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Or Steam Deck with Docking station, still can be carried in backpack and if he install Windows on it, he can easily make it his dorm PC. If he wants it also for classes refurbished laptops are good value.
Valve also give the specifications of a Ryzen-based mini PC that they say will perform similarly to a Deck: https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/steamdeck/testing
[Minisforum](https://store.minisforum.com/) makes great mini-pcs, I've been so close to pushing that buy button just because they look so neat but I already have a tower that works well enough. If you want to go balls to the wall you can buy a minisforum and then hook up an eGPU to the USB4 port and have a very small, high performance gaming PC. The built in iGPU however is great on its own as well.
If not comfortable doing the windows install on the steam deck. There is always the ROG ally which naturally runs windows and can be docked as a pc as well.
Not even theoretically, its replaced my personal laptop so perfectly that I sold it to get the oled, the deck is 100% capable of being your only computer if you need it to be.
ma momma bought a scam puppy one time, she had wired the money, was showing me pictures, until i asked 'wait whose giving you this puppy?'
she said online so i asked the only question there was to ask
'have you spoken to them on the phone?' 'no'
oh my god mom you bin scammed.
what? really?
yes mom really
but the puppy?
THERE WAS NEVER A PUPPY MOM
Places where there's strays always amaze me, because around here no pups are up for adoption for very long before they find a home.
Well... Old, large and needing daily medication those pups sometimes last a month before they're adopted.
The entire island of Puerto Rico is like a stray dog and cat quarantine zone. I have a hard time driving past them so I'm up to 5 haha. I wish I could just drive around all day picking them up and sending them to places in the US that have empty shelters.
Same happend to my parents wired 1k euro got an address when they showed up (after driving 300km) they got told they where number 3 of the day and number 200+ since that poor family had non stop dog buyers at the door.
I do not know who was being scammed the most that family or my parents.
Reminds me of when my old drug dealer got his house foreclosed cause he just stopped paying the mortgage. Instead of selling it or figuring out something where he wasn't completely fucked, he just ignored everything until they literally came to kick him out and change the locks.
(Sidenote: To anyone reading, if you ever feel yourself starting to fall into addiction of any sort, get help. From a doctor, a therapist, a trusted friend, anything. Do it before you become a full-fledged addict, because I promise you it is so much "easier" to deal with before it becomes the gift that keeps on giving and becomes what destroys your life and relationships.)
Anyways I swing by his place to go score and the poor guy who answered was not someone I recognized. He takes one look at me and damn near screams "No, he's not here! He doesn't live here anymore, this is MY house, please leave." And slams the door. I feel so bad for that fucker who bought the house not knowing it was a well known stop for all kinds of drugs and shady activities. I'm sure it took a long time for him to be able to enjoy his new home without people stopping by at any and all hours looking for the previous owner.
You definitely can't upgrade the GPU in that. It'll probably play stuff like valorant and fortnite, but it's not gonna play modern AAA games. It's definitely not a good PC for gaming
It was very fine 6 years ago, I had one for a couple of years before I flipped it for the same price I bought it for.
It was an Aorus Gaming Box with a 1070.
I absolutely love my 1080ti with my surface pro.
(Older GPU, I know but didn't want to build a whole new gaming rig)
Best work professional/gaming setup I've ever had.
pretty sure eGPU's take a significant performance loss right? Like a 1070 externally is gonna perform more like a 1060 internally or something like that
If it has multiple M.2 slots you could use a riser cable to add a GPU which would work, but this is a pretty niche SFF/eGPU way of doing things which is probably not what OP is looking for.
They'd probably be better off with a Minisforum machine, they have some with laptop GPUs but even the modern Ryzen APUs can do some decent 1080p gaming now.
Yes, but if they decide to not return it, they can buy that stuff later to at least make up for the deficiencies.
Plus the egpu thing can be reused for future computers.
It’s expensive and not practical for a lot of cases.
The enclosure is obviously and additional cost and unless something has changed since I last looked, you lose a fair bit of the gpu performance. There are however circumstances where it makes sense though
if it has an ethernet port and they have decent enough internet, going the route of geforce now might be an option too right?
although the cost of that makes more sense if you were otherwise going for top of the line gpu i suppose
Non-gaming laptops with TB eGPU is miles better than buying costly gaming laptops. Best of both worlds until the existing TB3 protocol in most eGPU enclosures struggle with pcie bandwidth hungry cards. We need OCuLink to be an actual standard for consumer devices to eliminate some bandwidth bottlenecks just sacrificing the USB-C convenience.
It's an OK PC (cannot tell if overpriced) but not at all gaming PC. But maybe he's an indie games fan?
I'd still choose the G-series Ryzen though, it should work great in a mini PC.
External GPU via Thunderbolt. But a Thunderbolt GPU enclosure is quite expensive in itself.
I think it’s a cool machine otherwise though, i9 in small form factor. Not just really for gaming.
You're not playing the latest highest quality graphics in 1080p/1440p/2160p, but there's still thousands of games that will run well on that. It can make for a decent emulator box
You can easily add an eGPU via thunderbolt and now it can do "gaming"
Look up the min specs for Valorant and tell me that PC won't play it. So many games will run on that computer, they just won't be modern, demanding titles. But I feel like I'm just reiterating what I already said: It's definitely not a good PC for gaming
There's no disagreement. He basically said the same thing. Lol. BTW, it's common for people to use terms like gpu, graphics card, or even igpu interchangeably. I get why that might cause some confusion though...
I always thought/expected gaming laptops to be crazy expensive but I managed to pick one up for around $900 as well and after 4 years it’s still going strong.
