The current issue of Computer Active shows a mini PC, and inside does a big write up on them.
What do people think of these ?
I've not heard of them, until now, but would they make good replacement for say, a raspberry Pi or similar HIfi streamer device, easier to set up etc etc ?
The mini pcs that are available today are closer to a desktop replacement than something like a Raspberry Pi, especially since they are capable of running Windows.
I personally have a Trigkey N4 mini pc in my garage to use as a shop pc. Does what I need it to.
Many of the mini PCs will run a Celeron processor which is not exactly a powerhouse. These systems tend to be good for basic daily tasks like web browsing, word processing, etc. but not great for things like video editing or gaming.
Still, it's impressive what they can pack into such a small space.
Go to AZ and type in mini pc, they have several you can read about and see the reviews. W11 Pro <$200
As stated, Mini-PC's are great for offices to save desk space, doing basic business functions. They are not designed for gaming or other high end computing like AutoCAD and are not really upgradable.
A few years back, the term mini pc referred to stick like devices that were ARM powered and ran the Android OS. I played around with a couple but they lacked the power to do much more than act as a streaming device.
The Celeron J4125 cpu that powers the Trigkey N4 is pretty snappy, especially coupled with a 128GB SSD but I wouldn't use it for gaming or video editing as stated by hsehestedt above.
Hello @NE5,
I downloaded the magazine and read the article, very informative and interesting. I do however, agree with the previous comments that at the present time, it is ideal for basic computing. I am sure that in the not too distant future, that they will be available with all the processing power of a full blown Desktop or Laptop.
In 2015, I bought a Dell Chromebox (16GB M.2 and 2GB RAM) that I purposed for a media streamer. It worked fine until Google (as Google does) stopped support in the fall of 2019. A couple of years ago, I bought a new 120GB M.2 drive and added an additional 4GB stick of RAM (all for less than $50) and installed Linux on it. It works just fine as a media streamer and a lite usage computer. It probably could run Windows on it, but I'm not going to try and find out.
It is small enough to hide in my HT rack and makes a good HTPC.
As a successor of my RPi (which broke down) I bought an Intel NUC (NUC7PJYH motherboard; Pentium Silver J5005 processor; W10), to be connected to my TV set as a mediaplayer. I am very satisfied with this unit.
i) I can use all programs, which I use on my desktop PC
ii) I can easily use a VPN
iii) I installed Kodi. A program I like
iv) new programs can be tested on my desktop PC, before implementation on the miniPC
v) the miniPC is somewhat slower than my desktop PC but fast enough to be used as an all-round mediaplayer
vi) I did a 4k streaming test. No issue at all.
As mentioned, the Raspberry Pi will not "officially" run Windows. There are unofficial ports of Windows on Arm that sort of kind of work on it. Last time I looked it was still a "work in progress".
It depends on what you want to do, and hope to accomplish on said device. I have several Pi 4B's here. Very compact, small footprint, air cooled and nice and quite. I'd class them as a mini PC. Pro's and cons depending on your objective. I also have a Pi 400, it's Commodore 64 ish. I wouldn't call it a mini PC, but it is nice an compact. Everything is under the keyboard. I use it for basic internet access and to watch some of my wifi camera streams.
"Sometimes" smaller is better.
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