Minix Neo Z100 (fanless mini PC)

Remarks

Hi everyone
Well I’m happy to report that everything works on that little machine out of the box, no adjustment needed (by contrast to a Dell Optiplex at work, for which I will also submit a report shortly) : display, ethernet, wifi, audio (through hdmi and jack)… etc. And it was also possible to preserve a small partition with the default windows 11 pro install it comes with, thanks the shrink option during the setup process, and now the dual boot is fine (F11 hot key).
I’m pleased with the overall performance, quite usable even with for 4 or 5 AppVms running, 2 browsers and multiple tabs, etc. And yes YT videos up to 1080p is ok, as it’s become the gold standard for many people ! External HDD connected over USB3 normally speedy as well.
Once the VMs are loaded, overall speed seems very close to what it was with Manjaro on a comparable machine.
Only downside shared with the vast majority of systems nowadays, you have to allow usb keyboard and mouse, which is understandably not recommended.
In a nutshell, just great for now !

Attachments

---
layout:
  'hcl'
type:
  'All In One'
hvm:
  'yes'
iommu:
  'yes'
slat:
  'yes'
tpm:
  '2.0'
remap:
  'yes'
brand: |
  MINIX Technology Limited
model: |
  MINIX NEO Z100-0dB
bios: |
  5.27
cpu: |
  Intel(R) N100
cpu-short: |
  FIXME
chipset: |
  Intel Corporation Device [8086:461c]
chipset-short: |
  FIXME
gpu: |
  Intel Corporation Alder Lake-N [UHD Graphics] [8086:46d1] (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
gpu-short: |
  FIXME
network: |
  Intel Corporation CNVi: Wi-Fi [8086:54f0]
  
  Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8125 2.5GbE Controller [10ec:8125] (rev 05)
memory: |
  16156
scsi: |

usb: |
  2
certified:
  'no'
versions:
  - works:
      'FIXME:yes|no|partial'
    qubes: |
      R4.2.0
    xen: |
      4.17.2
    kernel: |
      6.1.62-1
    remark: |
      FIXME
    credit: |
      FIXAUTHOR
    link: |
      FIXLINK
2 Likes

Thank for this HCL.

I’m happy to see an Intel N100 CPU workable with Qubes-OS !

Thank you for HCL and additional information. Can you please also fill a detailed report based on this template:

Example of user providing the answers is here. The more information the better, it may be helpful to other users, thank you.

1 Like

Hi , well here it is, sorry for the delay in answering (I’ve been fighting with my network printer !)
Installation

  • Disable SecureBoot : I did

Basic Input

  • Keyboard - works, it is a USB one
  • External USB mouse [if possible to check] - works as well
  • Touch-pad - works : tried a Logitech with BT dongle, it is reconized but doesn’t work
  • Display brightness change shortcuts - I have yet to try at home, and will report
  • Sound volume shortcuts - works
  • Keyboard led and keyboard brightness change shortcuts - works

Internet and bluetooth

  • Ethernet cable connection - works out of the box or actions were required? - works nothing to do
  • Ethernet cable connection - speed - N/A didn’t measure but seems fast
  • Wifi connection - works out of the box or actions were required? - works no action required, perfect
  • Wifi connection - speed, is reliable over the time? - reliable
  • Bluetooth - works out of the box or actions were required? - works works perfectly with audio device and also file transfers
  • Bluetooth - shows devices, connection process works, sound output or copying works.- works

Suspend

  • Suspend/Resume works - works out of the box or actions were required? - just works (very handy and difficult for many linux distros!)
  • Does resume breaks WiFi, if it does, how to recover it? - works (<5% of the time WiFi breaks and have to re-suspend
  • Does resume breaks Bluetooth, if it does, how to recover it? - you have to go again through the connect procedure

Video [increase VCPU to the qube before test]

  • Fullscreen and windowed video playback of youtube - 1080p is OK but more than that is drops frames
  • Video file playback of file using mpv/mplayer/smplayer - 1080p? Higher resolutions and bitrates? untested
  • Multiple displays configuration works (using available DP/Thunderbolt, HDMI or other video ports - untested

Audio

  • Speakers (sound playback) (was sys-audio used?) - works, no sys-audio used
  • Head-phones via 3.5" jack (works, automatically turns off speakers?) - works/works yes and again, it’s very handy
  • Sound output via HDMI - works, I’ve tested as well
  • Audio-optical (S/PDIF) output - untested

Fans

  • Are fans silent on idle? - N/A fanless pc
  • Are fans noisier than on Windows/Linux?. If they are, was thankfan or similar software tried? - N/A

Other

  • Have you tried running Windows 10 HVM qubes? - No
  • Does CPU boost seem to be working properly? - Yes

Specs: https://www.minix.com.hk/products/z100-0db-fanless-n100-mini-pc

Specifications

BIOS
AMI EFI X64

Dimensions (WxDxH)
123x120x46mm (4.84"x4.72"x1.81")

Weight (Net)
0.89 kg

Power Requirement
12V/3A DC-IN

Power Consumption
10-12W (Typical), 25-27W (Turbo)

Form Factor
Mini PC

Encloser
Metal Housing

Processor
Intel® Alder Lake-N Quad-Core N100 (Base Frequency 0.8GHz, Max Turbo Frequency 3.40GHz)

Graphics Engine
Intel® UHD Graphics

Display Output
2 x HDMI® 2.1, 3840X2160@60Hz

Memory Slot
1 x 260-pin DDR4 3200MHz SO-DIMM 4/8/16GB, upgradeable to 32GB Max

Features
Wake On LAN, AC Power Loss, RTC Wake Up

Storage
128/256/512GB M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe SSD, upgradeable to 4TB Max.

Ethernet
1 x RTL8125BG-CG 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet

LED Indicators
LEDs for Power, LAN (Active, Status)

WIFI/BT
Intel® Wireless-AX101 / AX201 (Dual Band AX Wi-Fi)

LAN Port
1 x RJ45, 10M/100M/1000M/2.5 Gigabit
Fast Ethernet

USB Ports
1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (Data Only, up to 10Gbps), 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A (10Gbps), 2 x USB 2.0

Audio Jack
3.5mm Mic-in and Headphone-out Combo Jack)

Antenna
2 x External Wi-Fi Antennas

Power Button
1 x Power Button

Reset Button
1 x Clear CMOS Button (Reset BIOS)

Power Jack
1 x 12V-19V DC-IN Jack

Certification
CE, FCC, RCM, RoHS

3 Likes

Thanks for the HCL report. I just submitted a pull request to add it.

1 Like