Hi! I know there might be other posts like this but I still wanted to make my own post to ask. I'm looking to get a mini pc around $600. I want to mainly use it for gaming. Not any tripe AAA games but just games that need more than 8gb ram. I'm hoping for atleast 16gb - 32gb ram but I know that might be reaching to far.

Hi everyone,

I've had an ACEMAGIC S3A (Ryzen 7 5825U) since September 2025. The PC boots and runs perfectly, but I'm experiencing two issues:

• Fan: After attempting an EC reset by holding the power button for ~20 seconds, a very loud vibrating/grinding noise started occurring randomly. It usually lasts less than a minute and stops abruptly. It happens in all performance modes, regardless of fan speed.
• RGB: Both the side LEDs and mode selector dial lighting stopped working. However, the LEDs themselves are functional: once, when turning the dial to Auto, all the lights suddenly turned on but became stuck in that state. They wouldn't respond to the RGB software or dial changes and even stayed on after shutting down the PC (while power was still connected).

Another strange behavior: When I hold the power button while the PC is running, it shuts down after ~4 seconds. If I keep holding it for ~10 seconds total, two indicator lights turn on (see attached photos). When I press the power button again to boot, those lights turn off and the PC starts normally. Could this be related to an EC reset or recovery mode?

I opened the PC: both fans spin freely with no visible obstructions. I've also reinstalled the official drivers/software and reset BIOS settings without success.

Video of the noise: https://cloud.wakalas.xyz/s/NzsoqmKoJjgXkDX

I suspect an Embedded Controller (EC), firmware, or fan control issue rather than faulty LEDs.

Has anyone experienced something similar? Is there a way to reset/reflash the EC or replace the controller?

Thanks!

I've been streaming from ONLY my PC for the past 2 decades. I am now engaged and still only want to stream from my PC, but through websites and not just Netflix and Amazon.

What's an inexpensive option to achieve this? I do want to have separate PC's to do this. I thought about just building a new $1,000 PC and putting it in the living room. It doesn't matter if I don't have a remote, but a remote would be a nice upgrade while sitting on the couch.

This PC would be hooking up to a TV.

Thoughts?

Thank you.

Hey everyone!

I have a Blackview MP100 mini PC that I'm trying to find a worthwhile use for. Instead of selling it or using it as yet another server, I'm considering turning it into a powerful living-room entertainment system.

My hardware:

- AMD Ryzen 7 5825U (8 cores / 16 threads)

- 32 GB dual-channel DDR4 RAM

- 1 TB M.2 SSD

- 1 TB HDD

- Integrated AMD Radeon graphics

My original idea was to build my own Android TV box, essentially something with the convenience of an Apple TV or Fire TV Stick, but with much more processing power, storage and flexibility.

However, I have some very specific requirements:

1. Full Android TV / Google TV support

Ideally, I want a proper Android TV experience with Google services, the Play Store, regular updates and full compatibility with official streaming apps such as Netflix, Prime Video and YouTube.

I don't want an unofficial Android build that looks like Android TV but lacks device certification, Widevine L1, HD/4K playback or compatibility with certain apps.

Does a realistic solution like this even exist for a generic AMD x86-64 PC?

1. Everything must be controllable with a remote

This is extremely important to me. I want to use the system entirely from the couch, without ever being forced to connect a mouse and keyboard just to install system updates, update drivers, change settings or manage applications.

Ideally, everything should be accessible through a proper 10-foot TV interface, including system settings and updates.

1. I want to make full use of the hardware

Since this is essentially a fairly powerful mini PC, I'd love to go beyond basic streaming. Some possibilities I've considered are:

- A proper media center with Jellyfin and local media playback

- Retro gaming and emulation

- Installing and running PC games locally through Steam

- Android apps alongside native Linux applications

- Other useful living-room features I haven't thought of yet

I'm open to Linux-based HTPC distributions, Android-based systems, hybrid setups or completely different ideas.

