A passively cooled mini PC has just moved from concept to reality with a significant hardware upgrade, swapping out an older Intel chip for the company’s newest Core Ultra X7 358H processor paired with the Arc B390 iGPU. The shift isn’t just about performance—it’s also a test of whether users will pay a steep premium for silence and size in a market where active cooling is still the norm.

Built by Bleu Jour, the Kubb Fanless mini PC now starts at €1,850—a price that reflects its cutting-edge components but also positions it squarely in competition with far more powerful active-cooled alternatives. The base configuration includes 16 GB of DDR5-5600 RAM and a 1 TB Gen4 NVMe SSD, with optional upgrades to 32 GB of DDR5-6400 RAM for an additional €545.90 or a 4 TB SSD for €526 more, pushing the total cost to nearly €2,922 for a fully loaded model.

Why This Matters

The Kubb Fanless is not just an upgrade—it’s a redefinition of what passive cooling can achieve. Traditional mini PCs rely on fans, but this design eliminates them entirely, using machined aluminum fins to dissipate heat from the new Panther Lake CPU and Arc B390 iGPU. The result is a 12 cm × 12 cm chassis that weighs 2.3 kg, offering performance in a footprint smaller than many mITX motherboards.

Key Specifications

  • Processor: Intel Core Ultra X7 358H with Arc B390 iGPU
  • Memory: 16 GB DDR5-5600 (dual-channel), upgradeable to 32 GB or 64 GB
  • Storage: 1 TB Gen4 NVMe SSD, upgradeable to 4 TB
  • Cooling: Passive, with machined aluminum fins and no moving parts
  • Ports (Front): USB 3.2 Gen 2, Thunderbolt 4 with DP 2.1, USB-C with DP 1.4a alt mode, 3.5 mm audio jack
  • Ports (Rear): 2× USB 3.2 Gen 2, 2× HDMI 2.1, 2× RJ45 Ethernet

The trade-off is clear: the Kubb Fanless delivers high-end performance without the noise or wear of fans, but its price and power constraints make it a niche product. It’s designed for environments where silence is critical—such as home theaters or offices—but its 64 GB RAM ceiling and lack of PCIe expansion limit its appeal to power users who need more than integrated graphics.

Looking Ahead

The Kubb Fanless isn’t just a product; it’s a statement about the future of mini PCs. As Intel continues to push performance into smaller, more efficient chips like Arrow Lake and Lunar Lake, the question remains: will users prioritize compactness and silence over raw power? For now, this mini PC proves that passive cooling can keep up with active cooling in terms of performance—but at a cost that only a select few are willing to pay.