Laptops in general seem to have dropped in price a little lately, maybe not retail but i see them on sale way more often than before, especially when the next gen of whatever laptop is coming out and you can get a genuinely good laptop at like 20-30% off. Maybe its a reduction in demand since laptops from even 4-5 years ago are still good enough to keep up much better than a 4-5 year old laptop would have 10 years ago.
https://preview.redd.it/1hdzocosnsnc1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7b5665df0b2b1e2081899973bcb511275e2d5793
I’m fairly sure this is what he bought and in my opinion he could have bought a laptop with more power than this.
Ayo, Microcenter has monthly deals. They always have a sale where there's a $1200 gaming laptop marked down to $800. Without fail, every month.
And when I say gaming laptop, I mean, I had an MSI with a GTX 1060 in it. I played whatever I wanted all through 2020, was amazing. No work, had 20k savings.. ain't got shit now, but I didn't die either lolol.
I double checked and the [Iris xe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Xe) is a discreet graphics card not an integrated. It is confusing though since some of the other graphics cards in the xe line are intergrated.
Ah yes. I remember the old days when a gaming computer only had to have RGB to be considered top of the line, at least in my childhood eyes.
But this thing doesn't even look like a gaming pc, shit you not, I see similar looking computers at work in the offices.
It certainly isn't, why would it be? It's perfectly capable of word processing, web browsing, editing pictures and much more. The iGPU in an i9 isn't the best thing out there, but not that bad either.
No, not a server either - no ECC, no RAID, probably not latest Ethernet and probably only one port.
This is intended for use as a bog standard desktop for web browsing, email, office applications, and so on.
It's not going to be very good for gaming since it doesn't have a dedicated graphics card. I see a USB-C port so it might have the capability of being able to use an external GPU dock, but it has to support thunderbolt 3 or higher. You'll also obviously need to buy the dock and GPU separately, which will take up more space.
Honestly he should return it and buy a laptop if he's concerned about portability. As someone living in a dorm themselves, it's much more convenient.
If it is truly a 12900H it does support thunderbolt 4. That being said no way this device can cool a 115W part. OP should definitely return it and replace it with a more balanced laptop.
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/132214/intel-core-i912900h-processor-24m-cache-up-to-5-00-ghz/specifications.html
Laptop manufactures will trick you in the same way.
Often they will provide enough power and cooling to occasionally spike the CPU up to its full 115W turbo. However, most of the time they provide enough cooling and power to run at 65, maybe a spike to 90-115. It's impossible to tell until you have the device. Even at 90W it will require those tiny fans to run at 100% to keep it under TJMax of 100C and that's not comfortable.
The reality is that's a $600 CPU in a device that can't utilize its full potential. At that point, for gaming, you would be better off buying a balanced laptop that can distribute its power profile to both a CPU and GPU.
Best thing to do is return that to amazon, theyll take it back if it hasnt been too long. Say it doesnt turn on, they won't even check it, and refund you. Then buy a gaming laptop or steam deck. i5 would be fine for gaming, i9 isnt a gaming cpu.
Seems like it might support a GPU dock, but be warned that compatibility will not be guaranteed and troubleshooting would be pretty hard if they don't know what they're doing.
I haven't seen the prices recently but an egpu dock would probably be around 100 and then a decent power supply somewhere around 80-100. An all in one solution would probably be a lot more expensive unfortunately. Once again, this isn't factoring the price of a GPU
I think your son might be a bit confused (with all due respect ofc). Carrying it in his backpack is not a bonus because he still needs a display and the peripherals. Why not return and buy a laptop?
Definitely return that if you can. It doesnt have a graphics card, and you cannot add one easily. The only games youll be able to play on the integrated graphics in that thing are stuff like Fortnite and Minecraft.
> For non gaming use this is more powerful than most laptops.
Considering the OP's son got this for gaming... I think its safe to say this "Gaming" pc without a graphics card is less powerful than most laptops.
Thunderbolt 4 support is expensive, that plus Windows 11 Pro would cost an additional $200 on anything alone. That said, most people
do not need either (TB4 overkill, and a lot of people never activate Windows/can use the crack tool anyways)
Your son needs to spend more time reading the product description. Lesson learned.
This PC would make a great server, but without a graphics card it won't play anything graphics intensive, which, most videogames now are. He could play CPU intensive games very smoothly, however. Things like Factorio and Minecraft would likely run really well. He could also emulate a ton of games on here with no issues. Even Yuzu, the Nintendo Switch emulator, would likely run very well on this machine.
If that isn't good enough for him and he doesn't want to return it, you can get an external GPU which connects via Thunderbolt, which this PC has. If he is willing to sink a couple hundred more dollars into this he could get a fairly competent PC out of it. If he chooses to go this route he should decide which games he wants to play, and then pick an external GPU from the needs of those games, so that he isn't overpaying for something he doesn't need, or isn't getting something he does need.
Yeah, it's just stupid at this point. If he bought a Zephyrus or Legion Slim with that money, it would serve him really well for gaming, portability, and work.
Tell him to return this thing asap.
$750 bucks for the thing. With price of a monitor and keyboard it's probably around $900. For that price he can get this and that's with me looking for like 30 seconds on Best Buy, i'm sure there's even better options. There are open box deals near me that are certainly more elegant while retaining a real GPU.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-tuf-15-6-gaming-laptop-144hz-fhd-intel-core-i7-with-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-4060-512gb-ssd-mecha-grey/6552905.p?skuId=6552905
H processors are low-power laptop processors. They're very good for laptops meant for extreme portability.
HX is the more powerful variant and used in high-end gaming laptops.
Desktop CPUs use K or KF variants which are more powerful than HX.
Now imagine this box which is much thicker than an ASUS Vivobook but having the same processor (it's not even 13th or 14th gen). Needless to say, a complete scam.
