The latest in Logic Supply’s continuing efforts in the realm of Silent Computing is the ML400 series, which features mini-ITX boards in robust, fanless cases. A close look at the ML400G-50, based around a mobile 4200M chip in the ASRock IMB-180 motherboard.



Product ML400G-50 Fanless mini-ITX system Manufacturer Logic Supply Base Price $871.20

While fanless PCs have been around for well over a decade, it’s only in recent

years that their full silent potential came to fruition with the descent of

solid state drive pricing into affordability. Logic Supply has been working

this sector for many years, with a signficant portion of their catalog devoted

to small, fanless, silent PCs, particularly for industrial and commerical use.

These systems are more powerful than ever before, despite their small size and

low power profile, thanks to improvements in CPU energy efficiency and sheer

computing power.

The latest of Logic Supply fanless system samples to arrive at SPCR is a mini-ITX

system sporting an Intel Core i5-4200M (Haswell) 2.5 GHz Processor, a middle-class

dual-core mobile processor launched in Q2 2013. The dimunitive 2.2 liter case

is the heatsink for the CPU; it siphons the heat to the all-aluminum cover for

convection cooling. The silver and bright orange may look familiar; it is the

same motif featured in the Logic

Supply ML300, a fanless NUC-based system.



Familar silver & oraange color motif for the ML400G.

Specifications: Logic Supply ML400G-50*

(from (from the

product web page Dimension 196 x 57 x 202 mm (2.25

liters)

7.71″ x 2.24″ x 7.95″ Motherboard mini-ITX (ASRock IMB-180) CPU Intel Core i5-4200M (Haswell)

2.5 GHz Processor: Socket G3 Chipset Intel® QM87 Memory Transcend SO-DIMM DDR3 1600

8GB LAN Intel I210 GbE

Intel I217LM GbE with vPro Audio Realtek ALC269 Graphics Intel HD 4000 Resolution (Max.) HDMI: 4096×2304 @ 24 Hz

Mini DP: 3840×2160 @ 60 Hz Expansion Slots 1 x mSATA slot

1 x Half-size mini-PCIe slot occupied by the WiFi+BT card

1 x SATA slot Front I/O 2 USB 2.0 ports

Power Button Rear I/O 1 HDMI port

2 DisplayPort

1 VGA port

4 USB 3.0 ports

2 Gb LAN ports

3 RS-232/422/485 COM ports

2 Audio jacks; line-out, mic-in Storage Emphase Enterprise MLC

mSATA SSD G5 128 GB Power Supply Power Adapter DC 12 V, 8.33

A, 100 W Level V efficiency Mounting DIN-mount

VESA-mount

Wall-mount Environment Operating Temperature: 0°C

~ 40°C *Different CPU, RAM & SSD options available.

Price of the above config at time of writing (w/o OS) was $1,077.85

The main advantage of a mobile processor is that it usually runs cooler than

a similar desktop part. The dual-core, hyperthreaded Intel Core i5-4200M has

a TDP of 37W, which is low, but not oustanding. The closest desktop comparables

in the Haswell lineup are Core i5-4570T and Core i5-4570TE, 2.9 and 2.7 GHz

variants of the same part, both rated at 35W. Interestingly, the volume price

on the 4200M is $225 while the prices of the 4570 desktop parts are lower, $192.

Admittedly, TDP isn’t the only factor that determines the cooling challenge

in a CPU. In Haswell and Ivy Bridge desktop CPUs, for example, the use of TIM

(instead of solder) between the heatspreader and the actual die has made them

run hotter than previous generations, despite similar TDP ratings. The mobile

4200M may be easier to cool because it doesn’t feature a heatspreader; the die

makes direct contact with the heatsink base, eliminating one layer of potential

thermal loss.

To use a mobile processor, the ASRock

IMB-180 board in this system is fitted with a rPGA947 socket. The ASRock

board is surprisingly full featured, with two gigabit LAN ports, 4x USB 3.0,

8x USB 2.0, and a full complement of 4x SATA3. Of course, there is room for

only one drive in the case, so all those extra SATA ports will remain buried

and unused.



The system came safely double-boxed in a plain cardboard carton.





Package contents: The ML400G, Seasonic “Level V” efficiency

12VDC 80W power brick, VESA brackets, power cord, screws and zip ties.

LOGIC SUPPLY ML400 LINEUP

Logic Supply says their customers come from a huge variety of industries. The

ML400 series offer a variety of partially or fully pre-configured solutions.

