My Favorite Desktop. – Compulab Airtop 3 Review

[AlexTheGreatish]

The Compulab Airtop 3 is completely passively cooled while sporting an Intel i9-9900K and an Nvidia Quadro RTX 4000... sounds toasty. Have Compulab actually managed to keep it cool?

 

Buy the Compulab Airtop 3:
From Compulab: https://lmg.gg/airtop

 

 

[Deli]

I wish it also has an 2700X/3700X version. Nothing against Intel. Just the 9900K only do 3.7GHz all core is a bit of a waste. A 3700X will probably be just as fast but cheaper.

[Uttamattamakin]

Wow... If that had been the new Mac Pro  it would set a new standard for a powerful desktop.   Did not catch if it has thunderbolt 3 but with built in and upgrade able GPU what else would it be needed for.  Just about anything can be connected via USB or a dongle that connects to USB other than a GPU. 

 

This ... could be the hackintosh pro IF it had an AMD GPU. 

[nideii]

I just couldn't open the website, lol. As in the video, for usd 2k with cpu, ssd and memory, it looks like for the cooling system alone is slightly higher to an high-end custom water loop.

 

But I think the shipping cost will be super higher, since I was living outside of the US. RIP.

[woowee]

Yea as stated, a dual gpu version would have been the mac pro that actually deserved its name.

 

 

[imcaspar]

First off: A great video, Alex! Clearly the best one you have done in a while.

 

Actually I find it amazing how this little computer can handle all the heat at such a small size.

Maybe ordering an option without GPU and installing an Gefore RTX could be an option.

 

But one thing caught my interest: Is it normal, that you can run an i9 9900k on a C236 chipset? I thought those would be for low end xeons?

 

EDIT: If you look it up on Intels Ark side, it only lists the 300series consumer chipsets. Is Compulab doing something special?

[Thanos Mourtzoukos]

Where i STUFF my money to get one ???

(also what is that serial connector i want a PC for network administration and i think a lower model might be a good solution)

[AlexTheGreatish]

8 hours ago, caspar! said:

First off: A great video, Alex! Clearly the best one you have done in a while.

 

Actually I find it amazing how this little computer can handle all the heat at such a small size.

Maybe ordering an option without GPU and installing an Gefore RTX could be an option.

 

But one thing caught my interest: Is it normal, that you can run an i9 9900k on a C236 chipset? I thought those would be for low end xeons?

 

EDIT: If you look it up on Intels Ark side, it only lists the 300series consumer chipsets. Is Compulab doing something special?

They made their own motherboard, and tbh I have no clue what they did to get the 9900K to work.  Guessing it's just BIOS stuff but those guys are legit engineers in every way.

[imcaspar]

2 hours ago, AlexTheGreatish said:

They made their own motherboard, and tbh I have no clue what they did to get the 9900K to work.  Guessing it's just BIOS stuff but those guys are legit engineers in every way.

Thanks for the reply. Maybe you could make a video figuring it out

[f13dfx]

On 6/18/2019 at 11:49 AM, AlexTheGreatish said:

The Compulab Airtop 3 is completely passively cooled while sporting an Intel i9-9900K and an Nvidia Quadro RTX 4000... sounds toasty. Have Compulab actually managed to keep it cool?

 

Buy the Compulab Airtop 3:
From Compulab: https://lmg.gg/airtop

 

 

Great video! I am getting more & more into photography & video editing ever since I purchased my DJI Mavic 2 Pro last year & really hate waiting on time consuming renders with consumer/gaming GPUs.  Mainly using Adobe Premier Pro & Cyberlink PowerDirector.  Also plan on trying out DaVinci Resolve.  You made a comparison of the Quadro RTX 4000 to the RTX 2070.  I do the odd gaming driving/riding sim titles (MotoGP 19 & F1 2019) in 1080p.  This being the case (cost aside), would the Quadro RTX 4000 be a much better choice of GPU than the NVidia 1660Ti ?  

