes and sizes. While there’s no set standard to be classified as such, it’s a safe bet that the abbreviated dimensions of the Inspire Mini PC (1.9 by 4.9 by 4.9 inches, HWD) put it on the smaller side of the scale. Few PCs are more compact than this, and those that are usually have very low-power processors to keep cost (and heat) down. The Core i7-based Intel NUC Kit NUC8i7HVK is a noted exception, but it’s priced far above the Azulle.
The Inspire Mini PC takes up even less desk real estate than Lenovo’s ThinkCentre M720q Tiny or Dell’s OptiPlex Micro desktops. Its stubby look comes from the fact that it’s half an inch taller than those PCs.
The outside of this PC is mostly plastic. It feels surprisingly hefty since all 2.2 pounds’ worth of weight is concentrated in a small area. Topside, the open-air grate allows airflow to reach the internal heatsink for the processor…
The sides, back, and bottom panels also have openings for the same purpose.
The wavy design accent on the front panel is this PC’s only real sop at style. I think it works, although style could be a moot point if you’re going to hide it somewhere. (Azulle offers a VESA bracket for just $12 if you want to mount it.) I wouldn’t mind seeing the panel offered in multiple colors for some variety.
The Inspire Mini PC packs just enough wired connectivity to not be wanting. The front panel includes a USB 3.1 Type-C port, a microSD card reader, an audio combo jack, and a USB 3.0 Type-A port.
The power button is off to starboard, while the glossy black square on the left is for the included IR remote…
This remote can come in handy, although it’s not universally useful. There’s no built-in mouse control, for one, so your ability to navigate through a Windows operating system is limited. The volume controls and system power buttons are convenient, but it’s sorely missing a play/pause button. Given that the remote is included, and the Intel NUCs, ECS Livas, and Zotac ZBoxes of the mini PC world don’t typically bundle one, I won’t raise too much of a fuss. Note that the Inspire Mini PC doesn’t come with any other input devices, such as a keyboard or mouse.
The rest of the connectivity is on the back…
There are just two video-out connectors (DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0), but you can daisy-chain off the former if needed. The version 2.0 nature of the HDMI port is important since it supports 4K output at 60Hz. The serial port on the bottom row is a thoughtful inclusion for those needing to hook up legacy devices. I suspect this will mostly be used in point-of-sale and industrial applications of the Inspire.
Further to the right is an Ethernet jack and a pair of USB 3.0 Type-A ports. The power jack sits on the opposite side. An external power supply is a necessity with tiny PCs like this, as there’s just not enough room for one internally. The included adapter is compact at 1 by 1.75 by 4 inches (HWD), with a cord about as long as the ones that come with most laptops.
It’s also common for tiny PCs like this to not have room for integrated wireless antennas, hence the two 4.5-inch external ones connected in our photos…
They must be connected for the standard Intel 3165AC wireless card to have meaningful range. That card supports 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0.
The last feature back here is the Kensington cable lock slot. The Inspire Mini PC is just too easy to carry, so locking it up if it’s used in a public place is a good idea.
Surprisingly Expandable
Accessing the insides of the Inspire Mini PC means removing four screws holding on the bottom panel…
The hardware expansion in the Inspire Mini PC consists of an M.2 Type-2280 slot for SSDs, a traditional 2.5-inch drive bay, and two laptop-style SO-DIMM slots for the RAM. The wireless card is also accessible under here.
Housing two storage drives in a system this small is rather impressive. Azulle sells this PC as a barebones unit without any of the mentioned hardware installed (or an operating system). Our review unit is configured as a ready-to-use system from Azulle with a single 16GB DDR4-2133 RAM module and a 960GB Patriot Burst 2.5-inch SSD, onto which Windows 10 Pro is installed. There’s nothing in the M.2 slot or the other SO-DIMM slot. (Another 16GB SO-DIMM can be installed to reach the system’s maximum-supported RAM amount of 32GB.)
There’s no obvious way to access the rest of the PC, but there’s no need since nothing else is replaceable or upgradable. The fanless version I’m reviewing doesn’t even have a cooling fan you need to worry about cleaning or swapping out when its bearings give out.
That said, a cooling fan wouldn’t be an unwelcome addition to this Core i5 model, as I watched the processor hit 86 degrees C while running our PCMark 10 test suite. The Inspire Mini PC undoubtedly requires some airflow to keep it from overheating, so you’ll want to avoid putting it where fresh air is in short supply. (A TV cabinet or the inside of a desk come to mind as suboptimal placements.) If it gets too hot, it will throttle back its performance.
Simply put, the Inspire Mini PC isn’t ideal for tasks that stress the CPU for extended periods, at least in its fanless configuration. Consider the Core i7 version for that type of work, which Azulle sends with an external cooling fan.