By pairing the new ML400 case with a variety of carefully selected motherboards

with varying IO and processing power, these pre-configured systems are intended

to provide feature sets apropos for their specific applications. The differences

among the models is summarized neatly by their descriptions on the

Logic Supply fanless systems listing:

ML400G-10: Bay Trail Celeron

ML400G-11: Ivy Bridge Celeron

ML400G-30: Haswell ULV Core i5

ML400G-50: Industrial Haswell Core i3/i5 Mini-ITX Computer



The multiple legacy ports immediately identify the industrial/commercial

role of this computer.

Detail shot showing the ribbed casing.

Some customer examples from Logic Supply:

“A customer in the medical field seeking a system like this for a medical

cart: It’s a point-of-use application, so it needs to be quiet, manageable

with minimal servicing and still have some horsepower for things like image

capture and multipurpose graphic display. “Some manufacturers need a PC that can stand up to the rigors of a shop

floor where dust and dirt, particulates and airborne contaminants can cripple

a system in no time. Because manufacturing equipment is so varied, the perfect

system for one client may not meet the needs of the next, so being able to

offer them a number of different configurations was important. “We have spoken with radio stations for use in studio booths —

again because it’s silent and should require less servicing than a comparable

fanned system, but still capable of running their DJ software. Another customer

is looking to use this as a desktop replacement system in mall conference

rooms to run multiple screens and AV equipment, where noise would be a noticeable

distraction.”

When asked whether a HDD is often chosen by the vendor rather than a

SSD…

“There was a time when storage capacity was a major contributor to customers

choosing an HDD over an SSD, but that gap is quickly closing. We still offer

HDDs because they can be cost-effective and do offer the greatest capacity

for applications that require it. “That said, we always recommend a solid state storage solution partly

because hard drives are one of the most common things to fail, especially

in vibration-prone environments. If you’re going with a fully-sealed system

to maximize reliability in dust-prone or mobile installations, you’ll certainly

want to pair it up with an SSD or other solid state storage options (many

of which we touched on in a recent blog post). In terms of eliminating noise,

once you take the fan out of the equation, the next step toward creating a

silent system is to eliminate the spinning platters of an HDD. As SSD capacity

continues to grow and prices continue to fall, we’re seeing more and more

customers move to fully solid state systems.”

Are components running hotter in your fanless PCs, and does this mean

higher failure rates?

“The short answer is, “no”. We’ve spent years developing custom

cases designed specifically to protect internal components without the need

for fans. Fanned systems require vents, which puts internal components at

risk from dust, debris, airborne particulate and chemicals carried into the

case on the circulating air. These can clog fans and short components, negatively

impacting performance and causing frequent failures. Fanless systems aren’t

subject to these performance impacting factors. Fanless systems are far more

reliable than their fan-cooled counterparts when designed and implemented

properly.”

Do you anticipate more fanless/silent industrial PC sales, and if so,

are they pirating sales from other types of PCs?

“The price gap between fanless and fanned systems has shrunk dramatically.

Customers who previously purchased consumer desktop towers and experienced

their traditionally high failure rates are making the switch to fanless hardware.

Silent, fanless computing was once a luxury that only huge corporations could

afford, but now the average factory owner who’s struggled with clogged fans

and failing hardware, or the sound-sensitive client who had to make due with

noisy fans and drives, is moving to fully-sealed, solid state technology.

There will likely always be a market for fanned systems, but as form factors

continue to shrink and users continue to put computers in more and more extreme

environments, the fanless market will continue to expand in kind.”

Note that unlike the ML300 for NUC and ML200 for Thin mini-ITX, the ML400 chassis

is not available for purchase as a discrete component. (At least not now.)

TESTING

I made an effort to open up the chassis, but after removing the 6 screws holding

the back IO panel, the two halves of the case did not want to part. A large

block of aluminum could be seen in the space between the CPU socket and the

top ribbed panel of the chassis. This was enough to tell us that some form of

clamping is used to effect the heat transfer. This is not rocket science, but

since the mechanical details were not clear, and I had no wish to break anything

(in case, for example, thermal glue was used) so I chose to close it back up.



Test configuration device listing.

Measurement and Analysis Tools

Timed CPU Benchmark Test Details

Adobe Photoshop : Image manipulation using a variety of filters, a derivation

of Driver Heaven’s Photoshop

Benchmark V3 (test image resized to 4500×3499).

: Image manipulation using a variety of filters, a derivation of Driver Heaven’s Photoshop Benchmark V3 (test image resized to 4500×3499). Eset NOD32 : In-depth virus scan of a folder containing 32 files of varying

size with many RAR and ZIP archives.

