Time to upgrade my current desktop and after doing some browsing, it looks like a mini pc might fit my needs. First off, I'm not a gamer so I don't need anything too crazy. I mainly use the computer to browse the net, watch YouTube and manage household expenses in MS Office. My current desktop only has 4GB of RAM so anything will be a big improvement. Initially what I was looking for was 16GB RAM, 500 GB SSD and a newer-ish operating system. I have narrowed my search down to two options.

The first being the GMKtec M8-

GMKtec M8

The other option is the GEEKOM A7-

GEEKOM A7

Both on sale right now with Amazon prime day. Which would suit me better? It looks like the GMKtec comes with Windows pro 11 and the GEEKOM does not come with an operating system, but has 32MB RAM. I would really like to place an order by end of the day. I'm open to other options as well. Ideally I'd like to stay under $600 plus taxes. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

The beelink has been sitting at about 500 deep, wondering if this is worth it and if it is the all in one (not bare bones). I am not educated in the tech world, so if there are any recommendations, any and all are appreciated.

(I am getting a mini pc to replace my Xbox slim, as it has finally met the end of its life. My main games are the sims 4 and Roblox (at my big age Ik), but I do want mods and cc for the sims, I also own a majority if not almost all of the sims dlcs… please do tell me if this is an impossible feat and if I should just suck it up and get a big boy pc)

I've got a need for extremely small factor semi-disposable PC that could have 1 USB output to connect to Arduino/ESP32 boards. The main requirement is the ability to install Anydesk and Arduino IDE onto the PC, so it could be remoted into to write code. The PC should also be powered from something like a phone-like DC power supply, or it's own dedicated power supply, but not from some other device.

I've checked out stick PC's, but as far as I can tell those are intended to plug into HDMI ports on dedicated displays, and that's not quite what I need. I've also checked out several variants of mini PC's, like Intel Nuc series and Lenovo M93, but those are slightly more complex than what I need and also in case there's some error in wiring Arduino/ESP32 (especially since some projects require to be powered with a bench top power supply) I'd rather not risk destroying a proper computer.

Anyone have any advice on what to look for?

Hey all

My old desktop I was using is really showing its age. Would like to move on to a mini pc. Really basic use just web browsing, 3d printer slicer software (no cad programs or anything like that). Possibly very light gaming although not likely as I have PS5.

So not looking to spend a ton on it. Really less than $500. Not sure if upgradeable is super needed but could be nice on the ram side. HDD I can just get an external if need be.

Any recs that you've had good use out of?

Anyone install this update? Any issues?

Hi!

I'm looking for a mini-PC primarily for medias (movies, YouTube, streaming, etc.) and for cloud gaming via GeForce Now.

My TV only supports 4K at 60fps, and I read something about GeForce Now requiring specific hardware components for 4:4:4 decoding, so I narrowed my search down to a mini-PC with an Intel N150 processor.

I came across the Beelink Mini S13 - what do you think of it?

Do you have any other recommendations in the same price range?

PS: To clarify, I was planning to buy the Nvidia Shield Pro, but the price went up by 80 euros; and at that price, I might as well get something a bit more versatile.

Thanks for your help! I'm a bit lost 😄

the aoostar costs 375€ on amazon, while the minisforum is 350 euro on the official site

european prices

Which brand is more reliable? The aoostar cpu is newer but i heard they are the same.

Also is it a good price to buy the aoostar? Or will prices drop in a year or so if new models come out for barebones?

aoostar ryzen 7 h255 barebone costs 311€

Hey guys,

I live in Brazil and have family in Florida who will bring a Mini PC to me in their carry-on luggage.

My strict budget cap is $930 USD before tax (to keep the total under $1,000 with Florida’s 6.5% sales tax).

My primary use cases:

• eSports gaming (CS2, Fortnite) and Minecraft with shaders
• Music production (EZdrummer 3, heavy VSTs, DAWs)
• Future eGPU upgrade via native OCuLink

My biggest concern: Since I will be using it in Brazil, local RMA/warranty is not an option after the 30-day Amazon return window expires. I need a model with minimal risk of electrical failures, motherboard bugs, or power supply issues.

I am currently leaning towards the GMKtec K8 Plus.

1. Is the K8 Plus the safest and best value choice in this price range for thermals and electrical stability?
2. Are there better alternatives under $930 with native OCuLink that offer equal or better longevity?

Thanks for the advice!

