Several months ago I started looking for something that would replace the sluggish Android TV system installed on my TV. After doing some research, I got introduced to the world of mini PCs. These small form factor computers are a great alternative to traditional desktops and laptops. They are powerful, portable, and affordable. In this post, I will discuss the benefits of mini PCs and why you should consider getting one.

What is a mini pc

Mini PCs are small form factor computers that are designed to be compact. They are usually smaller than a Mac mini. The reason why they are so small is that they use a low-power processor, usually designed for laptops. Because they are not so space-constrained like laptops are, they usually have better cooling which means they can run slightly faster with better temperatures. Although these are small very tiny PCs with laptop chips, not all of them are low performance, low power machines. There is a wide variety of mini PCs available in the market, ranging from low power consumption PCs ideal for server applications to high performance desktop replacements.

Low power consumption pc

I already have a spare desktop PC that I don’t use anymore. It’s a it’s a nearly 10-year-old machine with an Intel Core i5 6600K processor. It’s still a decent machine, but it’s not very power efficient. It consumes around 100 watts of power when idle. I wanted to replace it with something that consumes much much less power, so it can stay on all day without costing me too much. I started looking for low power consumption PCs and came across the Intel N100 processor. This chip consumes around 5-10 watts of power when idle, which is 10 times less than my old desktop PC. Essentially, it’s a modern version of the my old Skylake processor, but with a much lower power consumption and modern features like quick sync and hardware decoding for 4k video.

I wasn’t sure if the Intel N100 would be powerful enough for my needs, but I thought that if I don’t like it, I could always return it if I buy it from Amazon. I bought a Trigkey G4 with 500GB of storage and 16GB of RAM (which is single channel) for around £150.

I was pleasantly surprised by how well it performed. It was able to handle all the tasks I threw at it, including web browsing, video streaming, and downloading stuff in the background. For the most part it fairly quiet, so you could sleep beside it. The only time it gets loud is when you’re installing something or running a heavy task. I was very happy with my purchase and decided to keep it. It came with Windows 11 preinstalled which I immediately replaced with Arch Linux and KDE Plasma. I decided for a regular desktop environment because it wasn’t going to be used just by myself, but also by my fiancée.

The setup

I connected the mini PC to my TV using an HDMI cable. I also connected a USB dongle to a remote-like keyboard and trackpad combo. The Internet connection is provided by cable to one of two ethernet ports. There is WiFi6 and Bluetooth 5.2 support but I don’t use them.

Desktop replacement alternatives

If you’re looking for a desktop replacement, there are some alternatives that come close to a full scale desktop PC. The first one is a Mac Mini or Mac Studio. It has to be said that they aren’t cheap but you can spec them out to be quite powerful. I do not have a need for a Mac, so I wouldn’t recommend them as they aren’t great value for money. The second alternative is a mini PC with an AMD 8845HS 8 core processor or an older AMD 7940HS processor which is basically very close to the 8845HS. These chips are very powerful and can handle most things you throw at it. Of course, they won’t be any good for machine learning or compiling massive projects, but they are great for everyday tasks.

ssf pcs

There are also small form factor PCs that are a bit bigger than mini PCs but also more powerful. These are usually called small form factor PCs or SFF PCs. They require you to pick all the components yourself, but it seems like a the best alternative if you want a powerful gaming PC in a small form factor. Overall this isn’t the most cost effective solution, but there are some cheap,good quality components available. I saw people building nice rigs with S300 8L case which looks really good, is very small and isn’t overly expensive.

Mac Mini

This month, Apple released a new Mac mini with an M4 chip. The base model is probably the best value for money Mac mini ever released and I would seriously consider it if I needed a Mac and was looking for a new computer. It’s insanely small with built in power supply and is very powerful. You can probably also expect good support from Apple for the next 5-7 years, low fan noise and low power consumption. The only downside is that upgrading RAM or storage is very expensive.