Mixtile's Delayed Cluster Box, Packing Up to Four High-Performance Blade 3 Nodes, Is Finally Ready

The delayed Mixtile Cluster Box, which houses up to four of the company's Blade 3 single-board computers (SBCs) in a compact computing cluster, has finally launched — and the company is accepting orders for those who missed the original crowdfunding campaign.

The Mixtile Cluster Box was originally revealed as a reward during the 2022 crowdfunding campaign for the Mixtile Blade 3, a single-board computer designed specifically for use as a node in a multi-node cluster. Based on the eight-core Rockchip RK3588 system-on-chip and offering up to 32GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 256GB of eMMC storage, multiple Blade 3 units could communicate using PCI Express edge connectors — and for those who wanted something neater than a stack of bare boards, the Cluster Box was the perfect accessory.

Holding up to four boards, the Cluster Box promised integrated cooling and an on-board PCI Express switch with simplified wiring — just slide the Blade 3s into place and you're ready to go. Originally scheduled to ship in October 2022, though, development of the Cluster Box hit a snag which pushed its release back by a little more than a year.

"We have been working hard to optimize the hardware, including improving the PCB layout, prototyping new PCBs, and testing," Mixtile claimed in June this year in an update addressing the device's delay. "This process is crucial to ensure a high-quality, high-performance Mixtile Blade 3 Cluster Box. However, these optimizations have inevitably caused a delay of at least one month. We assure you that these improvements will enhance your experience. And we will expedite the testing process and complete the shipments as soon as the optimization is finalized."

That month turned into four, with units beginning to reach backers in late October and early November — and arriving without the required firmware to support the use of the Blade 3 boards, which needs to be installed manually by the buyer. Once configured, though, the Cluster Box should deliver everything the company promised in its original crowdfunding campaign — putting a surprisingly high-performance four-node cluster in a compact box on your desk.

Those who did not back the original crowdfunding campaign can now order the Cluster Box on the Mixtile store for $339, a premium of $100 over the crowdfunding price, with new orders expected to ship in February next year; the Mixtile Blade 3 boards are not included, and start at $229 each for a version with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage.