Comments?...thinking about buying this mini PC. Amazon item.
0KAMRUI GK3Plus Mini PC with Windows 11Pro, 16GB RAM 512GB M.2 SSD Mini Computers,12th Gen Alder Lake N95 (up to 3.4GHz) Micro PC, 2.5’'SSD, Gigabit Ethernet,4K UHD,WiFi,BT,VESA/Home/Business Small pc
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I went with an AMD-based Beelink with a reputation for running cool (and most importantly, quiet) for my dad.
I would probably lean more towards the bigger players like Minisforum or Beelink. Processor, consider the N95 only if it’s significantly cheaper than a N100. Both offer the same performance (roughly equivalent to a 6th gen Skyline i5 desktop), but the N100 is 6w TDP while the N95 is 15w TDP.
@narfcake oof…6th gen i5 equivalent…that’s like buying an 8 year-old PC!
@TimW For tasks like streaming, browsing, emails, and office applications, the CPU has more than enough power.
@narfcake I have a 6th gen i5 laptop that still works fine, but I wouldn’t buy a new one like that now nor would I recommend others do so. It’s super-cheap, which is the appeal. Getting a serviceable PC for that price is tempting for many. BUT, my mom has a 4th gen i5 which is painfully slow (granted it has a spinning hard drive), so I’d be worried about how this mini PC will perform/feel 2 or 3 years down the road.
@TimW There’s the culprit.
As for your laptop, some 6th gen i5 were still a dual-core CPUs; it didn’t need to be any better because of the competition. AMD’s Ryzen was the much needed catalyst to push Intel to innovate and end their stagflation between 2nd gen and 7th gen.
@narfcake agreed on AMD! But I’d still never recommend an under-powered CPU like this. I’ve bought Celeron and Atom laptops and tablets in the past and it’s never worked out well in the long term.
Did you mean this one which currently has a $50 off coupon?
https://www.amazon.com/KAMRUI-GK3-2-5-inch-Ethernet-Business/dp/B0BC7S9R5C
It seems like a good computer at a good price but I have never used this brand of mini computer.
I have a couple different models from the brand Minisforum* and I have been very happy with their products. I even have one of their higher end mini computers.
*Typing this reply on a Minisforum UM350 with Manjaro Linux.
@yakkoTDI - Reddit is suspicious of Kamrui, and Quora says mini pcs tend to use laptop grade CPUs that do not perform quite as well as desktop CPUs but are upgradeable.
@aetris @yakkoTDI this is low end laptop grade CPU…that N95 cpu is the new Celeron-class cpu.
@aetris @TimW @yakkoTDI Celeron!
I used to believe in good PC, now I think about the right PC for the job, with prices and reliability put in. So you cannot assess a computer without thinking about what you want to do with it. In these small fo factors cooking can be a problem. If you can do Mac, people rave about tue current M4 Mac mini, if you can get an educational discount down to $499, which is a lot more than $150, and comes with very little storage, 256. So think what you want to do. And this will it be reliable.
Thank you. Great comments. Lot to think about. Much I never thought about. Always smart helpful info here.
give this lil dude a gander: https://www.newegg.com/p/1VK-01TK-001X2?Item=9SIBSMJKCK6003