The Intel NUC 13 Pro might not be the cheapest option for compact computing devices, but it is from a highly trusted source and offers the absolute cutting edge in NUC technology. There are many ways that a mini PC is more beneficial to use instead of a traditional desktop PC. We will be highlighting just some of the benefits and also discussing different ways that you can use these mini computers. The highlights of this design are its metal case, easy access to the interior and relatively straightforward upgrades to memory and storage. It even has a spare M.2 2042 slot for adding additional space above that available through the main M.2 2280 slot. You need to factor those parts and a Windows license (unless you plan to use Linux) into the total cost. The parts you will need, mind you, will be small: the kind that you'd typically find in a laptop, not a desktop. Many small PCs like these make use of DDR4 SO-DIMMs—laptop-style RAM modules—for their main memory instead of full-size desktop DDR4 DIMMs. (Credit: Zlata Ivleva)

As with desktop computers and laptops, the best RAM is a lot of RAM - as much as you can get. Especially if you’re using the mini PC for a lot of tasks. We recommend a bare minimum of 8GB memory, although 16GB and above is better. Are mini PCs good for gaming? There is a choice of AMD Ryzen 5 3550H and AMD Ryzen 7 3750H processor which combined with the AMD Radeon graphics, its perfectly capable of decoding high-quality 4K TV video and movies without stuttering. There is a choice of 8GB/16GB and the Ryzen 7 and an additional choice of 32GB RAM on the Ryzen 5. For the NVMe SSD storage there is a choice of up to 1TB. The system is enclosed in an oddly wedge-shaped enclosure that is designed to sit on the desk rather than to be mounted on the rear of a monitor. There is a lot of variety when it comes to Mini PCs: various sizes are available and they are designed for various use cases.Combining better bandwidth with DRR5 memory, a more power-efficient processor, a superior GPU and a PCIe 4.0 infrastructure, the AS 6 has almost everything going for it. If it has weaknesses, these include a noisy cooling system, all-plastic construction and the same Asus-designed interior layout where the motherboard is in two parts connected by a flexible ribbon cable. Just like you would when you buy a traditional laptop, the RAM is one of the most important things that you have to consider when you shop for mini PCs too. While a RAM capacity of 2 or 4 GB would suffice for a student who wants to buy a mini PC that he can research and work on essays with, a good RAM capacity is very important for a serious gamer or someone shopping for a mini PC for designing and other professional work. You can shop for mini PCs online to find models with RAM capacities that are as high as 512 GB. Brands like Acro and NComputing have a range of such mini PCs that you can compare online. The Beelink SER5 PRO is an excellent choice when it comes to best mini PC’s for TV for a number of reasons. So there are certain things that you can’t do because there’s no way to get over to the field you need.

The AS 6 is a different beast compared to the AS 5. This NUC system might look identical from the outside, but the Zen 3+ processor and DDR5 in this system can deliver a dramatically improved performance. In testing, the power of this CPU is undeniable, with especially crushing results for any benchmark that uses multiple threads. If this system has an inherent weakness, it is that the Iris Xe GPU isn’t balanced well with the raw performance of the i7-13700H. There isn’t any way to negate that flaw, as it’s baked into the current Intel mobile platform. The models next up in size are a bit more dynamic, a bunch we might term the "NUC class." NUC stands for "Next Unit of Computing," a longtime initiative by Intel to spur the development of very small Windows-based desktop PCs using its mobile-centric processors. The chip giant has released a series of NUC-branded mini PC kits in its own line, and several of the traditional PC-component makers have followed suit with similar models (Asus with its VivoMini line, and Gigabyte with its Brix models, for example). (Credit: Kyle Cobian)You're welcome to use the Lenovo ThinkStation P360 Ultra for Microsoft Word and Excel, but it's really overkill for office apps—in fact, it stands close to HP's Z2 Mini G9 as a potent mini workstation. Measuring 8.7 by 3.4 by 7.9 inches (HWD), it weighs less than four pounds but its slide-out internal frame holds up to a Core i9-12900 CPU, 64GB of RAM, two M.2 solid-state drives plus a 2.5-inch SATA hard drive, and an Nvidia RTX A5000 graphics card. Who It's For We explore the internal specs of each device, and how they compare with some of the other best mini PCs on the market. As part of this process, we also assess the upgradability of the device - from the options on offer to the ease of creating your perfect mini PC. This includes benchmarking performance of the CPU, GPU, and RAM. We're not necessarily looking for the most powerful mini PC. But we want to see suitable performance relative to a range of uses and budgets. Fortunately, the CX-919 was more than capable of playing 1080p video, as an MP4 trailer for "Skyfall" was smooth and sharp. Just to see if it could, we tried viewing both a 4K and a 2560p clip on the device and found out that the 4K file would not even start playing and the 2560p video was extremely slow and jerky. However, even after the 1080p kernel comes out, there won't be any reason to play higher-than-HD videos on the CX-919. Mini PCs excel at everyday tasks like web browsing, word processing, video streaming, and light gaming. You can easily connect them to your TV to play games and watch movies either via a platform like Netflix or through your own media server, with the effectively set acting as a monitor. With specs comparable to mid-range laptops, they don’t have the necessary CPU and GPU to run more resource-intensive apps and games. In those circumstances, it may be worth investing in high-spec devices like the best laptops for photo editing, video editing laptops, and so on. What are the disadvantages of a mini computer?