I'm looking to get a mini pc for mostly work and some light gaming. My only requirements are 32GB+1TB as I need to run Windows VMs and Linux containers for work, alongside casual browser usage. I've gone around the sub and found quite a few recommendations for the K8 Plus and found it at amazon.ca going for CAD1,259. I do not plan on getting an eGPU in the future.

I was wondering -

1. Is there a better alternative under CAD 1300?
2. What can I get away with at a lower budget, around CAD 800-1000 range or even lower?
3. Is it worth waiting for Black Fridays, would prices go down then or are we expecting the prices to stay the same even after the 'discounts'?

Thanks in advance!

Hi, new Minisforum's club member here

After some extensive research, I've bought some days ago in Amazon Spain a X1 Lite-255 with these specs:

- AMD Ryzen 7 255
- Radeon 780M
- 16 GB RAM (13,8 GB usable)

Price: u$s 600

I bought it at Amazon Spain because:

- I had a 150€ on a gift card given from a freelancer client
- It is one of the few stores that calculates customs taxes in advance and add to final price
- Not all the MiniPC brands/models can be shipped to Latam

Now I'm looking forward to add an additional nvme, swap ram sticks and make it go 32gb, install Linux Mint (if possible), etc.

I'm looking forward to suggestions, opinions, links, etc. to put Linux on this.
I'll try to set up Plex, Proxmox, etc. and make a little home server

unboxing

This Razer Core X V2 is crying out for one.

Powerful mini PC has 128GB RAM and a 1TB SSD. This silver and black GMKtec EVO-X2 model is equipped with an AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 processor. The unit has multiple ports including USB4, HDMI, and DisplayPort. It has a triple cooling fan system and supports quad screen displays.
Also selling 3 monitors with it. 2x27” curved monitors and 1x49” curved monitor.
All is 2 weeks old. Will sell with all the cables.

I wanna run open models there and serve them via an endpoint so that I can use it in my other applications. So I want a powerful one.

I get having A fast compact pc is amazing- but what possible use case has this thing got!?

I thought the 5080 Rog nuc was mental at 4500 but this takes the cake and blows it up with dynamite! How are they handling cooling!? And power etc!! Madness.

id love to see Robtec do a review of this!

Thanks for coming to my ted talk.

I am looking to buy my first MiniPC and currently I am a little overwhelmed with the options
The things I want to use it for are Pi-Hole/Unbound (or an alternative), set up VPN for my local network and use it as a hub for an LED matrix I own. Other usecases will probably be added down the road. But in my understandig it's not that much. The things I would appreciate are something energy-efficient, quiet and not that expensive. What would you recommend?

Thanks in advance!

I have a budget of $1,000-1,300 and I am looking to purchase a mini pc for spreadsheet business work and some occasional gaming (RuneScape and Minecraft). What are your recommendations for the best in my price range ?

I was thinking of buying the Apple mac mini M6 with 32 gb memory.

Purchased and installed Process Lasso in hopes of keeping fan noise down on my MSI AI+ 2MG miniPC. The Intel 288V runs at 30w TDP base so fan noise tends to be audible in balanced and performance mode under light load but silent running in quiet mode with 30% fan speed. In addition the quiet mode appears to disable boost and maxes at around 3200mhz instead of 5100mhz.

I noticed that running certain older games will peg a single core hard and ramp up fan speeds and noise so this is what I did.

1. create new power plan, name it, and set max processor frequency to 99. This effectively disables boost. Keep your active power plan to Balanced or Performance.
2. Start up game. In process lasso find the active process in the game and set the power profile to the power plan you created in step 1. This will stop the game from boosting and the cores are plenty fast enough to still run them. Once you close the game the system will go back to the default power plan.
3. Repeat step 2 for any other processes you want to tone down. Note that lunar lake CPUs are very efficient and even disabling boost will provide excellent performance.

I keep the default power plan on Balanced for snappier performance overall and fan noise isn’t bad when just web browsing or streaming with my custom fan curves. I've only done this workflow with old games but can see this extending to other types of applications as well.

Note that I don’t use MSI Center and set custom fan curves in the BIOS.

For everyone running a 250W HDPLEX GaN PSU, and for those who are tired of being limited to low-profile CPU coolers with low TDP capabilities just to keep their builds compact, I've recently picked up a project I've been working on over the past year!

I'm currently refining the design with the goal of publishing it on MakerWorld. The case has already been printed several times, but I've made some additional changes to improve it further. For now, here are some renders of the updated design. I'll also include a few pictures of the original version I built for myself, featuring a magnetic monitor mount, as well as a more recent print before the latest round of changes.