Performance Testing: Look Ma, No Fans
The tiny desktops I paired against the Inspire Mini PC make a diverse crowd. Their basic hardware specifications are as follows…
The low-power processors in the ECS Liva Q2 and the slightly larger Liva Z2 lie in stark contrast to the high-clocked quad-core, eight-thread Core i7 chip in the Intel NUC8i7HVK “Hades Canyon” mini-desktop. The Lenovo’s six-core, six-thread Core i5-8400T is no slouch, either, especially next to the Azulle’s dual-core, four-thread Core i5-7200U.
Productivity & Storage Tests
PCMark 10 is a holistic performance suite developed by the PC benchmark specialists at UL (formerly Futuremark). We use it to assess overall system performance in different real-world productivity and content-creation workflows like word processing, spreadsheet jockeying, web browsing, and videoconferencing. The test generates a proprietary numeric score; higher numbers are better.
The 3,166-point finish from the Inspire Mini PC is well shy of the 4,000 points we consider excellent, but it’s a very respectable showing for a PC this small, especially one with passive cooling. On the contrary, the low scores from the ECS pair indicate their performance is good for basic productivity only. The Intel NUC8i7HVK, meanwhile, rocketed to the top with a score that rivals those of some desktop-replacement notebooks.
I also ran the PCMark 8 Storage benchmark on the Inspire Mini PC, where it scored 4,899 points. That’s a good score from its 960GB Patriot Burst SSD, which Azulle offers as a factory option. (I didn’t include companion results from most of the other units in the charts, because some of them couldn’t run the test, and/or were barebone units that required us to install our own storage drives.)
Media Processing & Creation Tests
Next is Maxon’s CPU-crunching Cinebench R15 test, which is fully threaded to make use of all available processor cores and threads. Cinebench stresses the CPU rather than the GPU to render a complex image. The result is a proprietary score indicating a PC’s suitability for processor-intensive workloads.
The Inspire Mini PC scored in the expected range for its hardware. It’s not a chart-topper by any means, but the performance is there for lag-free multitasking. The same can’t be said of the low-wattage processors in the tiny ECS computers, which are best-suited for running one task at a time. The Azulle had no chance of catching the Lenovo or Intel desktops, with their higher-clocked chips supporting greater core and thread counts.
We also run a custom Adobe Photoshop image-editing benchmark. Using an early 2018 release of the Creative Cloud version of Photoshop, we apply a series of 10 complex filters and effects to a standard JPEG test image. We time each operation and, at the end, add up the total execution time. As with Handbrake, lower times are better here.
Photoshop is something that the Inspire Mini PC can do with its Core i5 processor. Applying complicated filters isn’t its forte, but it’ll get the job done. The 16GB of memory and SSD in our test unit greatly helped its performance here. In contrast, the two ECS systems could not complete this test.
Synthetic Graphics Tests
3DMark measures relative graphics muscle by rendering sequences of highly detailed, gaming-style 3D graphics that emphasize particles and lighting. We run two different 3DMark subtests, Sky Diver and Fire Strike, which are suited to different types of systems. Both are DirectX 11 benchmarks, but Sky Diver is more suited to laptops and midrange PCs, while Fire Strike is more demanding and made for high-end PCs to strut their stuff. The results are proprietary scores.
Next up is another synthetic graphics test, this time from Unigine Corp. Like 3DMark, the Superposition test renders and pans through a detailed 3D scene and measures how the system copes. In this case, it’s rendered in the company’s eponymous Unigine engine, offering a different 3D workload scenario than 3DMark and a second opinion on the machine’s graphical prowess.
The Azulle’s Intel HD Graphics 620 integrated silicon struggled with both sets of benchmarks as expected. The most you could ask from it is browser-based gaming or much older titles. (Think 10-plus years back. Unreal Tournament 2004, anyone?)
Bringing Balance to Small PCs
The Inspire Mini PC is a well-rounded choice for a mini desktop. It boasts a fanless design for silent operation (as tested), small-enough dimensions that allow it to fit almost anywhere, and ample pep to complete everyday office tasks without lag. It offers easy access to its internal components, which is a big plus if you get the barebones model (that is, sans memory, storage, or an operating system) and add your own components.
The downside of its fanless design is that it gets hot in the Core i5 configuration we tested. This PC isn’t ideal for long-running tasks involving stress on the processor and requires some airflow to maintain good performance.
Pricewise, our $674 review model has appropriate hardware for the money given its fanless design and overall size. The barebones model is probably the most economical, although the component prices Azulle charges in its web store are reasonable. All told, the Inspire Mini PC’s small footprint, silent operation, and everyday usability make it, dare we say, an inspirational choice for a mini PC. It’s aptly named, indeed.
