[plug] miniPC recommendations?

[Bruce Axtens]

Thanks Gavin

I did see the NUC come up in searches, so that's vote in favour. I will 
be doing some photo editing tho nowhere near what you've been doing.

Bruce.

On 14/09/2026 10:35 am, gavinwc via plug wrote:
> Hi Bruce,
>
> I think you've been 'lurking' for around as long as me. In fact, many, 
> many years ago I'm pretty sure I bought some used kit from you? Well 
> done on your son getting to work in his passion area!
>
> As far as the mini-PC, I'm going to issue a caution, but it may not 
> apply to your price-point. That is, I wanted power with small size a 
> couple of years ago because I wanted to edit all those hi-res 
> landscape shots I'd been taking for years. The mini I settled on was 
> the Intel NUC, which i packed with goodies (of the time) in the shape 
> of 12th gen i7, 64Gb ram and 2Tb SSD. The same specs in a laptop would 
> have cost at least 3 times the price.
>
> However, here is the caution - the small form factor with hard-working 
> components works VERY hot. Often super hot in fact. After a period of 
> streaming with 100s (yes, 100s) of tabs open and working on a high res 
> photo, the little brick gets so hot that it goes into safety mode and 
> seizes up with its little fan trying to get the brick taking off into 
> orbit! Haha.
>
> So, I have all that power, but the form factor is hobbling it. Just 
> FYI, I did look into some fandangle fanless cases for this board, but 
> they're very steeply priced, so I get by with a room fan blowing 
> across the box as it hangs on the back of the monitor 😕
>
> So, buyer beware depending on your application. If my needs and 
> practices were more restrained, though, I can say that I'm well 
> impressed with the nucs as an option.
>
> Gavin
>
> On Mon, 14 Sep 2026, 09:26 Bruce Axtens via plug, <plug at plug.org.au> 
> wrote:
>
>     Hello Pluglings (for want of a better term)
>
>     I'm still lurking here in the shadows. Have been for years, my son
>     Daniel having been the impetus. He's now Principal Engineer for
>     Fastly: https://www.fastly.com/blog/author/daniel-axtens
>
>     But I didn't come here to do that. My question is more mundane:
>     after years of having various second-hand laptops as my home setup
>     for Linux I'm now seriously considering laying out real money for
>     a miniPC. Does the group have any suggestions re manufacturer and
>     vendor? I'm thinking something in the $300-$450 range.
>
>     Kind regards,
>     Bruce Axtens
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>
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