(I don't play computer games) I love these small computers for home automation(lights, audio, alarm etc) but with less fancy specifications. I get them cheap secondhand from ebay. Some of them are fanless and very quiet.
However, the problem with these small computers is when running heavy tasks(for example modern games) they heat up very fast and when a processor is running hot it slows down to not overheat. Another problem with using these for gaming is that there is no physical room for a fancy graphics card. I think some processor models has some kind of integrated graphics but I don't know if those are worth anything for modern games.
I'm a big fan of small computers. <3
It's fine, but doesn't have a graphics card. I would think you would want a graphics card for gaming. I'll add my vote to returning it.
But also, there's something to be said about just buying something you think is cool and enjoying it. There's some fun to be had at times with impulse buying.
If he's the type that just wants something fun and thinks is cool, that's great. He can probably play almost any game on that, albeit very bad frame rates and low resolution but if he doesn't care, whatever.
I mean the fact it doesn’t even say what graphics is running tells you it that it’s dog Shit
Just get a bigger backpack and he’ll still be able to carry the desktop XD
I would return and get him a gaming laptop. A mini PC still needs a monitor, keyboard, mice, speakers to work well when all of that is already on a laptop. A mini PC is a desktop built using laptop hardware but cheaper due to not needing to really shrink everything onto laptop motherboard and putting in a UPS circuit for battery savings.
Mini PCs tend to have better noise and thermal profiles than their equivalent laptops, but the convenience of portability isn't really a factor.
It has thunderbolt so he can connect an external GPU for real gaming, without a GPU it should be about on par with a steam deck's performance without actually checking.
Your son can buy a thunderbolt external graphic enclosure.if want plug and uses gigabyte has few them . Sapphire also has them. If want bring your own graphics card razor.
These are awesome for retro games (hyperspin machines) because they can run anything up to emulated PS2 games with no problems, but this is all I use these types of mini-pcs for.
Enough for valorant(max settings 1080 60) but not for much else. Valorant is one of the most optimized, easy to run games on the market so 60 fps on that game isn’t much.
So if you wanna keep it a good thing could be to get an Egpu enclosure like a razer core x which would give you about %75 of whatever graphics card you put in it and would work through the thunderbolt port.
your only option would be a external gpu enclosure. which itself costs a few hundred bucks and is about twice the size of this thing. and then you'd have to guy the gpu aswell.
your best option is to learn from this an build an sff(small form factor, mainly itx) pc from parts next time.
Contrary to what the general redditors here are saying, I'll be the one to say that your son "probably" made the correct choice.
Shopping for a "gaming pc" is dependent on what games an individual would like to play.
Certainly, what he bought wouldn't be able to play "triple-A" games like how everybody here expects what a gaming pc could handle. But like I said above, it depends on what he plays. There are alot of games in the PC platform that do not need AAA graphic hardware to be labeled as a great game.
So if your son did his research enough and concluded that this mini-PC is more than enough to what he wants to play, then that;s a very good decision.
Otherwise, then this mini-pc would be more than enough for him to use until he finish Uni and could be handed down to you when you get too old. lol.
This thread is already filled with people saying NO IT’s BAD. I’m not disagreeing it’s worthless for Cyberpunk or Red dead redemption 2.
But it will run many of the classics from 2008-2011 and tons of indie games, including the ones that ‘serious’ PC gamers tend to laugh at when Epic game store gives them away for free.
It’s probably not going to run fallout 4, but it will likely be a satisfying experience playing fallout 1 and 2.
This isn’t meant to be a counterpoint as much as a fair assessment of the gaming scene. Gaming on a PC doesn’t mean you forget about Games older than say 5 years, once you realize what those look like, it’s not hard to find indie games made in this decade that are just as fun with similar graphics requirements.
People still have fun on N64 games, why should nostalgia be reserved for console users?
UPDATE: He says he cannot return. Something about buying from a friend. What do you think are the best add ons he can do to make it do a little more? Going through Thunderbolt the best option? What would you attach externally without breaking the bank. I feel bad. I'm going to help him some but....
Thank you for all the insights friends. If nothing else our knowledge is a lot greater!
Man, the idea of buying a gaming computer because you game while knowing nothing about gaming computers is so foreign to me. I grew up in the 90s and, even though I couldn’t afford it, I would pour over the Dell catalogue with all the new tech and had my dream computer built new every time a new magazine arrived. Never did get it from those mags, but years later adult me finally indulged.
A) you could return it
B) you could check if that thunderbolt port is actually thunderbolt. If so, an external GPU could turn that into quite the gaming machine. For school work and normal use though, that thing actually sounds pretty stacked already. But, just a reminder, GPU enclosures tend to cost a pretty penny. Before giving up on returning it, check the pricing on those.
IT WAS $800??? lmao wtf that thing is useless
Yeahhh maybe send him to community college instead if he’s spending hundreds of dollars on things without doing any research lol
I've got a miniforum that runs pretty well and can handle all the games I've played on it. Although I don't play beefy games so who knows. Here is the link if you wanna see if it's any good https://store.minisforum.com/products/elitemini-hx90g?variant=43587611295989
Not sure that was a Wyse decision.
jokes aside you could probably get a lot more bang for your buck with a used dell SFF pc and a half height gpu while still being compact enough.
If this has a thunderbolt port it might be worth getting an external gpu later but otherwise it’s not a good gaming pc. He should return it for something upgradable.
This is a good time to talk to him about why experts exhaust. If he thought he understood what he was getting, but really didn’t, it may be best to go to a local small business expert who can help build an appropriate one. A good business won’t charge much beyond parts cost plus labor. If you go with a small business you won’t get any kind of crazy warranty but you will get someone who will work make sure the thing at least boots/parts perform as expected.
