Two Fanless Intel Celeron N5105 4x 2.5GbE Options Reviewed

[Patrick]

where did you order this from?

This is what I ordered (barebones) 474.7US $ 28% OFF|2022 Intel I225 2.5g Mini Router I7 1165g7 I5 1135g7 6lan Rj45 2xddr4 Nvme Fanless Mini Pc Aes-ni Esxi Pfsense Firewall Computer - Barebone & Mini Pc - AliExpress

@elvisimprsntr You are right, maybe the Core i5 was the better option. These are big P cores, not E cores so even thermally constrained they will behave differently.

 

[ReturnedSword]

This is what I ordered (barebones) 474.7US $ 28% OFF|2022 Intel I225 2.5g Mini Router I7 1165g7 I5 1135g7 6lan Rj45 2xddr4 Nvme Fanless Mini Pc Aes-ni Esxi Pfsense Firewall Computer - Barebone & Mini Pc - AliExpress

@elvisimprsntr You are right, maybe the Core i5 was the better option. These are big P cores, not E cores so even thermally constrained they will behave differently.

@Patrick When you get this unit, for your review photos can you please take photos of the CPU side of the motherboard, and the chassis/copper plug side as well? I would like to see if at least if the chassis lines up with the CPU package a bit better this time.

I don’t know about the ODM continuing to use this chassis though. The chassis design can already barely cope with a 10W Jasper Lake. Tiger Lake is more wattage, with TDP-down 12W, TDP-up 28W.

 

[nabsltd]

But if it’s thermally constrained, is it really “better?”

Even if the i7-1165G7 is throttled down to half its max, it will still be 30% faster than the i3-10110U.

I suspect, too, that unless you are using serious VPN, etc., that having double the threads will make basic firewall duties much, much smoother, and won't come close to thermal throttling.

 

[skimikes]

I have both a Topton N6005 4-port unit (CW-N6000) and a N5105 6-port unit (CW-N11).
I'm actively using the CW-N6000 model now. With anything but Samsung memory, I had random crashes. With Samsung memory, the unit has been stable running proxmox + pfsense plus for >28 days. At this point, I need to reboot it to pick up some proxmox package updates and get the new version of pfsense+ into place.

Based on what I have read above, when I am done with the CW-N11 testing, I'm going to swap it in and pull the CW-N6000 for a little more investigation. I never bothered to check if I received an ES model. Also, I need to check the thermals on it - "sensors" indicates it is idling around 48C so I imagine it is in a similar state and probably needs to be repasted. NVME drive idles at 62C so it's probably better to just go with a plain old SSD as someone else suggested, or drop a fan in the bottom of the unit (so much for fanless).

With the CW-N11 (N5105 proc), the processor would idle around 50C with C-states enabled and would jump straight to 105C as soon as I started a prime95 blended test. I pulled the unit apart and there was a ~1mm thick thermal pad between the processor and the copper plate. I pulled that off and removed the copper plate and there was little to no thermal paste between the copper plate and the chassis; it seemed more like they caulked paste around the edges of the plate. I used CM Mastergel Maker on both sides of the copper plate and the system now idles around 36C and never gets above 70C on the prime95 small fft max heat/power test.

 

[skimikes]

Observation with the Topton N6005 CW-N6000 unit on 24-hour idle temps:

Seated horizontally:

coretemp-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
Package id 0:  +48.0°C  (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Core 0:        +47.0°C  (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Core 1:        +47.0°C  (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Core 2:        +46.0°C  (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Core 3:        +46.0°C  (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)

acpitz-acpi-0
Adapter: ACPI interface
temp1:        +27.8°C  (crit = +119.0°C)

nvme-pci-0100
Adapter: PCI adapter
Composite:    +61.9°C  (low  =  -0.1°C, high = +82.8°C)
                       (crit = +83.8°C)
Sensor 1:     +54.9°C  (low  = -273.1°C, high = +65261.8°C)
Sensor 2:     +55.9°C  (low  = -273.1°C, high = +65261.8°C)

Seated vertically:

coretemp-isa-0000
Adapter: ISA adapter
Package id 0:  +45.0°C  (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Core 0:        +43.0°C  (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Core 1:        +43.0°C  (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Core 2:        +43.0°C  (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)
Core 3:        +43.0°C  (high = +105.0°C, crit = +105.0°C)

acpitz-acpi-0
Adapter: ACPI interface
temp1:        +27.8°C  (crit = +119.0°C)

nvme-pci-0100
Adapter: PCI adapter
Composite:    +56.9°C  (low  =  -0.1°C, high = +82.8°C)
                       (crit = +83.8°C)
Sensor 1:     +49.9°C  (low  = -273.1°C, high = +65261.8°C)
Sensor 2:     +50.9°C  (low  = -273.1°C, high = +65261.8°C)

Just by placing the unit vertically, it shaves 3C off the processor temp and 5C off the NVMe drive.

 

[joshenders]

Just purchased one of these: 145.76US $ 49% OFF|Pfsense Firewall N5105 Router 4x Intel I225-v B3 2.5g Lan 2xddr4 Nvme Industrial Fanless Mini Pc 4xusb Hdmi2.0 Opnsense Pve Esxi - Barebone & Mini Pc - AliExpress (after another great review from STH).

I intend to flash the programmable memory with coreboot using a chip programmer. ETA September. I'll report back.

 

[crzdmniac]

Just purchased one of these: 145.76US $ 49% OFF|Pfsense Firewall N5105 Router 4x Intel I225-v B3 2.5g Lan 2xddr4 Nvme Industrial Fanless Mini Pc 4xusb Hdmi2.0 Opnsense Pve Esxi - Barebone & Mini Pc - AliExpress (after another great review from STH).

I intend to flash the programmable memory with coreboot using a chip programmer. ETA September. I'll report back.

I have this same unit coming, I'm curious as to your results with Coreboot once you receive your unit.

 

[bleebl33]

@joshenders how did it go with flashing coreboot? I'd definitely want to do that. I still have the cable kit from when I flashed coreboot onto my Thinkpad Carbon X1 a few years ago.

N5105 are on a BF deal today. "WooYi" on Aliexpress has N5105 with 16Gb and 1Tb nvme storage for $204 shipped. I'll try to remember to update this post if I ever actually get it. (Update: I got it) It's my first purchase on AE and I remember Patrick saying shipping can take months in the STH review (love the YT channel, keep up the good work).

It's probably common knowledge around here but they basically rejected my Chase credit card unless I was willing to submit a scan of my drivers license. I tried again with Paypal and that went through. I'm in the US and was using a resedential ISP.

I'll have to figure out how to check for an ES bit under Linux, as I'm planning to run opnsense on PVE.

 

[Starbomba]

After so many videos, i decided to jump the ship and buy one of these little monsters. I went with a N5105 with no storage and no RAM, because i have some leftover stuff here, however i am wondering how useful would be 32 GB on this machine. I do plan to have Proxmox and virtualize Pihole and Pfsense, maybe something more down the road but for now my plans are really modest. What else could i do with this machine that needs 32 GB RAM (2x16 GB sticks) as opposed to 16 GB (2x8 GB sticks)?