[SIC] Really good Ryzen mini PC

[yusoffb01]

i backed this larkbox on indiegogo...hopefully it will decent.

should be. processor wise similar to 7th gen u series i3 processor

i3

n4100

 

[Slowdown]

When I choose a mini PC I would like one that can fit a 2.5inch HDD. Maybe moving forward when NVME or similar get cheaper I will consider that too. Recently I have added another must-have for a mini PC. It is a usb-c port (and even better if it supports power delivery and display to monitor). It was precisely usb-c that tempted me over to Deskmini over my previous Beelink X55 which otherwise served me very well.

The mini PC on the first posting lack usb-c and thus I will continue to wait for the next beauty. I think my dream mini-pc should be available in the next 12 months or so.

Can also buy tiny gemini lake for sgd 220 nowadays. smaller than raspberry pi

 

[BiG_FisH]

When I choose a mini PC I would like one that can fit a 2.5inch HDD. Maybe moving forward when NVME or similar get cheaper I will consider that too. Recently I have added another must-have for a mini PC. It is a usb-c port (and even better if it supports power delivery and display to monitor). It was precisely usb-c that tempted me over to Deskmini over my previous Beelink X55 which otherwise served me very well.

The mini PC on the first posting lack usb-c and thus I will continue to wait for the next beauty. I think my dream mini-pc should be available in the next 12 months or so.

yes, I wanted to find 1 that support USB-C PD too which the Larkbox does not support but I still went with it due to it's small size.

The idea was to let it have a semi-permanent home mounted behind my TV, and when needed, I can pop it off and bring it out (portability) without much hassle.

The only downside that I see now is the mediocre eMMC storage (which was reviewed to be pretty slow), hopefully with more backers they will throw in a M.2 SSD.

I'm sure more manufacturer will come up with more attractive models in the upcoming months.

 

[watzup_ken]

yes, I wanted to find 1 that support USB-C PD too which the Larkbox does not support but I still went with it due to it's small size.

The idea was to let it have a semi-permanent home mounted behind my TV, and when needed, I can pop it off and bring it out (portability) without much hassle.

The only downside that I see now is the mediocre eMMC storage (which was reviewed to be pretty slow), hopefully with more backers they will throw in a M.2 SSD.

I'm sure more manufacturer will come up with more attractive models in the upcoming months.

M.2 looks too big for this form factor. Generally the smaller the devices, the more likely you are to get soldered components to save space.

 

[MultiSystemAtrophy]

I actually almost pulled the trigger on the Vision Mini more than a month ago. Personally, if I were to DIY using a DeskMini that I buy from say Lazada, it would have cost me at least 500 bucks if I get brand new parts. Taking prices before discount, Ryzen 3 3200G (120+), Asrock Deskmini A300 without Wifi(259), a pair of sodimm (about 90 from Amazon), and a 256GB SSD (say around 50 bucks). So total works out to be around 519 bucks.

AS Vision Mini is about 615 bucks now with about the same config. It used to be even cheaper because they use a 512GB SSD previously instead of a 256GB now.

I just finished building a deskmini myself.

I would say even with scrounging all the cheapest value for money deals on amazon USA and taking the risk with more troublesome RMA. Some of these deals not available in singapore. Using Ezbuy to forward for lower cost compared to amazon shipping.
I only managed to save about 40-50 dollars vs AS equivalent (only major difference is the 2666mhz vs my own sourced 3200mhz sodimm ram.

With warranty, the AS deal is a no brainer.

My experience as below.
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/hardware-clinic-2/budget-build-fathers-pc-6311121-4.html

 

[carmelmore]

If using for streaming, HEVC H.265 successor, VCC H.266 just finalized. Wait 2 years or so and it should appear on devices.

 

[BiG_FisH]

M.2 looks too big for this form factor. Generally the smaller the devices, the more likely you are to get soldered components to save space.

it only supports M.2 2242 very limited choices for this form factor.

 

[watzup_ken]

it only supports M.2 2242 very limited choices for this form factor.

I feel the M.2 2242 is a bad form factor for an NVME drive. While it is good to have such a small drive, but the reality hits you when you realize how hot it runs. Especially in such a small form factor (Larkbox), I think it will get very toasty. The 2242 Samsung drive that came with my laptop easily hits 81 degs, and throttling will drop it to 75 degs. So it may be the hottest component in the system of this size.

 

[BiG_FisH]

I feel the M.2 2242 is a bad form factor for an NVME drive. While it is good to have such a small drive, but the reality hits you when you realize how hot it runs. Especially in such a small form factor (Larkbox), I think it will get very toasty. The 2242 Samsung drive that came with my laptop easily hits 81 degs, and throttling will drop it to 75 degs. So it may be the hottest component in the system of this size.

thanks for sharing, haven't done much research on that...that temp looks bad for such a small form factor.