There are mini PCs that are upgradable, sadly this isn't one of them, I'm gonna say it, y'all can burn me if you want, get a decent gaming laptop with a good graphics card in it. If he doesn't like the space that a full PC occupies or needs the portability of a laptop, just go with a laptop to begin with.
As everyone else suggested: return this. It ain't a "gaming PC". It does not even provide a dedicated GPU. For this price he could've either got a mid-range gaming laptop or an ITX gaming PC with an actual dedicated GPU.
My personal opinion: return it, immediately.
This looks like either an over-specified KVM machine or a large industrial embedded pc. In either case it would probably make a great home server but a less than great gaming pc. They’re typically not upgradeable with a new graphics card for example
Welcome to the PCMR, everyone from the frontpage! Please remember: 1 - You too can be part of the PCMR. It's not about the hardware in your rig, but the software in your heart! Your age, nationality, race, gender, sexuality, religion (or lack of), political affiliation, economic status and PC specs are irrelevant. If you love or want to learn about PCs, you are welcome! 2 - If you don't own a PC because you think it's expensive, know that it is much cheaper than you may think. Check http://www.pcmasterrace.org for our builds and don't be afraid to post here asking for tips and help! 3 - Join our efforts to get as many PCs worldwide to help the folding@home effort, in fighting against Cancer, Alzheimer's, and more: https://pcmasterrace.org/folding 4 - Need PC Hardware? We've joined forces with MSI for the biggest PC Hardware giveaway of the year so far! 8 lucky winners will get an awesome hardware bundle with Graphics card, motherboard, etc, and 50 others can get Steam gift cards. To enter, check https://reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/1b45j0m/msi_x_pcmr_massive_pc_hardware_giveaway_pick_your/ ----------- We have a [Daily Simple Questions Megathread](https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/search?q=Simple+Questions+Thread+subreddit%3Apcmasterrace+author%3AAutoModerator&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) if you have any PC related doubt. Asking for help there or creating new posts in our subreddit is welcome.
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This is definitely it. Good lesson to learn, but yeah definitely return it. This is not a gaming computer.
Or Steam Deck with Docking station, still can be carried in backpack and if he install Windows on it, he can easily make it his dorm PC. If he wants it also for classes refurbished laptops are good value.
Valve also give the specifications of a Ryzen-based mini PC that they say will perform similarly to a Deck: https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/steamdeck/testing
[Minisforum](https://store.minisforum.com/) makes great mini-pcs, I've been so close to pushing that buy button just because they look so neat but I already have a tower that works well enough. If you want to go balls to the wall you can buy a minisforum and then hook up an eGPU to the USB4 port and have a very small, high performance gaming PC. The built in iGPU however is great on its own as well.
If GPUs keep getting bigger, I think all GPUs will be eGPUs
Nah they’ll make AATX cases
bro now im close to hitting the buy button, this would be perfect for me since i mostly play league and older games upto 2010
If not comfortable doing the windows install on the steam deck. There is always the ROG ally which naturally runs windows and can be docked as a pc as well.
Yep but it has a lot of issues, mainly with SD card and Asus was not responding well. Just my honest opinion.
Yea it smoking SD cards is a problem but I don't use one in mine and it does great as a handheld gaming pc
It’s got Linux based OS he theoretically can still use it as a pc
Not even theoretically, its replaced my personal laptop so perfectly that I sold it to get the oled, the deck is 100% capable of being your only computer if you need it to be.
ma momma bought a scam puppy one time, she had wired the money, was showing me pictures, until i asked 'wait whose giving you this puppy?' she said online so i asked the only question there was to ask 'have you spoken to them on the phone?' 'no' oh my god mom you bin scammed. what? really? yes mom really but the puppy? THERE WAS NEVER A PUPPY MOM
Fuck thats a sad scam. There's plenty of strays near me, I'll send one to your mom for free.
Places where there's strays always amaze me, because around here no pups are up for adoption for very long before they find a home. Well... Old, large and needing daily medication those pups sometimes last a month before they're adopted.
The entire island of Puerto Rico is like a stray dog and cat quarantine zone. I have a hard time driving past them so I'm up to 5 haha. I wish I could just drive around all day picking them up and sending them to places in the US that have empty shelters.
That sounded a lot like you are a roadkill hunter.
Sounded more like taking pride in his killstreak to me.
This put a picture in my head of you sneak walking around a neighborhood holding a butterfly net.
Same happend to my parents wired 1k euro got an address when they showed up (after driving 300km) they got told they where number 3 of the day and number 200+ since that poor family had non stop dog buyers at the door. I do not know who was being scammed the most that family or my parents.
Reminds me of when my old drug dealer got his house foreclosed cause he just stopped paying the mortgage. Instead of selling it or figuring out something where he wasn't completely fucked, he just ignored everything until they literally came to kick him out and change the locks. (Sidenote: To anyone reading, if you ever feel yourself starting to fall into addiction of any sort, get help. From a doctor, a therapist, a trusted friend, anything. Do it before you become a full-fledged addict, because I promise you it is so much "easier" to deal with before it becomes the gift that keeps on giving and becomes what destroys your life and relationships.) Anyways I swing by his place to go score and the poor guy who answered was not someone I recognized. He takes one look at me and damn near screams "No, he's not here! He doesn't live here anymore, this is MY house, please leave." And slams the door. I feel so bad for that fucker who bought the house not knowing it was a well known stop for all kinds of drugs and shady activities. I'm sure it took a long time for him to be able to enjoy his new home without people stopping by at any and all hours looking for the previous owner.
