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Kice
19
Feb 11, 2017
It suddenly become an essay...just kind of long.
It seems that many people did not know what is barebones system. This kind of systems only include some hard-to-replace part, like SoC and motherboard. They usually come with a small form factor but not lose customization. Take Intel NUC as a example. It usually comes with CPU, motherboard, case, and a thermal solution(aka cooling fan). You need to by a hard drive or SSD, memory, and an OS for Windows users.
Something be here but I dont want to write it.
Then here is my opinion for the people who want to have a mini-pc: First of all, I recommand buying the sysytem with Intel Gen7 CPU. 1. Intel Gen7 CPU can support HEVC 10bit fully hardware decode. (Which is the most important for me) 2. Gen7 Core i5 and Core i7 come with Thunderbolt 3, including low voltage CPU (e.g. i5 7200U) 3. Gen7 genernal use DDR4 (can be both pros and cons). 4. Gen7 usually has USB 3.1 10Gb port and mostly they are type C.
The Gen7 is coming, it not nessary to buy old products. I bought the Gen7 Intel Nuc ( NUC7i3BNH) and have a very good experience (and bought a 10inch 1920x1200 LCD kit on eBay for laying-in-the-bed experience). The fully hardware 4k HEVC Ma10 decode feature make this generation is the best HTPC. If you more care about performance, Gen7 disappoints as usual. Just buying the cheapest one with higer performance is fine. Passmark (http://www.cpubenchmark.net/) and CPU Monkey (http://www.cpu-monkey.com/en/) are the useful website for checking performance. Also, I think Geekbench is kind of make sense for low power product (but never use it for normal CPU benchmark).
Some common barebones system: Intel NUC: The "average" system in a very small form factor. Best for the people having hard time decide what to buy. ZOTAC ZBOX: Their product lines are many form fanless to VR-Ready mini PC. I think you should check them out. Gigabyte: LinusTechTip said they are too hot.