I have yet to try any NVMe drive myself...really looking forward to my next tech refresh.

 

[davidktw]

i backed this larkbox on indiegogo...hopefully it will decent.

Make sure you backed the one with a smaller power brick, otherwise, the adapter is larger than the mini PC

I backed 2
https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxhardw..._larkbox_24_inch_mini_pc_review_tiny_celeron/
Read the comments

 

[yusoffb01]

I feel the M.2 2242 is a bad form factor for an NVME drive. While it is good to have such a small drive, but the reality hits you when you realize how hot it runs. Especially in such a small form factor (Larkbox), I think it will get very toasty. The 2242 Samsung drive that came with my laptop easily hits 81 degs, and throttling will drop it to 75 degs. So it may be the hottest component in the system of this size.

m2 sata wont get hot

 

[cochran]

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-next-gen-minis-amd-yes#/comments

for anyone interested in one with AMD ryzen 3550H just launched at indiegogo abt SGD$560. the ssd confirmed changed to nvme. All thing is good for this machine now.

Tempted to change the 2500U i just got. ha... But control.......

 

[BiG_FisH]

Make sure you backed the one with a smaller power brick, otherwise, the adapter is larger than the mini PC

I backed 2
https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxhardw..._larkbox_24_inch_mini_pc_review_tiny_celeron/
Read the comments

yea they already 'upgraded' the power brick to a smaller unit when I backed mine, otherwise it is pretty dumb for them to lug the adapter around for such a tiny PC.

you backed the 2 sets special?

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-next-gen-minis-amd-yes#/comments

for anyone interested in one with AMD ryzen 3550H just launched at indiegogo abt SGD$560. the ssd confirmed changed to nvme. All thing is good for this machine now.

Tempted to change the 2500U i just got. ha... But control.......

yea I saw this too! was so tempted to swap the larkbox to this but this seems a little too 'overkill' for my simple usage.

 

[davidktw]

yea they already 'upgraded' the power brick to a smaller unit when I backed mine, otherwise it is pretty dumb for them to lug the adapter around for such a tiny PC.

you backed the 2 sets special?

Nope I did not, I used 2 different accounts

 

[Entry Level PC]

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-next-gen-minis-amd-yes#/comments

for anyone interested in one with AMD ryzen 3550H just launched at indiegogo abt SGD$560. the ssd confirmed changed to nvme. All thing is good for this machine now.

Tempted to change the 2500U i just got. ha... But control.......

SGD$560 is still exp.
4500U already came out.
Wait for Dec Black Friday/Cyber Monday will have better deals bah.

 

[yusoffb01]

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-next-gen-minis-amd-yes#/comments

for anyone interested in one with AMD ryzen 3550H just launched at indiegogo abt SGD$560. the ssd confirmed changed to nvme. All thing is good for this machine now.

Tempted to change the 2500U i just got. ha... But control.......

3550h isnt that impressive. should wait for 4800h to be available which is double the performance

 

[watzup_ken]

3550h isnt that impressive. should wait for 4800h to be available which is double the performance

I feel while the 3550H is nowhere as good as a 4800H, if one is using a mini PC for HTPC purpose, then I feel there is not much difference. I believe if there is a mini PC that runs on Renoir CPUs, I doubt it will be that cheap.

 

[Entry Level PC]

3550h isnt that impressive. should wait for 4800h to be available which is double the performance

I feel while the 3550H is nowhere as good as a 4800H, if one is using a mini PC for HTPC purpose, then I feel there is not much difference. I believe if there is a mini PC that runs on Renoir CPUs, I doubt it will be that cheap.

3550H is KNS.
Not much difference from 3500U and jiak alot more power.

3500U 15W
3550H 35W

https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/AMD-Ryzen-5-3550H-vs-AMD-Ryzen-5-3500U/m718601vsm760067

 

[watzup_ken]

3550H is KNS.
Not much difference from 3500U and jiak alot more power.

3500U 15W
3550H 35W

https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/AMD-Ryzen-5-3550H-vs-AMD-Ryzen-5-3500U/m718601vsm760067

I don't think this is a good place to see how these 2 performs. The higher TDP basically allows the H series to sustain at a higher clockspeed for both the CPU and GPU. The weakness of any 15W processor is that they tend to boost for a short while above the 15W TDP, but will eventually throttle when both the CPU and GPU are under load. The problem is less obvious when you are either stressing/ testing the CPU or GPU.

 

[Entry Level PC]

I don't think this is a good place to see how these 2 performs. The higher TDP basically allows the H series to sustain at a higher clockspeed for both the CPU and GPU. The weakness of any 15W processor is that they tend to boost for a short while above the 15W TDP, but will eventually throttle when both the CPU and GPU are under load. The problem is less obvious when you are either stressing/ testing the CPU or GPU.

I use my 2200G 65W and my 3500U 15W to do video encoding for whole day.
They both perform on par with each other.