Replacing a desktop with a mini


  1. Posts : 3
    Windows 10 Pro
       #1

    Replacing a desktop with a mini


    Hi all,
    Long time lurker and used to contribute in the eight forums 10 moons ago - good to see this is going strong!

    I've always had a fairly powerful laptop (Currently a Dell XPS 9300) and a desktop (currently a Dell Precision 3620 however recently I know the mini desktops have come far and wanting to now potentially increase monitor numbers (from 2>3), I was thinking what the potential of a mini is these days. The increase in screens also means space is a premium on the desk!

    The Desktop is a i7-6700 (Quad Core 3.40GHz, 4.0Ghz Turbo, 8MB) with 32GB ram
    The laptop is a i7-1065G7 with 16GB ram though this would be the mobile/ultra version I guess.

    What I was looking at is either the HP EliteDesk 800 G5 Mini Dell Optiplex 7070 Mini
    Both are i7-9700 with the HP being K and Optiplex being T
    Both 16GB ram though I would double this
    Storage is not an issue as this would be increased via SSD

    I'll be doing a count of peripherals shortly to ensure I'm not limited but aside from that, is the power enough?
    For what you ask...

    Day to Day it would be SQL coding in sql server management studio with potentially the database on the system too.
    Importantly though, I do tend to run virtual machines time to time for development work.

    End of the day, what I don't want is any restrictions in what I can/cannot do - I'm not talking about expansion as I fully appreciate I cannot just whack the machine open and shove a full size dvd writer or 5 SSDs in.
    What I don't know is whether the quad core 6700 for a full desktop is the same as the newer 9th (and 10th) gen i7 processors.
    I also am unsure whether it can handle 3 monitors.

    The only thing the 3620 had issues with is the built in 530 graphics card really struggled with 2x 4k screens. Day to day it was fine but stick something up like a CCTV application and everything ground to a halt.
    I ended up installed a AMD FirePro W5100 card which resolved it.

    Potentially the screen outputs could be a showstopper as both have only two displayport outputs though the images on the HP shows 2 + 1 hdmi.
    Worst case, use an egpu.

    Thanks in advance!
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 2,487
    Windows 10 Home, 64-bit
       #2

    aj84 said:
    What I don't know is whether the quad core 6700 for a full desktop is the same as the newer 9th (and 10th) gen i7 processors.
    This might help in your comparison:

    Intel Core i7-9700 @ 3.00GHz vs Intel Core i7-6700 @ 3.40GHz [cpubenchmark.net] by PassMark Software
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 3
    Windows 10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #3

    I was on this earlier and didn't get a true picture but actually I've just re-run it using your link and adding the actual T and K processors which now gives a much clearer picture
    Intel Core i7-6700 @ 3.40GHz vs Intel Core i7-9700K @ 3.60GHz vs Intel Core i7-9700T @ 2.00GHz [cpubenchmark.net] by PassMark Software

    It seems the HP is the better one - 95w vs 35w, 3.6 vs 2.0, and then just about everything else.

    Anything to watch out for? Would it suffer thermal throttling etc?

    Thanks again
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 2,487
    Windows 10 Home, 64-bit
       #4

    You can easily find many complaints about the 9600 and 9700 CPUs running hot.

    Not so for the 9500, but maybe you don't want to step down to that. Or maybe you can't find it in a mini.

    Are you the type who would get quite nervous if your temps were, say, constantly in the 60s or 70s under a typical load? A lot of people are, even though these critters don't throttle till up around 100 the last I heard. Failure is so random that I personally can't get too nervous over temps. Your opinion may differ.

    I'd assume the 9700T has fewer heat complaints, but I haven't really kept up as I won't be upgrading till 10 nanometers arrives in the mainstream desktop, which might still be a year or more away.

    As usual, it's all a trade-off between heat, anxiety over heat, and performance and we all are at different points on that bell curve.

    I'm personally antsy over minis, but that's because I like more roomy cases and upgrade internal components from time to time. If I never opened a case and simply replaced the whole thing every few years, I might well go mini, heat be damned. Or even a small cube-ish case.

    Can't help you on graphics specific issues. I've been perfectly happy with built-in graphics on a 6600K (Intel integrated 630 series).

    Intel has a 10000 series of CPUs out, but I'm not sure if any have yet trickled down to minis.

    Good luck.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 3
    Windows 10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Thanks again - a bit of food for thought so I will ponder on that.

    The 10 is not on the mini range for HP or Dell though they are usually quite slow. I think Shuttle have a mini on the 10k range or maybe just in the i9 9xxx range.

    Let me crunch on it - will report back as and when this lockdown is over.
      My Computer


 

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