[plug] miniPC recommendations?

[Bruce Axtens]

I will have to pay attention to the fine details. I have a screen like
this:
https://www.samsung.com/au/monitors/gaming/odyssey-g9-g95c-49-inch-240hz-curved-dual-qhd-ls49cg954eexxy/
both at work and at home (covid-era WFH setup). As for a unit lacking wifi,
I do have powerline ethernet adaptors in a cupboard somewhere.

-Bruce

On Tue, 15 Sept 2026 at 09:47, Gregory Orange via plug <plug at plug.org.au>
wrote:

> When I was considering a plug PC or some other low power thing well over
> ten years ago, Dad gave me an Intel NUC i5 - quite a fine birthday present.
> I replaced the failing 2.5" spinner with a 2.5" SSD maybe four years ago,
> and otherwise it's been great. Maybe I could put in a M2 or U3 or whatever
> they're called but I'm lazy.
>
> It has done a fine job of running Syncthing, Pi-hole, rdiff-backup and a
> couple of other odds and ends.
>
> --
> Gregory Orange
>
>
> On Monday, 14 September 2026 at 3:46 PM, Byron Hammond via plug <
> plug at plug.org.au> wrote:
>
> > I have had success with Intel NUCs personally for home usage.I started
> with a 6th gen NUC and then upgraded to a 13th gen.
> > Asus and others manufacture them now for Intel.
> > They perform well for my needs, which are home server based...
> > Media server (Jellyfin), Web Server, Audio Server (Navidrome) and
> various others.
> > They are pricey imo, so you can get lesser brand chinese ones to save a
> few bucks, although I don't know if I'd place as much trust in them in
> terms of spyware/malware.
> > Some brands I know of include Beelink, BossGame, GMKTek.
> > There are other ones as well and they often will all advertise as on
> special very often, but again, be careful.
> > They often like to advertise that, but do your own cost comparisons.
> > eBay is a known marketplace for a lot of hardware. Aliexpress is Chinese
> based marketplace you might want to check, that has a lot of these things.
> >
> > Best of luck
> > Byron
> >
> > On Mon, 14 Sept 2026 at 13:40, Bruce Axtens via plug <plug at plug.org.au>
> wrote:
> >
> > > > I am curious what are you trying to achieve or the type of work you
> will do with your miniPC?
> > >
> > > -   Assorted bits of dotnet development in C#
> > > -   I'm a maintainer and language track developer for exercism.org
> (helped with COBOL, 8th, and Euphoria tracks and working on SNOBOL4 track)
> > > -   I have three Substack accounts I write into occasionally:
> > >
> > > -   https://calvingicebergs.substack.com/
> > > -   https://playingwithmyfood.substack.com/
> > > -   https://skipdipper.substack.com/
> > >
> > > -   Microsoft Teams and PowerPoint (I'm the "Order of Service" builder
> for my church (Three Crosses WPC))
> > >
> > > That's the top four of lots of other miscellaneous activity.
> > >
> > > -Bruce.
> > >
> > > On 14/09/2026 11:07 am, Juneidy Wibowo wrote:
> > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Hi Bruce,
> > > >
> > > > Before getting deep into the weed, I am curious what are you trying
> to achieve or the type of work you will do with your miniPC?
> > > >
> > > > My office will usually cycle employee laptop every 3-4 years and I
> usually collect discarded office laptops and repurpose them by installing
> linux. I would dare say those office laptops will most likely outperform
> most if not all miniPC in the $450 range.
> > > >
> > > > I know you seem to suggest you want to get a new machine instead of
> using a second-hand laptops. But if you're simply looking for a machine
> with higher performance than your current one, maybe you could try asking
> your son to see if there are any good condition laptops that are being
> discarded.
> > > >
> > > > Regards,
> > > > Juneidy
> > > > On Monday, September 14th, 2026 at 09:26, Bruce Axtens via plug <
> plug_at_plug_org_au_rqgvlrjawc at simplelogin.co> 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
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > PLUG discussion list: plug at plug.org.au
> > > https://lists.plug.org.au/mailman/listinfo/plug
> > > Committee e-mail: committee at plug.org.au
> > > PLUG Membership: http://www.plug.org.au/membership
> _______________________________________________
> PLUG discussion list: plug at plug.org.au
> https://lists.plug.org.au/mailman/listinfo/plug
> Committee e-mail: committee at plug.org.au
> PLUG Membership: http://www.plug.org.au/membership
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.plug.org.au/pipermail/plug/attachments/20260915/81801ce8/attachment.htm>