Qotom vs Fitlet2 - What should I buy?

[Solid-Profession]

I'd like to have IPS enabled on broadband up to 500Mb/s. I have 350Mb/s down speed at home - We'll be switching to another supplier soon too.

So I'm considering either this:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32864883139.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.13747428uMTVlk&algo_pvid=1f4804a8-a636-430b-befb-86e5f2892a9f&algo_expid=1f4804a8-a636-430b-befb-86e5f2892a9f-0&btsid=2100bdd516178046115954180e9fc3&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_

8GB RAM 256GB SSD
Q370G4 i7-4510U
Total: $336.85 + VAT + duty/customs (Free shipping)

OR this:

https://fit-iot.com/web/product/fitlet2-build-to-order/
Atom x7-E3950 [CE3950]
8 GB [D8] $61.00
TPM installed [TPM] $12.00
M.2 SATA 64 GB [M64S] $37.70
No OS
FC-POED Gbit Ethernet with PoE Device [FPOED] FACET Card
No WiFi
Standard Top Cover
Standard branding
Commercial Temperature Range
Standard DC input range 7V – 20V
Total: $351.80 + $50 for delivery + VAT + duty/customs

Or indeed any other device you can recommend that's fairly small in size (Replacing my Fortinet 60e that I had as a lab for a year)

I only have LAN and WAN connected to my Fortinet currently.

[marjohn56]

Well both use DDR3, both use Intel i211 NICs. So the main difference is the processor. i7s are superior to those available for the Fitlet, even though the i7s may not be the current generation; it is a pretty device though.
I've got two Qotom's one for test and one that runs live, one i5 and one i7, the i5 runs live; neither have ever given me a problem and I know of may others who have them and have had zero issues.
At the end of the day either one will work well, so really it's a question of personal taste.

[Solid-Profession]

Well both use DDR3, both use Intel i211 NICs. So the main difference is the processor. i7s are superior to those available for the Fitlet, even though the i7s may not be the current generation; it is a pretty device though.
I've got two Qotom's one for test and one that runs live, one i5 and one i7, the i5 runs live; neither have ever given me a problem and I know of may others who have them and have had zero issues.
At the end of the day either one will work well, so really it's a question of personal taste.

Thanks. At around 15W as well, there won't be any notice-able electricity consumption difference too, given that the Qotom is ultimately cheaper so that's something too I guess. Thanks!

I'm guessing it isn't worth getting this:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32920921042.html?gps-id=pcStoreJustForYou&scm=1007.23125.137358.0&scm_id=1007.23125.137358.0&scm-url=1007.23125.137358.0&pvid=a551eddd-6c95-49c0-be50-77c1841272b5&spm=a2g0o.store_home.smartJustForYou_819228519.0

With 16GB RAM 512GB SSD
And Q575G6 I7-7500U (no WiFI) ?
TOtal cost:$544.77 + VAT + CUSTOMS + DUTY

Thanks

[Antaris]

Dual mem slots board:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000738202595.html?spm=a2g0s.8937460.0.0.643c2e0e0FyWZD

[Solid-Profession]

Dual mem slots board:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000738202595.html?spm=a2g0s.8937460.0.0.643c2e0e0FyWZD

Thanks. No case however?

[Antaris]

With case:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000893344365.html?spm=a2g0s.8937460.0.0.643c2e0eAwa3ey

[Solid-Profession]

With case:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000893344365.html?spm=a2g0s.8937460.0.0.643c2e0eAwa3ey

Damn. Wish I saw that earlier. I've actually bought this now
Gone and bought this one now given it's a newer CPU and could last years. It supports 32GB RAM too

US $301.56  16%OFF | QOTOM Mini PC Q555G6 Q575G6 with 7th Core i5-7200U/i7-7500U  6 Gigabit NICs, COM, Fanless Pfsense Sophos Untangl Firewall Router
https://a.aliexpress.com/_ufg0Ct

With the Q575G6 / i7 7500u CPU
8GB RAM
256GB SSD

For $453.76 in total

[sp33dy]

got a similar qotom box ~1year ago and it´s been working without problems

i got the 7500u 16gb/128gb

i also added a usb driven fan that i attached on top of it, maybe not needed but it does run a bit cooler
idle about 50c

[Solid-Profession]

got a similar qotom box ~1year ago and it´s been working without problems

i got the 7500u 16gb/128gb

i also added a usb driven fan that i attached on top of it, maybe not needed but it does run a bit cooler
idle about 50c

I've gone and bought it with 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD. The SSD is likely overkill, as is the RAM atm, however I figured if I want this to last, it'll be much easier to swap out the RAM than it is the hard drive as you'd have to reflash firmware etc.. rather than simply just swapping out a bit of RAM.

Reddit shows that it supports a max of 32GB RAM too
https://www.reddit.com/r/homelab/comments/m8nxb4/_/

That person is running it with a "Samsung 32GB DDR4 2666MHz RAM Memory Module for Laptop Computers (260 Pin SODIMM, 1.2V) M471A4G43MB1" stick of RAM

This person also took it apart a bit to add some extra TP, and another added heatsinks

https://www.reddit.com/r/homelab/comments/i2ghrl/_/

[dinguz]

I'm currently using a second hand Qotom Q375G4 mini-pc which works well for my needs (250/25Mbit connection). It has 4 network ports, a reasonably fast processor, 8 GB RAM and an SSD. For now, I'm doing only basic firewalling with it (FW/NAT/DNS/DHCP + QOS/traffic shaping), so I haven't yet tried out the heavier stuff like DPI and IDS/IPS.

A few quirks particular to this hardware: 1) you need to set autoboot in BIOS, otherwise it won't start after power loss. 2) the order of network ports is illogical, the physical ports are numbered 1-3-4-2 IIRC. 3) Be careful with bios updates, the exact image required seems to depend both on which CPU is installed, and on the PCB revision. Documentation is limited and mostly in Chinese. If you just need a new bios for microcode updates (for Spectre and Meltdown mitigation), it seems safer to load them in software instead, at least that's what I did.

Also, keep in mind these devices use ultra low power processors, are passively cooled and use thermal throttling. This one has an I7, but don't expect desktop I7 performance, it's more like a Celeron on steroids.
Generally I'm very satisfied with this device so far.