Qotom 10Gbase-T Mini PC Power Consumption and Noise
Despite a low power SoC, we get a 60W Dajing DC power supply.
At idle the package power consumption was reported in the 0.6-1.1W range in the OS and at the system level we were at 13-15W. Under load, we saw 3GHz maximum CPU frequency. That pushes our package power consumption to 9.5W to 10W. At the system level under load we were in the 38-40W range.
On the subject of noise, at idle in our 34dba noise floor studio we were at 39-41dba. This is not a silent unit. Under load, it went up to 40-42dba.
I wish this was either a fully fanless system or was running nearly silently. We had it running while doing the video, and I could hear it running next to me even at idle.
Key Lessons Learned
There is a lot to like in this system, but there are a few things I wish were different. The NIC enumeration was just strange and they should all show up matching the OS order and the physical NIC order.
As mentioned, the fan is one where I feel mixed on. It is not cooling the CPUs or NICs. Instead, it is there for the memory, storage, and a WWAN option. It is a bummer since I would have preferred this as a fanless system. The benefit, is that I would rather have a fan than having cooling issues. I wish this had a standard fan header so it could be swapped for something quieter, or really that it was just silent.
The Intel Core 3 N355 is such a minor performance upgrade that I am not really sure why this refresh happened. On these systems, if there was availability or a lower cost on the N305 version, I would just get that and not look back.
I think the 10Gbase-T is a solid addition. For a storage or higher-end networking box, I actually prefer the C3758R version we looked at previously. It is a slower CPU but with QAT acceleration and more I/O. Still, when we reviewed that, many wanted 10Gbase-T and a faster CPU, and this new Qotom system checks both those boxes.
We also had some folks look at that previous system and lament that the ASPEED graphics were slow for a desktop, as was the CPU. I still greatly prefer P-cores for desktop usage, but the combination of the newer generation E-cores, having 8 cores, and the Intel iGPU makes for a very usable desktop use case with this iteration.
Final Words
I have to say, I really like this box. It has a lot to offer, but there are also obvious limitations. Having only 9 PCIe lanes on the platform means we do not get high-speed storage, and with only one SODIMM memory capacity it limited. On the other hand, I know many of our readers just want something with 10GbE networking and with two 10Gbase-T ports storage can be delivered over the network instead of locally. I get that. The N355 while a big upgrade over Denverton, was a refresh cycle let down over the N305, but it is still a very capable CPU.
Price wise, the N355 barebones system often sells for $292-306 depending on where you look. We are going to call it $300 plus tax and shipping. There are also versions with the N305, N150, and N100. The N100 version can sometimes be found for around $200 so if you just want a virtualized OPNsense or pfSense NAT box, then the N100 is probably a decent option.
Overall though, we have had this system running Proxmox VE for the last 3 weeks and we have ended up using it much more often than I would have thought over that time. I can certainly see why folks wanted a configuration like this when we reviewed the previous generation system.
Where to Buy
We found the N355 version on Amazon (affiliate link) with options ranging from barebones to configured. Usually the N305 is easier to get and offers almost the same performance at a few dollars less. (Amazon affiliate link.)
For those looking for a less expensive option, the N100 quad core version is usually around 2/3rds the price of the N355. Here is an Amazon Affiliate link to that one. The N150 is usually a few dollars more (Amazon Affiliate link.)
I’d ask the designers why copper 10GbE instead of SFP+?
Is it compatible with OPNsense or pfSense?
The AQC113C is currently not supported by OPNsense or pfSense, as there is no official FreeBSD driver for it yet. While some Aquantia chips like the AQC107 are partially supported, the AQC113C requires a different driver that hasn’t been integrated into FreeBSD. For a reliable home firewall setup, it’s strongly recommended to use an Intel NIC (such as the i350 or X520), which is fully supported and stable.
Typically, you would use the 2.5GbE NICs for pfSense or OPNsense on a device of this class. So think of it more like you can run a pfSense or OPNsense as one VM on a Proxmox VE hypervisor and use the 10GbE for storage since you do not have a lot of local M.2 storage.
Does the I226-V have decent Linux support yet? Often see complaints it has poor performance under Linux.
More rubbish direct from China. The idle power consumption is way too high like most of these types of device. These chips are used in laptops which don’t even draw that much power at idle with Wi-Fi connected, audio and the LCD screen on! It’s about time Serve The Home started calling them out on this, these should idle at a few watts. They cut corners with the design and we got hand warmers.
The fan is a typical China last minute, we don’t care, hacked solution to an overheating problem. It has an intake grill but no exhaust grill, so its just spinning in hot air and doing very little except making noise and using more power.
If these boxes were designed correctly and so during periods of idle time dropped to a few watts, they would run cooler and give that metal more capacity to sink heat when the CPU ramps up.
I know the Intel spec sheet says 16GB max but it would be interesting to see if this can work with a 32GB DIMM.
2.5Gb firewall VM for most is just gonna use 2 of those cores and maybe 4GB. If you’ve got 8 cores that’s a waste of your not virtualization
You can virtualize the Aquantia NIC’s with Proxmox or KVM. I have a quad Aquantia 5Gb NIC that isn’t supported by FreeBSD. I simply run Ubuntu Server and 1 KVM based OPNSense VM and manage it with Cockpit. I don’t need all of the mass management of Proxmox, so I pared it down to a basic Cockpit GUI. Works great.
Just a heads up that Qotom is promoting this on Amazon as compatible for pfSense and OPNSense, but as the earlier post from Vince states, those OS’es do not support the 2 Marvell/Aquantia 10GbE ports. You will need to virtualize the system to use thos ports.
Since I’m looking for a 10GbE solution for a firewall (5Gb fiber service), this doesn’t meet the boxes, as right now my firewall of choice is opnsense/pfsense.
The FreeBSD Aquantia driver has been dropped by Marvell for the last 3 years to focus on Windows/Linux support. Several open requests to support FreeBSD again, but I’m guessing like almost all absorbed companies, the parent company doesn’t gives a damn about product support and just wants to milk what they have without additional effort.
A couple of questions:
1. Am I reading this right that you can use this for Opnsense on the 4 2.5g ports, but not the 10g ports?
2. The links provided show the box available with the N305, but not the N355. Is the 355 not in broad distribution yet?
RTL8127 is supposedly “right behind the corner” a whole PCIe card for $15. I guess we’ll have to wait a bit longer