General Question

[manuzzang]

Hi all,

Just a general question:
I'm thinking of purchasing a mini pc (most likely HP Z2 G5 mini) but I'm wondering what merits they have over laptops.
As far as I can a mini desktop costs more than a laptop with similar specs (in my case, i7 6core, 16gm RAM, 512gb nvme SSD, Nvidia Quatro or GeForce).

Would be happy to hear some other opinions!

Cheers,

M.

 

[Stephen M]

Unless you are really struggling for space to put a full tower I have never seen the point of mini units. Thermals are always going to be an issue, in fact one case has been highlighted as a fire hazard.

The desk top replacement laptops may be bulky, my Octane is about 4 kg without the brick sized power unit but it has a desktop CPU and thermals, with a proper coing tray, are pretty good. Can run a monitor from it at home but it is portable enough for use anywhere.

 

[manuzzang]

Thanks a lot for the input!
I heard that desktops give better performance (at the same CPU speed) due to thermal management / CPU throttling etc.
Is the difference that big? Just another thing I want to confirm.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks a lot for the input!
I heard that desktops give better performance (at the same CPU speed) due to thermal management / CPU throttling etc.
Is the difference that big? Just another thing I want to confirm.

Pretty huge, yes.

as PCSpecialist sell custom desktops and laptops we can’t advise on self builds or competitor builds, you may want to check out toms hardware which is an open forum

 

[Stephen M]

It is down to what you are going to use the machine for and the stress loads.

Can do the same video work on my Octane (i7) as my overclocked i9 desktop but the Octane fans are quickly in overdrive and I would not risk anything that took more than a couple of minutes on it, whereas the desktop has better airflow and is easier to cool.

For gaming, I know there are people who use an Octane for long periods at high settings and have no problems.

Probably your best bet is to let us know your maximum budget, what the machine will be used for, what monitor you have if you already have one and someone will post a decent spec.

 

[manuzzang]

Pretty huge, yes.

as PCSpecialist sell custom desktops and laptops we can’t advise on self builds or competitor builds, you may want to check out toms hardware which is an open forum

Sorry, didn't realize.
I might do that, cheers!

 

[manuzzang]

It is down to what you are going to use the machine for and the stress loads.

Can do the same video work on my Octane (i7) as my overclocked i9 desktop but the Octane fans are quickly in overdrive and I would not risk anything that took more than a couple of minutes on it, whereas the desktop has better airflow and is easier to cool.

For gaming, I know there are people who use an Octane for long periods at high settings and have no problems.

Probably your best bet is to let us know your maximum budget, what the machine will be used for, what monitor you have if you already have one and someone will post a decent spec.

Ok that's pretty helpful, thanks!