The Asus Tinker System 3N is a small, fanless computer with a rugged design and a set of ports and expansion options that position it as a system that can be used in industrial settings, among other places.
While I don't normally give a lot of thought to industrial PCs, this model stands out in that it's built around an Asus Tinker Board 3 series single-board computer, which is part of a line of Tinker Board products that are basically the Asus answer to Raspberry Pi's computers. It's a compact system that can be used by hobbyists, educators, or for commercial applications.
There are actually a few different single-board computers in the Tinker Board 3 Series: a credit card-sized Tinker Board 3 and a slightly larger Tinker Board 3N with more ports and expansion options. It's the latter that Asus has tapped for use in the Tinker System 3N, which is basically a single-board PC squeezed into a small aluminum chassis with passive cooling, a few extra ports, and an area that can be used for customizations such as I/O cables or expansion boards.
Each member of the Tinker Board 3 family has the same processor though: a Rockchip RK3566 processor featuring four ARM Cortex-A55 CPU cores, Mali-G52 graphics, and an NPU that delivers up to 1 TOPS of AI performance.
Available with 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB of storage, the Tinker Board 3N and/or Tinker System 3N are also available with up to 64GB of eMMC flash storage and feature 16MB of PI flash and a microSD card reader.
Ports include:
Asus introduced the Tinker Board 3N last year, but the company has just launched the new Tinker System 3N, which the company says is "optimized for industrial use" with a MIL-STD-810H tested chassis that can withstand shocks, resilience, and temperatures ranging from -40 to 60°C.
The Tinker System 3N is also available with up to four optional COM ports, and features an M.2 2230 PCIe 2.0 x1/USB 2.0 E Key slot for an optional WiFi & Bluetooth module and support for an M.2 PCIe 3.0 x1/USB 3.0 B Key 3042/3052 cellular modem.
Since the Tinker System 3N is marketed as an industrial device though, I don't expect it to be as cheap as other single-board PCs or mini PCs with similar processors. For example, the previous-gen Tinker Board 2S and Tinker System 2 currently sell for $160 and $200, respectively.