/r/MiniPCs

Photograph via snooOG

A subreddit for everything related to SMALL single-board computers.

A subreddit for everything related to SMALL single-board computers. We don't have a strict definition of "mini PC", but a simple rule of thumb is:

Size: A mini PC refers to a compact, small-form-factor computer that offers many of the perks of a traditional PC but in a much smaller size. The smaller the better but it should be ultra portable.

Power Use: Mini PCs are usually equipped with high-end laptop components or a custom (SBC) single board computer, and therefore use much less power than a regular desktop PC.

Related Subs

/r/MiniPCs

74,428 Subscribers

2

Intel 11500B mini pc vs 5800H mini pc

2 Comments
2025/02/04
02:28 UTC

8

4K YouTube Playback on a $55 elderly mini PC? Why Not

https://preview.redd.it/euxwtiwzx0he1.jpg?width=3916&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=15f1127817227ab560bd26e9c746eb02b6bba6d0

I recently picked up a mini PC (Intel N4000, 6GB RAM, 128GB eMMC) that came with Windows 11, unsurprisingly, it ran painfully slow. Just for fun, I installed Linux Mint, and while it was usable, it wasn’t exactly snappy. That got me curious about other lightweight distros, so I started testing a few.

Antix was a slight improvement, allowing smooth 720p YouTube playback, but it didn’t quite fit my needs. So, I gave Puppy Linux a try.

At first, the interface felt unfamiliar, and there were too many preinstalled apps. But after customizing it (and breaking things a few times), I realized one key thing—it was fast. Fast enough that it felt close to my desktop.

To test its limits, I played YouTube videos, my go-to benchmark for browser performance. Surprisingly, it handled 720p60, 1080p60, and even 1440p30 without issues. After a frugal install, I went further and got smooth 2160p30 playback, as long as no other tabs were open.

I never expected to enjoy this mini PC as much as I do now. I originally thought it would just end up as a basic home server or Batocera machine, but here we are.

2 Comments
2025/02/04
01:25 UTC

1

AtomMan G7 PT...only 4Tb of storage?

Am I reading the specs correctly...the AtomMan G7 PT can only manage 2x 2Tb SSD drives? My 7 year old Intel NUC can manage a 2Tb and a 4TB and works fine. Have I read it wrong?

0 Comments
2025/02/04
01:00 UTC

1

Wich miniPC for heavy software (blender/ Cinema4D/ Adobe suite)

Hi, i'm a designer and i've always worked on my laptop and i'm considering buying a desktop Pc to work at home with it. I was wondering if there was a MiniPc as Good as the Apple M4 studio. I don't see myself moving to Apple devices at all.

If you have any recommendations feel free to share. My budget is between 800 to 2000Eu Max. (Btw i'm not into computer so i don't really know what to look for.)

1 Comment
2025/02/04
00:50 UTC

1

Need Help Optimizing Acemagic V1 for Everyday Use

Hey everyone, I just picked up an Acemagic V1 (N150, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) and want to get the most out of it. Planning to use it mainly for web browsing, streaming, and some light productivity tasks.

A few questions:

1)Should I stick with Windows 11 or switch to Linux for better performance?

2)Any recommended tweaks to make it run smoother?

3)Are there any driver updates or BIOS settings I should check?

Appreciate any advice—thanks!

1 Comment
2025/02/03
21:24 UTC

2

Any luck with AliExpress?

I’m looking to pick up a minipc with an AMD 7840u or equivalent for as cheap as possible with plans to build a handheld portable with it and was wondering if anyone has had any success with buying minipcs pff of AliExpress or if you guys had any other suggestions?

5 Comments
2025/02/03
21:08 UTC

4

Would a SER5 beelink or a MINISFORUM UM760 be better for the sims 4 + mods and gshade?

Very much a newbie when it comes to pcs, and don’t necessarily have the budget/space to get a full fledged gaming pc so I was looking at these two options. Any thoughts/recommendations on which one is better? I only really need the mini pc to play the sims and maybe some schoolwork so nothing too heavy.

5 Comments
2025/02/03
20:57 UTC

2

Hello I need some help! Do mini pc's come with malware and spyware?

Ive seen lots of review on youtube warning about this, for example the ace magician and the beelink computers. Are there any brands I should avoid or every brand is tainted. Can you direct me to a model without this problems if some of them are infected?

16 Comments
2025/02/03
19:13 UTC

1

Is this a good deal/right for the use case?

Hello, I am trying to buy a mini PC for a family member who dabbles into software (mostly uni work) and does light gaming on 1080p monitor. (league, tft, val, nothing too crazy).

I was wondering how the 870 slim would do 32gb ram + 780m
Also wondering if it is a good deal.

