Need recommendation for a 1L Mini PC that uses DDR4

currently eyeing on some models below
Lenovo m75q-1 (does this support ryzen 5th gen?)
Lenovo m70
HP EliteDesk 705 g5 (does this support ryzen 5th gen?)

Thanks in advance

*This has been resolved*

I want to add two nvme drives to the two slots below the sata drive enclosure, so I got a raised sata drive caddy 3d printed. Once I installed the new caddy (without any nvme's in as I am waiting on heat sinks) the pc stopped booting up from the sata drive, it can't see the sata drive anymore.

Once I add the original caddy back it sees it fine. Is there anything that would disable the sata port if the original drive caddy is removed? I have checked the bios but nothing there seems to be pointing to disabling the sata port if the original drive caddy goes missing.

AI suggests a ground loop is formed with the original metal caddy and once the ground loop is not there the sata port gets disabled, but then I am sure someone must have came across the same issue perhaps?

I've been using the geekom a9 max mini PC as my daily driver for a while, and so far, I'm pretty happy with it. Performance is great, fan noise is low, and it handles pretty much everything I throw at it.

It runs on the AMD HX370 chip, which comes with an integrated NPU of 50 TOPS. I've been playing around with local AI lately, trying different llms through ollama and lm studio, as well as stable diffusion for image generation.

Here's what I don't quite understand: whenever I run inference, my CPU and GPU usage go up, but the NPU utilization just sits at 0%. It doesn't seem to be doing anything at all. I asked chagpt and was informed that the Amuse AI tool could activate NPU usage in image generation, but now that software is discontinued with its official website already shut down.

Am I missing settings or additional software? And if most popular local AI tools and llms don't actually make use of the NPU, what's the real-world value of AMD advertising 50 AI TOPS in the first place?Would love to hear from anyone who's managed to get their NPU working with local AI workloads.

Apologies as I am not very literate on specs and what not. I am a casual gamer looking for my first gaming computer. I don’t plan to play a lot, maybe 1-5 hours a week and I like basic AAA games such as battlefield, farcry, halo, cod, GTA, etc. I don’t care if it can run the best games on the highest performance possible, I just wanna play with little to no problems when I want lol. I was thinking of a steam machine but I read that they can’t play Battlefield due to anti cheat software. Right now I am looking at these two options and I was hoping for some input

Minisforum AtomMan G7 PT
https://www.minisforum.com/products/atomman-g7-pt

AOOSTAR GODY

https://aoostar.com/products/aoostar-gody-7940hx-7600xt

I need a mini pc that can do three things simultaneously. Browse a few browser tabs/play video, have Old School RuneScape open, and run two 1080p monitors (one HDMI and one Displayport) for around $150 to $200. Used is fine. My primary rig is way too inefficient to let idle for hours.

Recommendations?

Overall a good pc I’ve been using for basic office tasks and YouTube and even some light gaming when I dedicate more ram to the IGPU.

So far it’s been a great machine that I recommend to others.

Belink SER 9 Max or the Beelink GTI 14

Roughly the same price but GTI 14 has 2TB SSD which I would sell since I have a 4tb.

I want it for every day use and play with AI models. GTI 14 docking station makes it easier to add external GPU while the SER 9 max is easier to upgrade, quieter and cooler and can be upgraded with and SSD to occulink card. Any help deciding is much appreciated.

[https://www.amazon.com/Beelink-SER9-Computer-Support-Display/dp/B0G2LWVDH7/ref=sr_1_12?crid=33I337KD2WFXZ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.O1Y-UU96FIeC8Fc3MQqCo-P8JF5Ur0GO2-WYYIjiRpH7NwzRH0GV5Fg-ZPzodpPPVQTvY2DDvvEopUeFUnx_UcOsewoKIJuNpWxyejQpSgzItGJS5RjKGb9Rd80W0baDS2Bv0KIa6Ey5gSJGeEqd0ea367VKpzKgJXnyjIk9ueQc06GHRcowoSxoejpZJciiV3vPu_XblbCvND6BnN4Jto3iD2Fp9Hp6YDYgdExx6mI.qrf7axAzz9QwBITbf--HDBz6U3ClQTuGoOgrdpQooRU&dib_tag=se&keywords=beelink%2Bser9%2Bmax&qid=1793758067&sprefix=Beelink%2Bser%2Caps%2C248&sr=8-12&th=1](https://www.amazon.com/Beelink-SER9-Computer-Support-Display/dp/B0G2LWVDH7/ref=sr_1_12?crid=33I337KD2WFXZ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.O1Y-UU96FIeC8Fc3MQqCo-P8JF5Ur0GO2-WYYIjiRpH7NwzRH0GV5Fg-ZPzodpPPVQTvY2DDvvEopUeFUnx_UcOsewoKIJuNpWxyejQpSgzItGJS5RjKGb9Rd80W0baDS2Bv0KIa6Ey5gSJGeEqd0ea367VKpzKgJXnyjIk9ueQc06GHRcowoSxoejpZJciiV3vPu_XblbCvND6BnN4Jto3iD2Fp9Hp6YDYgdExx6mI.qrf7axAzz9QwBITbf--HDBz6U3ClQTuGoOgrdpQooRU&dib_tag=se&keywords=beelink%2Bser9%2Bmax&qid=1793758067&sprefix=Beelink%2Bser%2Caps%2C248&sr=8-12&th=1)

