利用者:リルテミアス/sandbox

ミニPC（またはミニチュアPC、ネットトップ、スマートマイクロPC）は、ウェブブラウジング、ウェブベースのアプリケーションへのアクセス、文書処理、オーディオ/ビデオ再生などの基本的なタスクのために設計された、小型で安価、低消費電力、 レガシーフリーデスクトップ コンピュータである。

ネットトップという言葉は、ネットワークとデスクトップの合成語である。ネットブックのデスクトップ版に相当する。現代（2020年頃）のミニPCやスモール・フォーム・ファクタPCは、ハイエンドのラップトップ・コンポーネントやミッドレンジのデスクトップ・コンポーネントを搭載しており、よりパワフルなものとなっている 。 通常のデスクトップ・コンピュータに比べ、ネットトップは小型で安価なだけでなく、消費電力も大幅に少ない。 例えば、CompuLabのfit-PC2は消費電力が8ワット以下であるのに対し、一般的なデスクトップは100ワット以上もの電力を簡単に消費する。その結果、ネットトップは冷却の必要性が大幅に減り、完全にファンレスになることさえある。中には光ディスクドライブを搭載せず、ソリッドステートドライブを採用し、完全な無音化を実現しているものもある。 そのトレードオフは、ハードウェアの仕様と処理能力が通常低下することであり 、 したがってネットトップは、複雑なアプリケーションやリソース集約型のアプリケーションの実行には適していない。

歴史

2000年代半ばから後半にかけて起こったミニPCデバイスの「第一波」では、それらは一般的に「ネットトップ」と呼ばれていた。これには、上で見たAcer AspireRevoのようなデバイスが含まれ、2台目のPCが必要なユーザーや発展途上国での使用のために、低価格の一種の「一時的な代用」PCであると一般的に考えられていた。また、当時は「非効率なPCに取って代わる」thin-clientベースの常時オンラインコンピュータへの足がかりとして使われるという考え方も一般的だった。

Netbooks as predecessors

A Gigabyte BRIX

As demand for these devices quickly waned, the industry responded by addressing the chief complaint that these devices would be better as portable devices such as a new form of laptop. The result was the netbook, a device which was considered the true future of the nettop. However, prevailing attitudes and economic issues in 2008 onward made these popular due to their low cost and portability along with the then-expanding feature-set. In August 2009, reports from reviewers were that a netbook of the time and a traditional laptop of the same price were otherwise identical.

The direct lineage between netbooks and nettops meant that the concept of a "net-" prefix was considered a failed idea. Devices such as Chromebooks, tablet PCs, Ultrabooks and other devices responded by branding themselves as a different type of device such as ChromeOS being exclusively a pure web client or the proposal that the ultrabook succeeded by compensating for its lighter weight and otherwise equal-performance parts with a higher price tag, but in 2015, a revival of the concept came about from a likely unrelated source, a technological form of convergent evolution. Via the likely-observed success of the stick PC, the idea of combining a system on a chip with a single-board computer has led to a continuation of the nettop's original product goals. Mini PCs such as the MINIX Z83-4 or the Azulle Access Plus are exclusively referred to as "mini PCs", despite being identical or near-identical on paper to the nettop architecture.

ハードウェア

Mac Mini 2020 (M1)

There are several platforms that are primarily intended for nettops and netbooks:

• Intel's Atom platform
• Nvidia's Ion platform
• Intel's Core platform
• AMD's APU platform
• Apple's Mac Mini
• VIA's Trinity Platform

Some nettops have also adopted system-on-a-chip designs. Although many major parts such as chipsets, video cards and storage devices can also be found on desktops, the CPUs that are put inside nettops are the fundamental component that differentiate them from normal desktops. The list below contains a range of hardware components that a typical nettop may be assembled from.

• CPU

  Intel Atom, Intel Core (x86)

  VIA Nano and VIA C7 processors (x86)

  AMD APU (x86)

  AMD Geode (x86)

  ARM Cortex-based CPU (ARM)

  Loongson (MIPS)

• GPU

  Intel GMA 950

  Intel UHD Graphics

  S3 Graphics Chrome

  GeForce 9400M G (integrated into MCP79MX; Nvidia Ion platform)

  AMD Radeon HD 6310

  ATI Radeon HD 4530

  PowerVR

• Chipset

  945GSE and 945GC Express chipsets

  MCP79MX (integrated GeForce 9400M G GPU; Nvidia Ion platform)

  VIA VX800 IGP Chipset

• Storage devices

  2.5" hard disk drive

  Solid-state drive (SSD)

• Network

  Ethernet and/or Wi-Fi

• I/O ports

  LAN, USB, video out, audio out

Intel's Atom processor has been adopted by several hardware manufacturers, such as ASUS, MSI, and Sony, for nettops. Nvidia has also released its first generation ION platform, which puts GeForce 9400M Motherboard GPU alongside the Atom processor to provide better high definition video playback ability and lower power consumption. In addition, Nvidia has announced that it will support VIA's CPUs this year. To further reduce the manufacturing cost and improve power efficiency, many manufacturers and start-up companies have chosen to use CPUs that were originally targeted at embedded computing devices such as AMD's Geode and ARM Cortex-based CPUs.

オペレーティングシステム

Many net-top models are x86-processor-based and as such are capable of running standard PC OSes. There are also operating systems designed specifically for nettops and other machines in the same performance class. Some high-end nettops are capable of running Windows 10. Google's ChromeOS and Android are other options. Although Google's Android was originally designed for smartphones, it has also taken a seat in the nettop market.

Linux is beginning to be the favorite choice of nettop users (considering the high commercial use of these machines), the flexibility and low-requirement capabilities of the OS are perfect for the product.

マーケット

Nettops fell into Intel's category of "Basic PC", which usually cost from $100 to $299. Intel described nettops as a large potential market at that time. Nettops were said to be able serve as an affordable first computer for people in developing countries, or as an environmentally friendly choice as a secondary computer for people in developed countries.

関連項目

• Netbook
• SFF
• Internet appliance and Thin client
• Plug computer
• Tablet computer
• PC-on-a-stick
• Desktop form factor
• Chromebox and Apple TV
• AMD APU and Intel Atom
• Cloud computing

外部リンク

• “Touch-enabled net-top boots Linux fast”. 2013年1月27日時点のオリジナルよりアーカイブ。
• Approximate computer power usages list by the Univ. of Pennsylvania (archived 3 June 2009)
• Russian portal of Nettops.ru
• Mini PC, on robadainformatici.it.