A mini PC, such as this NUC from Intel, has a place on every desk in the home office.

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Mini PCs: they're small and compact, but what are they worth?

28.10.2020

Translation: machine translated

The power of a laptop, desktop or tower PC? If you need a computer for teleworking, you're spoilt for choice. But let's make things even more complicated: how about a mini PC? Five reasons why these little boxes deserve your attention.

Today's standard office worker generally has a laptop provided by his or her employer. In the office, it is then placed on a docking station and is sometimes taken along to meetings. As an expert in forced teleworking following the coronavirus, I plug mine into the screens. Yes, a laptop has its advantages,

But if your model is older and you're thinking of buying a new one, I'm going to put another idea to you: how about a mini PC? In our range, we have NUCs from Intel, ProDesks or EliteDesks from HP or Asus models. Mini PCs have a number of advantages.

1. Small and beefy

Let's start with the argument I'm sure not everyone buys into: size. A mini PC is, as the name suggests, small. A NUC of the latest generation is a small cube measuring twelve centimetres by twelve. Even the master of all stylish desktop computing units, Apple's Mac mini, is larger at just under 20 centimetres square. HP's EliteDesk series (17 centimetres) and the Asus mini PC (not even twelve centimetres) are smaller. A box like this doesn't take up much space on a desk. If you like things tidy, you'll love the mini PC and if you want it to disappear completely from your field of vision, you can also install it under the desk or behind the monitor.

An NUC like this is just 12 centimetres long. Photo: Martin Jungfer

2. Excellent connectivity

Even though they're small, mini-PCs generally have plenty of connection options. HDMI, Display Port, Ethernet (RJ45) and USB are included in almost every small device. In addition, there are audio and Bluetooth connectivity options in many cases. The latter is particularly useful for the aesthetically minded, allowing you to connect a mouse or keyboard wirelessly. If you want to connect more than one display to the Mini-PC, you need to keep an eye on the number of HDMI or Display Port connections and choose your filters accordingly when searching. As far as the USB port is concerned, the 2nd-generation 3.1 standard is much nicer than the slower data-rate 3.0 port that is still often fitted to older models. And if you still want to work with SD cards in addition to the built-in memory, make sure you select a card reader in the filters.

3. DIY or ready to use

Mini PCs are available in different variants: from the so-called barebone to the complete kit, with ready-to-use operating system. If you want to choose the RAM, graphics card, processor and hard drive yourself and you know how to install them, the barebone is a good choice. Only the motherboard, usually including the graphics chip, and a fan are already installed. If you're happy with the hard drives and RAM sizes on offer, an off-the-shelf solution often offers better value for money. The included Windows licence is particularly important here. Mini PC manufacturers pay much less than if you had to buy the licence yourself. If you're a Linux enthusiast, you obviously won't be interested in the price of Windows. When you buy a mini-PC, make sure, as far as possible, that you don't choose eMMC. This form of storage, technically similar to an SD card, is cheap for manufacturers and as fast as an SSD. However, data transfers are slower and it is virtually impossible to exchange it for a model with a higher capacity, as it is soldered. One final note if you're seriously considering a barebone: check whether your model has a socket so you can swap CPUs if necessary. If you want to reuse existing memory modules, from a laptop for example, check first if the type is compatible with barebone.

4. Workhorses for everyday use

What kind of tasks do you do the PC? Office applications, emails, internet searches, streaming music or series, basic image processing? A mini-PC will give you enough computing power for all that. If your budget allows, choose a 512GB SSD. And with 8GB of RAM and an Intel i5, the little computer will perform the tasks assigned to it with ease. The integrated graphics performance is even good enough for the occasional game, but don't expect to be able to climb into the cockpit of the latest flight simulator with your mini PC. For that, you'll need an external graphics card, which you can connect via Thunderbolt. However, if you really want to play a decent game, a mini PC shouldn't be your first choice.

5. Quiet, thrifty ventilation

Small computers generally run very quietly. In tests, we measured between 0.1 and 0.2 sone in standard operation. That's considerably less than a laptop can produce. And NUCs and the like are also extremely energy-efficient. In standby, the devices consume less than 10 watts, under average load between 50 and 60 watts, and up to 90 watts at maximum performance. This is well below the level that should have a significant impact on your electricity bill. By way of comparison, a desktop PC with modern equipment consumes around 100 watts in normal operation and 200 watts or more when it has to cope with heavy loads.

Maybe some of these reasons have convinced you. I can also add that at Digitec Galaxus, an Intel NUC is connected to every monitor in the meeting rooms. With a keyboard and mouse on the conference table, we can connect quickly and easily if we want to look at something on the screen.

The best-selling mini PCs at the moment are these:

Header image: A mini PC, such as this NUC from Intel, has a place on every desk in the home office.

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Martin Jungfer

Head of Content

Martin.Jungfer@digitecgalaxus.ch

Journalist since 1997. Stopovers in Franconia (or the Franken region), Lake Constance, Obwalden, Nidwalden and Zurich. Father since 2014. Expert in editorial organisation and motivation. Focus on sustainability, home office tools, beautiful things for the home, creative toys and sports equipment.

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