What is "nettop"

n. A small, inexpensive, low-power desktop computer.

A nettop (or miniature PC, Mini PC or Smart Micro PC) is a small-sized, inexpensive, low-power, legacy-free desktop computer designed for basic tasks such as Internet surfing, accessing web-based applications, document processing, and audio/video playback. The word nettop is a portmanteau of Internet and desktop.

Compared to ordinary desktop computers, nettops are not only smaller and cheaper, but they also consume much less power. For example, CompuLab's fit-PC2 consumes no more than 8 watts of power whereas a typical desktop would easily consume more than 100 watts of power; consequently, nettops require significantly less cooling and may even be completely fanless. Some do not have an optical disk drive and use a solid state disk, making them completely silent. The tradeoff is that the hardware specifications and processing power are usually reduced and hence make nettops less appropriate for running complex or resource-intensive applications.

Nettop may refer to:

• Nettop, a type of computer
• NetTop, a NSA project