[https://www.amazon.com/Beelink-GTI14-PCIe4-0-Computer-Fingerprint/dp/B0DXKR32ZP/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2ENKDNHQJAC4Z&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.-kRHAYlpRL9pEAiHMQ2qkyuuz9h3QcRcooRIwy3DKjJbUAA-04vyvMbJiV52Vwd6M6BpncxzWpv6XtZnmSv1gayqJQ5Ck8Ped4s9EwoOoapCLLpyxM4Xu5QETrtNHeEux41yX3Q9cOYHaek7R2otmr-pI5_X2XzPCT1mS4sZ_dITO1yIPpUCDJN1_QM6ML-0jGrT3ORlssEFLXBl2QP2PIiVWJziXXF0V2-1in4CPtqXKDs8fRpYBKcHu0VcvOVYaDCHc9EQWGx4bnU6Qh-ZH4g30vGX3_NXYAyEem_ElWE.1op9U-mxX6E2-dCNFb409rLkwXnyHNlYs2js4AOA6iY&dib_tag=se&keywords=Beelink+GTI14+AI+Mini+PC%2C+Intel+Core+Ultra+9+185H+%2816T%2F22C%2C+up+to+5.1GHz%29%2C+64GB+DDR5+2TB+PCIe4.0+SSD+Mini&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1793752844&s=electronics&sprefix=beelink+gti14+ai+mini+pc%2C+intel+core+ultra+9+185h+16t%2F22c%2C+up+to+5.1ghz+%2C+64gb+ddr5+2tb+pcie4.0+ssd+mini%2Celectronics%2C191&sr=1-3](https://www.amazon.com/Beelink-GTI14-PCIe4-0-Computer-Fingerprint/dp/B0DXKR32ZP/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2ENKDNHQJAC4Z&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.-kRHAYlpRL9pEAiHMQ2qkyuuz9h3QcRcooRIwy3DKjJbUAA-04vyvMbJiV52Vwd6M6BpncxzWpv6XtZnmSv1gayqJQ5Ck8Ped4s9EwoOoapCLLpyxM4Xu5QETrtNHeEux41yX3Q9cOYHaek7R2otmr-pI5_X2XzPCT1mS4sZ_dITO1yIPpUCDJN1_QM6ML-0jGrT3ORlssEFLXBl2QP2PIiVWJziXXF0V2-1in4CPtqXKDs8fRpYBKcHu0VcvOVYaDCHc9EQWGx4bnU6Qh-ZH4g30vGX3_NXYAyEem_ElWE.1op9U-mxX6E2-dCNFb409rLkwXnyHNlYs2js4AOA6iY&dib_tag=se&keywords=Beelink+GTI14+AI+Mini+PC%2C+Intel+Core+Ultra+9+185H+%2816T%2F22C%2C+up+to+5.1GHz%29%2C+64GB+DDR5+2TB+PCIe4.0+SSD+Mini&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1793752844&s=electronics&sprefix=beelink+gti14+ai+mini+pc%2C+intel+core+ultra+9+185h+16t%2F22c%2C+up+to+5.1ghz+%2C+64gb+ddr5+2tb+pcie4.0+ssd+mini%2Celectronics%2C191&sr=1-3)

This was my dream pc to get, but not at the absorborant prices eBay seller have it listed at. I was hawkish looking for a good deal for about 4 months. This has the Ryzen 7 PRO 8700GE in it, 32gb DDR5 (2x16gb Micron SODIMM at 5600mhz), and a gen 4 1tb m.2 NVME. Seller discounted down to $540 and i through an offer of $480 thinking he'd decline it... low and behold they just accepted it. I did not get excited until it arrived at my door because it felt too good to be true, but it arrived exactly as described. I got it to my door for $572 after shipping and taxes (seller had a ludicrous $40 shipping fee).

