SolidRun has launched a new fanless mini PC packing AMD's 7040 "Phoenix" processors. SolidRun's press release mentions that buyers can configure a new Bedrock R7000 system with either the AMD Ryzen 7840HS or a Ryzen 7840U processor. These systems aren't targeted at consumers though; they are described as rugged industrial PCs, with fanless edge-based AI acceleration in their sights.
AMD's Phoenix chips are among the most highly coveted Ryzen 7000 parts, as they offer the combined charms of AMD's newest architectures in a single package. These processor boast Zen 4 CPU cores and RDNA 3 architecture Radeon iGPUs. An added bonus with Phoenix is the presence of the AMD XDNA AI Engine, claimed to be faster than Apple’s neural engine in its M2 processors. The built-in AI Engine isn't the AI processing power that is being highlighted by SolidRun. Instead, the Bedrock R7000 is expected to be fitted with "up to three Hailo-8 AI accelerators," each capable of up to 26 Tera Operations per Second (TOPS) or more.
Demand for edge AI processing is a growth market, according to SolidRun, with industries such as robotics, autonomous guided vehicles, healthcare, transportation, smart cities, retail, agriculture, defense and more looking to invest in these solutions. SolidRun says that its Bedrock R7000 fanless mini-PC is the first to bring the ultra-efficient AMD Ryzen 7040 processor and out-of-the-box integration of up to three Hailo-8 AI accelerators to the edge.
In some ways, it is a shame that the SolidRun Bedrock R7000 is so firmly targeted at industry, as it has a lot of great features that might appeal to enthusiasts. The firm has been thoughtful in providing adequate passive cooling technologies for these systems, for example.
A cursory look at the design shows that the chassis is used as a big finned aluminum heatsink for the internals. As this can be so important, it is good to see that SolidRun has a different chassis for the AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS (35 to 54 W) and 7840U (15 to 28 W) designs.
The Bedrock R7000 with the AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS is therefore bigger, naturally. It measures 160 x 130 x 73 mm (6.3 x 5.1 x 2.9 inches). Buyers of the AMD Ryzen 7 7840U based system get a slimmer unit, that measures 160 x 130 x 45 mm (6.3 x 5.1 x 1.8 inches). Lastly, there is also the 'Tile' option which is even smaller at 160 x 130 x 2 9mm (6.3 x 5.1 x 1.1 inches) for users with conduction cooling environments to add these systems to. Systems can be DIN-rail, wall, or table top mounted.
Whichever version of the Bedrock R7000 selected there are underlying cooling technologies including “liquid metal TIM, 360º stacked heat pipes, dual-layer chimney effect heat exchanger and thermal coupling of all internal devices." As 'industrial PCs' these devices are also certified for use well-outside of a typical office environment. SolidRun says these fanless PCs can operate in temperatures ranging from -40 to 85 degrees Celsius (-49 to 185 Fahrenheit).
The appeal of the Bedrock R7000 doesn't stop there. They are also packing plenty of internal expandability for mini-PCs. Inside the CPU is fixed, of course, but users have two SODIMM slots to fill up to 64 GB of DDR5 ECC / non-ECC. Users can fit up to three Hailo-8 AI accelerators. Alternatively, the M.2 slots used by these accelerator cards can be used for extra storage.
Moving outside of the box, the following ports are available: 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x Display Port 2.1, 2x mini-DisplayPort 2.1, 2x 2.5 GbE ports (Intel I226), Wi-Fi 6E & Bluetooth 5.3 (Intel AX210), 4G / 5G (Quectel), 1x USB 3.2 10 Gb/s, 3x USB 3.2 5 Gb/s, mini-USB connector (console), DC 12V-60V.
SolidRun's Bedrock R7000 systems can run Windows 10/11/IoT or Linux.
Industrial PCs are notoriously expensive, but SolidRun doesn't mention pricing or availability for these newly launched passive mini-PC systems. Checking out resellers didn't unearth any further information about pricing and availability, at the time of writing.
