Mini PC Suggestions
Discussion
I need a little help as I am a little behind now on PC architecture etc
I am looking to have a small mini PC linked to a KVM switch on my desk for occasional gaming. I am a "tradiional" FPS person and tend to lean towards the type of linear game Like The Serious Sam Series, Wolfenstein, Unreal engine stuff. More legacy than current
I fancy one of the really small form factor small PCs. Would definitely prefer Ryzen chips and architecture. Want to spend no more than £350 on the unit itself.
Does anyone have any recommendations in terms of make/model? New or used?
Many thanks!
I am looking to have a small mini PC linked to a KVM switch on my desk for occasional gaming. I am a "tradiional" FPS person and tend to lean towards the type of linear game Like The Serious Sam Series, Wolfenstein, Unreal engine stuff. More legacy than current
I fancy one of the really small form factor small PCs. Would definitely prefer Ryzen chips and architecture. Want to spend no more than £350 on the unit itself.
Does anyone have any recommendations in terms of make/model? New or used?
Many thanks!
MINI PC's are not usually a good choice for gaming and definitely not in your price range too many compromises.
If you can find one with a dedicated separate GPU or even a slot for one that might be ok.
I realise you are not going for all the graphical bells and whistles but the point still stands.
Have considered something like XBOX Games pass, allows you to stream games like Netflix does for films or d/l them. I can actually play stuff on my TV via an app with nothing more than an internet connection and a gamepad. Or I can steam to PC and use M&KB.
If you can find one with a dedicated separate GPU or even a slot for one that might be ok.
I realise you are not going for all the graphical bells and whistles but the point still stands.
Have considered something like XBOX Games pass, allows you to stream games like Netflix does for films or d/l them. I can actually play stuff on my TV via an app with nothing more than an internet connection and a gamepad. Or I can steam to PC and use M&KB.
At that price point you might be better of with a series s xbox and game pass. I have one with my PC and for £9 a month and a decent connection its pretty good for casual gaming.
Alternatively, keep a close eye on ebay second hand.
Edit to add - if you aren't using existing games, serious Sam and Wolfenstein are on game pass at the moment.
Alternatively, keep a close eye on ebay second hand.
Edit to add - if you aren't using existing games, serious Sam and Wolfenstein are on game pass at the moment.
Edited by Type R Tom on Wednesday 20th November 18:33
Ummm guys suggesting a console, he probably already has the games and doesn't want to pay a monthly fee to access them.
Why do people on PH not read posts and give a completely daft answer. It's the same whenever someone asks for a Windows laptop and they're a flurry of "get a mac" posts. BTW, I don't actually want an answer to that.
I digress, to the OP
Define "small".
You can get small cases that can fit an mATX motherboard and short graphics card. They're not tiny mind you but a fair bit smaller than most gaming cases. They tend to be a bit limited on what you can fit it or upgrade though.
Also consider a laptop. You can get some decent 15" gaming laptops with a 4050 for around the £800 mark. Low to zero upgradability but that might not matter to you.
Why do people on PH not read posts and give a completely daft answer. It's the same whenever someone asks for a Windows laptop and they're a flurry of "get a mac" posts. BTW, I don't actually want an answer to that.
I digress, to the OP
Define "small".
You can get small cases that can fit an mATX motherboard and short graphics card. They're not tiny mind you but a fair bit smaller than most gaming cases. They tend to be a bit limited on what you can fit it or upgrade though.
Also consider a laptop. You can get some decent 15" gaming laptops with a 4050 for around the £800 mark. Low to zero upgradability but that might not matter to you.
coach said:
I need a little help as I am a little behind now on PC architecture etc
I am looking to have a small mini PC linked to a KVM switch on my desk for occasional gaming. I am a "tradiional" FPS person and tend to lean towards the type of linear game Like The Serious Sam Series, Wolfenstein, Unreal engine stuff. More legacy than current
I fancy one of the really small form factor small PCs. Would definitely prefer Ryzen chips and architecture. Want to spend no more than £350 on the unit itself.
Does anyone have any recommendations in terms of make/model? New or used?
Many thanks!
A modern ryzen 8 or 8 series, will do older games, even at a good frame rate and resolution, but nothing modern and certainly not high detail. The mini PCs that you are looking for are a lot more than £350. I am looking to have a small mini PC linked to a KVM switch on my desk for occasional gaming. I am a "tradiional" FPS person and tend to lean towards the type of linear game Like The Serious Sam Series, Wolfenstein, Unreal engine stuff. More legacy than current
I fancy one of the really small form factor small PCs. Would definitely prefer Ryzen chips and architecture. Want to spend no more than £350 on the unit itself.
