What is your favorite type of x86 big core Mini Desktop PC?

[cbn]

For the big core x86 here is how I see the categories:

1. 35W Business PCs:

(These are VESA mountable and usually come with one 2.5" drive and M.2. Operating system is Windows 10 Pro with Windows 7 Pro downgrade rights.)

Examples:


http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/optiplex-7040-micro-desktop/pd?ref=PD_OC

http://store.hp.com/us/en/mdp/busin.../en/ips/business_desktops/elite/buynow800mini

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/desktops/thinkcentre/m-series-tiny/m900/

 

[cbn]

2. Fanless DIY 35W with at least one 2.5" bay. Power comes from AC adapter.

An example would be the VESA mountable Akasa Euler (a thin mini-itx case) which can mount one 2.5" drive:

http://www.akasa.com.tw/update.php?tpl=product/product.detail.tpl&type=Chassis&type_sub=Mini ITX&model=AK-ITX05-BK

3. 65W VESA mount barebones or DIY with two 2.5" drive bays. Power comes from AC adapter.

Examples would be ASRock DeskMini 110 (Mini-STX) barebones, Antec ISK 110 (Mini-ITX) DIY case, Mini-Box M350 DIY case.

4. Mini PC with at least one 3.5" bay and AC adapter:

Examples would be the ASUS Vivo PC (15W CPU, some models like VM65N also have Nvidia dGPU) and Shuttle barebones (65W CPU)

 

[cbn]

5. Intel NUC/Brix type computers. These are 15W CPU and usually come with one 2.5" bay. Power comes from AC adapter and the case is VESA mountable.

Example would be Intel NUC Kit NUC6i5SYH:

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/nuc/nuc-kit-nuc6i5syh.html

6. Intel Core M compute stick. These are 4.5W CPU with 64GB eMMC:

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/compute-stick/intel-compute-stick-core.html

7. Specialty/Wildcard category:

One such device would be the Intel Skull Canyon NUC. This is a 45W Skylake Core i7-6770HQ with Intel Iris graphics. Storage: 2 x M.2 22x42/80 (key M), no 2.5" drive bays. Power comes from AC adapter and the case is VESA mountable.

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/nuc/nuc-kit-nuc6i7kyk-features-configurations.html

 

[Commodus]

Mac mini (not my photo... head here for the source):

Runs my preferred OS, as you might guess, but it also looks much nicer than most mini PCs (hey, looks matter if it's going to sit on your desk) and has a surprisingly large amount of expansion. Now if only Apple would give it a much overdue refresh.

Edit: define "big core." The Mac mini uses 'full fat' laptop processors, but it wouldn't qualify if you're only including desktop chips.

 

[cbn]

Edit: define "big core." The Mac mini uses 'full fat' laptop processors, but it wouldn't qualify if you're only including desktop chips.

Big core is defined as not atom or cat core (Bobcat, Jaguar, Puma, etc). So ,for example, a low voltage Intel Skylake or low voltage AMD Excavator would be classified as "big core x86".

 

[Commodus]

Big core is defined as not atom or cat core (Bobcat, Jaguar, Puma, etc). So ,for example, a low voltage Intel Skylake or low voltage AMD Excavator would be classified as "big core x86".

Ah, thanks -- the Mac mini counts, then. It's not the beefiest by any means, but it's what I'd get if you asked me to buy a mini PC right now.

 

[Blue_Max]

Certainly worth considering is the Alienware Alpha -- only a little larger than the Skull Canyon NUC and Mac Mini, but gives you a full-blown desktop Geforce GTX 960 and desktop CPU. Smallest thing I've found that balances performance, size, and fan noise. I've seen motherboards that look like a GTX 1070 Alpha is right around the corner!

 

[AnitaPeterson]

I'll go with this, from the second category:

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/pro...2035645137.html?spm=2114.8147860.0.698.Ypli2Z

 

[Arachnotronic]

ASRock deskmini (aka Mini-STX).

 

[Kaido]

I've installed just about everything on this list. It all depends on what the specific application is. Overall, if budget allows, I think the Skull Canyon NUC's are pretty rad...quad i7, 32 gigs of RAM, dual NVMe drives, and the ability to hook up to an eGPU box ($500 Razer Core + up to a GTX1080 via reddit testing), which makes it perfect for an office PC, a CAD workstation, a gaming rig, etc. Very cool device!