[Bacan Person]

Alex,

 

I like your review of the Compulab Airtop 3, and that you say your using it as your at home work machine.

 

I'm looking for a machine with many of the same features and it as been almost a year since your review of the machine.

 

Before I order mine, could you do a "It has been a Year since..." review, and let us know if your still happy about the machine?

 

If you can't get to doing a follow up video before mid-June, could you answer in a REPLY here. 

Looking to replace my way to old Win7  Intel e6800 machine soon.

 

Thanks

Bacan Person

 

[AlexTheGreatish]

1 hour ago, Bacan Person said:

Alex,

 

I like your review of the Compulab Airtop 3, and that you say your using it as your at home work machine.

 

I'm looking for a machine with many of the same features and it as been almost a year since your review of the machine.

 

Before I order mine, could you do a "It has been a Year since..." review, and let us know if your still happy about the machine?

 

If you can't get to doing a follow up video before mid-June, could you answer in a REPLY here. 

Looking to replace my way to old Win7  Intel e6800 machine soon.

 

Thanks

Bacan Person

 

I have the Airtop 2 at my place and it's been going strong since 2018.  The price is a pretty tough pill to swallow, but it also is soooo well engineered I quite like having it around.  I'm not sure I can give it a full recommendation simply because you can get something with similar power a lot cheaper, but the complete silence is so cool.  Also the Airtop 3 has been living in the workshop at the office and it has been wicked to just not worry about dust destroying it.

[aisle9]

On 6/18/2019 at 2:49 PM, AlexTheGreatish said:

The Compulab Airtop 3 is completely passively cooled while sporting an Intel i9-9900K and an Nvidia Quadro RTX 4000... sounds toasty. Have Compulab actually managed to keep it cool?

[Bacan Person]

First, thanks for answering my Post.

 

Yes, I understand the $ penalty for silence and well engineered products.  Being a semi-nomadic independent consultant/developer of embedded firmware, the Gov't will pay for part of the cost as a tax deduction, since it is a business machine.  The cost per year will work out since I hold on to systems for a long while. 

 

This will be a work-station, not a gamer machine.  So I'm looking to balance CPU, Graphics board choice, and lots of SSDs & HDDs installed verses the urge to spend lots of money on bleeding edge.  That was in my earlier years, always chasing bleeding edge tech.  

 

My Balancing Acts:

 

RAM -- Having four(4) slots for RAM means 16GB now in two(2) slots, and another 16GB in a couple of years down the line in the other 2 open slots, should last me for another 6-8 years.

 

CPU -- i7 vs i9, not sure which.  Will industry & software developers make getting the i9 worth the upgrade cost in terms of $$$s, Power and HEAT.

 

GRAPHICs -- Not into Gaming, but having two(2) or three(3) 4K monitors would be nice to replace or add to my current three HD 1920x1280 monitors. 

                      (Can never have enough screen real estate.)  So which card will mean lots of eMails to the Manufacturer to get the best solution.

 

MASS STORAGE -- at last count, due to backups, about a dozen drives (SATA i/f), so 30+TB total, 5TB actual unique. Looking for 4-6 SATA, plus a few other SSD plug-ins.

 

OS -- Shifting away from anything MicroSoft(still using Win7), going to multi-boot Linux( Debian or Mint) and Hackintosh.

 

 

Your thoughts and comments on CPU ( i7 vs i9)  and Mid-Range GRAPHICs solutions supporting 3 or 6 monitors would be most helpful.

 

 

Thank you, and enjoy your YouTube posting for years now

Bruce Bac'an Person

 

Edited May 19, 2020 by Bacan Person
Clarify "worth the cost" statement to mean more than just cost.

[smittycodes]

@AlexTheGreatish+3 years later.... have you attempted to upgrade the GPU in yours?

 

I have the Airtop3 and have managed to get it working as a hackintosh with the iGPU (9900k) but was thinking of putting in a RX 6600 (which is 132w TDP so close to the 125w TDP of the 1660 Super). Compulab's FAQ makes it seem like a journey... one that I imagine you can take in that workshop