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HISTTON Fanless Industrial PC
Fanless industrial PC · N100 · 2× COM · VGA + HDMI

HISTTON Fanless Industrial PC

HISTTON's N100 box is built for the machines and counters that still speak serial and VGA. It pairs two RS232 ports and a VGA output with HDMI, two gigabit Ethernet ports and three storage slots, in a silent brushed-aluminium case running Windows 11 Pro.

  • ProcessorIntel N100, 4 cores, up to 3.4GHz
  • Serial2× RS232 COM
  • VideoHDMI + VGA, dual display
  • Network2× gigabit Ethernet (Realtek), Wi-Fi 5, BT 4.2
  • Storage slotsmSATA + M.2 NVMe + 2.5-inch SATA
  • CaseFanless aluminium, 135 × 126 × 40mm, 0.6kg
Buy it for
  • CNC controls, kiosks and POS stations with serial devices
  • Sites with VGA monitors, projectors or KVM switches
  • Dusty or quiet rooms where a fan is unwelcome
Skip it for
  • A multi-gig firewall: its two ports are gigabit Realtek
  • Anyone who needs three or more modern displays
See today’s price

VGA and HDMI side by side for old panels and new screens

The HISTTON box does something almost no current mini PC does: it keeps a VGA port. Next to an HDMI output it drives two displays at once, one of which can be the fifteen-year-old monitor bolted to a machine, a projector in a training room or a KVM switch in a rack. That single port decides whether this box fits a job at all.

Industrial and commercial sites hold on to VGA far longer than homes do. Replacing a working panel on a CNC machine or a ceiling projector is expensive and disruptive; swapping the PC behind it is not. An N100 with native VGA avoids an active adapter, which is one more part that can fail.

  • Machine HMIs and CNC panels with VGA-only monitors.
  • Classrooms and meeting rooms with older projectors wired for VGA.
  • Server racks where the KVM console still takes VGA.
  • Kiosks and signage built around older displays.

The HDMI port covers the modern side, and the N100's UHD Graphics handles 4K video decode through Quick Sync. VGA is an analogue signal, so expect the familiar resolution ceiling of that standard and keep the cable run short for a sharp picture.

Two outputs is the limit here. For three screens or high-refresh displays, a regular desktop N100 with multiple HDMI or DisplayPort outputs is the better tool. The chip's display and decode limits are set out under N100 specs.

Windows 11 Pro comes installed and activated, which matters for business sites that need domain join, BitLocker or Remote Desktop hosting. Pro is also the edition most industrial software vendors test against.

Hardware

What’s inside

SpecValue
ProcessorIntel N100, 4 cores / 4 threads, up to 3.4GHz, 6MB cache
GraphicsIntel UHD Graphics
Operating systemWindows 11 Pro, activated
Memory slot1× DDR4 SO-DIMM, up to 32GB
Storage slots1× mSATA, 1× M.2 NVMe, 1× SATA 3.0 for a 2.5-inch drive
Ethernet2× gigabit RJ45, Realtek RTL8168/8111/8112 family
WirelessDual-band Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 4.2
ExpansionMini PCIe for a 4G or Wi-Fi module; Wi-Fi 6 optional
Video1× HDMI + 1× VGA, dual display
USB2× USB 3.0, 2× USB 2.0
Serial2× RS232 COM
BIOSRTC wake, Wake-on-LAN, auto power-on, network boot
CoolingFanless, brushed full-aluminium case
Dimensions135 × 126 × 40mm (5.35 × 5.0 × 1.7in)
Weight0.6kg
Power12V 5A adapter

Two RS232 COM ports and two Realtek gigabit jacks

Serial is the other legacy interface this box keeps alive. Two RS232 COM ports connect directly to the equipment that never moved to USB or Ethernet: receipt printers, barcode scanners, weighing scales, CNC controllers, PLCs and meters. Native ports avoid USB-to-serial adapters and the driver and COM-number shuffles that come with them.

Two gigabit Ethernet ports use Realtek controllers from the RTL8168/8111/8112 family. Two ports allow a common industrial layout: one port on the machine network, one on the office LAN, with the PC sitting between them. That keeps a production line's devices off the general network.

