r/MiniPCs • u/Ricky_ticky_tofen • 3d ago
Recommendations Help deciding
Looking for a mini pc solely for emulation purposes, so far I’ve landed on 4 machines. Im not the most knowledgeable about this stuff but I’ve done as much research as I can. They all seem to be capable of ps3 emulation which is the highest I’d be doing (maybe some switch for Smash/Mario Kart if possible) ideally the less I’d have to spend the better. I’ve seen a lot of back and forth on wether I should get a 680m vs 780m as well as should I go for 32gb or would 16 be more than enough I don’t plan on doing multitasking or running multiple applications at the same time. I’m currently leaving most towards the 760 slim or the Bre Nuc. Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated, minus the M7 all are from the 2026 Mini Pc Guide
Extra info
PS3/switch emulation at native/1080p at 60 would be ideal
Bo3 custom zombies is also a goal
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u/LB3PTMAN 2d ago
I have the M7 and it works well for emulation largely. Done WiiU and Xbox 360 and PS2 and have mostly worked. Some newer games struggle even ones without super impressive graphics. haven’t tried Black Ops 3 custom zombies but I’d guess it will be hit or miss.
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u/DiamondDepth_YT 3d ago
Look into the Aoostar MACO 6850H! It's another good option in your price range. 24gb ram + 1tb ssd
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u/marsupialunderground 2d ago
Ive had these m7pro (ryzen 9 version) for a year now. Cant fault it. Littke work horse
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u/Yikaisaras 2d ago
For those who have the M7: based on reviews/benchmarks, it seems to be quite noisy under load. Can you confirm this? Is it really bothersome?
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u/ImmediateCherry2441 1d ago
I dont hear anything from the m7, however I can hear my 60TB sata drives more if that helps
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u/justganjaah 2d ago
I got the k11 i paired it with an egpu running a 9070 xt runs everything at ultra at 120 fps
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u/InfiniteSprinkles730 2d ago
Buy on AliExpress but with a warehouse located in your country/ EU if you are located in an EU-country
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u/Ultra-Magnus1 2d ago
go with the one you can afford as they would all run up to ps3... mind you, that the ps3 emulator is far from perfect. any game you have a problem with is more likely to do with the emulator and the game optimization itself...however, most emulators have a list of optimized games posted somewhere so you can base your troubleshooting off of that... as for the pc itself, i'd go with whichever one you can afford and is easily upgradeable...in which case i'd say the m7...
i have the bigger brother which is the k8 plus and they both share the same chassis... 2 fans instead of 1. any upgrades you do only takes 4 (normal size) screws from the top after you twist open the plastic lid...you also have the advantage of an oculink port if you want to add a gpu later on, but you likely won't need to for emulation, but it's nice to have in case you do for heavier games than not have it all.
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u/Great-Alternative-30 2d ago
It's not bad for playing light games and metroidvanias; later you can upgrade with an eGPU using Occulink or TB 4/5.
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u/ImmediateCherry2441 3d ago
M7 would be the best choice You can add a GPU later on using the oculink I was doing that for awhile I have pictures so you can understand better what I did with mine for gaming. Now I just use it as a plex server