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[Varche]

Time to move on from my existing HP desktop - old spec and whea hardware problems. Choices are to buy another base unit and run win10 on it or decamp to Apple. I cant justify an all singing dancing Mac but the Mac mini has caught my eye and I think my screen,keyboard and mouse would just swap over. My needs are quite modest primarily down to limited internet. Emails, photos, letters.  I have an ipad and like the way it just works.

Downside of a mac mini? Old technology, not been updated for 3 years . They also seem to hold their value s/h.

Anyone got one or experience thereof?  If you had say £500 what would you go for.?

[jimbobmccoy]

I have a Mac mini. Purely for testing purposes (web dev and some coding that is cross platform). Some years ago I became an Apple convert for first the iPhone, and then the iPad. I expected to love the Mac mini for a lot of things, primarily apple related-iMessage FaceTime syncing safari and so on.
That being said, I have always used maintained and pushed windows based workstations (and servers) from a sme side of things. My Mac sits on my desk and is mainly used as a monitor stand apart from the few times of year it’s used for testing. Simply, if you’re used to windows, and get on on with it, stick with it. From what you say your use will be either will be fine, and you’ll adjust to the Mac, but you’ll be happier with the windows based sooner (adjusting to windows 10 interface being allowed for) and for longer.
Also, for £500 you can get a more than acceptable windows machine for your uses, i5, 16gb ram, ssd for os and traditional hd for storage all well within that budget, from a reputable manufacturer too. I’ve lost count of the number of £300 business workstations I bought from HP or Lenovo (while still really ibm) that got abused 24 hours a day every day without any major issue and lasted 5 years or before being lifecycled out. These were generally i3, 8gb ram and a 500gb hdd but managed to run office, IE, and various other packages acceptably.
Any pc you do buy, reserve a day to take off bloatware, install what you want, migrate data, create initial backups etc.

[Viral_Jim]

Interestingly, this popped up in my inbox this morning, granted it’s a laptop not a desktop, but you plug in mouse, keyboard and monitor and you essentially have a pc with two screens, which personally I find very useful.

Bang on budget too

https://www.ebuyer.com/dailydeals?a=1&utm_content=825568&utm_campaign=5801%257C2018-02-01%252009&utm_source=daily_deals_0&utm_medium=email&cid=5801&mid=327715955

[Varche]

I thought about laptops as the normal base units are very bulky. I like my monitor and mouse and keyboard.

I suppose I could use a laptop as a "base unit" but suspect it might be in the way as don't yo have to have the lid open to start it up and to have it running?

[Kevin Wood]

What about a little Intel NUC based machine?

Nice tidy little system that'll plug into your existing peripherals and without paying the crApple premium.

[TheBoy]

I have Windows PCs and a 2017 MacBook Pro.  Can't remember the last time the Mac was turned on. Especially as my 2007 HP Windows laptop boots quicker than the shiny new MacBook with its latest i7 CPU, 16Gb RAM and 512Gb SSD.

The Mac Mini is a particularly poor choice, as they have always been low performers, even when new. Now they are old and useless.

If you want Mac, it has to be a new, full fat option, as the OS is a bit crap.  Also, you get the Apple lock-in, both hardware and software - not quite as strict on software as iDevices, but that's where they are heading.


Windows will be cheaper, faster (for given spec), and more software works with it.  A good baseline spec to start with is current gen i3, 4Gb ram, 250Gb SSD - that's fine for web and general office type work.

[TheBoy]

As desktops are out of fashion, and we voted to leave the EU, they are bloody expensive in the UK. You'll likely be paying £350-400 for an HP/Dell machine of that spec.

I probably wouldn't entertain an unbranded machine in hot environments, and would never entertain Acer or the consumer oriented Lenovos.

[Varche]

Thanks. I like the size or lack of size with those Intel NUC units.

I am definitely off the Mac mini now.

So it is an Intel NUC or standard base unit with a min spec of current gen i3, 4Gb ram, 250Gb SSD, running Win10. What branded units are safe bets then? HP? I will avoid Lenovo and Acer.

I'll be buying mail order either here or from Uk. Exchange rate will be whatever it is. 

[jimbobmccoy]

Have a look at the HP prodesk G2 - various options available. Top end of budget will get you a sff-small form factor, think large box of cornflakes size- i5, 8-16gb ram and either a big (1tb) hdd or a smaller ssd. As TB suggests, lower spec will suffice for what you need, so a lower spec variant will do the job for less money.

[TheBoy]

What branded units are safe bets then? HP?

If I was buying for myself, it would likely be Dell Vostro (or OptiPlex if budget will stretch) or HP semi business models (ie, not the tat like Pavillion that you see in PC World and the like).

HP did start to lose their way over the past few years, but since being split off from HPE, and away from that daft bint that was ruining running the place, they are starting to get their act together.

BUT it must be 6th/7th/8th gen i3 (that's the first digit in the CPU number nowadays, so i3-7200 is 7th gen), 4Gb RAM and a suitable sized SSD.  I get away with 120Gb SSDs as I have central storage in the home, but imagine most would need a minimum of 240Gb. If you carry lots of photos/music/videos, you may need to decide if you need bigger.

[STEMO]

What branded units are safe bets then? HP?

If I was buying for myself, it would likely be Dell Vostro (or OptiPlex if budget will stretch) or HP semi business models (ie, not the tat like Pavillion that you see in PC World and the like).

HP did start to lose their way over the past few years, but since being split off from HPE, and away from that daft bint that was ruining running the place, they are starting to get their act together.

BUT it must be 6th/7th/8th gen i3 (that's the first digit in the CPU number nowadays, so i3-7200 is 7th gen), 4Gb RAM and a suitable sized SSD.  I get away with 120Gb SSDs as I have central storage in the home, but imagine most would need a minimum of 240Gb. If you carry lots of photos/music/videos, you may need to decide if you need bigger.

Has he stopped playing tennis and gone into computers? 

[Varche]

Just an update.

I settled on an HP Desktop Pro 400 G4 . Then the fun and games started in sourcing. I can report that desktops are cheaper in Britain than in the EU despite the Boys comments re the Brexit effect.  Anyway most sellers wouldn't post to Spain so had it posted to a friend in Uk first. It arrived yesterday.

Spec. i5 7200, 256 ssd and 16Gb Ram. Win 10 64 bit Pro.  Probably more memory than I needed but will save future upgrade. I had to install the second memory module myself which involved a fair bit of dismantling. Overall cost £375 plus overseas postage.

Well chuffed, thanks everyone for advice.