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Cirrus7 Incus, a redesigned passively cooled mini-PC from German PC manufacturer Cirrus7, was originally released in October 2019. The company recently updated its lineup of Cirrus7 Incus models to support AMD Ryzen 9000 series CPUs [h/t FanlessTech].
Since our original coverage, the lineup has also been upgraded with Intel 14th Gen support, though the Ryzen 9000 series will likely be the more compelling choice for most users. Cirrus7 Incus' designs are all based directly on the ASRock DeskMini mini-PC designs, which use a custom Mini-STX motherboard and case—though Cirrus7 is using a highly overhauled design for its passive cooling aims with Incus.
Cirrus7 highlights in its official documentation that the three distinct cooling designs (Standard Edition, Extended Cooling Edition, and Extreme Cooling Edition) are passive cooling solutions with thermal mass and case dimensions corresponding to intended workloads. The Extreme Cooling design is intended for full-time, high-wattage use with CPUs like the Ryzen 7 9700X, while the other designs are more appropriate for lower-power APUs. However, Extended Cooling or better is likely best for chips with a Radeon 780M iGPU or better.
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| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Standard Cooling Model with AMD X300** | Extended Cooling Model with AMD X600** | Extreme Cooling Edition with Intel B760** |
| Dimensions* | 20.2 x 17.9 x 12.4 cm | 20.2 x 17.9 x 14.8 cm | 20.2 x 17.9 x 17.2 cm |
| Front I/O | 1 USB 3.1 Type-C port, 1 USB 3.1 Type-A port, 1 mic jack, 1 headphone jack | 1 USB 3.1 Type-C port, 1 USB 3.1 Type-A port, 1 mic jack, 1 headphone jack | 1 USB 3.2 Type-C port, 1 USB 3.2 Type-A port, 1 mic jack, 1 headphone jack |
| Rear I/O | 1 VGA port, 1 HDMI 2.0 port, 1 DisplayPort 1.4 port, 1 USB 3.1 Type-A port, 1 USB 2.0 Type-A port, 1 Gigabit Ethernet port | 1 VGA port, 1 HDMI 2.1 port, 1 DisplayPort 1.4 port, 1 USB 3.1 Type-A port, 1 USB 2.0 Type-A port, 1 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port | 1 VGA port, 1 HDMI 2.0 port, 1 DisplayPort 1.4 port, 1 USB 3.2 Type-C port, 2 USB 3.2 Type-A ports, 2 USB 2.0 Type-A ports, 1 Gigabit Ethernet port |
| CPU Platform Support | AMD X300 (AM4 APUs), AMD X600 (AM5 Ryzen 8000/9000 CPUs), Intel B760 (Intel Raptor Lake CPUs) | AMD X300 (AM4 APUs), AMD X600 (AM5 Ryzen 8000/9000 CPUs), Intel B760 (Intel Raptor Lake CPUs) | AMD X300 (AM4 APUs), AMD X600 (AM5 Ryzen 8000/9000 CPUs), Intel B760 (Intel Raptor Lake CPUs) |
| Maximum RAM Configuration | Up to 96 GB DDR5-5600 MT/s RAM OR up to 64 GB DDR4-3200 MT/s RAM depending on platform, using 2 SO-DIMM slots | Up to 96 GB DDR5-5600 MT/s RAM OR up to 64 GB DDR4-3200 MT/s RAM depending on platform, using 2 SO-DIMM slots | Up to 96 GB DDR5-5600 MT/s RAM OR up to 64 GB DDR4-3200 MT/s RAM depending on platform, using 2 SO-DIMM slots |
| Maximum Storage Configuration | Up to two SATA SSDs and up to two M.2 (NVMe) drives. | Up to two SATA SSDs and up to two M.2 (NVMe) drives. | Up to two SATA SSDs and up to two M.2 (NVMe) drives. |
| Wireless Technology | Bluetooth 5.2 and Wi-Fi 6 supported with optional antenna | Bluetooth 5.2 and Wi-Fi 6 supported with optional antenna | Bluetooth 5.2 and Wi-Fi 6 supported with optional antenna |
*Technically based on but considerably changed from various models of ASRock DeskMini mini-PCs, ranging from DeskMini X300 and DeskMini X600, which use AMD CPUs, and DeskMini B760, based on an Intel platform.
**Any "Cooling Edition" can be used with any platform—this distinction is made to illustrate dimension and I/O differences between otherwise identical PCs more clearly.
The cheapest starting configuration, including the full-fat Ryzen 9700X and Extreme Cooling Edition design, starts at 1076€ Euros and includes 8GB of DDR5-4800 RAM and a 250GB Samsung 980 NVMe 3.0 drive. While the starting memory and storage specs are relatively humble, these specifications can be configured much higher, with plenty of storage configuration options available thanks to 4 total SSD connectors (2 SATA, 2 NVMe M.2).
For those who are fans of passive cooling and mini-PC designs, the Cirrus7 Incus may be a winner for its cooling capacity, compact size, and reasonably balanced aesthetics. The acceptable pricing will, of course, vary depending on the buyer. However, we recommend that those interested in PC gaming opt for an AM5 APU with an onboard Radeon 780M rather than a Radeon 7 9700X configuration with a weaker iGPU. Unfortunately, eGPU options don't look great with this mini PC, so be extra wary of the balance between CPU and iGPU you're picking at checkout.
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