So I turned this hp stream into a cardboard mini pc.. it works and everything I was wondering if anyone wanted to trade me a pi pico for it 😭 I have the charger for it (I'm in Bremerton if anyone is out here)

Please note that this is Canadian dollars which this would be technically $698.03 USD.

I was looking around for something newer and better and came across this and looked up a video review which for one thing i noticed that is a nice edition is that they're using PTM7950 on their APU and the other thing that is nice is the 3xM.2 slots on it which none of them would be used for the OCuLink port.

I know it is a barebone unit which i have 32GB 4800MT/s memory inside my UM690S right now which i would use in that system which my intention with this system is mainly gaming and video editing which i might eventually get an OCuLink eGPU dock for it and i have been thinking of replacing my main desktop system for this since it would be about a 17% performance difference since my main system is using an i5 13500 and also if i were to replace my main system and sell it i would most likely get an RX 9070 XT as my eGPU.

So, i would like to know from you guys if you think it would be worth getting or not and also i am going to sell off my UM690S if i get this system (i have a 16GB stick i could always put in that system as well) and also i am going to be dual booting this system with SteamOS and Windows just because some programs i use are only on Windows that i own and a couple of anti cheat games as well that i would also be playing.

I have just bought myself a refurbished AI X1 (Ryzen 255) and expected to pay U$249.00 for it until I realized the final price of U$224.00 at the checkout, I realized they're offering considerable discounts for other mini PC's too. They're doing it for both their main store as well as the refurbished too.

These are the URLs (no referrals here, screw all the people who do this):

• Main store: https://store.minisforum.com/pages/halloween-sale
• Refurb store: https://refurbished.minisforum.com/collections/all-products

Happy Halloween everyone! 🎃👻🍬🦇💀🧡

The main difference is that BMAX only offers a one-year warranty, whereas the other two provide three-year warranties. Is it worth spending an extra $200 for those two additional years of coverage? I’m currently using a mini PC that has been running reliably for two and a half years, so I’m quite torn on this. Given that their specifications are comparable, could there be a significant difference in hardware quality despite the price gap?

Will this work?

Minisforum UM870: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DRVSK2T9

Wavlink Dock: https://www.amazon.com/WAVLINK-Docking-Station-DisplayPort-Ethernet/dp/B0GF1X4J15/

I am planning on connecting 3 monitors, 2 on HDMI, 1 on DisplayPort, as well as 65-100w power through PD USB-C and ethernet.

Just a hunch, but I feel like i will run into problems with this approach. I am trying to achieve a one-cable mini pc setup.

Hi guys,

Looking for a good mini pc for productivity that also doesn’t break the bank. Mostly for video editing.

Can someone recommend? Thank you in advance!!!

Hey everyone!

I'm planning to build a small, portable computer dedicated to running local LLMs, AI agents, and coding workflows 24/7. I'm trying to decide whether a prebuilt mini PC or a custom SFF build would be the better option.

My main goal is to find the best balance between inference speed and model intelligence. I want a fast and responsive system, but I also want to run capable models that can reason properly, follow instructions, write good code, use tools reliably, and complete complex, multi-step tasks without constantly making mistakes.

I'm not interested in running a tiny model just to achieve high inference speeds if it struggles with relatively simple tasks.

What I want to do:

• Run Hermes Agent or OpenClaw for personal automation.
• Create multiple specialized AI agents for research, email management, and everyday tasks.
• Build AI study assistants for analyzing PDFs, explaining concepts, and generating quizzes.
• Use local LLMs for software development, coding, debugging, testing, and working on larger projects.
• Run coding agents locally without relying on cloud-based coding subscriptions.
• Run capable local models through Ollama, llama.cpp, or another optimized inference backend.
• Access and manage everything remotely from my laptop or phone.
• Expand the system with more advanced agents, integrations, and automation capabilities over time.

I want this mini PC to handle both AI automation and software development. Ideally, I'd like to run autonomous coding agents capable of working on projects, making changes, running tests, and debugging code locally.

Hardware preferences:

• Budget: Around $2,000–$3,500.
• Size: Ideally 1–5 liters, but I'm open to slightly larger SFF builds.
• RAM: 64 GB minimum, potentially 96–128 GB.
• Storage: 2 TB NVMe SSD.
• Quiet, power-efficient, and capable of running 24/7.
• Upgradeability would be a big plus.

I've been considering Ryzen AI Max+ 395 mini PCs, but I'm also interested in building something myself so I can upgrade components later.

Model preferences:

I'm open to Qwen, DeepSeek, GPT-OSS, GLM, Nemotron, Liquid AI, or any other capable local models.

Ideally, I'd like to run relatively powerful models in the 20B–35B range, preferably efficient MoE models if they offer better performance.

I'm looking for fast inference without sacrificing model quality, reasoning, coding capabilities, tool-calling reliability, or successful task completion.

My questions:

1. Would you choose a Ryzen AI Max+ 395 mini PC or a custom SFF build with a dedicated GPU?
2. Which local models offer the best balance of intelligence, coding ability, tool calling, and inference speed?
3. Is 64 GB RAM sufficient for running coding agents and multiple AI agents, or would 96–128 GB be worth the additional cost?
4. How much does context length affect performance when working on larger codebases and multi-step autonomous tasks?
5. What inference backend and quantization would you recommend?
6. Can local models in this hardware class reliably handle autonomous coding workflows, or would I need more powerful hardware?
7. What kind of real-world performance should I realistically expect within my budget and size constraints?