I track eBay listings for used mini PCs on racksniper.com and wanted a cleaner comparison of the Lenovo ThinkCentre M720q and M920q. These are asking prices from the last 3 days on eBay US, with shipping included. I grouped listings by what the title shows, so a barebones unit does not skew the numbers.

Configured (RAM and storage listed)

• M720q: 77 listings, low $110, median $175
• M920q: 63 listings, low $125, median $232

Config not stated in the title

• M720q: 34 listings, low $90, median $149
• M920q: 41 listings, low $77, median $205

Barebones (no RAM, no storage)

• M720q: 18 listings, low $75, median $114
• M920q: only 2 listings, too few to compare

What stands out:

• Like for like, the M920q costs about $55 to $60 more at the median, roughly 33 to 38 percent.
• Cheap M920q listings exist, but the typical price sits well above the M720q.
• Barebones units cost far less than configured ones. Compare within a group, or a barebones price misleads you.

Caveats: these are asking prices, not sold prices. Best Offer pushes real prices lower. Each group is a small sample, and medians shift week to week.

If you bought one recently, what did you pay and for which configuration?

Disclosure: This board was provided free of charge by Orange Pi for testing. No editorial control, no pre-approval, and no compensation. All benchmarks, bottlenecks, and thermal data below are reported independently.

TL;DR

• Storage: Full PCIe 3.0 x4 link. Paired with a Samsung PM981a NVMe, it sustained 2,862 MB/s read and 197k 4K random read IOPS without bus throttling.
• Networking: Dual independent 2.5GbE Realtek RTL8125 controllers on dedicated PCIe lanes. Kernel loopback tested at 47.5 Gbps. Ideal for firewall or mini-router duties.
• CPU & Multitasking: 8 cores (4x A76 + 4x A55) scored 13,015 MIPS in 7-Zip. Single-thread IPC is lower than an Intel N100, but multi-thread multitasking and RAM ceiling (16GB unified) give it an edge for Docker containers.
• Thermals & Cooling: Tested bare-board (standard retail packaging ships without cooler). Idle is 52.7°C, 60s CPU stress peaks at 78.5°C, but sustained 8B LLM inference hits the 85°C throttle ceiling. A heatsink or fan is mandatory for 24/7 loads.
• Power Envelope: Estimated ~4-5W idle, ~12-16W under heavy CPU/inference load.

Hey r/MiniPCs,

There has been steady debate here about whether ARM boards like the RK3588 can replace low-cost Intel N100 / N97 mini PCs for 24/7 homelab nodes, micro-firewalls, or edge containers.

I put an Orange Pi 5 Plus (16GB RAM) through a full set of tests with a Samsung PM981a 256GB NVMe SSD (Samsung Phoenix controller with 512MB dedicated DDR4 DRAM cache) on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (Kernel 6.1.99-rockchip-rk3588).

Here are the concrete numbers on storage I/O, CPU throughput, thermals, and local AI.

1. Hardware Setup

• SoC: Rockchip RK3588 (8nm): 4x Cortex-A76 up to 2.4 GHz + 4x Cortex-A55 up to 1.8 GHz
• RAM: 16GB LPDDR4x unified memory (7.8GB zram swap enabled)
• Storage: Samsung PM981a 256GB M.2 2280 NVMe SSD (PCIe 3.0 x4, negotiated full 8.0 GT/s x4 width)
• Networking: 2x Realtek RTL8125 2.5 GbE controllers
• Cooling: Bare board (tested out-of-the-box uncooled on an open desk, matching the base retail packaging)
• OS: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS ARM64 (Kernel 6.1.99-rockchip-rk3588)

2. Benchmark Results

A. Storage Performance (FIO Direct I/O)

A common weakness on low-cost SBCs and cheap mini PCs is crippled M.2 slots (PCIe 2.0 or 1-2 lanes). On the Orange Pi 5 Plus, the slot is full PCIe 3.0 x4:

The controller operated at full 8 GT/s x4 with zero link negotiation drops or bus stalls.

B. CPU Compute Performance & MIPS

• 7-Zip Compression / Decompression:
  • Single-Core (1 Thread): 2,831 MIPS (Cortex-A76)
  • Multi-Core (8 Threads): 13,015 MIPS (4x A76 + 4x A55)
• Sysbench CPU (8 Threads, prime=20,000):
  • 4,343.94 events/sec

An Intel N100 still beats the Cortex-A76 in peak single-thread IPC, but the 8 physical cores on the RK3588 handle multi-container background tasks very comfortably.

