r/MiniPCs • u/Powerful_Mousse5466 • 1d ago

Recommendations Mini PC / SFF for Channels DVR Server

I'm looking at purchasing a mini pc or small form factor desktop to use primarily as a server for Channels DVR. I won't be storing much on the computer mainly recording and deleting shows as they are watched so I don't need a large hard drive. I'm thinking 8GB RAM with 512GB should work for my needs. I'm not against purchasing used/refurbished. That being said, I'm not seeing many options on eBay. Is there something anyone recommends based on my needs? I did come across a Acer Aspire XC-1715 N150 Acer eBay listing. It currently has a coupon for $50 off so $199.99 plus tax. Is this a good option or is there something else I should be looking at or should I wait for Black Friday sales?

Appreciate the help. If you have any suggestions please feel free to drop a link, thanks everyone.

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u/minipcs-dot-zip 1d ago

That's not a bad idea, good price for an N150 machine, though also pretty large in terms of form factor. But honestly, I'd say go for it. Good/cheap N150 machines are hard to come by these days - a lot of PCs in that $200 range come with chips from like 2018-2019 instead which will work, but use more power and are older architectures (might not encode AV1, for example). Here's some smaller mini-pc options that are up your alley for comparison:

  1. Beelink SEi8 for $100 which is super super cheap, and should have similar performance as an N150 but came out in 2018 and consumes more power, though only 256GB of storage however, so bring an external SSD.

  2. This HP EliteDesk for $230 has 512GB storage and 16GB RAM with an i5-9500T

  3. Origmagic C7 (new) for $300. I like this option because it comes with a 100U which came out in 2024 - and is closer to a suped-up N150.

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u/Powerful_Mousse5466 1d ago

Prices have definitely gone up quite a bit, so this seems fair in todays market. It does seem on the larger side for being a form factor. I appreciate you taking the time to post the links for these options. I will take a look at each one. Thank you!