PC Building

[mithrand]

the other day i start looking around for a new laptop, since my current one will not handle the new windows 11. as i was looking i came across something that sounds really good, but i have never known anyone that has used a mini PC. i am a big fan of AMD and this little unit sounds like it has the better components for far less than you can get in a laptop at twice the cost. they have a complete unit or you can buy a bare bones setup, which is just minus the drives and memory. it has a AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX Base 3.30 GHz~burst to 4.90 GHz,  with intergrated GPU 12 Core  Radeon 680M graphics card, based on the new RDNA2 architecture, running at a frequency of 2400MHz. SSD PCIe 4.0 M.2 NVMe 2280 SSD in PCIe 4.0x4 format with 512GB capacity and sequential read speeds of up to 7000Mbps. In addition, users can add an M.2 2280 SATA3 SSD on their own or Barebone. it says it is capable of supporting up to 2TB of storage. it has two built-in slots for DDR5-4800MHz memory sticks, supporting up to 64GB of dual-channel memory, although the official option offered should be 32GB (16GB*2) or Barebone.  comes with a 120W (19V-6.32A) power adapter as standard to ensure efficient performance release. it has a large-port cooling fan, which has been officially tested to be silent at only 2600RPM at 100% CPU load. a  special feature of being able to cool the CPU, GPU, and power supply MOS at the same time. The memory and SSD are also equipped with a dedicated fan and heatsink. it is equipped with up to 4 HDMI 2.1 ports, all of which support 8K/60Hz video output and are capable of Quadruple display. for the Wireless Network it has WiFi6E+BT5.2. sounds like it pack quite a punch for a small box. now as i said i do not know anyone that has used the mini PC format. so i do not know if there are any pros or cons to these systems. my other thought is would it be better to get the complete unit and then upgrade the drives and memory or get the bearbones unit and just start with 64 GB memory and either 2 1 TB drives or just 1 2TB drive. if you buy the complete unit it does come with windows 11 pro already installed. any thoughts on this?

[MADZyren]

If you use it as is and do not need dedicated GPU and do not have a habit of upgrading hardware or reusing components in new builds, I don't see any problem with that.

Small computers tend to run hotter, but that has laptop components, so that should not be an issue.

So basically: nothing wrong with mini PC's, but they can't be modified, nor components reused afterwards the same way standard ATX computers can be.

[mithrand]

well the drives and the memory are reusable later down the road. i do not do much building anymore since most people i know went to using laptop. when desktop were popular i did do upgrades and repairs for people. the attraction for me on the mini pc is that it has components that most laptops are not even using yet. for instance most new laptop are still using DDR4 memory. why buy something that the memory is already outdated and from what i understand you can not upgrade from DDR4 to DDR5. the fact that a laptop that has DDR5 and a razen 9 are three times the cost of this little box. i am just wondering whether to go what they term as barebones since the complete unit only has a 512 GB drive which for me storage is important and so far i have not seen any 1.5 TB drives and it can only support 2 TB just seems like the 512 GB would be a waste but it would come with the os installed and it would be sent as a working unit. also would there be an advantage to using a single 2TB drive over using 2 1TB drives?

[Sam_AMD]

Welcome to Red Team @mithrand (And thank you for being an AMD fan!). 

I agree with @MADZyren comment "nothing wrong with mini PCs". But I have to ask, why not an ATX? (Is your primary requirement mobility)? What's the main purpose of the mini PC you are considering? (Gaming? Or gaming + content creation + rendering + development, etc.)?

[mithrand]

while i do like my games i am not into multi-player games. storage and content creation is big for me a portability does play a factor. doubt i would ever really have the need for 4 8k displays. though there have been times i would have liked to have two. in a way it is overkill but i am also a go big or go home type. and this is going big on a smaller scale.

[Sam_AMD]

Got it. Thank you. I was just curious. 

By the way, about displays, if you are going "big", would you consider an ultrawide display instead of dual monitors? (I have a 34" curved gaming monitor, and I love it, and I don't think I'll ever go back to a multi-display set up 😉)

[mithrand]

currently i am using a 32 inch flat tv through a vga cable i used to also have an old style 52 inch tv that was hooked up to the hdmi but that one quit on me i have thought about going to one of the curved monitor just have not taken the plunge. 

[Vynski]

Corsair has just released their new XENEON 45" FLEX 240Hz monitor.  Downside is 1t costs $2K.  However, if your looking at 2 or 3  32" monitors, you would basically be paying the same for more headaches with connection problems.  I would prefer the 1 45".    Jump on Corsairs site: https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Categories/Products/Monitors/c/Cor_Products_Monitors and take a look.