: In-depth virus scan of a folder containing 32 files of varying size with many RAR and ZIP archives. WinRAR : RAR archive creation with a folder containing 68 files of varying

size (less than 50MB).

: RAR archive creation with a folder containing 68 files of varying size (less than 50MB). iTunes : Conversion of an MP3 file to AAC.

: Conversion of an MP3 file to AAC. TMPGEnc Xpress : Encoding a XVID AVI file with VC-1.

: Encoding a XVID AVI file with VC-1. HandBrake: Encoding a XVID AVI file with H.264.

3D Performance Benchmarks

Testing Procedures

Our main test procedure involves and recording the various temperatures and fan speeds, power consumption, and noise level, with the system in various states as we deemed appropriate. This includes idle, H.264 and Flash playback, video encoding with TMPGEnc, and full CPU and GPU load using Prime95/CPUBurn and FurMark. This is followed by a series of both CPU (timed tests of real-world applications) and GPU-centric (gaming tests and synthetics) benchmarks.

Windows 7 Ultimate was installed without issue on the ML400G-50 system. Certain

services and features like Superfetch and System Restore are disabled to prevent

them from affecting our results. We also make note if energy saving features

like Cool’n’Quiet and SpeedStep do not function properly.

TEST RESULTS

The Logic Supply ML400G-50 drew modest amounts of power and ran warm, but cool

enough in normal use. Only under unlikely loads such as gaming and thermal stress

programs did the board and component temperatures approach higher risk levels.

Logic Supply ML400G-50 Measurements (Extended

Use) System State CPU MB PCH External* Power (AC) Idle 47°C 60°C 42°C 38°C 21W MPC-HC H.264 Playback 47°C 61°C 43°C 39°C 23W TMPGEnc Video Encoding 77°C 77°C 59°C 57°C 45W Resident Evil 5 Benchmark Demo 78°C 81°C 63°C 63°C 53W Prime95 83°C 80°C 61°C 60°C 47W Prime95 + FurMark 90°C 90°C 70°C 71°C 63W *measured at the hottest point on the top of the

machine

Ambient temperature: 20°C.

There’s no need for any tables or graphs depicting acoustic performance: Our

sample made no noise of any kind at any time during testing. This includes the

AC/DC adapter. It is possible that the adapter may have made some noise at some

point, but the level was low enough that we never noticed it, and as you probably

know we run an extremely quiet lab. (11 dBA in the anechoic chamber.)

Energy Efficiency Comparison (DC-DC powered systems)

The energy demand of the ML400G-50 was compared to other system that run on

external DC power adapters. Despite its mobile processor, it was not the most

frugal system.

CPU Performance

Performance is very good. The ML400G-50 betters all other mini PCs except for

the desktop i7-4770R equipped Gigabyte BRIX Pro.

GPU Performance

The i5-4200M runs Intel HD Graphics 4600, but this is obviously not quite the

same as the desktop version of the same graphics chip as the comparison scores

below show. We suspect that this is due to the GPU clock speed, which didn’t

stay at its default 400 MHz through testing. According to Intel, it’s capable

of pushing to 1.15 GHz under optimal thermal conditions. Ultimately it performed

more like a last generation Intel integrated chip, so expect only marginal framerates

at low resolutions for gaming. As you’d expect, it is not a good fit for serious

gaming, but runs Photoshop and H.264 video and fine.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Logic Supply ML400G-50 fulfills its promise of silent, competent computing

in a small minimalist package with a modest eco-footprint. Despite its bright,

attractive look, its true function is not in a living room but in the industrial

and commercial arena, as its legacy ports indicate. Everything about the package

suggests the ML400G-50 is well suited for the role, its external casing exuding

a confident air of long, robust productivity. The performance exceeds that of

any of the Intel NUCs and just about every mini-computer we’ve reviewed till

now. Certainly, as a general purpose corporate desktop PC, the ML400G-50 would

be more than up to the task, and the complete elimination of any noise producing

parts within would be a boon for most users. The ideal role, as Logic Supply

indicates however, is in more physically demanding environments where its dust

and grime resistance would eliminate concerns over maintenance and reliability.

The 80W >87% efficiency Seasonic power brick is a nice match, and although

this system does not set records for energy efficiency, its 21~49W typical AC

power draw range puts it well into the lowest power class for a PC of its capability.

All in all, Logic Supply has created a strong series of products in its ML400

line, and in this day of gargantuan corporate domination, we applaud the efforts

of this independent system integrator.

Our thanks to Logic Supply for the ML400G-50 sample.

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