The Dell 7040's are nice; I've actually be using them a lot for mini-servers lately. No standard RAID array in the SFF version (single M.2 + single SATA), but with incremental image backups & a spare drive, no worries...that catch is worth it because of (1) the tiny size, and (2) the NVMe drive speed (plus you can get a 4TB Evo SSD if you need a decent amount of fast internal storage space, and single-drive 10TB USB drives are available now). Plus vPro in place of an iDRAC...I've found a surprisingly number of server-related applications for these little puppies. I just did a site where they did a primary domain controller with one (AD/DNS/DHCP/File Server/Print Server), a secondary domain controller, and an offline "hot spare" using a trio of 7040's. Amazingly quick! If either machine crashes, it's a piece of cake to restore the last hour's backup from a Macrium image, and if the machine itself dies, they can simply grab the spare & swap out drives in minutes. Crazy easy. It's not your traditional Dell or HP server with special remote access cards, RAID boot & RAID storage, yada yada yada, but for budget-oriented projects, they are super neat!

NUC & BRIX computers are great for home users on a budget, because you can build them pretty cheap. Even though I like the Skull Canyon NUC's, regular models are much easier on the budget, and most consumers don't need anywhere near 32 gigs of RAM (despite being so cheap!). I'm also very interested to see where the Compute sticks go in the future as the die sizes shrink...next year, we get 10nm Ice Lake chips, so they might improve by a whole bunch in 2017.

Overall tho I just love mini computers...Raspberry Pi's, NUC's, you name it 😀

 

[Alienware Gamer ALX]

i really like this discussion, but i think that all these minipc are going to be included inside the new monitors

 

[Blue_Max]

i really like this discussion, but i think that all these minipc are going to be included inside the new monitors

That leaves the realm of mini PC's and enters the "all-in-one" PC. That comes with pros and cons.
I want a mini to take to and from my workplace. A PC the size of a tissue box is much easier than a 27" monitor. Even easier than a laptop!

 

[Alienware Gamer ALX]

That leaves the realm of mini PC's and enters the "all-in-one" PC. That comes with pros and cons.
I want a mini to take to and from my workplace. A PC the size of a tissue box is much easier than a 27" monitor. Even easier than a laptop!

with this hw already implemented in the screen (aio) you don t need to move things around or buy additional hardware.

both windows and macosx have good cloud and everywhere you turn on a pc with your username , you have your pc

 

[crashtech]

I had a Euler, and learned that it is important with a passive case like that to have a mobo BIOS that includes a setting for "CPU boot speed," because if there's ever a problem, the PC can fry itself running full bore looking for a wonky boot device, etc. Set the boot speed for 800Mhz and all is golden. If not, the internals can easily see temps in excess of 80°C, once the CPU saturates the case with heat.

 

[Blue_Max]

with this hw already implemented in the screen (aio) you don t need to move things around or buy additional hardware.

both windows and macosx have good cloud and everywhere you turn on a pc with your username , you have your pc

That solution may work for you, it will NOT work for myself and others - which is why both exist.

 

[cbn]

I had a Euler, and learned that it is important with a passive case like that to have a mobo BIOS that includes a setting for "CPU boot speed," because if there's ever a problem, the PC can fry itself running full bore looking for a wonky boot device, etc. Set the boot speed for 800Mhz and all is golden. If not, the internals can easily see temps in excess of 80°C, once the CPU saturates the case with heat.

What CPU were you using with the Euler?

 

[Kaido]

That leaves the realm of mini PC's and enters the "all-in-one" PC. That comes with pros and cons.
I want a mini to take to and from my workplace. A PC the size of a tissue box is much easier than a 27" monitor. Even easier than a laptop!

I would look into the Skull Canyon then. Buy a spare power supply to keep at work. The profile is very slim:

 

[Blue_Max]

I would look into the Skull Canyon then. Buy a spare power supply to keep at work. The profile is very slim:

It's a fantastic machine, no doubt. I just think it's insanely overpriced... $850CDN before RAM or storage!
I'm not broke but I can't blow that kind of money... just a little more size nets as much speed (or more) at half the cost.

 

[Kaido]

It's a fantastic machine, no doubt. I just think it's insanely overpriced... $850CDN before RAM or storage!
I'm not broke but I can't blow that kind of money... just a little more size nets as much speed (or more) at half the cost.

Yeah, that's really the only downside - it's a beast, but an expensive one!

 

[crashtech]

I had a Euler, and learned that it is important with a passive case like that to have a mobo BIOS that includes a setting for "CPU boot speed," because if there's ever a problem, the PC can fry itself running full bore looking for a wonky boot device, etc. Set the boot speed for 800Mhz and all is golden. If not, the internals can easily see temps in excess of 80°C, once the CPU saturates the case with heat.

What CPU were you using with the Euler?

It was a 4160T. Trust me on this, running flat out all night long WILL cause the innards to overheat, even with a 35W CPU. What was happening is that it would wake spontaneously from sleep, not be able to find the mSATA SSD, and just sit there at max clockspeed making heat. The CPU will be fine, but the rest of the components end up in a little oven.

 

[Alienware Gamer ALX]

That solution may work for you, it will NOT work for myself and others - which is why both exist.

sure 🙂