Mini PC basic spec advice

[troyster]

My desktop which is around 3 yrs old has died and am looking to get a mini pc so I can keep it up out of the way of the kids. Excuse my ignorance but is size the basic difference ??
It will be a home PC where the most it will do is web surfing, email, store photos/videos, occasional skype video call, watch video and some tv etc. I dont run masses of programes at once and dont play games. The only thing I have changed is the memory from 2 to 4 gb.

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Atom™ DualCore Processor D525 (1.8GHz) 667MHz FSB/1MB Cache
Motherboard
INTEL® D525MW: NM10 Express Chipset, Intel® Atom™, DDR3,
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG 1066MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 2GB)
Graphics Card
Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150 + VGA OUT
Memory - Hard Disk
250GB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 3 in 1 SD Card Reader
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 13 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £327.00 including VAT and delivery.

I thought it looked good for the price, any thoughts??

cheers

 

[Phoenix]

It will be able to do very basic tasks like the ones you've listed but it would be worth getting the silver warranty.

 

[Kansenji]

My desktop which is around 3 yrs old has died and am looking to get a mini pc so I can keep it up out of the way of the kids. Excuse my ignorance but is size the basic difference ??
It will be a home PC where the most it will do is web surfing, email, store photos/videos, occasional skype video call, watch video and some tv etc. I dont run masses of programes at once and dont play games. The only thing I have changed is the memory from 2 to 4 gb.

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Atom™ DualCore Processor D525 (1.8GHz) 667MHz FSB/1MB Cache
Motherboard
INTEL® D525MW: NM10 Express Chipset, Intel® Atom™, DDR3,
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG 1066MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 2GB)
Graphics Card
Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150 + VGA OUT
Memory - Hard Disk
250GB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 3 in 1 SD Card Reader
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 13 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £327.00 including VAT and delivery.

I thought it looked good for the price, any thoughts??

cheers

Well, I am considering buying the same PC, but with a faster, 7200 rpm hard drive.
I bought a very high spec PC tower unit, six years ago for about £1,700 & it has recently died on me; it has given good service. However, my income is low at the moment & I don't want to pay (say) £800+ & commit to a monthly loan Direct Debit! Paying a little over £300 outright (I've got Windows 7 Retail, Internet Security Suite, Office 2007 etc) is an attractive proposition that I can manage.

I particular like the idea of a (near) silent PC, especially one that will use only about 10% of the electricity of a "normal" PC; saving me about £190 per year).

I mainly want to browse the web, do photo editing, listen to music & use Google Earth (not interested in gaming). It seems that the Performance Mini PC should manage those at least as well as my old Athlon 4000+ single core processor and 6-year old AGP GPU did (it couldn't even use DirectX with Windows 7!)

Does anyone agree/disagree with that? I take the view that if I get two or three years of use out of the Mini PC, I would then be happy to replace it again, and be in a better position to afford something even better.

 

[PCS]

Providing you don't install and run lots of memory hungry programs, the Atom based mini PC's are great for internet, email, basic photo editing programs (not Photoshop), music and video. They're not good for high end gaming, video and adanced photo editing, or for use in an environment where multiple applications will be running simultaneously.

 

[Kansenji]

Providing you don't install and run lots of memory hungry programs, the Atom based mini PC's are great for internet, email, basic photo editing programs (not Photoshop), music and video. They're not good for high end gaming, video and adanced photo editing, or for use in an environment where multiple applications will be running simultaneously.

Thanks!
I've upgraded to a "Vertex" Solid State Drive and increased the RAM to 4 GB, so that should wring the "last ounce" of performance out of the Mini PC. I normally use Paint Shop Pro for photo editing & it worked fine on my 6-year old Athlon 4000+ single core PC with 2GB of memory, so I'm hoping all will be well.

I have just ORDERED the mini PC, so when I eventually get to try it out, I'll return here & let everyone know how well it performs.

EDITED 18 FEBRUARY: Unfortunately, PCSpecialist has advised me that the fan-free case is no longer available. I have cancelled my order & will be refunded.