ASUS PN64-E1 Power Consumption and Noise
The system comes with a 20V 120W Delta power adapter.
Idle power consumption is in the 8-11W range. Power peaked at 101-102W before dropping down to the 50-57W range under sustained load.
In our 34dba studio, the system raised the noise floor to 34.5-35.1dba at idle and 44.5-45.0dba under load.
Key Lessons Learned
The key lesson learned here is really around the overall fit and finish. The plastic outer chassis did not feel as good as some of the all-metal systems we have looked at previously. At the same time, once we got inside the system, one can see the ExpertCenter PN64-E1 has a different level of engineering inside of it versus some of the newer PC brands. This expansion board for the M.2 SSD and the thermal pad are good examples.
There are other small features. For example, the configurable port that we had as DisplayPort but that can also be a second 2.5GbE port is something we see on systems from companies like Dell, HP, and Lenovo in their 1L PCs, but many mini PC vendors do not offer.
Finally, the Thunderbolt 4 controllers add cost to this system but give it new capabilities. A year or two ago, many of our readers and YouTube viewers asked about eGPUs wanting Thunderbolt 3. With USB4, many mini PCs have a vastly improved solution over USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C ports. Still, ASUS using Thunderbolt 4 here is the high-end solution. We just put together a large workstation with ECC memory, and it did not even have Thunderbolt 4 support.
Final Words
Overall, the ASUS ExpertCenter PN64-E1 is a fascinating design because it is a mini PC designed more for the commercial PC market. In many ways, it is designed better than the average mini PC we review. It also carries a price premium. We would have liked to have a second 2.5GbE port, but that is possible by swapping the configurable port module.
This might have been our favorite of the three mini PCs we reviewed as part of the video. The ASUS ExpertCenter PN64-E1 offers plenty of connectivity, performance, and expansion for a vast portion of the market.
Where to Buy
If you want to get a system, we found the ASUS PN64-E1 on Amazon (affiliate link.)
Can this run GeForce now ASUS PN64 E1 Front Angle