Cheap Work-At-Home Desktop PC

Dear Site Admins -- I couldn't find a place to put this in all the sub forums. Perhaps you need a PC Hardware Recommendations and Reviews area?

Hiya,

Because of Covid a lot of people I know are working at home are suddenly wishing they had a desktop PC. The problem is they've already buried a lot of money into a laptop and so their budget doesn't exist.

Most PC people I know only know of the big ugly towers they abandoned for laptops -- and are unaware of the wacky and fun Mini PC world. These PCs come in at different price points and are meant to be attached to the back of the monitor in some cases. I consider that an awkward place and prefer it just sitting near the monitor.

There's an entire world of NUCs. Since I'm going to dismiss this world it's basically BUILD YOUR OWN via Mini PC. The problem is most users would rather not deal with installing their own RAM, SSD, and operating systems.

These leaves with you ready to go Mini PCs. The shortcoming is typically power. I have a tiny Beelink PC connected to my flatscreen TV and the Intel Celeron is... sluggish. So if you use it here and there on the TV it's the best $200 I ever spent... but if you're going to work in front of it all day you want something more powerful.

Just announced --





YouTube


That's roughly 5 inches by 5 inches by 2. What makes it powerful is an i5 chip from the 5000 series. (We're at 10,000s right now.) But for surfing, bills, Zoom, streaming video up to 4K, office work -- that i5 can handle it.

(Don't take my word for it. In fact wait for YouTuber types to actually review this unit and make sure it's the right fit for you.)

The thing is that you can add that to a 4K TV and you've got a GINORMOUS Home PC. For $299. BOOM, done.

But maybe you don't want a monitor the size of a child's mattress. Monitors of all sorts on Amazon will cost you $99-$350 -- depending upon how big and sharp you want to go. So, yeah, you could be looking at a new diminutive desktop for $450.

Unfortunately for Zoomers you still lack a proper webcam. The bad news there is Amazon webcams are tight and pricey or a month shipping from China at the moment thank you Covid. I predict in another few weeks there will be some niiiiiiice cameras exploiting this new market. Try to get 720p or better. That price point should be about $30.

Yes you'll need to buy a keyboard and a mouse. Unlike an All in One you can pick exactly what you want. That will be under $60.

So there you go. I don't work for these guys I'm just a fan. You can order off Amazon or eBay for the PCs but then can tend to be marked up by a local middleman. AliExpress will typically offer the best price but you must keep an eye on the vendor to see if they're reputable.

More info here --

Beelink Content of the article

All I did was buy a $30 USB docking station. I bring my work laptop home, plug the docking station into a USB port and I have my mouse and keyboard connected as well as HDMI out to tv or monitor.

Need to Skype or Zoom, well then I actually have to open the laptop lid to expose the webcam and microphone.

NavyLCDR said:

All I did was buy a $30 USB docking station. I bring my work laptop home, plug the docking station into a USB port and I have my mouse and keyboard connected as well as HDMI out to tv or monitor.

Need to Skype or Zoom, well then I actually have to open the laptop lid to expose the webcam and microphone.

I forget that's the cheapest and best. But I had a friend tell me it created an angle issue for her with camera. I showed her how to put the big monitor on some books behind the laptop -- :)

My bias here is that I've always preferred desktops. I was a Macintosh (All in One)/ iMac person for 29 years. I've never seen a laptop that made me say, wow, why aren't I using that? I've got this happening right now --



25 inches of 2K. I paid $349 for it 3 years ago but it's been $284 recent. That monitor and that mini PC all for under 600? Not in the Mac world... lol.