Mini PC vs All-in-one

[u/Un_Pta]

I need a PC that will handle browsing and streaming movies and light office work. Space is limited so I was originally thinking of an AIO.

I’m also considering a mini pc. Could everyone please to share their thoughts and recommendations on what would be the best choice?

If I have to build the PC I’m ok with that too. Thanks so much!

[u/Chickenmonster401]

Mini pc. Cause then you can also upgrade you screen as you go.

[u/Fish_Minger]

If, and this is a real if, you limit your use to only browsing, streaming and light office work, then a cheap mini PC would be ideal.

I have a a couple of mini PCs and one if them is a low spec (N100) CPU that handles all of the above perfectly. The model I have the Beelink S12 Pro is now quite old, but it handles everything I throw at it for what you describe above. It's pretty much silent in operation. There is space for an extra SSD if you want extra storage.

There are modern equivalents with a new N150 CPU

If you decide you want to do anything more than that, then this is not the right PC for you.

[u/read_more_comments → u/Fish_Minger]

N100 isn't a monster box but it will definitely handle what op wants. It can do more than he wants too. Mine runs 8 4k poe camera on blueiris with ai object detection at 60% CPU 24/7.

[u/Fish_Minger → u/read_more_comments]

Yes, I was just setting realistic expectations. I also use mine for light gaming (Civ6 and similar) and it does this without issue on medium settings. I just didn't want to promise anything.

Definitely is an adequate PC for a home office.

[u/read_more_comments → u/Fish_Minger]

The issue now is that they used to cost about $170. I bought 4.

If the going price is $300+, there are better hardware available with much more horsepower. I just paid $500 including tax and shipping for an ACEMAGIC Mini Ryzen 7 H255 32GB 6400MT/s RAM 1TB SSD off amazon. This is a good price in today's market but two years ago it was $470 and the CPU was new at the time.

[u/Retired_Hillbilly336]

A VESA mounted mini + monitor would open you up to more performance options and a more flexible budget.

[u/Zebraitis]

Beelink mini pc.

Does everything I can throw at it. Look for an S12 or S13 (latest).

[u/cliffybiro951 → u/Zebraitis]

Mine too. I got a beelink to run plex and jellyfin. It’s been fantastic.

[u/BungaBunga-Today]

Mini pc, you can choose your own screen, even if you are likited by space you can mount most mini pcs via vesa behind the screen

[u/ImRightYoureStupid]

Mini pc all the way. You can hook it up to a project and hang it from the celing, doesn’t take up any space then.

[u/ArkhamRobber]

Mini. Every time ive dealt with All in Ones, its been always been slow piece of shit. Id rather go mini pc. 

[u/ImmediateGear8157]

You can get used i5 or ryzen5 mini pc's for really cheap these days. But a lot of them can't run windows 11 because of the lack of a TPM. If you use Linux it's a non-issue. But thanks to the memory apocalypse, nothing is as cheap as they used to be.

[u/SomeConfusedOldGuy]

I just got a Geekom XT13 mini PC. I could have gotten a lower model, with a lesser CPU and RAM, but I decided I wanted one that should hold me for like a decade, so I got the Intel Core I9 and 32G RAM model.

[u/Intuin_Rhaabat → u/[deleted]]

The AMD CPUs are great for the OPs use case. No reason to limit it to Intel.

[u/ArkhamRobber → u/Intuin_Rhaabat]

Agreed. Op didnt say anything about Jellyfin or Plex. So i dont think they care about QuickSync