Im not sure if having this screenshot is ok in the sub but thank you all in advance.

https://preview.redd.it/2brsqibb3zge1.png?width=1310&format=png&auto=webp&s=104ffd3b7eaf0d991898f8cc4bc831f75f1d2f02

2 Comments
2025/02/03
19:12 UTC

1

Beelink Ser8: Front end question

I have a brand new Ser8 with an 8745HS 32gbs of ram and I'm unsure if I should go with Batocera or Retrobat. The Ser8 is beefy for a mini pc but will I lose a lot of performance to the overhead of windows? My use case here is emulation up through original xbox and Dolphin.

Thanks for any suggestions!

3 Comments
2025/02/03
19:04 UTC

2

How to make sense of an unknown header?

So... as a result of an ill-advised eBay purchase, I am the proud owner of 10 Jasper Lake based mini-PCs; specifically the 10Zig 6000Q-1TAA.

As you can see from the photo, the motherboard of the machine has three mystery I/O interfaces. The white socket on the right turns out to be mSATA. The grey one on the left is E-keyed M.2 (and even turns out to have a PCIe lane going to it, fortunately).

And then there's the 10-pin header in the center of the image.

Does anyone know what it is? How would I even figure it out? My suspicion is that it's a header for a TPM daughterboard, but if so it's entirely dissimilar to the TPM daughterboards for any other mobo on the market.

The company's support org has no idea -- they "don't have the information I'm asking for", and seem reluctant to just sell me parts for other models.

If you were me, and both a) wanted to know what this thing is, and b) actually had a need to put a TPM in this thing, what would you do? How would you proceed?

The machine itself

Close-up of the Mystery Slots(TM) inside. J4 is the one I'm interested in

7 Comments
2025/02/03
18:13 UTC

0

Help with buying my first mini

Hi reddit!

I am interested in buying my first MiniPC. The computer will be connected to my living room TV and used for streaming services (since my TV doesn't support all services I'm interested in nativelly) and for gaming, primarily using Switch Pro and Stadia Controllers, but I also have a wireless keyboard and mouse.

The games I intend to play are not that demanding on hardware, but I still would like to be able to use the mini pc for a few years before I have to replace it to be able to play newer games.

I was thinking of getting the Beelink SER8 for this purpose and would like to hear your oppinion on it.

  • Regarding bad wifi and bluetooth range: I can connect the SER8 to my router directly via ethernet and I don't mind plugging in an extra dongle should the built in bluetooth be too unstable to connect controllers to.
  • Amazon at the moment doesn't have the 8745HS in stock, so I'm considering getting it directly from Beelink (I'm living in Germany). According to their website they ship within 15 days and delivery takes 3-7 business days.

Does anyone have experience in ordering directly from beelink to central Europe or Germany? I expect I will have to pay sales tax and customs on arrival?

Any similar priced alternatives I should consider instead?

0 Comments
2025/02/03
17:31 UTC

1

Beelink EQ14 and Synology DS923+ or just build a PC?

9 Comments
2025/02/03
17:21 UTC

2

Dell Optiplex 5080 oder Geekom A5

Mein Vater brauch einen neuen PC. Für Office und Internet. Sein Büro ist nicht ganz so Staubfrei, trotzdem will ich weg von dem großen Desktop PC.

Ich mag ja Geekom aber auch die optiplex Serie von Dell. Gebraucht liegt der Optiplex im Bereich von einem Geekom A5, daher die Alternative. Der Optiplex ist allerdings einfacher zu reinigen. Allerdings müsste ich Adapter von Displayport zu hdmi und dvi kaufen, wenn ich den optiplex nehme.

Der Geekom hat einen AMD Ryzen 7 5825U und win 11 pro. Ca 400 €

Der Optiplex hat einen i5 10500T und Win 11 Home. Rund 450€

Was mein ihr? Ich kann mich nicht entscheiden.

3 Comments
2025/02/03
16:22 UTC

0

What's your recommendation for 4k hdr movies?

I'll only be using it for watching movies, web browsing and email etc. I've been using a Trigkey S5 but it freezes on all 4k movies after a few seconds to a few minutes.

7 Comments
2025/02/03
16:17 UTC

2

trigkey s6 6900hx usb4 egpu

can i connect a usb egpu to the trigkey s6 6900hx? the specific gpu is the RX 580 8GB.

2 Comments
2025/02/03
16:10 UTC

0

Mini PC as NAS

I am looking for a mini PC as a NAS. I was thinking of something with an n100 or so and 3 drive slots would be ideal. One for the OS and the other two as raid.

1 Comment
2025/02/03
15:56 UTC

2

Cheapest AMD mini pc?