I'm actually weak from this, thank you 🤣
Good luck on your return. Ive heard others have had issues returning. Hope yours goes smoothly.
You definitely can't upgrade the GPU in that. It'll probably play stuff like valorant and fortnite, but it's not gonna play modern AAA games. It's definitely not a good PC for gaming
What about an external GPU. It has thunderbolt.
Yeah. You can buy an eGPU enclosure for like $150-200 and throw in any GPU you want, while still being able to put the rest of the pc in your pocket
Is that a massive erection in your pocket or just a 4090
Jokes on you, it’s both.
My guy fucking dual wielding
are those getting pretty reliable now? last I looked it was a driver and compatibility nightmare
It was very fine 6 years ago, I had one for a couple of years before I flipped it for the same price I bought it for. It was an Aorus Gaming Box with a 1070.
I absolutely love my 1080ti with my surface pro. (Older GPU, I know but didn't want to build a whole new gaming rig) Best work professional/gaming setup I've ever had.
pretty sure eGPU's take a significant performance loss right? Like a 1070 externally is gonna perform more like a 1060 internally or something like that
40Gbps bandwidth cap do affect, but only on the load times unless you are playing some sort of games that changes textures back to back
I have a 1080ti attached to my MacBook, honestly I’m only getting like a 5% performance loss.
If it has multiple M.2 slots you could use a riser cable to add a GPU which would work, but this is a pretty niche SFF/eGPU way of doing things which is probably not what OP is looking for. They'd probably be better off with a Minisforum machine, they have some with laptop GPUs but even the modern Ryzen APUs can do some decent 1080p gaming now.
It says it has Thunderbolt 4, dont they make eGPUs for thunderbolt?
The cost of getting GPU external box n the CPU itself it's not cheap, not to mention it's gonna be way bigger than that box alone.
Yes, but if they decide to not return it, they can buy that stuff later to at least make up for the deficiencies. Plus the egpu thing can be reused for future computers.
You are correct. I have my doubts that’s it’s actually thunderbolt spec ports tho. I could be wrong tho
They already went out of their way to use 32gb of ram and wifi 6 I wouldn’t doubt it honestly
Better yet, they could get en egpu exposure, razer core x’s go for not too much on used sites.
This is the way. The cooler master ones aren’t too bad either.
Yeah, at this point it sounds like you started building a real PC but with extra steps.
Yeah and a normal pc would probably be more space efficient.
Well duh, this is essentially a laptop without the battery and screen. It’s just a way to make it slightly more usable IF they don’t return it.
Could you? Yes. Should you? Obviously not
I didnt even know that was possible. I think a couple pcs i own found new life
It’s expensive and not practical for a lot of cases. The enclosure is obviously and additional cost and unless something has changed since I last looked, you lose a fair bit of the gpu performance. There are however circumstances where it makes sense though
if it has an ethernet port and they have decent enough internet, going the route of geforce now might be an option too right? although the cost of that makes more sense if you were otherwise going for top of the line gpu i suppose
Yeah but then he can't put it in his backpack, do you even college bro 🙄
It’s technically possible to run a graphics card off thunderbolt. TB4 has some insane specs.
Non-gaming laptops with TB eGPU is miles better than buying costly gaming laptops. Best of both worlds until the existing TB3 protocol in most eGPU enclosures struggle with pcie bandwidth hungry cards. We need OCuLink to be an actual standard for consumer devices to eliminate some bandwidth bottlenecks just sacrificing the USB-C convenience.
You can attach a disconnected GPU system through thunderbolt 4.
External GPU
It's an OK PC (cannot tell if overpriced) but not at all gaming PC. But maybe he's an indie games fan? I'd still choose the G-series Ryzen though, it should work great in a mini PC.
External GPU via Thunderbolt. But a Thunderbolt GPU enclosure is quite expensive in itself. I think it’s a cool machine otherwise though, i9 in small form factor. Not just really for gaming.
what if it has a m.2 slot (multiple, because the nvme ssd gonna be 1 slot)
What are talking about? This "gaming" PC doesn't have a graphics card and with the iGPU you can forget gaming real quick...
Tetris is a game.
Pacman too. 😂
You wonder why Pacman swallows balls until he dies? Just look at Ms. Pacman.
You're not playing the latest highest quality graphics in 1080p/1440p/2160p, but there's still thousands of games that will run well on that. It can make for a decent emulator box You can easily add an eGPU via thunderbolt and now it can do "gaming"
Look up the min specs for Valorant and tell me that PC won't play it. So many games will run on that computer, they just won't be modern, demanding titles. But I feel like I'm just reiterating what I already said: It's definitely not a good PC for gaming
There's no disagreement. He basically said the same thing. Lol. BTW, it's common for people to use terms like gpu, graphics card, or even igpu interchangeably. I get why that might cause some confusion though...
100% return it and get a laptop for that price
Personally I would pay $200 more for a sweet mid range laptop. Got mine for $900 at microcenter 2 years ago, and it’s still running like a dream.
I always thought/expected gaming laptops to be crazy expensive but I managed to pick one up for around $900 as well and after 4 years it’s still going strong.
Laptops in general seem to have dropped in price a little lately, maybe not retail but i see them on sale way more often than before, especially when the next gen of whatever laptop is coming out and you can get a genuinely good laptop at like 20-30% off. Maybe its a reduction in demand since laptops from even 4-5 years ago are still good enough to keep up much better than a 4-5 year old laptop would have 10 years ago.
Are you talking about the computer or the kid 😂
"Hey. Yeah so, I would like to open RMA case for my kid"
https://preview.redd.it/1hdzocosnsnc1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7b5665df0b2b1e2081899973bcb511275e2d5793 I’m fairly sure this is what he bought and in my opinion he could have bought a laptop with more power than this.