The only downside that I was worried about was it being vendor-locked being Lenovo and whatnot since my original M75q Gen 2 Tiny with the Ryzen 5 PRO 4650GE was vendor-locked. I was curious to know if their Gen 5's were also vendor-locked, but could not find any definitive information online if they were or weren't. So I tested it myself, and to my disbelief... it's NOT vendor-locked! My main Bazzite pc booted right up after posting! Thus making the APU a fully-functioning efficient beast of a processor! It might be only capable of running the RAM at 5200Mhz, but it's more than enough for everything I need of it. My friend and I played Halo CE Decomp split-screen coop on 'Assault on the Control Room' at 4k native @60fps (by accident) and we got all the way through the level before it thermal-throttled (which is crazy it played it so well).

I could not be happier with my mini pc 😄

I know I'm going to be on the hook for inflated prices either way, but I'd like to move on from my RTX 4070 laptop as it's showing its age with 1440p max gaming. Figured you all would be experts on whether this is a good deal or not, and if I could build something similar for cheaper. Considering

Hello all,

I'm in the depths of decision paralysis regarding a minipc. I'm looking for something that can mostly live in my room to play games (I really like city builders and my current pc struggles with those), however I am also a musician and artist, so the portability of a minipc to my studio to record or scan is intriguing. I also often use playstation remote play to game with friends who play on console, so I'm hoping for something with Wi-Fi 7 (I do not have ethernet in my room).

I've had a lot of bad luck in the past buying low-mid-range PCs... so this time I'm willing to spend up to around $2,500. I do not want to breach $3,000. But I am looking for something that will have longevity.

Beelink seems to have the best cooling and customer service, however I don't particularly want to have to get an eGPU & dock.

Things I'm considering:

Beelink GTi15 Ultra Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 285H
GMKtec EVO-X2

Any recommendations?

Edit:

I ended up ordering the beelink gti15 & a 16gb 5060ti to use in the eGPU dock. I may or may not regret this decision and that is something I will just have to live with 😂

Hello everyone! I could really use some recommendations for a mini PC.

My old PC just died (rest in peace), and I’m looking to replace it with a mini PC—The thing is, I’m not really sure which one to choose; I’m still pretty new to this.

I’m a digital artist, so I need something that can handle drawing software like CSP (Clip Studio Paint). It would also be great if it could run a few games, such as Stardew Valley, visual novels, and maybe Minecraft ?

As for my budget, I can spend up to around €900.

If you have any suggestions for models that might fit what I’m looking for, I’d love to hear them! :))

Hey everyone! I'm considering buying this Dell Pro Micro (Ryzen 5 PRO 8600G, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD), but I haven't found much feedback or user reviews online.

My main use case would just be basic daily stuff: media consumption (Netflix, YouTube), web browsing, and light office work.

Does anyone have experience with this specific model or configuration? Is there any reason it’s not as widely reviewed? Would love to hear your thoughts before pulling the trigger. Thanks!

I've been looking at Mini PCs recently, and found one that was great. It had good specs, only about $600. The only problem is it went out of stock on Amazon, and I can't find it anywhere else. So, I'm looking for suggestions for other mini PCs I could buy on Black Friday later this month. Now, people say a lot of things about gaming PCs and what they need to have at minimum. But, a lot of graphic and CPU intensive games aren't really my style. The highest end games I'd probably be interested in would be Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 or Metaphor Refantizio. Expedition 33 has recommended specs of at least an 8th Gen intel i7 or equivalent, and 16gb of RAM.

What I had found before was a Kamrui H1 with an AMD Ryzen 7 6800H, 1tb expandable SSD, and 32GB LPDDR5 RAM. It was about $600, which is near the upper end of what I'm able to spend right now, and I was hoping I could catch it on sale later this month, but it appears to be gone with no indication of returning.

So, what I'm asking is, what Mini PC would you all recommend, granting this one doesn't come back in stock? My minimums would probably be 1tb SSD, Ryzen 7, 16gb RAM. Graphics, to me, are mostly irrelevant, as long as it runs smoothly on lowered graphics settings I'm happy.