Does anyone have any recommendations in terms of make/model? New or used?
Many thanks!
captain_cynic said:
Ummm guys suggesting a console, he probably already has the games and doesn't want to pay a monthly fee to access them.
Why do people on PH not read posts and give a completely daft answer. It's the same whenever someone asks for a Windows laptop and they're a flurry of "get a mac" posts. BTW, I don't actually want an answer to that.
I digress, to the OP
Define "small".
You can get small cases that can fit an mATX motherboard and short graphics card. They're not tiny mind you but a fair bit smaller than most gaming cases. They tend to be a bit limited on what you can fit it or upgrade though.
Also consider a laptop. You can get some decent 15" gaming laptops with a 4050 for around the £800 mark. Low to zero upgradability but that might not matter to you.
Ok, then smart arse, spec a small factor PC for £350? Did you read that bit when you mention £800Why do people on PH not read posts and give a completely daft answer. It's the same whenever someone asks for a Windows laptop and they're a flurry of "get a mac" posts. BTW, I don't actually want an answer to that.
I digress, to the OP
Define "small".
You can get small cases that can fit an mATX motherboard and short graphics card. They're not tiny mind you but a fair bit smaller than most gaming cases. They tend to be a bit limited on what you can fit it or upgrade though.
Also consider a laptop. You can get some decent 15" gaming laptops with a 4050 for around the £800 mark. Low to zero upgradability but that might not matter to you.
Have a look at ETA Prime's youtube channel. He covers a lot of the smaller form factor PCs for gaming. You should be able to find something suitable although budget scope creep is a thing to be wary of.
Rather than letting myself be lazy, here's a direct link to his videos https://www.youtube.com/@ETAPRIME/videos
Rather than letting myself be lazy, here's a direct link to his videos https://www.youtube.com/@ETAPRIME/videos
captain_cynic said:
Ummm guys suggesting a console, he probably already has the games and doesn't want to pay a monthly fee to access them.
Why do people on PH not read posts and give a completely daft answer. It's the same whenever someone asks for a Windows laptop and they're a flurry of "get a mac" posts. BTW, I don't actually want an answer to that.
I digress, to the OP
Define "small".
You can get small cases that can fit an mATX motherboard and short graphics card. They're not tiny mind you but a fair bit smaller than most gaming cases. They tend to be a bit limited on what you can fit it or upgrade though.
Also consider a laptop. You can get some decent 15" gaming laptops with a 4050 for around the £800 mark. Low to zero upgradability but that might not matter to you.
Genius. I love the commitment. Why do people on PH not read posts and give a completely daft answer. It's the same whenever someone asks for a Windows laptop and they're a flurry of "get a mac" posts. BTW, I don't actually want an answer to that.
I digress, to the OP
Define "small".
You can get small cases that can fit an mATX motherboard and short graphics card. They're not tiny mind you but a fair bit smaller than most gaming cases. They tend to be a bit limited on what you can fit it or upgrade though.
Also consider a laptop. You can get some decent 15" gaming laptops with a 4050 for around the £800 mark. Low to zero upgradability but that might not matter to you.
Small form factor vs gaming is an interesting choice and I've gone both ways, with a Lenovo 1L Tiny ThinkCentre in the past and a self-build gaming rig this time.
These Minisforum mini PCs seem well liked. This one would be a little over your budget to get the Ryzen 9. The graphics get compared wtih GTX 1050 and 1660 so you won't be maxxing any settings but it will play...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/MINISFORUM-UM690Pro-6900H...
These Minisforum mini PCs seem well liked. This one would be a little over your budget to get the Ryzen 9. The graphics get compared wtih GTX 1050 and 1660 so you won't be maxxing any settings but it will play...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/MINISFORUM-UM690Pro-6900H...
The recommended requirements for Serious Sam 4 are an 8-core CPU at 3.3GHz, 16GB RAM, and a GTX1080/2060 or Radeon Vega64/5700 (8 GB VRAM).
That's quite a high spec for a £350 mini PC. If you look at used parts, you might be able to get a small form factor PC for £175 and find a low profile GTX 1080 for another £175, however you may find the power supply to be insufficient.