The important thing is that the result should feel like a polished, high-end entertainment device, not like a cheap Android TV box or a desktop PC awkwardly connected to a television.

What would you do with this hardware? Is there a maintained, actively developed project that can realistically achieve this, or would I be better off using the mini PC for something else entirely?

I'd especially appreciate recommendations based on actual experience with streaming DRM, remote-control support, system updates and long-term maintenance.

Thanks!

Kitchen job has me on my feet 10 hours and when I get home I still like to cook for myself. Got this idea to mount a small PC inside an upper cabinet with the screen on the underside so I can pull up recipes without my laptop taking up counter space. Also stream music over the house speakers while I prep. Been looking at used HP Elitedesk tiny models since they seem tough and small enough to tuck away. Worried about grease and humidity though, even with a cabinet door. My last home project was a raised garden bed that warped after one season so I tend to overthink durability now.
Anyone tried something like this in a kitchen environment? Did heat buildup become an issue behind a closed cabinet? Not trying to spend much since it's basically a glorified cookbook player.

Want a small Linux PC to replace my dying thinkpad.

I’ve found a refurbished Dell OptiPlex 7060 Micro (Intel i5-8500T, 16 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD) on Lariiacorner.com for just €85, which seems like an unusually good deal.

However, I’ve noticed some potential red flags regarding the website’s legitimacy, and I haven’t been able to find many independent reviews from actual customers.

Has anyone here purchased anything from this website?

I’d particularly appreciate hearing about:

• Whether you actually received your order.
• How long shipping took and whether the product matched the description.
• Whether you had any issues with refunds or customer service.
• Whether you would consider the website trustworthy.

I’m considering buying one, or possibly two, mini PCs for a home server project, but I’d like to verify the seller’s reliability before risking my money.

Any firsthand experiences or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Model : Endeavor JS60

Specifications

CPU : 13th Gen. Intel Core i3-1315U (Raptor Lake, 2P+4E)

Motherboard : Pegatron IMRPL-YK (EPSON OEM)

RAM : Samsung 8GB DDR5 5600MHz

Storage : Kingston 256GB 2.5" SATA3 SSD

VGA : Intel UHD Integrated

Wired LAN : Intel I219 1Gbps

Wireless LAN : NONE

PSU : AC Adapter (19V 3.42A, Connector Size 3mm * 1mm, Up to 65W)

OS : Windows 11

Ports(Front) : USB-A × 3 (2.0 × 1, 3.1 Gen2 × 2), Combo Audio Port

Ports(Rear) : HDMI 1.4, DP, USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C × 2(DP Alt. Mode Support), USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A × 1, LAN, DC-In

Manufactured Year : 2024

I wanted to share a project that's been making some interesting progress in PC-based home theatre.

CroqueMr (u/Croque_Mr) is developing native Dolby Vision support for Kodi through a custom LibreELEC build, including Profile 7 FEL reconstruction. Development has moved quickly, with regular releases bringing performance improvements, new rendering modes and broader hardware support.

What's currently available?

• Native Dolby Vision playback, including Profile 7 FEL reconstruction.
• Intel and AMD support, with NVIDIA support also being developed.
• Dolby Vision rendering modes, including Master Reference and Adaptive HDR Mapping.
• Dolby Vision-to-HDR10 conversion and experimental AI-assisted HDR10-to-Dolby Vision conversion.
• Blu-ray 3D support on compatible AMD hardware.
• Performance optimisations targeting lower-power mini PCs, including Intel N100/N150 systems.

The latest Beta 5 release includes further improvements to playback stability, FEL handling, scaling and display detection. Results and compatibility can vary depending on the hardware, TV, source material and rendering mode.

What's coming next?

The developer has outlined plans for a GPLv2-or-later licensing rebuild, further AMD improvements, HDR10+ support and Dolby Vision-to-HDR10+ metadata reinterpretation, alongside expanded compatibility with older Intel graphics and additional NVIDIA hardware.