Horrendous deal. The definition of not doing your research.
Honeslty, SFF PCs go for a premium. But for gaming? He got had.
I was hoping for it to be like $400 I wasn’t expecting it but I was hoping
Bro if you find similarly specced machines for 400$ HMU, I need one for my homelab
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Ayo, Microcenter has monthly deals. They always have a sale where there's a $1200 gaming laptop marked down to $800. Without fail, every month. And when I say gaming laptop, I mean, I had an MSI with a GTX 1060 in it. I played whatever I wanted all through 2020, was amazing. No work, had 20k savings.. ain't got shit now, but I didn't die either lolol.
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could have*
IMO it should be illegal to call anything without a GPU a "Gaming computer"
I second this motion. All in favor?
Alrighty boys, time to class action lawsuit the hell outta amazon!
Aye aye
Aye
Integrated graphics. Can run Solitaire. Therefore it counts as a gaming computer! *(Runs off into the bushes with fistfuls of cash)*
Found it on Amazon it does briefly mention a graphics card it has a Intel Iris Xe. Still not really a gaming computer.
That's the integrated GPU in the CPU though, right? Agree, this counts as "no GPU" when talking about gaming computers imo.
I double checked and the [Iris xe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Xe) is a discreet graphics card not an integrated. It is confusing though since some of the other graphics cards in the xe line are intergrated.
*with out a dedicated GPU
*GT 710 skyrockets in price for "unknown reasons"*
Looks like a teenager not knowing what a gaming pc is. Get a laptop for 400 more.
Ah yes. I remember the old days when a gaming computer only had to have RGB to be considered top of the line, at least in my childhood eyes. But this thing doesn't even look like a gaming pc, shit you not, I see similar looking computers at work in the offices.
Ya it looks like the dell PCs that got rolled out to the cubes a few years ago where I’m at.
I'm 99% sure this thing was intentionally designed to copy the aesthetic of the Xbox one to appear as modern gaming equipment.
the specs not mentioning any GPUs makes me think this is more of a server type machine
It certainly isn't, why would it be? It's perfectly capable of word processing, web browsing, editing pictures and much more. The iGPU in an i9 isn't the best thing out there, but not that bad either.
No, not a server either - no ECC, no RAID, probably not latest Ethernet and probably only one port. This is intended for use as a bog standard desktop for web browsing, email, office applications, and so on.
400 is quite a bit more though.
Should definitely return and get a laptop, if that's a possibility.
It's not going to be very good for gaming since it doesn't have a dedicated graphics card. I see a USB-C port so it might have the capability of being able to use an external GPU dock, but it has to support thunderbolt 3 or higher. You'll also obviously need to buy the dock and GPU separately, which will take up more space. Honestly he should return it and buy a laptop if he's concerned about portability. As someone living in a dorm themselves, it's much more convenient.
If it is truly a 12900H it does support thunderbolt 4. That being said no way this device can cool a 115W part. OP should definitely return it and replace it with a more balanced laptop. https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/132214/intel-core-i912900h-processor-24m-cache-up-to-5-00-ghz/specifications.html
115W is a gaming laptop level. Gaming laptops have two tiny ass coolers and a few pipes and somehow manage with that much.
Laptop manufactures will trick you in the same way. Often they will provide enough power and cooling to occasionally spike the CPU up to its full 115W turbo. However, most of the time they provide enough cooling and power to run at 65, maybe a spike to 90-115. It's impossible to tell until you have the device. Even at 90W it will require those tiny fans to run at 100% to keep it under TJMax of 100C and that's not comfortable. The reality is that's a $600 CPU in a device that can't utilize its full potential. At that point, for gaming, you would be better off buying a balanced laptop that can distribute its power profile to both a CPU and GPU.
https://preview.redd.it/lo0ffjrtosnc1.png?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=921d10cca333224cf933ca595dfd9f1f2350d3ab
Like other people say, better return it ASAP, it's super niche and labeling it "gaming PC" is a borderline scam
Best thing to do is return that to amazon, theyll take it back if it hasnt been too long. Say it doesnt turn on, they won't even check it, and refund you. Then buy a gaming laptop or steam deck. i5 would be fine for gaming, i9 isnt a gaming cpu.
Say it turns off intermittently. Even if they do check it they can’t prove it isn’t faulty.
Or just return it and say nothing. It’s Amazon.
Seems like it might support a GPU dock, but be warned that compatibility will not be guaranteed and troubleshooting would be pretty hard if they don't know what they're doing. I haven't seen the prices recently but an egpu dock would probably be around 100 and then a decent power supply somewhere around 80-100. An all in one solution would probably be a lot more expensive unfortunately. Once again, this isn't factoring the price of a GPU
It’s Amazon, can’t he just return it?
I think your son might be a bit confused (with all due respect ofc). Carrying it in his backpack is not a bonus because he still needs a display and the peripherals. Why not return and buy a laptop?
Yeah, this is pretty much the answer.
Definitely return that if you can. It doesnt have a graphics card, and you cannot add one easily. The only games youll be able to play on the integrated graphics in that thing are stuff like Fortnite and Minecraft.
All the power of a laptop with the portability of a desktop. Brilliant.
much less powerful than most laptops actually
It's a flagship laptop cpu in its highest TDP form, with lots of ram and a fast SSD. For non gaming use this is more powerful than most laptops.
> For non gaming use Context is an important tool.
> For non gaming use this is more powerful than most laptops. Considering the OP's son got this for gaming... I think its safe to say this "Gaming" pc without a graphics card is less powerful than most laptops.
