Wee Beastie crowdfunding project promises 4.75L fish tank SFF PC packing a 'desktop' RTX 4070 — $699 design features modded 12GB GPU mounted on a circuit board

Tech enthusiasts typically adore miniaturization, but companies have always found it tricky to make compact PCs that retain the most important aspects of a traditional desktop. An interesting new approach to this conundrum that caused a blip on our radar is the Wee Beastie Super Mini Fishtank PC on Kickstarter.

In essence, this pleasingly compact (4.75-liter) PC comes with a desktop RTX 4070 GPU installed, but it is supported by choice mobile components such as (up to) a Core Ultra 7 255H, 2x SODIMM RAM sticks, and a 1TB M.2 2230 NVMe SSD. There isn’t a big wall wart PSU outside the case, either; this design has a 400W unit in the chassis.

We aren’t saying that the Wee Beastie Super Mini Fishtank PC is the first PC maker to take this approach of cherry-picking between desktop and mobile parts for a sweet spot compact PC build, but it might get a lot of choices right. Check the specs, and see if it is right for you:

Stand out specs, beyond the processing power and size of this device, are the number of video outs and having the latest Wi-Fi 7 on board. It is also great to have a USB4 port for fast external storage and dock solutions.

Read our extensive review of the RTX 4070 to get some insight into what this desktop graphics card can achieve. However, we must point out that, according to the project FAQ, this graphics card isn’t interchangeable with any other you might grab from a retailer.

It is not a standard desktop graphics card inside

Though it looks like there may be a standard graphics card in the fish tank, in the FAQ, the makers clarify, “The Wee Beastie doesn't have the full sized 4070 graphics card that you would normally buy from the store and install into your full sized PC. It actually has the 4070 GPU processing chip that’s mounted on the circuit board along with all the other components needed to make it work. You would not be able to remove the 4070 from the Wee Beastie and plug and play it in another computer.” We think it uses an RTX 4070 desktop GPU on an MXM card.

Hopefully, the partnered 13700H (14C/20T, up to 5.0 GHz) or Ultra 7 255H (16C/16T and up to 5.1 GHz) won’t dampen the desktop GPU’s vigor.

3DMark Test (Time Spy) - YouTube

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One of the best things about a pre-built like this is the neatness, integration, and off-the-peg action readiness. According to its makers, the Wee Beastie Super Mini Fishtank PC is also “whisper quiet under load and prevents thermal throttling,” which directly addresses a lot of typical Mini PC concerns. According to the specs, there are “13 high performance fans” in this system, so decent air circulation should be taken for granted, if not its quietness.

Air-Flow Test - YouTube

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Some will also find the Wee Beastie Super Mini Fishtank PC to be quite handsome. Videos and images shared by the device maker show the build is clean and clutter-free. The RGB lighting looks cool, too. Some images even show the fish tank case being used to show off some figurines (inside).

The Kickstarter is looking like a big success, with the Wee Beastie Super Mini Fishtank PC easily rocketing past its initial funding goal. There are $699 CORE and $899 PRO models currently listed on the site at the time of writing.

We, perhaps naively, expected a Scottish link to this project. But no, it comes straight out of Shenzhen, China – which seems to be the world’s Mini PC capital. Whatever the case, remember that crowdfunding a project is not a guarantee of receiving a finished product. Backing a crowdfunded project is akin to an investment; you believe in the project and want it to succeed. You are not purchasing a retail product.

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