<div dir="ltr">I've had a Gigabyte NUC for ~ 7 years, love it, very low power. Always had 16 GB RAM<div><br></div><div>$ lscpu<br>Architecture: x86_64<br> CPU op-mode(s): 32-bit, 64-bit<br> Address sizes: 39 bits physical, 48 bits virtual<br> Byte Order: Little Endian<br>CPU(s): 4<br> On-line CPU(s) list: 0-3<br>Vendor ID: GenuineIntel<br> Model name: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-6100U CPU @ 2.30GHz<br></div><div><br></div><div>It is now somewhat slow on 3D CAD (BricsCAD on Linux). Also it's not great with 2 * 4K displays, which may also be a problem for the current Officeworks PC mentioned. The display limitation is my main gripe.</div><div><br></div><div>It wasn't cheap when I bought it, since everything was an add-on to the base price. Over $1k then. Now (right or wrong) I'd aim for a mid-range CPU that has dual same-video ports e.g. 2 * HDMI, on the basis that this will run 2 screens well, and of course 32 GB RAM - not a big step up over 7 years. I'd be considering RAID 1. No need for large SSDs as I use a NAS.</div><div><br></div><div>Regards,</div><div>Kevin. </div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Mon, 14 Sept 2026 at 16:20, James Henstridge via plug <<a href="mailto:plug@plug.org.au">plug@plug.org.au</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">On Mon, 14 Sept 2026 at 13:40, Bruce Axtens via plug <<a href="mailto:plug@plug.org.au" target="_blank">plug@plug.org.au</a>> wrote:<br>
><br>
> > I am curious what are you trying to achieve or the type of work you will do with your miniPC?<br>
><br>
> Assorted bits of dotnet development in C#<br>
> I'm a maintainer and language track developer for <a href="http://exercism.org" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">exercism.org</a> (helped with COBOL, 8th, and Euphoria tracks and working on SNOBOL4 track)<br>
> I have three Substack accounts I write into occasionally:<br>
[...]<br>
><br>
> Microsoft Teams and PowerPoint (I'm the "Order of Service" builder for my church (Three Crosses WPC))<br>
><br>
> That's the top four of lots of other miscellaneous activity.<br>
<br>
Your options are going to be a bit limited given the price range you<br>
specified. Also, with mini-PCs you're more likely to find some weird<br>
custom hardware in them making it more difficult to upgrade later.<br>
That might not be a problem for things at that price point though.<br>
<br>
One thing to consider is the amount of RAM in the machine. You<br>
wouldn't want anything less than 16 GB today, and I would try for 32<br>
GB if you can: it will give you a bit more head room as web browsers<br>
(and websites) get heavier. It won't hurt for photo editing either.<br>
<br>
>From the refurb website Ono mentioned, this machine might be a good fit:<br>
<br>
<a href="https://reebelo.com.au/collections/hp-prodesk-400-g4-mini-desktop-pc?skuId=sku-mpwfytwvof5LmzYfzn3oAS5" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://reebelo.com.au/collections/hp-prodesk-400-g4-mini-desktop-pc?skuId=sku-mpwfytwvof5LmzYfzn3oAS5</a><br>
<br>
It's a low power (35W max) CPU from 2018, but has 32GB of RAM. The<br>
storage is a bit on the small side, but you can bump that up if you<br>
are willing to extend your budget a bit. It has gigabit ethernet, but<br>
may not have wifi: that appears to be an optional feature, and isn't<br>
mentioned here.<br>
<br>
James.<br>
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</blockquote></div>