I'd really appreciate hardware recommendations, real-world benchmarks, and experiences from people running local coding agents and automation systems.

Thanks!

Planning on buying my first ever pc and after doing some research I feel like GMKtec G10 would suit me but I need advice on if it is worth it or not?

I want something that can run league of legends, my simple drawing program (MediBang) and works for general usage. And also isn’t going to be super expensive (preferably $300-500 max).

Would any of you recommend that mini pc or is there another one that would be better??

Happy for any feedback!

Hi, my new aoostar maco mini pc ryzen 7 8845 has micro stutters under windows 11. I installed all drivers, including amd chipset.
The stutter is for like 1 second, they happen every few minutes. Any idea why this could happen?

im going to try linux to rule out a windows issue.

Also what should I set the uma buffer size? I have 16gb ram, so setting it to 2gb leaves me with 14gb which is the minimum I want to have, leaving it on auto, I have 16gb like normal.

Hi all,
Is minisforumstore.com legit? I am not talking about store.minisforum.com or minisforumpc.eu.
Minisforumstore.com says they are official reseller of minisforum products for Europe. The product I am interested in is cheaper in here than minisforumpc.eu.
If you have any experience and share it, I’d appreciate it.

I got bosgame p4 mini pc ,. I am wondering if anyone tried connecting egpu using nvme to pcie adapter

Heya!

Like the title says, I'm looking for a good worthy machine. I have a leftover set of 64GB of DDR4 Laptop ram, and am looking to get a 4k streaming machine, preferably with HDMI 2.1 for 120Hz.

Which would be recommended?

Well after my gaming Pc taking a shit - this brand new nuc popped up on marketplace dirt cheap- found some 5600 32gb Corsair ram on amazon for £450gbp- which I feel isn’t awfull currently. I’ll be sticking 2x1TB sabrent rockets in in raid 0.

275HX - RTX 5070 edition.

I’m trying to separate the things you can check before buying a mini PC from the usual “built to last” language. geekom publishes a 330 hour full load stability test, which is at least a specific claim.

But it doesn’t tell me whether I could easily get a replacement power brick a couple of years later.

For a mini PC you wanted to keep for 3–5 years, which would actually give you more confidence: published stress testing, or knowing you can still get replacement parts later?

Living in Australia and want a mini pc to replace my current big pc. I’ve had this pc for the longest time and it’s pretty outdated but still works fine for my needs. I do a bit of game development and a bit gaming. The game I play the most is Counter strike 2. It’s got 16gb of ram a rtx 2060 super and amd ryzen 7. Looking for something I can use for many years ahead.

Thanks in advance!

Hi do you know if this heatsink will fit in gmktec m3 pro?

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

Update from my previous post:

Thank you for the suggestions in my first post here regarding my decision on a replacement mini pc.

I have basically narrowed down my choices to the Minisforum AI X1 Pro (370) and Beelink SER9 Pro. It's a difficult choice to make as they are very close together.

I am leaning towards the Minisforum, but am wondering about a few things:

Does it stay pretty cool during heavier tasks such as gaming? How does it compare to the Beelink? 2. Noise. I have heard that the Beelink stays really quiet a lot of the tim. Same with the Minisforum, but have read that, for some, it got louder in certain situations. It's not a huge deal, I just don't want a PC buzzing all of the time. 3. Is the Minisforum able to run Ubuntu (Linux)? I think it was mentioned that the Beelink could run Ubuntu, I could be wrong, though.

So, the pros about the Minisforum for me is that you can upgrade the RAM, it has Oculink, it doesn't need to use a brick power adapter, it may be more future-proof because of the RAM and, Oculink, etc. And maybe the bigger size could provide some extra room that could prevent what happened to my Minisforum UM773. I'm not sire about those last two pros.

On the other hand, I don't use AI all that much, and I know I can disable the feature on the X1 Pro. I don't play AAA games. I think the most demanding game I play is Dragon Quest 10 online. But, I would also like to be able to explore Switch emulation. I'm really big into retro gaming as well. Both PCs have the same number and kinds of inputs. Like USB, etc. Except for the Oculink on the X1 Pro. Lastly, the size of the X1 Pro is both a pro and con. I like how small the Beelink is, but is the Minisforum really heavy? I want to be able to travel with the PC sometimes.

I know I may be missing some things. I have thought about if the X1 Pro is overkill for me, but then, it has some features that I like, too. I have also looked at some GMKtek models like K9 and K12 that have some of the same things as the X1 Pro.

If there Is anything worth pointing out, please let me know. Especially about the temps and noise on both PCs. Thanks again for the advice!

I was just curious about if when buying a PC if you’d prefer/recommend the actual store of said PC brand or something else like Amazon, Newegg, or Best Buy. Don’t really have any in mind, just curious if any of you have a preference or have bought from any of these and had problems. If any of you have a better site, list it!

EDITED - thanks everyone for your opinions, really appreciate it!!