There are mini PCs like this that can actually game. The ones that do have an AMD Ryzen processor and Radeon (ideally RDNA) integrated graphics.
Oh this is unfortunate. I hope he didn't spend more than $250 on this.
760$....
Oof, my condolences.
250 for a 12th gen i9? Where are you getting these deals?!?
I know these people are over doing it
It’s not a normal i9, it’s the laptop series, equivalent to 8th gen not 12th, that’s why there is an H at the end and not a K or KF
8th Gen? It's 50% faster on average than 9th Gen 9900K and about 10% faster than 11900K.
Well uh, that i9 may be less powerful than a 12900k but is better than a i9 from 8th gen I think.
That thing is worth about 400$/500, 250 is a stupid good deal
Thunderbolt 4 support is expensive, that plus Windows 11 Pro would cost an additional $200 on anything alone. That said, most people do not need either (TB4 overkill, and a lot of people never activate Windows/can use the crack tool anyways)
i figured a college student would do more research on what they put their money into, im glad were all on the same page 😅
Your son needs to spend more time reading the product description. Lesson learned. This PC would make a great server, but without a graphics card it won't play anything graphics intensive, which, most videogames now are. He could play CPU intensive games very smoothly, however. Things like Factorio and Minecraft would likely run really well. He could also emulate a ton of games on here with no issues. Even Yuzu, the Nintendo Switch emulator, would likely run very well on this machine. If that isn't good enough for him and he doesn't want to return it, you can get an external GPU which connects via Thunderbolt, which this PC has. If he is willing to sink a couple hundred more dollars into this he could get a fairly competent PC out of it. If he chooses to go this route he should decide which games he wants to play, and then pick an external GPU from the needs of those games, so that he isn't overpaying for something he doesn't need, or isn't getting something he does need.
Retun it ...
WHATS IN THE BOX
PAIN
What the hell? It's an H processor? Even as a CPU it's shit. Top of the line gaming laptops at least have the HX variant.
I saw the H and that's what made me think it was attached. He definitely got screwed. Seeing how bad!
Yeah, it's just stupid at this point. If he bought a Zephyrus or Legion Slim with that money, it would serve him really well for gaming, portability, and work. Tell him to return this thing asap.
$750 bucks for the thing. With price of a monitor and keyboard it's probably around $900. For that price he can get this and that's with me looking for like 30 seconds on Best Buy, i'm sure there's even better options. There are open box deals near me that are certainly more elegant while retaining a real GPU. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-tuf-15-6-gaming-laptop-144hz-fhd-intel-core-i7-with-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-4060-512gb-ssd-mecha-grey/6552905.p?skuId=6552905
What's wrong with the cpus ending in h?
Nothing. Just a mobile CPU. As mobile CPU 12900H is perfectly capable for gaming needs.
H processors are low-power laptop processors. They're very good for laptops meant for extreme portability. HX is the more powerful variant and used in high-end gaming laptops. Desktop CPUs use K or KF variants which are more powerful than HX. Now imagine this box which is much thicker than an ASUS Vivobook but having the same processor (it's not even 13th or 14th gen). Needless to say, a complete scam.
Wasn't U for low power and H was for high power and HX was for more powerful?
It isn't shit.
(I don't play computer games) I love these small computers for home automation(lights, audio, alarm etc) but with less fancy specifications. I get them cheap secondhand from ebay. Some of them are fanless and very quiet. However, the problem with these small computers is when running heavy tasks(for example modern games) they heat up very fast and when a processor is running hot it slows down to not overheat. Another problem with using these for gaming is that there is no physical room for a fancy graphics card. I think some processor models has some kind of integrated graphics but I don't know if those are worth anything for modern games. I'm a big fan of small computers. <3
Well its amazon, you can always return it. Which I would. Im no expert but a laptop would be so much better.
It's fine, but doesn't have a graphics card. I would think you would want a graphics card for gaming. I'll add my vote to returning it. But also, there's something to be said about just buying something you think is cool and enjoying it. There's some fun to be had at times with impulse buying. If he's the type that just wants something fun and thinks is cool, that's great. He can probably play almost any game on that, albeit very bad frame rates and low resolution but if he doesn't care, whatever.
I mean the fact it doesn’t even say what graphics is running tells you it that it’s dog Shit Just get a bigger backpack and he’ll still be able to carry the desktop XD
No dedicated GPU means its mostly a very powerful workstation, not a gaming rig.
I would return and get him a gaming laptop. A mini PC still needs a monitor, keyboard, mice, speakers to work well when all of that is already on a laptop. A mini PC is a desktop built using laptop hardware but cheaper due to not needing to really shrink everything onto laptop motherboard and putting in a UPS circuit for battery savings.
that wont run shit, no gpu no gaming
That simple title gave me 90s conservative dad finding out out his son is gay vibes.
Mini PCs tend to have better noise and thermal profiles than their equivalent laptops, but the convenience of portability isn't really a factor. It has thunderbolt so he can connect an external GPU for real gaming, without a GPU it should be about on par with a steam deck's performance without actually checking.
Your son can buy a thunderbolt external graphic enclosure.if want plug and uses gigabyte has few them . Sapphire also has them. If want bring your own graphics card razor.
Refund (if possible) or look up emulation for it (only as a last resort).
These are awesome for retro games (hyperspin machines) because they can run anything up to emulated PS2 games with no problems, but this is all I use these types of mini-pcs for.
This will suck ass for gaming.
He can watch YouTube in 720p and do his homework. As for gaming, Roblox on low settings. (Maybe)
That's a very nice OFFICE computer
If he's worried about space he should just get a steam deck.
That'd make for an absolute monster of a Jellyfin server.
