How to Choose a Mini PC That Rivals Laptops but is Cheaper

After leaving campus, everyone should replace their gaming laptop, and many people will choose between a lightweight laptop and a desktop based on their needs.

However, if you need to carry your computer to and from work every day and don’t use it while on the road, a mini PC might also be a good choice for you.

The specific reasons are detailed in this article 👉 “Affordable Price, Performance Comparable to Laptops, Get to Know Intel Mini PCs?”

A mini PC does not have a clear classification.

Generally speaking, any product that is significantly smaller than the common chassis can be called a mini PC.

According to the current market, the upper limit for mini PCs is about the size of an A4 paper + not very thick body.

After all, portability is always a major requirement for mini PCs. If there is no portability requirement, it’s better not to consider these products.

If you are sure you have this need, here are my product recommendations from three directions.

Ultimate Lightweight: Intel NUC8i5

In yesterday’s article, we detailed the experience of the Intel NUC8i5.

First of all, it is compact.

Under such a compact body, the NUC8i5 features a quad-core, eight-thread i5-8259U processor, integrated Iris 655 graphics, supports up to 32GB DDR4-2400 memory, and M.2 + SATA storage expansion.

The external interfaces include four USB 3.1 Gen2 (10G) Type-A, one Thunderbolt 3 compatible with USB 3.1 Gen2 and DP 1.2, HDMI 2.0, RJ45 network interface, 3.5mm headphone jack, and MicroSD card reader.

Its expandability is completely comparable to many mid-to-high-end lightweight laptops on the market.

Its performance can fully meet daily office needs and simple audio-visual entertainment, and with Thunderbolt 3 graphics expansion, video rendering and gaming performance can reach another level.

The core point is — its price is less than 3000 yuan (excluding memory and storage), at this price point, having the above performance and expandability while considering portability…

Even without considering external graphics, I think it is sufficient to recoup the cost.

Compromise Choice: ASRock Deskmini A300

If you don’t care about a dedicated graphics card, don’t want to pursue Thunderbolt 3, and can relax the size requirements a bit…

The ASRock Deskmini A300 might be a good choice for you.

The ASRock Deskmini A300 has dimensions of 155x155x80mm, which is to say its height and depth are similar to the length of an iPhone 11.

Although the size has increased significantly, it can still be easily placed in various backpacks, making it a convenient choice.

Unlike the NUC, the ASRock Deskmini A300 only provides the chassis, motherboard, and power supply, meaning users can choose their processor based on their needs (the A300 can only use AMD APU, which means products with integrated graphics), memory, and storage.

The ASRock Deskmini A300 offers two memory, M.2, and SATA interfaces, allowing for massive data storage.

Among them, SATA can form RAID 0/1, the former can significantly increase data read and write speeds, while the latter can protect important data through synchronous backup.

Although it does not have Thunderbolt 3, according to current news, the ASRock Deskmini can support AMD Ryzen 4000 series desktop APUs.

Not only has the core count significantly increased, but the integrated graphics performance can rival that of current mid-to-low-end dedicated graphics cards.

It is also sufficient.

Additionally, the current price of the ASRock Deskmini is 999 yuan, and with the AMD R5 3400G, it can be acquired for less than 2000 yuan.

If you want to be a “wait-and-see party” or upgrade at the end of the year, switching to the 4400G can simultaneously enhance the performance of both the CPU and GPU.

Pursuing Performance: MSI Trident 3

Compared to the previous two products, the MSI Trident 3 is noticeably larger, exceeding the A4 size..

However, the relatively thin body still allows it to be easily placed in a backpack, although it is a bit heavier.

The larger size brings a significant performance boost. The MSI Trident 3 is equipped with desktop-grade Intel Core i5/i7 processors, and the graphics card options include NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Super/GTX 1660 Super.

Not to mention daily office tasks, even playing a couple of games in your spare time is no problem.

If you are good at DIY, you can choose to assemble an A4 ITX host yourself.

However, the cost of building it yourself is not low, and this article mainly targets those who are not skilled at assembling.

The configuration of i5-9400F+16GB+RTX 2060 Super, while considering portability, is reasonably priced at 8688 yuan.

Conclusion: Consider Your Needs

Mini PCs have become a popular product in recent years due to their relatively excellent performance and portability, but it is undeniable that the prices of related products have also risen significantly.

I believe that in terms of usage, mini PCs should be a relatively niche choice.

Although it has many advantages, it is also full of compromises, such as higher prices and temperatures.

Even though I recommended the above products, the final purchase of any product still depends on one’s actual needs, as what suits you best is what is most suitable.

For example, for those who need to travel frequently and handle many documents on the go, perhaps a lightweight laptop is the most suitable for them.

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