Ever since the new Intel Jasper Lake 10nm Atom generation was launched they have been on our radar to review. The Topton M6 is a small mini PC with a quad-core Intel N5105 processor, WiFi 6, 2.5GbE, and that is relatively inexpensive. This unit ends up being significantly less expensive than the Intel Atlas Canyon NUC. As a result, we wanted to take a look at this unit and see if it is any good.
STH Mini PC Background: Topton M6
The Topton M6 is a very small PC. We tried finding some way to give a sense of scale to our photos, and one way we came up with was to bring Legos back into frame. They even made it to the video version:
As always, we suggest opening the video in its own browser, tab, or app for the best viewing experience. In the video, we can do a bit more around showing the unit running and
At the heart of this unit is the Intel Celeron N5105, a 10nm Jasper Lake part. This uses Intel’s updated Tremont efficiency cores. Intel has a number of Atlas Canyon NUCs with this same N5105 part, but the difference is really the pricing.
We our unit for $299 after coupons, but we checked on purchased the day this review is going live and it was $292.51. Sometimes AliExpress has other coupons available. While to some that may seem pricey, our unit had 16GB of soldered memory, a 512GB SSD that is abysmally bad, and Windows 11 Pro.
Unlike some of the Atlas Canyon NUCs, we also get 2.5GbE and WiFi 6 with this unit instead of the older 1GbE and AC-generation WiFi.
This is part of our STH Mini PC series for systems that do not fit in Project TinyMiniMicro.
Topton M6 Hardware Overview
We are going to split this into internal and external hardware overviews as we do with many of our reviews. There was a surprising amount to talk about inside this chassis.
Topton M6 External Hardware Overview
The Topton unit measures only 155 x 80 x 20mm. That is roughly 6.1 x 3.1 x 0.8 inches making the unit very small. The front is mostly just a glossy black plastic that is a dust and fingerprint magnet. There is also a power button and a power status LED.
The top of the unit has glossy black plastic as well as an Intel Inside logo. There is also a fan vent for the fan we will see later in our internal overview.
The rear of this unit is really where the action is. There is a Type-C power input then an audio jack. There is a USB Type-C port than can also serve as a second display output with the HDMI port. Networking is provided by an Intel i225-V NIC so we have 2.5GbE in this little system. This is a B3 revision of the NIC which is what we currently recommend. There are also three USB 3.2 Gen1 5Gbps ports.
Just as a size comparison, we have a Lenovo ThinkCentre M90n Nano. One can see that the M6 is noticeably smaller. It is also much lighter owing to a minimal cooler and plastic casing.
The M90n Nano was previously much less expensive, so it was competitive in this price range, but prices trended up over time.
Here is another shot that also has the M75n Nano that we did not review. While the M6 comes with a small VESA bracket, the M75n Nano came with a Velcro patch on the bottom. That Velcro idea my be more useful for many of our readers given that the M6 is smaller and lighter.
We did not cover the sides of the unit, but they are just plastic vents.
Next, let us get inside the unit to see what hardware we can find.