Anyone have or tried the mini computers ?

[CharlieH]

Has anyone got one of these ? Any thoughts or feedback on your experience would be appreciated.

 

[impulse]

I've got one from several years back.  It works great.  But I donated it to my GF's father when he was in an elder care facility where he had very limited space.  It worked great for him, using his room's big screen TV for a monitor (via HDMI).  He'd pop it into a drawer when he wasn't using it.  Unfortunately, he installed Windows in Chinese, so it sits idle since he passed away. 

 

I recommend 'em.  Unless you need a lot of eclectic outputs, like serial or parallel.  Which are pretty rare nowadays, and there are USB adapters available.

 

BTW, there have been several threads about them, and the AN search function works a lot better than it used to.

 

Edit:  Stay away from the super cheap ones that have slooooow CPU's.  Check the Passmark Benchmarks for the CPU performance before choosing.  It generally doesn't cost a lot more to get a much faster CPU.

 

[retarius]

I had one hundreds of years ago from Apple....a Mac mini it was called. Indistinguishable in performance from a desktop but took up little room on your desk. I'm surprised they are still about. But once you move to laptops the need for mini computers disappears unless you live in a shed. 

[patman30]

Got an Intel compute stick when they came out, good few years back
always worked when needed, still works now
fine for regular browsing, viewing movies etc
lots of companies offer similar sticks
great for travel with one of those handheld keyboards
not sure how available the compute sticks are here though
nothing wrong with mini PCs but do not expect them to be run like a normal desktop
i do also have a few low end mini ITX board/CPU rigs that work fine for what they do but are slow as you would expect
you can also build high end mini-PCs if DIY
you can also use a raspberry Pi as a computer just fine, although limited to linux afaik

[OneMoreFarang]

My clients use Intel NUCs since probably 10 years or more. They work just fine for office and most other work.

Obviously, they have limited options for upgrades, but who needs these days a couple of "hard disks"? 

And gamers who need lots of graphic power obviously buy something big.

 

But, be careful which model you buy. I don't know the current lineup, but years ago Intel sold fasts NUCs and also some slow models - which looked 90% the same.

[OneMoreFarang]

28 minutes ago, retarius said:

But once you move to laptops the need for mini computers disappears unless you live in a shed. 

 

I disagree.

I like my full-size keyboard and decent size monitor. 

I work on my (fast and good) notebook if I am traveling or visit a client. But at home I prefer the "big" setup.

 

And depending on the work, two monitors make life much better.

As far as I remember, all Intel NUC support two monitors. 

 

[richard_smith237]

Are these any good for gaming ?

 

My son is after a gaming computer… 

[impulse]

40 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Are these any good for gaming ?

 

My son is after a gaming computer… 

 

How serious is he?  Keep in mind you can't add a graphics card.  But the onboard graphics are pretty good nowadays, unless he wants to become the Leader of the Universe (or some such title).

 

[NowNow]

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

Are these any good for gaming ?

 

My son is after a gaming computer… 

 

No.

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

Are these any good for gaming ?

 

My son is after a gaming computer… 

No

 

I guess your son's definition of gaming is not playing cards or chess. 😉

 

 

 

 

[G Rex]

I use a Mac Mini with a Samsung M8 monitor as my desktop computer. It works very well,  The Mini does not have many ports, but this is easily remedied by adding an (also small) Satechi Mac Mini hub.  The hub has the same footprint as the Mac mini. It gives me multiple Type C and card ports.  

The only issue I have with my system is I cannot get my Mac mini to operate with the Samsung webcam - but that is not a real problem for me.

 

This system is faster than my M2 Macbook Pro.

[NowNow]

2 hours ago, CharlieH said:

Has anyone got one of these ? Any thoughts or feedback on your experience would be appreciated.

 

 

Quote

I own a BOTH a 5560u Mini PC and an N100 mini PC and they are different machines.

The 5560u is like a functional win11 desktop, it runs my arcade cabinet and my NAS and operates smooth as butter for web browsing, content consumption, gaming and day to day tasks.