That's quite a high spec for a £350 mini PC. If you look at used parts, you might be able to get a small form factor PC for £175 and find a low profile GTX 1080 for another £175, however you may find the power supply to be insufficient.
This the sort of thing you're after? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ht33rqoOFc
For things that play at full HD, you probably need/want something with a bit more power which unfortunately increases the price, but there are SFF machines out there that might suit and plenty enough to choose from depending on where you can lock your budget. You can pick that particular machine up, albeit without RAM and SSD from https://www.minisforum.uk/products/minisforum-um69...
Might be some deals coming up too with black friday and what not.
For things that play at full HD, you probably need/want something with a bit more power which unfortunately increases the price, but there are SFF machines out there that might suit and plenty enough to choose from depending on where you can lock your budget. You can pick that particular machine up, albeit without RAM and SSD from https://www.minisforum.uk/products/minisforum-um69...
Might be some deals coming up too with black friday and what not.
Enjoyed the typical PH forum response you got from the original question - "your question is wrong, you must do another thing you didn't ask for" !
There's a lot of geekery on 'gaming' and what hardware you need. However, for legacy gaming at not 4k 120frames a second you can easily do it on a cheap computer.
I run steam and play things like star wars battlefront 2 and fallen order at HD and UHD on a 2017 Dell XPS laptop (expensive at the time, but available now on ebay for ~£350) and on a Minisforum UN1270 (https://www.minisforum.uk/products/un1265?variant=46989747192086) which cost £319, both of which look good on a 65" 4K OLED.
The Minisforum is just using the intel graphics, and this particular model they didn't even design the motherboard properly to allow the full Xe capability, yet it's fine for basic gaming. It's used as our TV PC, also via a long USBC cable to a USBC 4K monitor as my work from home PC, and as a gaming computer using an old PS4 controller. Does everything fine.
There's a lot of geekery on 'gaming' and what hardware you need. However, for legacy gaming at not 4k 120frames a second you can easily do it on a cheap computer.
I run steam and play things like star wars battlefront 2 and fallen order at HD and UHD on a 2017 Dell XPS laptop (expensive at the time, but available now on ebay for ~£350) and on a Minisforum UN1270 (https://www.minisforum.uk/products/un1265?variant=46989747192086) which cost £319, both of which look good on a 65" 4K OLED.
The Minisforum is just using the intel graphics, and this particular model they didn't even design the motherboard properly to allow the full Xe capability, yet it's fine for basic gaming. It's used as our TV PC, also via a long USBC cable to a USBC 4K monitor as my work from home PC, and as a gaming computer using an old PS4 controller. Does everything fine.
eein said:
Enjoyed the typical PH forum response you got from the original question - "your question is wrong, you must do another thing you didn't ask for" !
There's a lot of geekery on 'gaming' and what hardware you need. However, for legacy gaming at not 4k 120frames a second you can easily do it on a cheap computer.
I run steam and play things like star wars battlefront 2 and fallen order at HD and UHD on a 2017 Dell XPS laptop (expensive at the time, but available now on ebay for ~£350) and on a Minisforum UN1270 (https://www.minisforum.uk/products/un1265?variant=46989747192086) which cost £319, both of which look good on a 65" 4K OLED.
The Minisforum is just using the intel graphics, and this particular model they didn't even design the motherboard properly to allow the full Xe capability, yet it's fine for basic gaming. It's used as our TV PC, also via a long USBC cable to a USBC 4K monitor as my work from home PC, and as a gaming computer using an old PS4 controller. Does everything fine.
To be fair, the OP said he wanted to spend no more than £350 and everyone said that wasn't enough for a decent spec mini PC so gave a variety of suggestions. Looking at the unit he bought on Amazon, it is £509...There's a lot of geekery on 'gaming' and what hardware you need. However, for legacy gaming at not 4k 120frames a second you can easily do it on a cheap computer.
I run steam and play things like star wars battlefront 2 and fallen order at HD and UHD on a 2017 Dell XPS laptop (expensive at the time, but available now on ebay for ~£350) and on a Minisforum UN1270 (https://www.minisforum.uk/products/un1265?variant=46989747192086) which cost £319, both of which look good on a 65" 4K OLED.
The Minisforum is just using the intel graphics, and this particular model they didn't even design the motherboard properly to allow the full Xe capability, yet it's fine for basic gaming. It's used as our TV PC, also via a long USBC cable to a USBC 4K monitor as my work from home PC, and as a gaming computer using an old PS4 controller. Does everything fine.
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