[mengelag]

I just built a MiniITX gaming pc with a 6700XT in the Coolermaster NP200case. If you want something small that you can customize, it's worth checking out. I'll include some pictures.

[Sam_AMD]

Very nice! 🙂

[mithrand]

nice but still a little bigger than i was looking for.

[Vynski]

What are you going to use it for?

If mobility is your need, then it is loaded with CON's.

If it is used as a desktop, why not do an ATX build.

[SubtleIQ · Accepted solution]

mithrand said "storage and content creation is big for me a portability does play a factor"

That being said...what kind of content creation?  The biggest downside to all mini pc's and specifically the one you mentioned is there are 0 pci slots.  Also they have significant less usb ports.  Both of which might be necessary for what you have in mind.  Since portability is a factor I would recommend a Mini ITX or a Micro ATX or Mini DTX.  But also keep in mind you can get some really small ATX cases as well.

That is only if you need more usb ports, and also need pci slots, if you do not need either then the mini pc fits your  bill.

You are probably going to be able to buy the barebone and just buy upgrades for the nvme's and memory.  Pending the options they are offering.  This is where I would go window shopping for memory prices and nvme prices and see if you can get better deals pricewise as well as spec's.  If their memory upgrade is cheaper than any ddr5 4800 you can find then obviously use their upgrade as it will hopefully be the best compatible for the mini pc.  The NVME's though you are probably better off buying the brand with the read/write speeds you desire.  Unless the mini pc options meet your needs.

You also mentioned storage. 

  So, I am going out on a limb and say you probably want a:

A 1 tb drive for your os and your content creation software/suite

A 2tb nvme to create/edit your content. I think the mini pc you mentioned actually comes with 2 slots.

And then I would suggest high capacity 3.5 ssd's or higher capacity 5.25 hard drive to store your content.   

Where you will need to make a choice.  External vs Internal.  Internal by default will offer you better data read/write speeds vs external pending type of usb port used.  If external is not an issue then the mini pc is still a valid choice.  but if you want portability then internal is prob the better choice which would make the mini pc less optimal; unless you use cloud storage then you will not need any internal/external storage.

[mithrand]

well i did go with the barebones since the only choice was was with 32gb (2x16)  and a 500 nvme, it is upgradable to 64gb (2x32)  though they do not offer that configuration. i would have had no use for the 2 16gb  so i decided to not get their standard model. also it only supports 2tb internal i nvme and one sata. there again they did not offer a different option. it says it can handle read speeds of 7000. in looking around i did not come across a reasonably priced sata that was anywhere near that speed i decided on just using the one nvme in a 2tb 7100/6800 read/write and not bother with the sata slot. as i already have 4 externals usb drive 2-2tb 1 5tb and a new one 16tb which is a ssd type drive. to solve the problem of not enough usb ports i order a docking hub that besides the usb ports it has a vga port, and slots for sdhc and tf  so i can still do small transfer to my back up laptop. it also has a 4k hdmi port just in case the 8k hdmi ports will have a problem with my tv that i use for a monitor. hopefully the box and the parts will show up at the same time in about a week. once i get it put together and working i will send some pics

[mengelag]

What Motherboard did you go with @mithrand ? That is biggest limiter on the hardware you can use. 32gb ram is more than enough in my opinion and an easy upgrade if it's not enough down the road. As far as nvme drive, does your motherboard support Gen 4.0?

[mithrand]

the motherboard is one thing that they do not give any info on it. if you read the specs i sated in the OP  i am not 100% certain but fairly sure that the nvme that it would have come with was a gen 4 so i see no reason that would be any problem.  

[petervirdee11]

Really Worthful information ...

[ajlueke]

I would say, the biggest con of a mini PC is that they are often SOC soldered designs where there is no upgrade path for the CPU.

If you get something like a Wesena HTPC-ITX4-V3 and a PicoPSU, you can buld something pretty small with a standard ITX motherboard.  I have a build using that case for my upstairs media PC.  You can then upgrade the CPU as new models are launched.  

I think Wesena was bought out by Streamcom over the last decade or so, and similar cases are sold as the Streamcom F1C and F7C.

[mithrand]

well the cpu a A-10 with a R6, that is in my laptop is still working after 8 years of running 24/7. at that time it was one of the top cpus by AMD. so i am betting that by using another top end AMD cpu that i will get many years of service out of it. also price is a major concern i spent almost a $1000 on my current laptop. if all goes according to plan i will have a better computer for around $800