Mini PC for OAP

[altwebid]

Hi

An elderly relative is looking for a replacement Windows 11 PC that will do basic desktop duties and some photo processing using GIMP.
I supplied a used Dell workstation about a decade ago but was wondering if a mini PC might be a better option.
The old guy has a very limited budget.

Many thanks

 

[mattyfez]

I'd look at dell/lenovo/HP refurbs again... I can't mention competitors, but something like this?

 

[Nevakonaza]

What would be his absolute maximum budget?

If its around £200 you can pick up a Pre-owned Intel Nuc that is 10/11th Gen Intel that come with 16GB ram etc.

Small, Low power usage and plenty of speed.

I had an 8th Gen Nuc and it was really snappy, Was well impressed with it.

 

[Rroff]

Unless they need a desktop or NUC for expansion reasons then mini PCs these days are a good option for general desktop use and light productivity - processors like the Intel N100 or 150 are very capable at basic desktop tasks and web browsing but might struggle a little with non-trivial photo editing, depending on budget the AMD 5000 series or higher or Intel 12th gen (other than the N series) or higher mini PCs are very capable of handling things like more intensive use of GIMP.

Personally I recommend brands like Beelink, Trigkey or MeLE, maybe Minisforum but I've not been inspired by some of the support side issues people have had with them lately. Some of the other brands especially the lesser known ones have a history of poor support, dubious BIOS quality and/or potential for security vulnerabilities or malware.

 

[K.C. Leblanc]

I would personally look for an old used mini PC from the usual susspects, Dell, HP or Lenovo.

I might be an idea to have a look at what software they're using, if they're not invested into Microsoft office maybe look at Linux. You should then be able to grab something that's not quite up to the mark for Windows 11, for cheaps. I'm using an old Dell Optiplex 3050, as part of a stage lighting system. I've not found the leaning curve too steep, and from the perspective of unwanted updates and unannounced feature changes it's much better then windows.

 

[Rroff]

I would personally look for an old used mini PC from the usual susspects, Dell, HP or Lenovo.

I might be an idea to have a look at what software they're using, if they're not invested into Microsoft office maybe look at Linux. You should then be able to grab something that's not quite up to the mark for Windows 11, for cheaps. I'm using an old Dell Optiplex 3050, as part of a stage lighting system. I've not found the leaning curve too steep, and from the perspective of unwanted updates and unannounced feature changes it's much better then windows.

There are some decent used Dell and Lenovo systems but some are a bit old now and can be chugging like 80 watt where newer mini PCs are in the 5-15 watt range.

 

[mattyfez]

There are some decent used Dell and Lenovo systems but some are a bit old now and can be chugging like 80 watt where newer mini PCs are in the 5-15 watt range.

Not unless your running cinebench or something... Idle/browsing power should drop down to 10w or whatever.

Then only major problem with Intel stuff gen 7 or older is win 11 compatability.

I only retired my skylake i5 because of that.

A gen 8 i5 or better will be absolutely fine for casual use... I mean if my gen 6 i5 could happily run forza horizon 5 at 1440p at fairly high settings I don't think a gen 8 would be an issue in this usage case.