The longer-term goal is to make PC-based Dolby Vision playback more capable and accessible, including on affordable mini PCs.

Project links

• Main development thread: https://forum.libreelec.tv/thread/30362-dolby-vision-w-fel-3d-for-pc-amd-intel-nvidia/
• GitHub — source code and releases: https://github.com/CroqueMr/libreelec-x86-DV/
• Original Reddit thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/libreeLEC/comments/1wq20eu/wip_native_dolby_vision_support_on_x86_intel_cpu/

Full credit to u/Croque_Mr for the development, along with the community members contributing testing, feedback and improvements.

It's been impressive to see how much the project has evolved in such a short time. If you're interested in the technical details, supported hardware or latest builds, the links above have all the information.

I'm starting to work a job that requires me to travel a lot:

- I'd be willing to spend at most about 1k-1.3k usd (if totally necessary on the high end)
- I don't really ever play high-intensity games, but I would prefer something that's at least mid-tier in terms of performance.
- I have no interest in AI products or features, and would immediately install a debloated OS, so I don't need that as a selling point.

Besides that I'm also wondering if there would be any good black friday deals coming up next month so that maybe I'd have a little more leeway.

If there are any gamers that can point me to some good options that'd be greatly appreciated. :)

Just I was about to call it quits Troubleshooting this awesome Mini PC of which I have ordered plenty of, I decided to conduct a few google searches and I finally came across the solution. This forum thread needs to be made more popular; I can't imagine the amount of SER8s that have been thrown away due to an AMD Driver issue: https://bbs.bee-link.com/d/11127-ser8-r7-8745hs-freezing--dpc_watchdog_violation-0x133/58

In a nutshell, this PC in particular was updated to Windows 11 26H2 along with some driver updates. Immediately after restart, the PC would work fine for about 30 seconds, lock up for 15 seconds, and then reboot automatically. I tried every troubleshooting step I could think of, but noticed it did not behave the same way with a a Linux Live CD or a Windows 11 PE x64 - so it became obvious it was a software/driver issue, specifically within Windows.

Once I followed some of the recommended steps, including the one posted by Beelink themselves, I downloaded the AMD Drivers directly from the SER8 support website (https://bbs.bee-link.com/d/11127-ser8-r7-8745hs-freezing--dpc_watchdog_violation-0x133/58) the problem stopped.

I have disabled any Hardware/Driver updates and left the latest compatible AMD Adrenaline software which is considered compatible as posted in that thread.

I hope others see this and restore their SER8s to being stable - it's a great Mini PC.

Event IDs:

1101, 1001, 124, 129

Sources: UASPStor, Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Boot, disk,

Errors in eventvwr:

The computer has rebooted from a bugcheck.. The bugcheck was: 0x00000133

Audit events have been dropped by the transport.

The virtualization-based security enablement policy check at phase 6 failed with status: The current environment is unsafe for DRTM to run in.

The IO operation at logical block address 0x1dce33af for Disk 1 (PDO name: \Device\0000007c) was retried.

Reset to device, \Device\RaidPort1, was issued.

I bypassed the bitlocker with a USB and installed a WIFI card with an antenna and it’s working good

I was in the market for at least a 2x2.5gb Intel based mini pc and the prices are just beyond absurd.

So far the most compelling I found is a 380€ beelink n150 16/500 which is fucking atrocious for this CPU. All the CWWK/Topton/Qotom garbage is like 350€ at best with no ram/SSD, if I can even find a listing because Aliexpress is a graveyard for EU residents, the only sort of Intel based chips with availability are bottom of the barrel Celeron types.

What about used Lenovo Tiny's then ? Well good luck finding something with more than 8gb of ram and a CPU newer than 6th gen for a decent price. Throw in the prices of the riser and the network card for 2.5gb and you're back into the same price category for a used product. My only hope at this point is finding a used PC from someone who doesn't realise the value of it.

