Stealth has unveiled a new ultra-compact system that is said to be its most powerful and technologically advanced small form factor offering to date. Geared toward commercial and industrial applications – or enthusiasts who appreciate the engineering behind a hardcover book-sized PC – the new LPC-480 crams a third-generation Intel Core mobile processor into a chassis that measures 5.7 x 9.9 x 1.65in (~144 x 251 x 41mm).
Along with its quad-core (eight threads) 2.3-3.3GHz Core i7-3610QE, the LPC-480 packs a hidden slim front-loaded optical drive (Blu-ray is available), support for up to 16GB of DDR3 RAM, various 2.5-inch HDD and SSD storage options including up to a 1TB model of the former and 512GB of the latter. Naturally, there's also plenty of connectivity: four USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, DVI-D, VGA, gigabit Ethernet, RS232 serial and a pair of audio jacks.
Although there are a handful of configuration choices when ordering, the base model reportedly ships with the i7-3610QE, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, a DVD-RW drive, a 500GB mobile hard drive, and no operating system preinstalled, though Windows XP through 8 and Linux are supported and available upon request – the product page even notes that Stealth can hook you up with Vista if that's a priority for some reason.
The stock unit will set you back $1,795, though it can be pared down to as low as $1,325 if you're willing to settle for downgrades such as a 1.9GHz Intel Celeron B840. Units are shipping now.