  • POS station: receipt printer on COM1, customer display or scale on COM2.
  • CNC or DNC: program transfer to an older controller over RS232.
  • Data logger: read meters or PLCs over serial, publish over Ethernet.
  • Dual-homed gateway: bridge an isolated machine network to the office LAN.
Not a multi-gig firewall. Two gigabit Realtek ports make this a light router at most. For OPNsense or pfSense on 2.5GbE Intel NICs, look at the four-port firewall boxes instead; the UDPTCP industrial firewall keeps two RS232 ports and adds GPIO and 2.5GbE.

Wake-on-LAN, network boot, RTC wake and auto power-on are in the BIOS. Auto power-on is the one that matters in a cabinet: after a power cut the PC restarts by itself and the application comes back without anyone walking to the machine. RTC wake schedules a start time, handy for signage that should light up before opening.

Market position

How it fits the lineup

N100 mini PC models by type, September 2026. Highlighted: HISTTON Fanless Industrial PC.

mSATA, NVMe and a 2.5-inch bay in a 13.5cm case

Inside a case 135 × 126 × 40mm and 0.6kg, HISTTON fits three storage slots: mSATA, M.2 NVMe and SATA 3.0 for a 2.5-inch drive. Most compact N100 boxes offer one or two. Memory is a single DDR4 SO-DIMM slot, up to 32GB.

SlotGood for
M.2 NVMeWindows and applications, fastest boot
mSATAA second OS, or a drive reused from older industrial PCs
2.5-inch SATABulk logs, images, recipe files or backups

mSATA is a useful bridge for sites moving off older fanless PCs, many of which booted from mSATA drives. The drive from the old machine can be read directly, or cloned to NVMe once everything works.

  1. Confirm the memory and SSD sizes fitted, since the product name does not state them.
  2. Put Windows on the NVMe drive for boot speed.
  3. Use the 2.5-inch bay for data that should survive an OS reinstall.
  4. Stay at 8GB or more for Windows 11 Pro; go to 16GB for heavier HMI or SCADA software.

Power comes from a 12V 5A adapter. That is ample headroom over a 6W chip, enough to feed a spinning 2.5-inch drive, a mini PCIe modem and USB devices at once. Hedged idle and load figures for N100 boxes are under N100 power consumption.

The brushed aluminium shell is the heat sink, with no fan and no vents to pull in dust. That suits workshops, warehouses and shop floors where a fan would clog within months. Passive cases run warm under load; give the box air on its finned faces and it will run all day. More on heat in silent boxes lives under fanless N100 mini PCs.

Other options

Three other routes

HISTTON against VENOEN and the serial-equipped firewalls

The closest rival is VENOEN's fanless industrial N100, with the same idea and a different balance of ports. HISTTON keeps VGA and adds mSATA plus a mini PCIe slot for 4G. VENOEN trades VGA for a DisplayPort and a second HDMI, for three modern screens.

Wireless is dual-band Wi-Fi 5 with Bluetooth 4.2, fine for a keyboard, a handheld scanner or a backup network link. The mini PCIe slot accepts a 4G module for sites with no wired internet, and HISTTON offers a Wi-Fi 6 card as an option. Either module turns the box into a self-contained remote terminal.

  • Pick HISTTON for VGA, mSATA and a 4G-ready mini PCIe slot.
  • Pick VENOEN for three modern displays and a 1.2kg case with VESA mounting.
  • Pick the UDPTCP industrial firewall if the box is mainly a router that also needs RS232 and GPIO.
  • Pick the Dozlzyp dual-COM build for a fanless firewall with serial ports.

The N100 inside is the same chip found across desktop mini PCs, so office software, a browser-based HMI or a signage player all run comfortably. For Linux, the Realtek gigabit chips have mature in-kernel drivers, and the box can serve as a small N100 home server or gateway once its industrial job ends.

Three checks keep an industrial install from stalling. Confirm the memory and SSD configuration. Make sure your serial devices use RS232 levels, not RS485. And confirm the VGA monitor's native resolution fits the standard's limits.

FAQ

Owner questions

Does the HISTTON industrial PC have a VGA port?

Yes. It has one VGA and one HDMI output and drives both displays at once.

How many serial ports does it have?

Two RS232 COM ports, alongside two USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports.

Is it fanless?

Yes. The brushed full-aluminium case cools it passively with no fan, so it runs silent and draws in no dust.

Can it work as a firewall?

Only lightly. Its two Ethernet ports are gigabit Realtek; for OPNsense or pfSense at 2.5GbE, a four-port Intel firewall box is the better fit.

Can I add 4G?

Yes. A mini PCIe slot takes a 4G or Wi-Fi module, and a Wi-Fi 6 card is available as an option.