wanting to build a cheap-ish small PC (think mac mini format) - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: JPortici
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 30, 2017, 05:52:34 pm
content: It's been some 7 years since i've abandoned the tower pc at home and only had a laptop (macbook). when needed i connect it to an external screen so i can work / watch stuff / occasional game more easily.however, now i'd like to have a fixed PC because i have little space, both on the bench and on the macbook ( >250 GB SSDs are still too pricey IMHO)Something like a recent mac mini would be a perfect match. powerful enough, very smallhowever, i never built a pc.. it could be a *nice* adventure. Also, i could expand it with less painI am not sure of what i'd need... on the bench i design PCBs, write code for MCUs, build and test projects. The requirements are not that high, i think. working with a 2012 macbook is almost painlessperipherals.. a bunch of USBs, Ethernet, of course. Thunderbolt? probably.Access to a pci slot in case i decide i want to try and catch a PXI on ebay, or something that kind of crazy.Where to start? (i didn't state budget, but "used mac mini" should be enough)

author: allanfort486
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 30, 2017, 07:39:41 pm
content: Intel nuc would be my choice as you have much better hardware support than AppleSent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

author: Kilrah
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 30, 2017, 08:27:34 pm
content: Yep, NUC for the quick and easy solution (but lose the PCIe slot), mini-ITX if you want to assemble everything or have particular component preferences.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 30, 2017, 11:11:29 pm
content: Intel NUC 100%.I use theNUC6i3SYKas a media centre and it runs beautifully, even at high resolutions and decoding 4K video. I actually found it cheaper (including shipping) by ordering it from the USA from B&H. You can order most NUCs in different form factors. The low profile one has space only for the M.2 SSD or the slightly chunkier model take both an SSD and a standard 2.5" drive.I also ordered:Kingston 120GB M.2 SSD Drive8GB (2x 4GB) Kingston 2133MHz DDR4 RAM ModulesAll up the machine cost me under AUD$600 with all components shipped. I realise Techbuy isn't the cheapest place and you can get bits cheaper if you shopped around. The other nice thing is they come with a VESA mount so you can attach the NUC directly onto the back of most monitors which is handy if you have a monitor on a mounting arm in a lab-type set up.I'm seriously considering building a new one to replace my giant desktop machine. I don't play games so 3D graphics performance isn't important to me.My ONLY gripe is they don't make a NUC with dual Ethernet; it would make for a great little router box.

author: technix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2017, 12:52:03 am
content: Mac Mini had a weak processor and EDA tools can choke on it.I am going to restrict my suggestions to parts from the yesteryear so Microsoft's lock in to Windows 10 can be soundly avoided should you need Windows for whatever reason. But keep in mind my suggestions puts Linux and Hackintosh into the front seat. This is modified from my current system.Here is a much smaller system, still using yesteryear's technology but a bit newer:* Intel Xeon E3-1231v3 (4C8T 3.4/3.8GHz)* Gigabyte GA-B85N-Phoenix Wi-Fi* 2x 8GB DDR3L-1600 UDIMM* nVidia GeForce GTX 1070* Kingston SSDNow V300 480GB* WD Red 4TBThis system is yesteryear's bang per buck sweet spot for Haswell, updated with a newer graphics card. This machine comes in a mini-ITX board so you can use those tiny cases and tuck it away nicely. The E3-1231v3 have 4 hyperthreading cores, effectively an i7-4770 without the integrated GPU, enough for programming and EDA too. A GPU on PCIe mandated. This machine can run Hackintosh. If you need features like AirDrop under macOS you can replace the onboard Intel Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chipset (itself a mPCIe module) with an adapter and a second-hand Apple one.

author: Kilrah
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 31, 2017, 07:07:29 am
content: He said he wants a mac mini-like physical size becasue he doesn't have space for more and you propose a dual CPU server build?!

author: grumpydoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2017, 09:18:50 am
content: A load of Lenovo M series tiny desktops turned up at work and they seem very reasonable indeed.Quite expensive if bought new (you didn't say what your budget was) but M72's and M92's don't seem unreasonable on ebay.

author: SingedFingers
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2017, 09:39:49 am
content: +1 for the M-series Lenovos. Have not heard anything other than good things about them. Some of our clients use them as desktops attached the backs of the monitors:Personally I use ThinkPads and say screw it to the desktop of SFF PCs. Once you have one, you never go back.

author: technix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2017, 10:06:25 am
content: Quote from: grumpydoc on March 31, 2017, 09:18:50 amBe very afraid of Lenovo. Especially if you don't want the Windows 10 crap. You may not even have the option to use an alternative if you don't like the kernel-level spyware.

author: SingedFingers
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2017, 10:19:36 am
content: Firstly that mainly affects the consumer crap. Secondly, you can turn it off permanently with:http://support.lenovo.com/gb/en/downloads/ds104370Also it's not present on the M series units or the T/X/W series Thinkpad lines.

