How to Choose a Mini PC

Apple Mac Mini

Small form factor (SFF) PCs use less power, take up less space (sometimes called footprint), and are generally quieter. They're not laptops and they need a keyboard and monitor separately plugged in. Sometimes they are called Mini PCs and nettops are a subset of these which are even smaller in size.

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 Steps

1. 1
   Have a budget.
2. 2
   Pick your Hard Disk Drive (HDD). Traditional or Solid State Drive (SSD)?
3. 3
   Pick whether you want an optical drive. Only Mac Minis have Superdrives (which read and write CDs and DVDs).
4. 4
   Pick whether you want WiFi.
5. 5
   Pick your SFF PC. Pick if you want a nettop which are very small.
   • Apple Mac Mini
     
     
   • Dell Studio Hybrid
   • Dell Inspiron 400 (Zino HD)
   • HP Mini Q
   • MSI Wind
   • Asus EEE Box
   • Acer Aspire Revo
   • Lenovo IdeaCentre

Tips

• If you get one with IR (infra-red) receiver, you can use it as a Home Theatre PC (HTPC). Unlike Apple TV, you will be able to play a wider variety of video formats.

Warnings

• Pick a Mac Mini made before 2006 and you might experience software compatibility issues.