I genuinely think this could be one of the best cases out there when it comes to balancing airflow and compactness. It supports low-profile GPUs only, but accommodates CPU coolers up to 69 mm tall, which is considerably more than many other compact SFF cases in this size category. And the best part? It's barely over 5 litres (5.14L, to be precise haha).

Cooling options are pretty interesting, too. With a standard dual-slot low-profile GPU, such as an RTX 4060 LP or 5060 LP, there's room for:

• 2 × 80 mm fans at the front
• 1 × 80 mm fan on top
• 2 × 40 mm fans on top

These configurations use slim fans rather than standard 25 mm-thick ones.

If you're planning to use the case with an iGPU build instead, like I'm currently doing with my 8700G, you can even install two standard 80 × 25 mm fans at the bottom in place of the GPU.

I've also put a lot of thought into keeping the overall design as clean as possible. The feet use hidden magnets, so they can be removed whenever needed without leaving visible magnets on the outside. There are no visible screws or unnecessary holes on the exterior, apart from a single screw on the side panel. Everything else relies on sliding and interlocking mechanisms.

The fans are mounted on removable, thin brackets that slide into dedicated slots on the front, top and bottom panels, just like a picture in a frame. This keeps them securely in place without leaving any fan mounting screws visible from the outside.

The side panel slides off and is secured to the front panel with just a single screw as I mentioned before. The front panel itself also slides into place, making disassembly straightforward.

I'm still working on the final details, but I'm looking forward to sharing the finished project with you all!

If you're interested in my crazy projects, feel free to follow me on MakerWorld: scala3dprints

I tried putting a qtb1(10900 es) cpu in my p340 tiny. Well it did not work as half expected. However, unlike most 'unsupported component' behavior, it did not beep any code, nor it died a second after boot. Just trying to post but it fails and renders just black. It is also true when other components are missing, like when I pulled out both of my ram sticks it still didn't make any beeps. Is there any bios mods to fix this issue? like I seriously need hopium I paid like 150$ on that cpu

Ps. CPU is working on other motherboard, checked it showing intel genuine 0000 in bios

Btw why do I have line on my text and why can't I get it off

Is there a way to use the regular i7 8700 or 9700 in the Fujitsu mini PCs instead of the T models?
The regular ones are a lot cheaper. Would I need to change some Bios settings?

I recently purchased an ASUS NUC 13 Pro for ₹38,000 and wanted to get your opinions on whether it was a good deal or if I overpaid.

Configuration:

• Model: ASUS NUC 13 Pro
• Processor: Intel Core i5-13420H, 13th Gen
• RAM: 16GB Samsung DDR4-3200
• SSD: 512GB Micron NVMe
• Operating system: Windows 11 Pro (OEM license)
• Price paid: ₹38,000

I'm based in India, where mini-PC pricing and availability can be quite different from the US market.

I'd appreciate feedback on the following:

1. Is ₹38,000 a reasonable price for this configuration in the Indian market?
2. How does it compare with similarly priced mini PCs or a custom-built desktop?
3. Is the i5-13420H still a good CPU for development, Docker containers, Kubernetes labs, virtualization, and general productivity?
4. Are there any known thermal, fan-noise, reliability, or BIOS issues with this model?
5. Would upgrading the RAM to 32GB and the SSD to 1TB be worthwhile?
6. If the unit doesn't come with a proper purchase invoice or manufacturer warranty, would that significantly affect its value?
7. Would you keep it at this price, or sell it and build a desktop instead?

My primary use cases are software development, DevOps, running local Kubernetes environments, AI/ML experiments, and everyday productivity. I may also explore an external GPU setup, although I understand that this mini PC has integrated graphics and external GPU compatibility and performance need to be evaluated separately.

Would you consider this a good buy at ₹38,000, or would you choose something else? Honest opinions are welcome.

Thanks!

Is this worth taking on as a project ?

Hey guys,

Avid nuc user here- have had skull canyon , hades, and nuc11enthusiast in my time, I’ve just had my makn system crap out and call it a day- 5800x3d/2080ti.

i use the pc as my main media hub- gaming/youtube/movies etc it’s the centre of it all.

I’m looking for a nuc to get me by until AM6 launches-

Requirements are-

Dedicated Gpu- ideally on par with the 2080ti( I know it’s a big ask)( prefer Nvidia>amd>intel)

CPU I’m brand agnostic- performance speaks volumes.