author: technix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2017, 10:23:51 am
content: Quote from: SingedFingers on March 31, 2017, 10:19:36 amWindows 10 itself is spyware and adware. And you still have to pay Microsoft Tax for it. That is, you are paying to get a piece of spyware being your system kernel.Avoid Windows 10 as much as possible unless absolutely necessary.

author: SingedFingers
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2017, 10:30:03 am
content: You're probably right but I still use it.For reference, 50% of the time I'm a Linux/AWS admin so I'm well aware of the other side.If I want to get away from things, I have no devices capable of digital computation in my corner away from the computer. All analogue, apart from a calculator.

author: technix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2017, 11:01:26 am
content: Quote from: SingedFingers on March 31, 2017, 10:30:03 amThere is a reason why I always build my machines with de-assing Windows in mind.

author: JPortici
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2017, 11:10:54 am
content: Well, a mac mini is not that underpowered.Different tasks, but a friend run his room at a recording studio with a 2015 mac mini and pro tools (it think 192 channels? they do orchestras..)i did also consider an AIO pc but frankly those i can look at in stores below around 800 euros are garbage (really underpowered and / or crap screen) and at that point i'd rather get a used iMac, which would have thunderbolt so in a way pci express.so, mini/micro ATX case. the next step? choosing a motherboard and then the processor (or the other way around?)

author: Galenbo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2017, 11:17:54 am
content: I found mini-ITX in a small box a good solution for what I want.The H81 with i5-4690 drives two 24"screens from the mainboard and makes nearly no noise, but is still capable to do video conversion.The only PCI card I sometimes need is the extra LAN, used for embedded test/log etc.

author: Kilrah
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 31, 2017, 11:30:30 am
content: Quote from: Galenbo on March 31, 2017, 11:17:54 amYou can use USB 3.0 adapters that are jsut as good nowadays, so for that a PCIe slot isn't even necessary anymore.

author: eugenenine
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2017, 10:26:39 pm
content: A small mini itx board is my goto when not using a Pi or BBB.Still have my 500MHz VIA EPIA board in a small 1U chassis even.

author: raspberrypi
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 01, 2017, 03:42:06 am
content: I thought the raspberrypi was going to be my solution to that. It now sits in the corner under a bunch of old mail. Still haven't used the GPIO pins on it. I figured out the arduino the same afternoon I bought it.

author: Galenbo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 09, 2017, 08:07:57 pm
content: Quote from: Kilrah on March 31, 2017, 11:30:30 amExcept when you run out of USB3.0 ports :-)

author: Kilrah
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 09, 2017, 08:14:54 pm
content: USB3 hub?

author: ebclr
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 09, 2017, 09:58:34 pm
content: If you want something smallhttp://pt.aliexpress.com/item/WoYi-W5-MINI-PC-Intel-aton-Z3735F-2G-32G-WIFI-Bluetooth-Windows-10-Android-4-4/32542843937.html?spm=2114.02010208.3.20.27lslp&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_2_10152_10065_10151_10068_10150_10136_10137_10138_10060_10062_10141_10056_10055_10054_10059_124_10099_10103_10102_10096_10148_10147_10052_10053_10050_10107_10142_10051_10143_10084_10083_10080_10082_10081_10110_10111_10112_10113_10114_10037_10032_10078_10079_10077_10073_10070_10123_10124,searchweb201603_6,afswitch_1,ppcSwitch_5&btsid=65721f31-2c7f-4831-b43f-68713a7ecbdc&algo_expid=b4a9d4e0-36e8-422d-becd-107526871935-2&algo_pvid=b4a9d4e0-36e8-422d-becd-107526871935

author: technix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 10, 2017, 12:15:05 am
content: Quote from: Galenbo on March 31, 2017, 11:17:54 amI would prefer B85 + Xeon E3-1231v3 + RX 480. The Xeon is equivalent to a full i7-4770 non-K without the built-in GPU, yet it costs just slightly more than the i5-4690. A discrete GPU like the RX 480 always encodes video faster, drives displays more efficiently and deprecates the built-in graphics. A lot of mini-ITX boards comes with built-in Wi-Fi so the wired Ethernet port can be used for embedded test, although for that purpose I would always prefer a USB Ethernet interface.Xeon E3 v4 is the last generation of Xeon E3 that still works on a plain consumer motherboard. From Skylake Xeon E3 v5 a motherboard with server-grade C232/C236 chipset is required, although consumer grade boards with those parts still exist, often dubbed X150/X170.

author: Harb
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 10, 2017, 12:30:54 am
content: I think this is a very good solution if you want to keep all you stuff in one machine and not have to sync stuff all the time....I have many computers........more than 20 !! but I have found myself using this docking setup more and more for work that involves setting up test sequences at home and then carrying them out at remote sites.......I can have my big displays at home and everything ready to go...Mouse, printer and other stuff and all I need to do is drop my Macbook Pro into this awesome doc.....works a treat.I also use the cloud to sync stuff up, but some of the sites I go to have no way of connecting to the net.have a look....they make various ones for various models of course.cheershttps://au.hengedocks.com/pages/vertical-macbook-pro-2016