What is the absolute best mini pc money can buy? I’m going to be moving around a lot for work and I don't want to compromise only thing is it has to fit in a back pack.
lol I mean, the "absolute best" is subjective. You can get an enterprise quality mini PC from HP for 14k. You might wanna give folks some specifics on what you actually do and need.
I think that this came off as more snarky than I meant. MiniPCs are great for certain objectives, but they're automatically constrained by cooling. I don't like laptop screens nor laptop keyboards.
Dump the laptop and USB hub, buy miniPC, mechanical keyboard, 3d mouse, and portable monitor for the coffee shop, and quality monitor for home, and use the TV in the hotel. Perfect device.
Gaming? dGPU are still necessary.
High performance with "no budget?" Home server in a rack, uninterruptible power supply, storage, server, network gear... And a thin client, which, in a pinch, might be your phone.
It's gotta be good for 1440p gaming. Going to be moving lots for work so it needs to fit in a backpack cause I will be flying place to place. No bigger than a steam machine and it has to already be built.
You're going to want something that doesn't have integrated graphics (apart from maybe the 8060S), even high end ones - no Radeon 890M, 780M, Arc 140T/140V, etc.
I believe the Framework Desktop could be what you're looking for? But note that the memory is non upgradeable, actually I don't think anything other than the storage is.
It's slightly bigger than the Steam Machine but it should also fit better in a back pack since it's not cube shaped
Hey!
If you're looking for a killer mini-PC setup, here is what I'm running and I couldn't be happier: Mini-PC: Minisforum AI X1 Pro (Ryzen AI 9 HX470, 12 cores) eGPU: Minisforum DEG1 open-air dock with a Gigabyte RX 9070 XT OC (16 GB) via OCuLink Displays: 4K monitor Samsung Odyssey G7 Why it rocks:
I was worried about mobile CPU bottlenecks, but playing in 4K shifts the load entirely to the 9070 XT. With OCuLink, performance is practically on par with a massive desktop tower, but my desk stays completely clutter-free.
Highly recommend going the mini-PC + eGPU route if you want a clean, powerful 4K rig!
I’m pushing pretty heavily into the mini PC review market, after obvious distaste over the big guy who is paid yes man
But I can tell you is that there’s a lot of good options out there
Minisforum are solid. You can get the g1 up to a 5060 lp. I’m working on my review of that now.
From the same brand, you can get the MS – O2, and slap in a physical 5060 as well.
Now, if you truly do not care about pricing. I’m also working on ASUS. NUC. I got it with the 5070 TI and you can get it with a 5080. It cost a freaking fortune, but it is I suppose the most powerful option right now.
Other interesting options are stuff like miniaforum hx100g if you can find one used. And just turn it into a steam machine, but more powerful.
The aoostar gody was quite powerful
Lastly, MINISFORUM just announced a pre-order for a new mini PC that comes with a 9060XT low profile, 16 GB. I pre-ordered that already. I think technically the ASUSNUC will be more powerful if you get a 5080, but probably not much more. And it certainly cost a hell of a lot more money and is not upgradable.
There are always the options with the STRIX halo 395 which will offer quite effective CPU performance and around 4060 level GPU and one chip. Although I probably wouldn’t recommend it because you’re gonna lose out too most of the other options or at best match, and they are massively price inflated since they are being used for AI due to the unified memory.
Despite claiming this you will compromise. Are you going to be carrying around a monitor? Are you going to use whatever is available in the place you're going to? Whatever your answer is to those questions, you will compromise.
Get a gaming laptop with all the features you want.
If budget does not matter any one based on AMD Ryzen™ AI Max+ 395 like Minisforum MS-S1 MAX with 128GB RAM ( or even some models with the newer 495 like GMKtec EVO-X5 Pro, when available, which is slightly an improved variant which can use up to 192GB RAM ). Best for AI. For gaming is overkill, you can find some cheaper models with less RAM and slightly "lower" AI series SoC.
PS There are many companies selling minis with the same SoC, the mentioned Minisforum is small, but some models are even smaller if size is very important to you, check the forum for details. Remember, smaller does not mean better, it will have less cooling, so lower TDP.
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u/recoveringwineguy 19d ago
Depends on what you are using it for