I find these mini-pcs really interesting. They're much more optimized for performance/watt even when Intel's N100 seems to dominate the lineup. The channel does a good job comparing them and...
I find these mini-pcs really interesting. They're much more optimized for performance/watt even when Intel's N100 seems to dominate the lineup. The channel does a good job comparing them and giving a good overview of what each does well.
I had an Intel NUC in a fanless Akasa case for a long time as a home server and it was awesome. However, it was getting pretty old (4th Gen Intel) and I wanted a replacement. I spent a long time...
I had an Intel NUC in a fanless Akasa case for a long time as a home server and it was awesome. However, it was getting pretty old (4th Gen Intel) and I wanted a replacement. I spent a long time researching all these new mini-pcs, trying to find the right replacement for my use case, and I came to the conclusion that these no-name brands were just a bit too much of a gamble and nothing they were offering really hit the pricepoint/features I was searching for.
I ended up getting a refurbished (basically brand new) Lenovo ThinkCentre M90q Tiny (10th Gen Intel) on eBay for $472 (they can be found even cheaper now). It has x2 NVME slots and x1 SATA. I dropped 64GB RAM in it, I have an 8TB Samsung SATA SSD and a 4TB NVME for storage, plus a 1TB NVME for Proxmox. The key for me was the x3 drive slots. It's a great little server. It has plenty of power for me, and reusing parts I already had saved some cash. I think if you go with a Lenovo or Dell refurb on the secondary market, you'll find they're very capable and pretty easy to find parts for. If something goes wrong with one of these newer Chinese brand machines, you may have trouble with getting a resolution.
If you're looking for a gaming PC in a small form factor, these new companies do have some very interesting offerings. But I don't game on a PC. If you're looking for a capable and small desktop computer, it's kind of hard to beat the Mac Mini right now, which often goes on sale for $499. The 8GB of RAM is a pisser, but I've got a Mac Mini M2 Pro with 16GB for my desktop/programming machine and memory pressure is never an issue. I love the Mac Mini and I'm confident it will be capable for quite a long time.
Overall, I'm a Linux/Mac user, and none of these new mini-pcs are compelling enough to me. I've got a Linux laptop, the Mac Mini, and the Lenovo as a Proxmox server. My needs are pretty well met. But then again, I can sense a Synology on the horizon. My current storage is getting pretty slim.
I love my intel NUC. I have it connected to a an eGPU and use it for gaming. Packs a punch in a tiny package! I replaced my gaming laptop with it. But I also got an M2 MacBook Air so I joined the...
I love my intel NUC. I have it connected to a an eGPU and use it for gaming. Packs a punch in a tiny package! I replaced my gaming laptop with it.
But I also got an M2 MacBook Air so I joined the dark side as well.
All in all it’s a good setup. I need it to be portable for 90% of the time with good battery life and if I need Windows, it’s waiting for me at home and doesn’t take up too much space.
I find these mini-pcs really interesting. They're much more optimized for performance/watt even when Intel's N100 seems to dominate the lineup. The channel does a good job comparing them and giving a good overview of what each does well.
I had an Intel NUC in a fanless Akasa case for a long time as a home server and it was awesome. However, it was getting pretty old (4th Gen Intel) and I wanted a replacement. I spent a long time researching all these new mini-pcs, trying to find the right replacement for my use case, and I came to the conclusion that these no-name brands were just a bit too much of a gamble and nothing they were offering really hit the pricepoint/features I was searching for.
I ended up getting a refurbished (basically brand new) Lenovo ThinkCentre M90q Tiny (10th Gen Intel) on eBay for $472 (they can be found even cheaper now). It has x2 NVME slots and x1 SATA. I dropped 64GB RAM in it, I have an 8TB Samsung SATA SSD and a 4TB NVME for storage, plus a 1TB NVME for Proxmox. The key for me was the x3 drive slots. It's a great little server. It has plenty of power for me, and reusing parts I already had saved some cash. I think if you go with a Lenovo or Dell refurb on the secondary market, you'll find they're very capable and pretty easy to find parts for. If something goes wrong with one of these newer Chinese brand machines, you may have trouble with getting a resolution.
If you're looking for a gaming PC in a small form factor, these new companies do have some very interesting offerings. But I don't game on a PC. If you're looking for a capable and small desktop computer, it's kind of hard to beat the Mac Mini right now, which often goes on sale for $499. The 8GB of RAM is a pisser, but I've got a Mac Mini M2 Pro with 16GB for my desktop/programming machine and memory pressure is never an issue. I love the Mac Mini and I'm confident it will be capable for quite a long time.
Overall, I'm a Linux/Mac user, and none of these new mini-pcs are compelling enough to me. I've got a Linux laptop, the Mac Mini, and the Lenovo as a Proxmox server. My needs are pretty well met. But then again, I can sense a Synology on the horizon. My current storage is getting pretty slim.
I love my intel NUC. I have it connected to a an eGPU and use it for gaming. Packs a punch in a tiny package! I replaced my gaming laptop with it.
But I also got an M2 MacBook Air so I joined the dark side as well.
All in all it’s a good setup. I need it to be portable for 90% of the time with good battery life and if I need Windows, it’s waiting for me at home and doesn’t take up too much space.