Sapphire Edge HD 4H000-01-40G

Sapphire Edge HD Mini PC review

Back in 1965, Intel cofounder Gordon E Moore proposed that the number of chips that could be placed on an integrated circuit would double every two years thanks to shrinking manufacturing processes. This effectively doubles the speed of processors, and Moore's law has held up ever since. It does need amending, though. As dies become smaller, the residual lower-end chips get cheaper. Intel's ubiquitous Atom chip is an example of this; rather than making a more powerful processor, Intel made one that could run with minimal power, and thus the netbook was born. Paperback-sized Continuing this paradigm – let's call it Winchester's law – it holds up that everything should get physically smaller – not just processors. Half the power, half the size. Netbooks have been a big part of this trend, relying on tiny parts that just about do the job, rather than the uber components you find in power-hungry desktop PCs. The affirmation of this is Sapphire's Mini Edge HD. It's about the same size as an average paperback, and it's the smallest PC we've ever seen. It fits firmly in the 'net-top' category, meaning it's essentially a netbook without a screen. As is expected with such devices, there's an Atom Processor at its core; this time a dual-core D510.