5 great mini PCs for the office or home

ASRock Mars ADL

This is a relatively small desktop computer that takes up very little desktop space. But in this small case, quite high performance is hidden. There are several models in the line, one of the most productive is based on an Intel Core i5-1235U Alder Lake processor, plus 64 GB of RAM. Well, there are slots for two SSDs. A good option for those who need relatively high performance, and for those who need a “workhorse”.

The line of processors that made it into the ASRock Mars ADL are commonly used in laptops. They consume a lot of energy, so that laptop models with them cannot boast of a long battery life. But there is no battery in the mini PC, the devices are powered directly, so there is no problem.

Ports and connectors:

  • 1 x Thunderbolt 4 (40 Gbps with 8K/60Hz support)

  • 1 x HDMI (4K/60Hz)

  • 1 x VGA (1920 x 1200)

  • 4 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A

  • 2 x USB 2.0 Type-A

  • 1 x Gigabit Ethernet

  • 1 x 3.5mm mic input

  • 1 x 3.5mm audio output

  • 1 x SD card reader

The line includes three models:

  • Intel Core i5-1235U: 2P + 8E cores, up to 4.4GHz / 1.2GHz Iris Xe GPU (80eu)

  • Intel Core i3-1215U: 2P + 4E cores, up to 4.4 GHz/ 1.1 GHz Intel UHD GPU (60eu)

  • Intel Celeron 7305: 1P + 4E cores, up to 4.4GHz / 1.1GHz Intel UHD GPU (48 eu)

Here is a photo of the motherboard.

The mini PC works with Windows, Linux, you can install Chrome OS Flex or any other operating system of your choice.

Unfortunately, the cost of the device is still unknown, but it will appear on sale in the near future, so the seller will soon announce the prices.

GMK NucBox 7


A very tiny PC, which, however, can be used to solve a wide range of tasks. Inside – 16 GB of RAM, up to 512 GB of SSD, plus an Intel Pentium Silver N6005 processor. Unlike the previous model, the cost of this device is known – it is about $330 for the base model.

Unfortunately, the RAM is soldered on the board, so you can’t upgrade the device. The only thing that can be replaced is an SSD.

List of ports and connectors:

  • 3 x HDMI (can connect up to 4K@60Hz screens)

  • 2 x Gigabit Ethernet

  • 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A

  • 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A

  • 1 x 3.5mm audio jack

  • 1 x USB-C port (for power)

As for the wireless communication module, it supports WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2.

The developers have equipped the device with a backlight. It can be blue, red, yellow, green or magenta – all this can be changed in the settings. If desired, the backlight can be completely turned off.

All in all, a great miniature PC that will fit on any desktop, no matter how small.

ECS LIVA Q3H


This device is not much larger than the previous representative of the world of miniature computers. Its basis is the Intel Pentium Silver N6000 processor. So far, this is a novelty, in a week it will be shown at a technical exhibition in Dubai, so the characteristics are not fully known.

In addition to the processor (base frequency 1.1 GHz with an increase to 3.3 GHz), video characteristics are known. This is integrated UHD graphics with a base frequency of 350 Hz and a peak frequency of up to 850. Previous models of the manufacturer came with 4 or 8 GB of RAM and 64 GB of eMMC, so it may well be that this little one will come with the same characteristics. By the way, the Pentium N6000 processor supports a maximum of 16 GB of DDR4 or LPDDR4x (dual-channel) RAM.

Well, yes, in the photo you can see an Ethernet port, three USB ports. There is also WiFi 5 support.

Asus ExpertCenter PN53


In the case of this mini-PC – quite a powerful stuffing. Models in this line will ship with AMD Ryzen 5 6600H, Ryzen 7 6800H, Ryzen 9 6900HX processors and Radeon 660M or 680M video. There are two RAM slots on the board, with a maximum capacity of 32 GB (in total).

Ports and connectors:

The communication model supports modern protocols – WiFi 6 + BT 5 or WiFi 6E + BT 5.

Unfortunately, the cost of the mini PC is unknown in this case as well, but it will go on sale this year, 2022, so the cost will be revealed soon. It is unlikely that she will be small, of course.

UP Element i12 Edge


Well, here we have a specialized mini-PC with protection from negative external factors. This is a representative of the UP line from AAEON, a member of the ASUS group with a focus on industrial systems.

Models will be available with Celeron 7305, Core i3-1215U, Core i5-1235U or Core i7-1255U processors. The amount of RAM (DDR5, by the way) is up to 32 GB. There are slots for SSD.

Multiple external displays can be connected via HDMI, DP and USB-C. The developers have provided USB 2.0 and 3.2 Gen 2 ports. The wireless communication module is compatible with WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3. Well, to everything – 2 gigabit Ethernet ports are immediately available to the user. So the network part is all right here.

The PC is compatible with various operating systems, including Windows 10, Windows IoT, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

Unfortunately, the cost is unknown here as well, since the protected mini-PC is only planned for release.

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