Connections- 2usb/ethernet. Minimum.

Dual nvme storage with raid support( yes I’ve got raid0 nvme ssd).

that’s about it.

Budget is flexible I’d like to be under 1000gbp but if something bonkers comes up then the budget can stretch.

Based in UK but am going to Germany end of the month so if there are any deals to be had that would be great!

thanks guys!

My total budget is ₹2.3 lakh (including monitor).

I'm a professional video editor and motion graphics designer working with After Effects, Premiere Pro, Photoshop, and Illustrator. My work involves complex compositions, heavy effects, masking, and 3D camera tracking.

I'm considering a Mac mini M5 Pro (24GB RAM, 512GB SSD) with an external SSD, but I'm worried about RAM limitations and gaming compatibility.

Alternatively, I could build a Windows PC with an NVIDIA GPU within the same budget.

If you had ₹2.3 lakh to spend, which setup would you choose for the next 4–5 years, and why?

I also play games like GTA V but sometimes like weekend

I'd especially appreciate advice from people who use After Effects professionally. Honest real-world experiences would help me make the right investment!

#MacMini #AppleSilicon #AfterEffects #VideoEditing #MotionGraphics #MacVsPC #PremierePro #VFX

Hey everyone!

I'm about to buy a Mini PC for some light-to-medium gaming (1080p / 720p), and I'm torn between two options I found on Amazon for around $460.

Here are the specs:

BMAX: AMD Ryzen 7 8745H + Radeon 780M | 16GB DDR5 (single stick)460$

Beelink: AMD Ryzen 7 7735U + Radeon 680M | 24GB LPDDR5-489$

I know that integrated graphics cards are significantly affected and lose quite a few FPS when running in single-channel mode. My question is: since the Beelink has 24 GB of LPDDR5 RAM, could it match the 780 with 16 GB in single-channel mode? Or is the BMAX with the 780 still the better option?

Hello,

This is my first attempt to set up an eGPU for gaming. I found a used, like-new one on Amazon for $198.35. It seems like Aoostar Direct is selling it for $300. I already have DDR5 SODIMM, an SSD, and an RTX 5050, so I just need to buy the mini PC and an eGPU dock. This model has OcuLink, so I think this setup will be perfect for me, and I am going to get the Aoostar EG01 eGPU dock. What do you guys think? Also, the Aoostar EG01 seems to be out of stock, sadly. Any alternative eGPU dock with a mini pc mount on it?

My old Acer Predator Helios 300 laptop died a few years ago (probably due to a faulty motherboard component, as even the normal tech shops couldn't repair it), and with such crazy prices for PC handhelds & mini PCs that are bundled with RAM and storage, I recently realized that I could reuse the RAM and SSDs that were in my dead laptop into a mini PC. I managed to identify the following:

Been on-off searching here for similar posts but most recommendations that I saw are using DDR5 RAM (like the GMKtec M6 Ultra) or is unavailable on Aliexpress or in the Asia region.

My use cases are mostly on a Windows system using Cricut, Photoshop, and hopefully being able to play games such as Elden Ring with medium graphics. I would also assume a pretty low budget, maybe around $400-$500 for a barebones mini PC, but feel free to correct me as I am really out of the mini PC community for a long while now.

I appreciate any recommendations and suggestions, thank you in advance!

Hey everyone,

I'm looking into getting a mini PC and would love to hear some real-world experiences from people who already own one.

I'm mainly looking for something reliable for everyday use, web browsing, multitasking, and occasional media playback. I'd prefer something compact and quiet, without spending money on performance I don't really need.

A few things I'd love to know:
• Which mini PC are you currently using?
• How are the noise levels and temperatures under normal use?
• Have you run into any reliability or driver issues?
• If you were buying one today, would you get the same model or choose something else?

I'd appreciate any recommendations, including models you think are overrated or worth avoiding. Real-world experience is more helpful to me than spec sheets.

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I recently bought a Lenovo ThinkCentre M710q Tiny with an Intel Celeron G3900T.

I'm planning to upgrade the CPU, but I noticed that the G3900T isn't listed in Lenovo's official PSREF documentation, even though other 6th and 7th generation processors are supported.

My question is: Can I replace the G3900T with a more powerful CPU, such as an i5-6500T, i5-7500T, or even an i7-7700T?

Since the G3900T isn't officially listed, I'm wondering if my M710q might have a different motherboard or BIOS that could affect CPU compatibility.

Has anyone upgraded an M710q that originally came with a G3900T?

Thanks in advance.