The N100 does NOT have that kinda horse power, its purpose in my house is to sit under my tv and emulate old game systems (PSX and older) and occasionally let me pirate stream a football or basketball game. Its setup with an operating system that essentially makes it a retro game console.

My N100 is NOT pleasant to use, its a SUPER low voltage processor so I'm okay with leaving it powered on 24x7x365 because it only costs me like $2 a month in electricity, the 5560U would eat 10-15X times that if I let it run all the time.

tl;dr get an AMD 5500 series (or 6500 if you can afford) if you're actually going to use it as a computer.

 

You 

[dddave]

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

Are these any good for gaming ?

 

My son is after a gaming computer… 

New processors from both Intel and AMD (Ryzen) have made serious gaming possible on mini-pcs.  I know little about gaming but I suggest your son look up the r/MiniPC forum on Reddit..lots of information and helpful users.

 

I personally have several mini-PCs that I use for both video streaming and internet browsing, linked via HDMI to my large screen TV.  I use a Logitec wireless keyboard & mouse for imput.  Very easy.

Currently, among the less expensive Mini-PCs, the N100 processor stands out for it's capabilities, especially 4K video output. 

BeeLink has been in the Mini-PC business for a long time, have decent customer support and make a good product.  Lots of YT videos reviewing their products.

[dddave]

3 minutes ago, NowNow said:

 

 

You 

I use a Chinese (GenMachine) Mini-PC for my living room TV powered by the Ryzen 5600H processor, 16gb RAM, 512SSD.  It handles everything very well: streaming Netflix & Amazon, Internet and YouTube and  a high bit-rate music service.  I don't play video games so can not speak to game performance.

I had purchased a very cheap (B3500) Peladn Mini-PC (8gb ram, 256ssd) on Lazada for my bedroom TV, powered by a Intel N5105 Celeron Processor and it couldn't handle handle YT videos or music streaming well and I soon had to replace it.

[impulse]

1 minute ago, dddave said:

I use a Chinese (GenMachine) Mini-PC for my living room TV powered by the Ryzen 5600H processor, 16gb RAM, 512SSD.  It handles everything very well: streaming Netflix & Amazon, Internet and YouTube and  a high bit-rate music service.  I don't play video games so can not speak to game performance.

I had purchased a very cheap (B3500) Peladn Mini-PC (8gb ram, 256ssd) on Lazada for my bedroom TV, powered by a Intel N5105 Celeron Processor and it couldn't handle handle YT videos or music streaming well and I soon had to replace it.

 

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Celeron+N5105+%40+2.00GHz

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel N100

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Ryzen+5+5560U

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Ryzen+5+5600H&id=4274

 

No surprises there...

 

 

[KannikaP]

2 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

My clients use Intel NUCs since probably 10 years or more. They work just fine for office and most other work.

Obviously, they have limited options for upgrades, but who needs these days a couple of "hard disks"? 

And gamers who need lots of graphic power obviously buy something big.

 

But, be careful which model you buy. I don't know the current lineup, but years ago Intel sold fasts NUCs and also some slow models - which looked 90% the same.

NUCs are now made by Asus. I have had three in the past. Worked perfectly, even got W11 on the last one.

[malt25]

I've been using a Beelink U59 Pro Mini PC for about 12 months now. Love it.

[NowNow]

20 minutes ago, dddave said:

I use a Chinese (GenMachine) Mini-PC for my living room TV powered by the Ryzen 5600H processor, 16gb RAM, 512SSD.  It handles everything very well: streaming Netflix & Amazon, Internet and YouTube and  a high bit-rate music service.  I don't play video games so can not speak to game performance.

I had purchased a very cheap (B3500) Peladn Mini-PC (8gb ram, 256ssd) on Lazada for my bedroom TV, powered by a Intel N5105 Celeron Processor and it couldn't handle handle YT videos or music streaming well and I soon had to replace it.

 

Indeed, I would certainly avoid anything Celeron, dependent on the price and possible application.