I purchased several N150 Mini PCs for a project, but unfortunately they don't work with Hackintosh since the integrated GPU isn't supported. AMD Ryzen APUs with Vega graphics would be compatible - what cost-effective alternative would you recommend? I'm looking for 10-15 units and want to spend as little as possible. The performance should be at least on par with the N150

13 Comments
2025/02/03
14:49 UTC

0

Shall I get NVMe or SSD for Protectli box?

Hey, I was looking at various options for Protectli VP6650 including the storage options. Looks like a 4TB NVMe based storage is cheaper than 2TB NVMe + 2TB 2.5' SSD ($255 vs $293)

My question is whether it's better to just get all NVMe or split into NVMe + SSD and if so why?

On the box I was planning to run Proxmox with VMs - pfsense, HomeAssistant, Roon server and perhaps Plex at some point for movie streaming. On top of that, few containers in docker compose or kubernetes cluster for educational purposes.
I am not planning to make this Protectli my storage, for that I would have proper NAS with a RAID.

Thanks a lot for all suggestions,

M.

https://preview.redd.it/n88x94n2bxge1.png?width=1030&format=png&auto=webp&s=81f7f561ac36c6de0aec70df1309654616ab205f

6 Comments
2025/02/03
13:15 UTC

3

Cheap minipc with little processing power but lots of RAM?

I'm looking for a cheap minipc. I need very little processing power but a lot of RAM (min 32gb but ideally 64gb). What minipc setup would you be looking at to achieve this in the most cost efficient manner?

7 Comments
2025/02/03
10:34 UTC

1

Trigkey G5 reboot issue.

Hi, just got a Trigkey G5 with 16GB Ram and 500GB SSD.

I've installed Opnsense and that seems to be working very well.

However when I issue a reboot command the box seems to shut the OS down, but doesn't finish the reboot. I have to press the power button quickly and then it reboots.

Is there a setting in the BIOS that needs updating ?

Thanks

0 Comments
2025/02/03
08:58 UTC

0

Minisforum MS-01 US Price Increase?

Purchased my Minisforum MS-01 i9-13900H Barebones for $639 on December 15, 2024. Now, it costs $679 on shop.minisforum.com. Tariffs already taking effect? 🤔

2 Comments
2025/02/03
05:55 UTC

1

RV Server

Can I get away with a GMKtec g3 for the following: *Low power consumption *Basic Minecraft server *Home assistant to serve a couple video feeds over to an Apple TV. *maybe some other light weight docker containers

If not, what you recommend?

1 Comment
2025/02/03
05:27 UTC

1

Secondary bluetooth possible?

I'm almost there with my project, which is getting a secondary wifi card with on my laptop for Airdrop (hackintosh) and keeping the original one for higher speeds.

The *only* part where I'm stuck now is the internal usb header needed for the BT connection for the Airdrop wifi card.

Ultimately I can connect the usb part outside (ugh), but that doesn't really sound like the smartest alternative.

Anyone feeling charitable to help me find a way to adapt an internal usd header out of this board? Or perhaps only the 2 cables that the BT cable has?

This video has the full disassembly of this system and the picture below shows the board and the part where I'm stuck right now. Any help is appreciated.

https://youtu.be/flL1kNVY_9k?si=oqotAYlBrm-fZ0SX

https://preview.redd.it/khcq2o78zuge1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=29e41ff51aba68c1bdf8320d9eb84238239edec4

1 Comment
2025/02/03
05:20 UTC

1

Help Finding the Best All-in-One Gaming Mini PC

I’m overwhelmed by the number of options for gaming mini PCs. Every time I find one, there’s always a “better” option, and it’s hard to decide.

The best one I’ve found so far is the ACEMAGIC Mini Gaming PC (AM08PRO):

  • 32GB DDR5 RAM
  • 1TB NVMe SSD
  • Ryzen 9 6900HX + AMD Radeon 680M
  • Supports 4K Triple Screen, RGB Lights, WiFi 6, BT 5.2, Type-C, up to 4.9GHz

I’m looking for something in the $300–$500 range. I code and play games like Fortnite, so I need something fast and great for gaming. If it handles gaming well, I know it’ll handle everything else I do.

Must-haves:

  • Good performance (speed is key)
  • Decent storage (I’m switching from a 1TB laptop)
  • Solid RAM (for multitasking and coding)

There are so many mini PCs out there—I just want a final, no-regrets decision. Any recommendations?

5 Comments
2025/02/03
04:27 UTC

4

HX100G - Temperature

I was playing Atomic Heart and checked HWInfo and found that temperatures were hitting 99 C. What temperature ranges are safe when using mini PCs?

8 Comments
2025/02/03
04:23 UTC

1

dear all geekom ae7 users I have an issue that needs to be fixed

my mini pc just shut off on time and flashed green for a couple frames before everything just stopped working it's like the usb ports and stuff just stopped working nothing was showing up my keyboard wasn't turning on just nothing

1 Comment
2025/02/03
03:59 UTC

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