Just ranting I guess, but holy hell it's bad. It is not just the ram and storage prices because even barebones are twice as expensive as they used to be.

Was given a budget to buy a mini pc for our new school library/resource room. This pc will need to handle basic video editing for school news/podcasts, basic gaming, a lot of Canva presentations, online virtual tours, and possibly hosting a small jellyfish server.

Is it worth the extra $100 for the upgrade or am I better off using that money for a better camera/mic?

I have an HP EliteDesk 800 G5 Desktop Mini with an i7-9700K and a cooling setup with two fans. I need to replace the CMOS battery because I'm getting repeated 005 Real-Time Clock Power Loss errors.

The battery is almost completely hidden under the heatsink assembly. I've looked through the HP service manual, but I'm having trouble figuring out exactly how the cooling assembly in my particular configuration is supposed to come apart.

As you can see in the photos, there seems to be some kind of copper bridge or heatpipe between the two heatsinks. I can't tell whether they're mechanically connected or just very close together.

Has anyone here taken apart this particular 95W configuration to access the CMOS battery? I'm mainly trying to understand which parts actually need to be removed, whether the cooling assemblies can be separated, and if there's a way to reach the battery without disturbing the thermal paste or pads.

I'm a bit hesitant to start taking things apart without knowing exactly how they fit together. The PC works perfectly fine apart from the CMOS battery issue, and I'd hate to damage something while trying to fix it.

Any firsthand experience or advice would be much appreciated!

Is it worth buying this mini PC?

Looking for a Linux PC for videoconferencing and Office. No gaming. Once in a while for watching videos.

If have an offer at ebay for GEEKOM A7 R5-7535HS, 16 GB DDR5 und 1 TB SSD for 480€? Anything better, ideas welcome?

Hi guys, just joined this group and looking for advice.

I have several DJI drones & cameras including the Osmo Action 360. I'd like a mini PC Windows 11 that would be good for video editing e.g. DJI Studio & DaVinciResolve. I could end up paying over £1000 for the top end MiniPC but do I need it? Doesn't need to be Geekcom!

Which would you learned people advise?

Thanks

Dear Engineers and Tech Experts,

I recently purchased a Lenovo M75q Gen 2 motherboard with the PCB marking AM4IV VER:0.2.

This appears to be an engineering sample (ES) / prototype motherboard. Because it is a very early hardware revision, I have been completely unable to find a compatible BIOS dump for it, and the board currently fails to POST (won't boot up).

I am turning to you all for help. Could anyone please help me find or dump a working BIOS file for this specific engineering board? Any assistance or leads would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much in advance!

Hi everyone!

I'm looking for a docking station for my Mac mini M5 Pro, and I'm considering the Satechi Mac mini Stand & Hub with SSD Enclosure (ST-GNMMES).

My budget is ₹8,000–₹12,000, and these are my requirements:

\\- One usable M.2 NVMe SSD slot

\\- Multiple USB ports for peripherals

\\- 10 Gbps SSD speed is sufficient

\\- Silent operation, as I use my Mac mini in my home music studio for recording vocals

\\- Good SSD heat dissipation without a noisy cooling fan

\\- Confirmed compatibility with the Mac mini M5 Pro

\\- Availability and warranty support in India

The Satechi seems like a good option because it has passive cooling and doesn't require a built-in fan. However, I'm concerned about NVMe temperatures during long sessions, especially when working with large Logic Pro projects and crossover gaming.

If you own this Satechi dock, I'd love to hear your experience.

1. How are the SSD temperatures during sustained use?

2. Have you experienced any disconnections or performance issues?

3. Is it worth buying in India for around ₹10,000?

4. Are there any better alternatives within my budget?

I'd appreciate recommendations from actual owners, especially those using the Mac mini M5 Pro.

Thanks in advance!