This is a finicky device to install Windows on. It is a decent middle of the road PC for running Carbide Software. It’s less expensive and readily available. I went with 8gb because I could pick up a starter package with power supply and memory on Amazon. It’s available with 16 GB from the Icewhale store.
I added a 4 port USB 3 hub. Also I have a Raspberry Pi Keyboard and Mouse I use often when moving it between PCs. The Keyboard has a 3 port USB hub in it as well but I believe its USB 2.0.
You will might also need a min DP to HDM adapter depending on the monitor you choose.
Note this uses a wired network connection, you can add Wifi in a few different ways.
-USB dongle or PCIE
Currently I have a PCIE WIfi 6 card on it.
My intent is to get it setup and then pull the internet connection. Keeping it offline will ensure it keeps running and there are minimal risks to the system save the files I move to it.
This will be a stand alone work station.
In the end I installed windows 10 and 11 to see if I could.
Windows 10 was far easier, but will go EOL in October 2025. It just took time, with reboots and such. Don’t stop the process.
For Windows 11 I had to get around some issues.
Icewhale has a document on getting 11 installed here:
I found an article on using Rufus after the fact that can make the process less work. Specifically disabling the Microsoft Sign-in requirement.
In the end at first it would not sync with the cheap 4k TV I was as a monitor, so I had to guess at some rebooting. I found a battery powered 12 inch travel TV that just synced up no matter what it did.
I was then able to set the default resolution of the non working monitor and got it running.
I then bought a Windows 11 license and activated it.
So why work so hard to get this odd PC working with Windows? Simple It is a fanless computer that runs well for long periods of time. This makes it extremely shop friendly.
I have others of this PC running a cloud farm as NAS devices.
Mount it in a safe place where saw dust won’t pile up on it, use a usb drive to transfer files, it will run Carbide Motion well and can have a copy of Carbide Create for quick local edits.
I’m hosting a WIKI and running a notes app as well.
This is replacing a Mac Mini core Solo circa 2006 running Bootcamp to Windows 10. More like crawling at glacial speeds, with a fan that overheats and locks up.
If you are not as much of a tinkerer and looking for a reasonably priced PC. The Atari VCS game console is a low power Ryzen PC that can be made to run Windows from a USB drive. They are on sale for $79 right now. If you want some controllers it’s $99 on the Atari site.
Keep in mind both of these systems are BYO monitor, mouse and keyboard, plus Windows License.
Will you help me set this up? No
I experiment with low power computing, this is an experiment that went well. Your millage may very.