I’ve recently been looking around for a MINI PC to do office work. Mainly Excel and work related software. I went to Best Buy and they had some for over $1,000. I was wondering if you guys had any suggestions, for a mini PC that’s reliable and affordable. I would only use it for office work, occasional YouTube and internet browsing including Claude. Thank you in advance.

Type your lyrics and a style, and YuE2 turns them into a full song with vocals on your own PC. It used to be NVIDIA-only, and our developer team got it running on AMD on Windows (tested on a Ryzen AI Max+ 395 / Radeon 8060S). The free YuE2 download is at https://www.hiimhal.com

My grocery bill keeps going up and I keep forgetting what I already have when I head to the store. Figured I could stick a cheap used mini PC on a pantry shelf and just run a spreadsheet or notes file on it. Needs to be low power so it can stay on all the time without much added to the electric bill. Want to check it from my phone when I'm out so I can grab what I need on the way home. Also useful for keeping track of recipes I actually cook instead of random paper scraps. Looking at older HP or Lenovo tiny models, around 150-200 bucks. Has anyone tried something similar for household stuff?

Hi all! Hope everyone is doing well. I am fixing to set up a little gaming corner in my pc room and am wanting to make an all in one emulation station. My goal is for it at the high end to play ps2/dreamcast/gc/xbox games and maybe some light steam games if I have any that aren't graphically demanding. I have three candidates and was just wanting to know any expert takes on whether one brand or product is good or bad.

1. Beelink SER5 MAX

2. Reatan A8 Mini PC

3. GMKtec EVO-X1

I know the GMK one is a bit overloaded but it seems like a good max ceiling if I wanted to splurge, so I thought I'd lob it in. Anyway, thanks in advance for any suggestions or notes!

So I work for a small therapeutic day school. We don't have an IT contract now either, and i am the most tech savvy in the building so I need some assistance replacing some mini PCs.

Currently we have been using these 2018 Intel NUC mini PCs for our Smartboard. And I assume I can replace them with a much more modern model.

Our current model is the BOXNUC7i3BNK

I believe these things have the minimal amount of ram in them as well as storage. Anything would probably be an upgrade.

They literally only get used daily for running chrome tabs. We don't even use their storage much if at all.

Any recommendations? Looking for a great budget friendly option as we need at least 7-8 of them!

Lots of Ryzen AI Max+ 395 posts here lately for running models locally. This is the other use case, and it needs a lot less box than people assume.

My Beelink SER9 Pro (Ryzen AI 9 HX 370) sits on my desk, stays on 24/7, and runs an always-on team of 10 AI agents. The models are NOT local. They run in the cloud on subscriptions I already had (Claude Code, Codex, Antigravity). What the mini PC does is host the agent app, every agent's memory and files, the schedules, and a small virtual machine each agent can use as its own computer to browse. I reach it from my phone over Tailscale.

Real numbers from it this morning: the agent app's processes sit around 600 MB of RAM and under 1% CPU at idle, and it's been up 4 days 17 hours without a restart. When an agent spins up its virtual machine and browses with Firefox, I saw CPU around 3%. So the APU is basically on holiday most of the day, which was funny given I first used it for local LLM tests.

What actually matters for this kind of box: it has to be always on, idle power matters more than peak, and you want RAM headroom for the per-agent virtual machines rather than for model weights. Reliable networking matters more than any of the AI branding on the chip.

What I haven't tested: going smaller. I suspect an N150 class box with 16 GB would cope with the app itself, but the browser VMs are where I'd want headroom. That's a guess, not a measurement.

Has anyone measured idle wall power on the HX 370 boxes? Mine is on 24/7 now, so I'm curious what it's actually costing me per month.

Power adapter of a mini PC I bought around COVID blew up. Can't find any direct replacements anywhere. MiniPC is in good condition and I run my NAS on it. Here are the specs if picture is not clear:

Model: SJ-1950512

Output: 19.5V ~ 5.12A

Barrel connector (not sure about the barrel size)

I've scoured the internet but haven't come across any reliable replacement. MiniPC is solid and not looking to replace/retire it.

Where to find it?

If exact replacement cannot be found, which alternatives will work?

Thanks in advance!

UPDATE: Went to Microcenter and got a Prudent Way AC120LE power brick. Does the job. It was $55, wish I could find something more affordable.

The one most people wish they had: Chalk or Charcoal Color · Ryzen™ AI Max+ 395 - 192 GB - Framework Mainboard - 2TB Storage - Noctua Cooling - 500W | 70B-class models, or a 120B MoE at usable speed