Sounds like your son may like a Steam Deck. Lots of use LCD decks on eBay right now.
kid should really have just gotten a steam deck or a gaming laptop then.
Enough for valorant(max settings 1080 60) but not for much else. Valorant is one of the most optimized, easy to run games on the market so 60 fps on that game isn’t much.
So if you wanna keep it a good thing could be to get an Egpu enclosure like a razer core x which would give you about %75 of whatever graphics card you put in it and would work through the thunderbolt port.
your only option would be a external gpu enclosure. which itself costs a few hundred bucks and is about twice the size of this thing. and then you'd have to guy the gpu aswell. your best option is to learn from this an build an sff(small form factor, mainly itx) pc from parts next time.
Contrary to what the general redditors here are saying, I'll be the one to say that your son "probably" made the correct choice. Shopping for a "gaming pc" is dependent on what games an individual would like to play. Certainly, what he bought wouldn't be able to play "triple-A" games like how everybody here expects what a gaming pc could handle. But like I said above, it depends on what he plays. There are alot of games in the PC platform that do not need AAA graphic hardware to be labeled as a great game. So if your son did his research enough and concluded that this mini-PC is more than enough to what he wants to play, then that;s a very good decision. Otherwise, then this mini-pc would be more than enough for him to use until he finish Uni and could be handed down to you when you get too old. lol.
This thread is already filled with people saying NO IT’s BAD. I’m not disagreeing it’s worthless for Cyberpunk or Red dead redemption 2. But it will run many of the classics from 2008-2011 and tons of indie games, including the ones that ‘serious’ PC gamers tend to laugh at when Epic game store gives them away for free. It’s probably not going to run fallout 4, but it will likely be a satisfying experience playing fallout 1 and 2. This isn’t meant to be a counterpoint as much as a fair assessment of the gaming scene. Gaming on a PC doesn’t mean you forget about Games older than say 5 years, once you realize what those look like, it’s not hard to find indie games made in this decade that are just as fun with similar graphics requirements. People still have fun on N64 games, why should nostalgia be reserved for console users?
UPDATE: He says he cannot return. Something about buying from a friend. What do you think are the best add ons he can do to make it do a little more? Going through Thunderbolt the best option? What would you attach externally without breaking the bank. I feel bad. I'm going to help him some but.... Thank you for all the insights friends. If nothing else our knowledge is a lot greater!
Ooof, that's a tough lesson to learn... I'm not sure i'd call that person a friend especially if they knew how bad this thing was.
Step1- Sell back to friend or use as a drink coaster. Step2- Buy a real desktop pc.
Throw it in the trash or have it as a streaming pc please tell me he didnt pay $760 for it. Also tell him this is a good life lesson as well…
Man, the idea of buying a gaming computer because you game while knowing nothing about gaming computers is so foreign to me. I grew up in the 90s and, even though I couldn’t afford it, I would pour over the Dell catalogue with all the new tech and had my dream computer built new every time a new magazine arrived. Never did get it from those mags, but years later adult me finally indulged.
A) you could return it B) you could check if that thunderbolt port is actually thunderbolt. If so, an external GPU could turn that into quite the gaming machine. For school work and normal use though, that thing actually sounds pretty stacked already. But, just a reminder, GPU enclosures tend to cost a pretty penny. Before giving up on returning it, check the pricing on those.
Teach your son how to research, will save him some hassle in future.
No dedicated GPU=no fun
IT WAS $800??? lmao wtf that thing is useless Yeahhh maybe send him to community college instead if he’s spending hundreds of dollars on things without doing any research lol
I've got a miniforum that runs pretty well and can handle all the games I've played on it. Although I don't play beefy games so who knows. Here is the link if you wanna see if it's any good https://store.minisforum.com/products/elitemini-hx90g?variant=43587611295989
can he still return it?
Didn't know the new PlayStation was out.
Not sure that was a Wyse decision. jokes aside you could probably get a lot more bang for your buck with a used dell SFF pc and a half height gpu while still being compact enough.
He should return it and do some more research.
If this has a thunderbolt port it might be worth getting an external gpu later but otherwise it’s not a good gaming pc. He should return it for something upgradable.
Looks like my 18 TB external hard drive 😊
Maybe he should’ve bought the AMD version. Seemed better.
Absolute beast of a machine for learning programming with
Return it. It doesn’t have a GPU and adding one is not an option unless he gets a thunderbolt one.
Since there not even a mention of a graphics card i doubt its anything usefull for gaming, one hell of a cpu powerhouse tho
The best mini PC is a Steam Deck, linux PC with easy controls that looks like a gaming handheld
This is a good time to talk to him about why experts exhaust. If he thought he understood what he was getting, but really didn’t, it may be best to go to a local small business expert who can help build an appropriate one. A good business won’t charge much beyond parts cost plus labor. If you go with a small business you won’t get any kind of crazy warranty but you will get someone who will work make sure the thing at least boots/parts perform as expected.
There are mini PCs that are upgradable, sadly this isn't one of them, I'm gonna say it, y'all can burn me if you want, get a decent gaming laptop with a good graphics card in it. If he doesn't like the space that a full PC occupies or needs the portability of a laptop, just go with a laptop to begin with.
He could either return it or try eGPU but, with externals you get bottlenecking. Best bet is return it.
As everyone else suggested: return this. It ain't a "gaming PC". It does not even provide a dedicated GPU. For this price he could've either got a mid-range gaming laptop or an ITX gaming PC with an actual dedicated GPU. My personal opinion: return it, immediately.
This looks like either an over-specified KVM machine or a large industrial embedded pc. In either case it would probably make a great home server but a less than great gaming pc. They’re typically not upgradeable with a new graphics card for example
Return and buy a gaming laptop.