Good mini PC option?

[aisle9]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086145M8P?m=A3HJGF6HWRT4QL

 

Let's assume I can get one of these for about $125 brand new. I'm not too familiar with the HD 5500's graphical abilities, but everything else about it looks surprisingly solid. Would this be a good 4K HTPC, or even 1080p HTPC for $125? Even if it's not a great HTPC option, would you consider it a good, worthwhile buy at that price vs. say, an RPi 4 8GB and accessories or other mini PCs out there around the same price? I already have drives for it, and, not gonna lie, I've got numerous ideas that I had earmarked for a Pi, but this is just really tempting at that price.

[dizmo]

At that price I'd almost buy it just for the sake of having it.

[Bombastinator]

It will be more powerful than a pi4.  I don’t know about other miniPCs. I wouldn’t trust that 4k claim though. The U series chips do not have a great rep.  It claims to have an SSD in it. Apparently it’s large because it’s got room for an internal 2.5” sata drive.  Gonna have a fan as well because of the 15w cpu TDP.  Could be noisy which might make htpc annoying. There are things that aren’t talked about.  Fan noise is one, the type of WiFi chip is another.  Specs are stated but model isn’t. 

[wall03]

seems like a scam. The photos are renders, they spelled Intel wrong, and you are getting a 5th gen processor (which isn't great) and DDR3.

 

$150 would be worth it tho

[aisle9]

33 minutes ago, dizmo said:

At that price I'd almost buy it just for the sake of having it.

We think alike.

 

30 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

It will be more powerful than a pi4.  I don’t know about other miniPCs. I wouldn’t trust that 4k claim though. The U series chips do not have a great rep.  It claims to have an SSD in it. Apparently it’s large because it’s got room for an internal 2.5” sata drive.  Gonna have a fan as well because of the 15w cpu TDP.  Could be noisy which might make htpc annoying. There are things that aren’t talked about.  Fan noise is one, the type of WiFi chip is another.  Specs are stated but model isn’t. 

I checked out a teardown review last night. The reviewer was very obviously and blatantly compensated for his time and positive words, but there is definitely a SATA M.2 drive in there, and there is a place to slide in a 2.5" drive. The RAM is SODIMM DDR3, and it is upgradeable if you want to spend more than the price of the unit on a single 16GB DDR3 SODIMM. I doubt the HDMI is 2.0, which gives me some pause using it for a 4K TV, but even if I don't, it's a decently powerful CPU with plenty of RAM and room to drop in a SATA SSD. I mean, hell, if it had XP drivers or could run native DOS, I'd own it already.

 

Jesus this looks more and more tempting by the minute. But I just dropped $450 because my computer blew up. But I'm due a bonus and just sold off more than $125 worth of parts. GAAAAAAH

[aisle9]

Just now, wall03 said:

seems like a scam. The photos are renders, they spelled Intel wrong, and you are getting a 5th gen processor (which isn't great) and DDR3.

 

$150 would be worth it tho

Nah, Beelink is a legit company.

[aisle9]

@dizmo @Bombastinator

 

I decided it wasn't worth it to risk losing the $20 Amazon coupon by waiting two more days for a whopping $9 in Amazon card points. $135+tax later, it's mine and on its way. Besides, free returns if it sucks.

[dizmo]

Just now, aisle9 said:

@dizmo @Bombastinator

 

I decided it wasn't worth it to risk losing the $20 Amazon coupon by waiting two more days for a whopping $9 in Amazon card points. $135+tax later, it's mine and on its way. Besides, free returns if it sucks.

You've made the right choice.

If you want further justification: It's $130 for something that will work as a backup if other systems fail. Seems like cheap insurance

[aisle9]

4 minutes ago, dizmo said:

You've made the right choice.

If you want further justification: It's $130 for something that will work as a backup if other systems fail. Seems like cheap insurance

Oh snap, you're right! I can stick a 2TB 2.5" HDD in there and use it as a disconnected backup for the most important files on my PC. Just in case my main goes all  again