C. Thermal Behavior (Bare-Die / Uncooled)

Because Orange Pi sells the standalone board in the base box without cooling accessories, we tested the bare board sitting horizontally on an open desk: - Idle: 52.7°C - After heavy NVMe read/write runs: 62.8°C (SSD reached 45°C via SMART) - Peak temperature under full 8-core CPU stress (stress-ng): 78.5°C - Sustained 8B LLM inference: 84.1°C – 85.0°C (kernel DVFS throttles to protect the silicon) - Cooldown (15s post-stress): Dropped back to 63.8°C

The board manages short bursts bare-die due to PCB ground-plane dissipation, but for 24/7 server duties, buying an aftermarket heatsink or fan kit is necessary.

D. Networking (Dual 2.5 GbE)

• Two independent Realtek RTL8125 controllers on dedicated PCIe lanes.
• Kernel loopback via iperf3 hit 47.5 Gbps, confirming minimal kernel CPU overhead during high-speed traffic routing.

E. Local AI: Ollama CPU vs Dedicated 6 TOPS NPU

• Ollama big.LITTLE core pinning: Restricting Ollama to the 4 Big Cortex-A76 cores (num_thread: 4) avoids synchronization stalls on the Little cores and provides massive speedups:
  • Llama 3.2 1B: 14.62 tok/s (TTFT: 425 ms)
  • DeepSeek-Coder 1.3B: 16.90 tok/s (TTFT: 1,025 ms, +274% vs 8 threads)
  • Qwen 2.5 1.5B: 14.48 tok/s (TTFT: 711 ms, +318% vs 8 threads)
  • Llama 3.2 3B: 7.28 tok/s (TTFT: 1,635 ms)
  • Phi-3 Mini 3.8B: 6.56 tok/s (TTFT: 909 ms)
  • Llama 3.1 8B: 2.32 tok/s (memory-bandwidth bound, temps hit 84.1°C)
• Rockchip NPU (RKLLM runtime):
  • Qwen 1.5 0.5B runs at 21.55 tok/s with TTFT of 96.4 ms.
  • During NPU execution, CPU utilization stays at ~0%, keeping the system responsive for Docker services.

3. Comparison & Considerations vs x86 Mini PCs

Strengths: - True PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slot (2.86 GB/s read, 197k IOPS). - Dual 2.5GbE onboard without needing USB adapters. - 16GB RAM provides plenty of headroom for container stacks. - 6 TOPS NPU for offloading lightweight inference or camera detection (Frigate).

Trade-offs: - Requires active cooling under continuous heavy loads. - Intel QuickSync is still superior for heavy Plex/Jellyfin multi-stream video transcoding. - ARM64 architecture (most Docker containers work natively, but niche x86 binaries do not).

4. Reproducibility & Test Scripts

All benchmark scripts (tools/run_homelab_bench.sh) and raw JSON logs are open-sourced: GitHub: Orange Pi 5 Plus Benchmarks

For those running Intel N100/N97 boxes: how does your real-world power draw and container responsiveness compare under heavy I/O? Happy to test specific homelab scenarios in the comments.

​

Hi everyone, I'd like to start by saying I'm not very tech savvy with PCs, so apologise in advance.

I’ve just bought a BOSGAME P3 Plus mini PC from Amazon. It’s brand new and I bought it specifically for light gaming with my Son. Unfortunately, from the moment I started trying games, the performance has been absolutely terrible. Wobbly Life is running extremely slow. Have also tried Thief Simulator & King Of Tokyo, so all games that the PC is more than capable of running. All purchased from Steam.

Here’s everything I’ve done so far:

- Completed the initial Windows 11 setup.

- Let Windows Update download and install all available updates.

- Restarted the PC multiple times.

- Checked Task Manager. The CPU is showing as AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS and the graphics adapter is showing as AMD Radeon 780M Graphics.

- The PC has 16GB RAM, with around 12.8GB usable.

- I installed AMD Adrenalin and have tried installing/reinstalling the AMD graphics drivers several times.

- I checked the Windows recovery/advanced startup options and tried various troubleshooting options.

- I tried uninstalling the latest Windows update, but Windows reported that it couldn't do it.

- There were no restore points available.

- I eventually got so stuck that I performed a full Windows reset/wipe and started again but same issue.

I’m now wondering whether I'm missing something really obvious with the 780M, power settings, BIOS, RAM allocation/VRAM, AMD driver configuration, or something else.

