As a PC User whose last couple PCs were HP laptops I decided I wanted to upgrade to a desktop which lead me down the Apple M1 Mac Mini rabbit hole as I realized these machines were legit beast. Which then lead me to the new iMac 24 and after seeing it in person at the Apple store I become obsessed with finding a screen to pair with the Mac Mini that came close. Spoiler alert nothing does.
And worse I'd be spending upwards to $2000 just to get 16gb ram setup for Apple.
I'm looking only to spend around $1200.
So then I found MiniForum and right now at Walmart I can get a Ryzen 9 mini PC with 32 gb of ram and 512gb sad storage for under $700.
My question is does anybody have experience with these Elite Minis HX90 and am I missing the catch?
A Ryzen 9 and 32 gb of ram PC for under $700? How?
https://www.walmart.com/ip/seort/103842158
MinisForum: Mac Mini Killing Budget Mobile Studios or...?
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- KVRAF
- 16910 posts since 13 Oct, 2009
Not personally, but, small PCs are cheaper than the Mac mini when you take memory and SSD into account. A lot of people like the Minisforum stuff but they did have some issues when first released related to the liquid metal. Those problems seem to be fixed now and so I wouldn't hesitate to purchase one.
The one thing that I've read about these though, and this isn't really unique to Minisforum, is that they often come with a single stick of ram and mediocre off brand storage. Consequently, the best way to get them is barebones so that you can put your own RAM and SSD in there.
I wouldn't say that they're a "Mac Killer" in that the performance is comparable with the M1 getting a slight edge in single core and the AMD getting the edge in multi-core. Also, the M1 is going to be both cooler and quieter. Still, from a pure value POV where you are getting enough RAM and enough SSD with the ability to replace or upgrade either or both, the HX90 wipes the floor in terms of value.
https://nanoreview.net/en/cpu-compare/a ... n-9-5900hx
While I don't use the Minisforum machines, I've switched almost everything to small format PCs, I do have an M1 mac mini, but getting a small hard drive was a mistake and I won't repeat that. For people looking for good performance and value, I doubt apple will ever get there. They will continue to overcharge for storage and this will mean that the minimal music machine that makes sense will be outpaced by PCs for some time. My guess is that by the time Apple's offering enough storage for a music machine at a reasonable value, owing simply to the prices of storage dropping and that audio machines will continue to work well at roughly the same storage, we will see competitive CPU/thermal performance from the competition.
I do have a 5900Hx machine, but it's a laptop and it's thermal performance isn't great.
The one thing that I've read about these though, and this isn't really unique to Minisforum, is that they often come with a single stick of ram and mediocre off brand storage. Consequently, the best way to get them is barebones so that you can put your own RAM and SSD in there.
I wouldn't say that they're a "Mac Killer" in that the performance is comparable with the M1 getting a slight edge in single core and the AMD getting the edge in multi-core. Also, the M1 is going to be both cooler and quieter. Still, from a pure value POV where you are getting enough RAM and enough SSD with the ability to replace or upgrade either or both, the HX90 wipes the floor in terms of value.
https://nanoreview.net/en/cpu-compare/a ... n-9-5900hx
While I don't use the Minisforum machines, I've switched almost everything to small format PCs, I do have an M1 mac mini, but getting a small hard drive was a mistake and I won't repeat that. For people looking for good performance and value, I doubt apple will ever get there. They will continue to overcharge for storage and this will mean that the minimal music machine that makes sense will be outpaced by PCs for some time. My guess is that by the time Apple's offering enough storage for a music machine at a reasonable value, owing simply to the prices of storage dropping and that audio machines will continue to work well at roughly the same storage, we will see competitive CPU/thermal performance from the competition.
I do have a 5900Hx machine, but it's a laptop and it's thermal performance isn't great.
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 1091 posts since 24 Jul, 2018
Thanks bro this is basically my thoughts. I heard about the RAM issues but I honestly just thought this was people who just love customizing everything like the modular crowd.
I really want a Mac but they kill me with they're 8gb ram.
I still might order the 16 GB mac mini but after seeing the Mini PCs it may be to much of a value.to pass up.
I really want a Mac but they kill me with they're 8gb ram.