 

[Ben Zioner]

20 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

NUCs are now made by Asus. I have had three in the past. Worked perfectly, even got W11 on the last one.

Mine tends to overheat, but remains useable. The power supply  died too and Asus support didn't replace it. I should have gotten a Mac mini I keep thinking.

[OneMoreFarang]

20 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

NUCs are now made by Asus. I have had three in the past. Worked perfectly, even got W11 on the last one.

 

Mini PCs are made by many companies since many years. But I would be surprised if they are all the same quality.

Bu now I installed maybe 30 or more Intel NUCs and they all work fine.

But obviously it also depends on the configuration. I.e. a PC with too little memory has too little memory, it doesn't matter if NUC, notebook, desktop, whatever.

As far as I know all Intel NUCs allow to change the RAM and HDD or SDD and (I guess now all also have) M.2 storage. 

 

[KannikaP]

4 minutes ago, Ben Zioner said:

Mine tends to overheat, but remains useable. The power supply  died too and Asus support didn't replace it. I should have gotten a Mac mini I keep thinking.

Go on, keep thinking. 

[OneMoreFarang]

1 minute ago, Ben Zioner said:

Mine tends to overheat, but remains useable. The power supply  died too and Asus support didn't replace it. I should have gotten a Mac mini I keep thinking.

 

If they overheat, then maybe put a fan somewhere near them.

 

 

[KannikaP]

Just now, OneMoreFarang said:

 

Mini PCs are made by many companies since many years. But I would be surprised if they are all the same quality.

Bu now I installed maybe 30 or more Intel NUCs and they all work fine.

But obviously it also depends on the configuration. I.e. a PC with too little memory has too little memory, it doesn't matter if NUC, notebook, desktop, whatever.

As far as I know all Intel NUCs allow to change the RAM and HDD or SDD and (I guess now all also have) M.2 storage. 

 

Sorry, I specifically meant Intel NUCs are now made by Asus.

[KannikaP]

Just now, OneMoreFarang said:

 

If they overheat, then maybe put a fan somewhere near them.

 

 

My son had an i5 NUC which got hot. Upped the RAM and it's now fine.

[TroubleandGrumpy]

A few years ago I tried a few of those boxes, and they were awful. But I believe that HTPCs are now very popular and can handle everything. Right now I find that a Laptop and an NVIdia Shield can do everything I want. I have several external HDDs which stores the movies, TV serials, music and other media.  My next move/change will probably be to a HTPC - depending on the value and functionality available. I also have a separate 'business' laptop that I use for banking and when travelling etc.

[bubblegum]

AMD Ryzen 7 series, works like a charm, including gaming.

[KannikaP]

25 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

 

If they overheat, then maybe put a fan somewhere near them.

 

 

Sit it on a laptop fan pad.

[NowNow]

42 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

 

Mini PCs are made by many companies since many years. But I would be surprised if they are all the same quality.

Bu now I installed maybe 30 or more Intel NUCs and they all work fine.

But obviously it also depends on the configuration. I.e. a PC with too little memory has too little memory, it doesn't matter if NUC, notebook, desktop, whatever.

As far as I know all Intel NUCs allow to change the RAM and HDD or SDD and (I guess now all also have) M.2 storage. 

 

 

M.2 is just a form factor. What is important is PCIe(plus how many lanes available) or SATA.

[Regyai]

3 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

 

I disagree.

I like my full-size keyboard and decent size monitor. 

I work on my (fast and good) notebook if I am traveling or visit a client. But at home I prefer the "big" setup.

 

And depending on the work, two monitors make life much better.

As far as I remember, all Intel NUC support two monitors. 

 

 

 

 

Me too

 

Got very bored with the limitations of laptops (working on little screen sizes) and conversely the added bulk of hauling them when

travelling

 

My homes now each have the same twin monitor set-ups - I just take the little mini-computer when I travel between them

[KannikaP]

1 hour ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

Right now I find that a Laptop and an NVIdia Shield can do everything I want

Except Spellcheck. 555