Logic Supply ML100G-30 Fanless Broadwell vPro Industrial NUC Review
by Ganesh T S on April 29, 2015 11:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Systems
- Intel
- Fanless
- NUC
- Industrial PC
- Passive Cooling
- Logic Supply
Introduction and Setup Impressions
Passively cooled computing systems carry many advantages. Most of these turn out to be very important for industrial and embedded applications. The low power nature of the Intel NUCs make them the ideal candidate for passive industrial computing platforms. We have already reviewed a number of industrial PCs from vendors such as Aleutia, Habey USA and Logic Supply. Logic Supply was one of the first vendors to come out with an off-the-shelf passively cooled NUC. We reviewed their Haswell NUC last year and came away impressed. Today, we have their recently launched ML100G-30 passively cooled Broadwell vPro PC in for review.
The characteristics of the Broadwell i5 NUC (based on the Core i5-5250U) are well known to AnandTech readers, but the ML100G-30 we are reviewing today comes with the vPro variant of the Broadwell-U i5, namely, the Core i5-5300U.
The full specifications of our Logic Supply ML100G-30 review configuration are summarized in the table below.
| Logic Supply ML100G-30 Specifications | |
| Processor | Intel Broadwell Core i5-5300U (2C/4T @ 2.3GHz (Turbo 2.90 GHz), 14nm, 3 MB L2, 15W) |
| Memory | 1x 8GB DDR3L 1600 MHz |
| Graphics | Intel HD Graphics 5500 300 MHz / 900 MHz (Turbo) |
| Disk Drive(s) | 128 GB Transcend M.2 SSD |
| Networking | 1x Gigabit Ethernet, 2x2 802.11ac |
| Audio | Capable of 5.1/7.1 digital output with HD audio bitstreaming (mini-DP) |
| Operating System | Retail unit is barebones, but we installed Windows 8.1 Pro x64 |
| Pricing (As configured) | $919 |
| Full Specifications | ML100G-30 Specifications |
The Logic Supply ML100G-30 kit doesn't come with any pre-installed OS. The drivers and supporting software are available on their product support page. In addition to the main unit, the other components of the package include a 65 W (19V @ 3.42A) adapter, a US power cord, two 2.4 GHz / 5 GHz antennae for the Wi-Fi feature, adhesive rubber feet for the unit's base and a cable management tie along with some screws (probably for the wall mount / VESA mount - which is supported, but not included in our review package)
The gallery below takes us around the hardware in the unit.
In the table below, we have an overview of the various systems that we are comparing the Logic Supply ML100G-30 against. Note that they may not belong to the same market segment. Of particular interest are the Logic Supply Core ML320 and the Zotac ZBOX CI540 - both of them are passively cooled U-series UCFF PCs. The relevant configuration details of the machines are provided so that readers have an understanding of why some benchmark numbers are skewed for or against the Logic Supply ML100G-30 when we come to those sections.
| Comparative PC Configurations | ||
| Aspect | Logic Supply ML100G-30 | |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-5300U | Intel Core i5-5300U |
| GPU | Intel HD Graphics 5500 (Broadwell-U GT2) | Intel HD Graphics 5500 (Broadwell-U GT2) |
| RAM | Transcend TS1GSK64WSH 11-11-11-28 @ 1600 MHz 1x8 GB |
Transcend TS1GSK64WSH 11-11-11-28 @ 1600 MHz 1x8 GB |
| Storage | Transcend TS128GMTS800 (128 GB; M.2 Type 2280 SATA 6 Gb/s; 20nm; MLC) |
Transcend TS128GMTS800 (128 GB; M.2 Type 2280 SATA 6 Gb/s; 20nm; MLC) |
| Wi-Fi | Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 (2x2 802.11ac - 867 Mbps) |
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 (2x2 802.11ac - 867 Mbps) |
| Price (in USD, when built) | $914 | $914 |
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34 Comments
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Ammaross - Wednesday, April 29, 2015 - link
"Logic Supply HTPC use is not the market (I think) of the model they supplied."You must have missed the term "Industrial" in the title of the review....
mtnman81 - Tuesday, June 23, 2015 - link
Why would you use and industrial computer for a HTPC. Do you just have too much money? That is the only case I can think of. A regular NUC would be much more appropriate for a HTPC. I have one in that very role now. It is the 4th gen i5 model running a 250GB m.2 drive for xmbc and pulls all media files from the network. Without a actual disk needing to turn inside the enclosure it self, it stays extremely cool. The bios are set by default to only cue the fan when needed and running with 16gb DDR3 1600, displaying dual full HDX I am yet to see the fan be cued. The frame of the case being solid metal you can feel that there is nearly no heat to speak of when you hold your hand to it.That being said this is not the application I would ever look at one of the Logic Supply units for. Why would I pay twice as much to get a industrial one for home use when the consumer one fits the bill better anyway since it has built in IR receiver for a remote?
The Logic Supply models do make sense for the application they were intended for. As far as all of you saying that it doesn't have serial and it doesn't have this or that. It has all the interface ports needed for you to be able to adapt it to any application that this "should" be used for. I find it despicable that serial ports are so prevalent in automation. We are the technology side of industry so lets get with the times. I am glad they didn't waste interface real-estate with a dedicated serial port! As far a redundant network connections, your complaint is ridiculous as most automation controllers and proprietary HMI's don't even have redundant network connections. It does have built in Wi-Fi antenna sockets so you could always utilize that if necessary or use a USB to Ethernet adapter. This may industrial rated but it is not allowable as a safety controller and I can not imagine what other process you have that is so critical that you planning on this unit running as the backbone of a critical system. Perhaps you have not appropriately though out your process before you started specking hardware for install.
pekpetrolhead - Thursday, April 30, 2015 - link
Giada F300 is a similar unit to the above, been using as a HTPC for over a year, totally silent and very solid unit.Model
Giada F300
OS
Windows®7,8 & Linux
Processor
Intel® Core™ i5-4200U Processor, 2 Cores / 4 Threads
Chipset
Integrated into CPU
Display
Intel®HD Graphics 4400
Microsoft®DirectX®11
Memory
Not included
One SO-DIMM slot, up to 16GB of DDR3L 1600 MHz
HDD
Not included
Support 2.5inch SATA Ⅲ or SATA Ⅱ Type HDD
Wireless
Not included, optional IEEE 802.11 b/g/n module
LAN
1x Realtek®Gigabit Ethernet Controller
1x Rj45 port on the back pane
Audio
Realtek®High Definition Audio
(5.1) Digital audio via DisplayPort 1.2 connector
1x Audio out &S/PDIF combo jack on the front panel
1x Mic in jack on the front pane
Interface
4x USB3.0 (two on the back panel)
2x USB2.0 (on the back panel)
2x COM Port (one on the back panel)
1x DC-IN jack (19V /12V )
IR
An infrared sensor on the front panel
1x 3.5mm audio jack for extended infrared sensor
Not included Remote Control(Optional )
Size
10.3in x 6.9in x 1.4in
260mm x 175mm x 35mm
Color
Black
Beaver M. - Saturday, May 2, 2015 - link
These mini PCs all have one huge flaw: Not enough USB Ports. And if you want stability and reliability youre not going to start with USB hubs. Period.I rather build an ITX system that wont be much bigger (actually much flatter), has far more power (up to i7) more storage, more RAM and over 3 times as many USB ports.