Is this Tiny PC worth the money?

Hudson1984

Hudson1984

Hudson1984

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4 Jul 2013
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139
Tiny PC.
Spec as follows.

Lenovo Thinkcentre M92 PC Core i3 3220T 320GB HD. 4GB Ram with Win 10 Pro and Office 2019 Pro Plus.
Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit. Activated and fully updated.
Office 2019 Pro Plus Activated and fully updated.
Intel Core i3 3220T @ 2.8GHz
4GB DDR3 RAM. I can upgrade this to 8GB for £15.
320GB 7200RPM Sata 6.0 hard drive. I can upgrade this to a 120GB SSD for £15. A 180GB SSD for £20 or a 240GB SSD for £30.
USB 3.0 X4. 2 on the rear and two on the front.
1 USB 2.0.
Display Port X1
VGA X1
Ethernet.
Includes a new power supply.

this is currently £100 with offers accepted. I was thinking to offer the £100 but get them to up the RAM

SO, after some looking around, this PC will need to run:
Skype,
USB Mic
USB Webcam
DSLR - which will be used as a webcam via a video capture card.
24" Monitor
take some headphones.

I'm aware i've got a Skype thread going but this is really about the right machine now. So wanted to make sure i'm not missing out on something more suitable.
 
or this:

Lenovo
ThinkCentre

Model - M93P

Processor - Intel core i3-4130T
Processor speed - 2.90GHz

Ram - 8GB DDR 3
Hard Drive - 500GB HDD

Operating system - Windows 10 Pro

Optical Drive - NO

Graphics Card - Intel HD Graphics 4600

Video output - VGA, Display Port

Number of USB's - 5 x USB 3.0

Power cable included

These are refurbished units so may have signs of wear and tear but are fully functional.

which is £130 or offers. Would the newer CPU be worth looking at, and the larger internal HDD and already upgraded RAM

or if I up the spent to £159.99 I get:

Brand: Lenovo
Model: M93P
Processor: Intel I5-4570T
Processor speed: 2.9GHz
Hard Drive: 500GB HDD
RAM: 8GB DDR3
GPU model: Intel HD graphics 4600
Optical Drive: No
Operating System: Windows 10 Pro
Video outputs: Display port x 1 VGA x 1
USB ports: 5 Total (3 x 2.0, 2 x 3.0)
WIFI: Yes
Power cable included: Yes
In original packaging: No

I don't mind spending more money if it's worth spending, I mean if I won't really see a difference between the I3 and I5 I'll spend the lower amount.

I like the form factor of these PCs as it'll sit on the bookshelf in the music room quite discretely and I can run all the cables behind other things which will be ideal.
 
very limited job.

It'll live in the garage (where my digital piano is)

I only use that piano for online music lessons, so it'll be running Skype/Zoom.
I'll eventually use it as a digital sheet music library and if I can find a suitable monitor arm will connect a page turner so I can move a monitor where my music stand is.

So, Skype/Zoom, reading PDF, it'll need to run a webcam (on 720) and a DSLR camera via a video capture card - so in Zoom I can show two camera views - one being the SLR pointing at the piano, one being the webcam pointing at me so I can have a normal conversation and still show what i'm doing.

It'll also have a USB mic connected to it so when I'm recording stuff it's a bit clearer than onboard bits and pieces. This might be replaced with a mic that connects direct to the SLR, haven't decided as yet.

but that's about it. Might get the odd bit of you tube on there as it's in the garage and sometimes i'll use it to see how somethings made or put together etc.

REALLY basic use I think
 
@Hudson1984, if all your doing is video calls get the cheaper system but get the SSD upgrade for sure. No point in getting more powerful hardware unless your going to use it for something other the Skype calling.
 
Any of these systems will do what you want them to.
I'd say go for the most expensive. 8gb is a must for Windows 10. I have been running a similar 4590T and 8Gb in my home cinema machine for many years. It's been great.
I upgraded from an i3 because it was struggling with 4k video.
 
yeah i've got the office PC for anything more arduous, I mean I won't even be edited videos if I record them, more just for my own reference. I've no aspirations of becomming a producer or anything like that. All I want is a clear sound sent over video calls and the ability to record clearly.

The PC is nothing more than a conduit for this to happen. It won't be studio quality but then it's a bloody garage - not looking for perfect, looking for "pretty decent"
 
Freddie1980 said:
See first post 2nd before last paragraph.
Click to expand...
I obviously need my coffee!

4GB IMO is not worth having on Win10 - so you'd need at least £115 on the first. I deally whichever yo go for should have an SSD, which will make the pc feel faster than using a mechanical drive for windows.

The first machine is using an older integrated chip (HD 2500) so I guess you'd want to look for performance benchmarks online for skype / capture card for both the Hd2500 and HD4600 and make your decision there. All thre chips have the same amount of cores / threads so compute power will be within a few % of eachother and not feel too different.
 
ok options there are:
128gb SDD - £188.99
256gb SSD - £224.99
480gb SSD - £248.99
1TB HDD - £188.99
128gb SSD + 1TB HDD - £248.99
240gb HDD + 1TB HDD - £278.99

what would you go for.

I mean I'm happy with SSD but would assume 480gb to be where I need to be as a guess.

I mean all it's going to have on it is:
Windows itself
PDF Reader
Some form of recorder/production software
Camera/webcam software
loads of sheet music (pdf)
Maybe a copy of office.
That's the lot.
Won't be having any games on it. Only programmes would be music related.

Would a 256gb do? and perhaps add a second drive at a later date if required or is it not worth it and may as well spend the extra £20 and get 480gb off the bat
 
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