Retro Gaming Mini PC Help

[ShutterAnt]

Hi guys and gals,

 

First time poster here, looking for advice. I’m building a retro gaming mini pc for my fiancée and want some help. I’m torn between 4 options and 2 price points. All will have to run up to PS2/Wii era games, though nothing newer. I’m looking at 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD to keep things smooth but affordable.

 

I have two aliexpress options, but I don’t know how reputable that would be. A Maxtang fanless PC with a R5 2500U at https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001192345476.html? or a T-Bao MN27 with a R7 2700U at https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001270382262.html? Tech tablets has looked at the T-Bao MN series so I can kind if vouch for it working, but I’m unsure of customs duties and whatnot. They are about £100-£150 cheaper than the other 2 options, which covers peripherals like controllers, Wii remotes and a sensor bar.

 

The other options are the Asus PN50 which I can buy as a barebones kit that has a 4500U, which is appealing due to the retailer being UK based, where I live. Or the Lenovo M75q gen 2, which has more power using a 4650G, and has a full Windows 10 home license included, but doesn’t look as nice. Since it’s a gift and it will sit in the living room I’m leaning to the PN50, but what do you think about the other options? Any advice appreciated. I’ve attached some 3D mock-ups of the unit it’s going in with the CPU info and sizes to scale.

 

Thanks for your advice!

Ant.

[Freakwise]

i think the lenovo one is probably better 

but what are the price of each one of them?

 

[Helpful Tech Witch]

What about something from minisforum?

[ShutterAnt]

The Lenovo is probably the better buy overall, I’m probably being swayed by aesthetics. It’s £465 while the Asus is £310 but I’d need to buy storage and RAM.

 

Minisforum are great, just prohibitively expensive here in the UK. £700 for the X400 with Ryzen 5 4650G.

[Somerandomtechyboi]

What kind of games will you be playing and what era games will you be playing

[ShutterAnt]

3 minutes ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

What kind of games will you be playing and what era games will you be playing

Mostly PS1, PSP, GBA, Dreamcast, GameCube, PS2 and Wii, so I dare say they’ll all handle it, what do people think of ordering via aliexpress? That’s my main hesitation with the cheaper two.