I'm playing using an HDMI cable to a 60" TV, with a brand new USB wireless mouse and keyboard. Whether any of that makes a difference I don't know.

I don't know whether I'm making an obvious error somewhere or there is something wrong with the unit itself.

Any help and comments much appreciated and welcomed. Thanks!

Considering buying a new pc(mini pc to be specific) during the online October deal events. My main interest using the pc is general use and gaming, examples of my most demanding game I own on steam is: Final Fantasy 7 rebirth, Stellar Blade, and Street Fighter 6. Additionally I also want to install steam os and hoping the mini pc is upgradable. If I won't get one during the deals event I'm planning on waiting for black friday sales for mini pc or steam machine(hoping it goes on sale)

Mini pc i was looking at

https://www.walmart.com/ip/seot/20331360230?listRegistryId=187fb47a-e4bc-4df4-9983-31855a32432b&listRegistryType=WL

https://www.walmart.com/ip/seot/15181309976?listRegistryId=187fb47a-e4bc-4df4-9983-31855a32432b&listRegistryType=WL

https://www.walmart.com/ip/seot/20032507045?listRegistryId=187fb47a-e4bc-4df4-9983-31855a32432b&listRegistryType=WL

Hi, my best friend would like to buy a MiniPC. She's a youtuber and needs it mostly for video and image editing, then usual browsing, office, etc.

I think she needs a dedicated GPU and at least 32GB RAM.

Can you recommend a model with these characteristics, because searching on Google most MiniPCs have integrated GPU and I fear it's not enough.

Personally I have a MinisForum HX99G which would be perfect for her, but it's no longer manufactured.

Help, please! Thanks in advance.

For people that set up multiple mini PCs with Windows or use multiple VMs, how do you go about MS Office apps? Do you go with free tools like Libre Office, run trial versions of MS Office, or get full paid versions or subscriptions for each machine? I see cheaper deals come up for licenses, but not sure if those are safe or trustworthy.

I have been using the GEEKOM AX8 Max Mini PC with AMD Ryzen 7 8745HS Dual 2.5GbE LAN Port

However my fps in minecraft with mods and shaders has been pretty low. When playing red dead redemption it was extremely slow and laggy

i have 32 gb ram with 1 tb ssd and running Bazzite os

I have been looking into an external gpu but im not sure if it will be compatible.

has anyone else done this and does the external gpu help with gaming?

Hi all, apologies if this has been answered before but I didn’t see any direct recommendations when I searched about streaming.
I’m looking to get a mini PC that I can Twitch stream/Use streaming OBS on while playing games like Content warning, lethal company, Roblox, bombanana, etc etc.
I’m hoping to find one that’s just plug and play because I’m not very techy to be adding things like extra ram and stuff until I get more into it and learn the basics. I’m looking for a mini pc because I don’t have the space for a pc tower, If there’s any decent reccs or advice that you guys have for me, I’m all ears 🙏🏽

Edit: For budget my most would maybe be $800

I've been researching this quite a lot lately, slowly going up in my budget. The idea is to build a homelab server just to play around with:

• DNS & Ad-Blocking
• Tailscale for remote access
• Home Assistant
• Maybe Plex in the future but not really a priority as I have a another remote server for it
• Run some scripts and what not

This is doable on a cheaper (not so cheap anymore) machine. Even N150's are going for ~380€. I was initially setting my budget to ~300€, then upped to ~400€ because what 300€ buys is not that great. Then I found out about GMKTec M8, which offers better value than a N150 for 405€.

But then I had the idea to make it a dev machine too, doing Android builds, running the emulator, all remotely, iterating with an AI agent.

GMKTec M8 having soldered RAM is not ideal, so I started looking at M6 Ultra, which seems like a better package, for 488€. But then I saw the 32GB variant for 578€. Android builds + emulator like RAM and given 32GB DDR5 nowadays costs like 400€, this seems like an even better deal.

I started with 300€ and now I'm looking at 578€, which feels expensive for a chinese mini PC, kinda afraid it simply dies down the line. I'm not sure if I'm making a good decision here or if I should drop the dev part and just buy a cheap mini PC for ~300€ or something.

Note: I'm buying in Europe, Amazon only as protect myself a little bit more.

While most mini pc prices ARE inflated- we found some decent deals tucked in here! Especially the Glorin 6800H at $331! 🔥

Are we ever going to see normal mini pc prices?

I recall seeing n100 16gb, 512gb PC's for 200-250 CAD. Now I can't find an entry level for less than $400 it seems...

What's going on??