I still might order the 16 GB mac mini but after seeing the Mini PCs it may be to much of a value.to pass up.
ghettosynth wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 9:30 am Not personally, but, small PCs are cheaper than the Mac mini when you take memory and SSD into account. A lot of people like the Minisforum stuff but they did have some issues when first released related to the liquid metal. Those problems seem to be fixed now and so I wouldn't hesitate to purchase one.
The one thing that I've read about these though, and this isn't really unique to Minisforum, is that they often come with a single stick of ram and mediocre off brand storage. Consequently, the best way to get them is barebones so that you can put your own RAM and SSD in there.
I wouldn't say that they're a "Mac Killer" in that the performance is comparable with the M1 getting a slight edge in single core and the AMD getting the edge in multi-core. Also, the M1 is going to be both cooler and quieter. Still, from a pure value POV where you are getting enough RAM and enough SSD with the ability to replace or upgrade either or both, the HX90 wipes the floor in terms of value.
https://nanoreview.net/en/cpu-compare/a ... n-9-5900hx
While I don't use the Minisforum machines, I've switched almost everything to small format PCs, I do have an M1 mac mini, but getting a small hard drive was a mistake and I won't repeat that. For people looking for good performance and value, I doubt apple will ever get there. They will continue to overcharge for storage and this will mean that the minimal music machine that makes sense will be outpaced by PCs for some time. My guess is that by the time Apple's offering enough storage for a music machine at a reasonable value, owing simply to the prices of storage dropping and that audio machines will continue to work well at roughly the same storage, we will see competitive CPU/thermal performance from the competition.
I do have a 5900Hx machine, but it's a laptop and it's thermal performance isn't great.
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- KVRian
- 730 posts since 17 Sep, 2007 from Planet Thanet
The 4900H machine in the link has quite an elderly processor (I exaggerate, 2 years old) so is, presumably, pretty cheap nowadays. It's also pretty slow compared to something like a 5800. Remember too that PC prices can look a little skewed if they include a dedicated GPU.
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AdvancedFollower AdvancedFollower https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=418780
- KVRian
- 1345 posts since 8 May, 2018 from Sweden
Yeah the Ryzen 490H is a 45W laptop part based on Zen 2 (Ryzen 3000 desktop CPUs). I have a 3800X (105W) myself and it works great, but with only 45W of headroom in a cramped case, you won't get the kind of clockspeeds it needs to perform well. Something with Zen 3 would be better but even then boost speeds won't be comparable to a proper desktop CPU and cooling.
You sacrifice a *lot* in terms of flexibility, upgradability and thermal headroom by going with one of those tiny mini PC's. A Micro-ATX system won't take up much more space, but allows you to use full desktop CPUs, cooling and DIMMs and even a dedicated GPU if you want to. Since you'll need a monitor, keyboard, mouse etc. anyway which take up space, I don't think the space savings are worth the sacrifices.
You sacrifice a *lot* in terms of flexibility, upgradability and thermal headroom by going with one of those tiny mini PC's. A Micro-ATX system won't take up much more space, but allows you to use full desktop CPUs, cooling and DIMMs and even a dedicated GPU if you want to. Since you'll need a monitor, keyboard, mouse etc. anyway which take up space, I don't think the space savings are worth the sacrifices.
Take a single oscillator, producing a drone. Send it to the wave shaper, altering the tone.
This can be a triangle, Sawtooth or a square. Modulate the pulse width, nobody will care
This can be a triangle, Sawtooth or a square. Modulate the pulse width, nobody will care
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- KVRian
- 565 posts since 3 Jan, 2021
But the 16 GB iMac 24" is only $1500.SoundPorn wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 8:57 am As a PC User whose last couple PCs were HP laptops I decided I wanted to upgrade to a desktop which lead me down the Apple M1 Mac Mini rabbit hole as I realized these machines were legit beast. Which then lead me to the new iMac 24 and after seeing it in person at the Apple store I become obsessed with finding a screen to pair with the Mac Mini that came close. Spoiler alert nothing does.
And worse I'd be spending upwards to $2000 just to get 16gb ram setup for Apple.
I don't understand your reasoning. You cannot get an external monitor as good as the iMac for the mini mac, ok, but then you also cannot get one for a mini PC.
Why not get the iMac? If you are seriously space cramped then having the computer in the monitor is even better than a small mini pc or mac.