For those always asking about tiny Computers

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted by Dave9
Lifespan and performance are always factors. The Nano has not been on the market long enough to assume it has the same lifespan as larger form factor PCs. You seem to merely be assuming it does, without any consideration of the factors that contribute to shorter lifespan.

I have an Intel NUC in similar form factor - more of a cube, actually (4.25 x 4.25 x 2 inches), with i5-4250U CPU, 8 GB RAM, and 120 GB SSD. It is my home media server, and often does video transcoding with Plex. It's been running 24x7 for almost 6 years now without any issues.

The CPU in that Lenovo M90n Nano is much faster than in my NUC.

 

[Pew]

Originally Posted by Dave9

It all comes back to the anticipated use. For uses that aren't compute-intensive, it may do fine, as small form factor systems have demonstrated for many years running things like point of sale systems or machine control.


And in their use it's fine since I don't think their dealership is trying to compile databases or run CAD programs. They're basically laptops but much cheaper considering they don't need screens or some sort of portability factor in their design. There's realistically no reason now to get SFF PCs over mini-PCs IMO.

 

[jayjr1105]

Originally Posted by Dave9
Originally Posted by jayjr1105
It's certainly not for everyone, myself included. These don't really suffer from short lifespan due to heat. Modern processors are really efficient. Look at our phones for example with a 5 watt processor and no fan. Our phones are crazy fast and this thing has plenty of extra space for cooling compared to a phone. Modern computers are very thermally aware in that they know how to downclock to stay cool. Yes, a normal desktop is much more serviceable however lifespan and performance simply aren't an issue for these things.


?? The average power consumption of a phone processor isn't remotely close to 5W and they are very slow compared to desktop CPUs.

Plus, phones aren't necessarily expected to last several years while this type of kiosk-PC would (hopefully) do so.

If you just want to consider very low power processors, then it makes this form factor that much, less useful.

Lifespan and performance are always factors. The Nano has not been on the market long enough to assume it has the same lifespan as larger form factor PCs. You seem to merely be assuming it does, without any consideration of the factors that contribute to shorter lifespan.

It all comes back to the anticipated use. For uses that aren't compute-intensive, it may do fine, as small form factor systems have demonstrated for many years running things like point of sale systems or machine control.

Phone Processors are nipping at the heels of mid range desktop chips. Look at some benchmarks of the Apple A13 BIONIC chip.

I'm going to run some benchmarks on this thing in a minute or two here and we'll compare it to desktop chips...

 

[jayjr1105]

Here is the Lenovo Nano

https://browser.geekbench.com/v5/cpu/1318272

Compare that with the average desktop PC in the past few years. Also, here is Apple's A13 BIONIC https://browser.geekbench.com/v5/cpu/1315423

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted by Jimzz
Things like this are really not a good choice for a work environment. They cost as much or more than a small desktop but either can't be upgraded and/or repaired if needed.

These are ideal for work environments and this is specifically what they're designed and marketed for. These are not home computer replacements. No one "upgrades" computers at work nor do they repair them. If something acts up, you replace them (under service contract typically too).

 

[JohnG]

That thing is super cool! I can see that the HD and memory are both upgradable. I want one! I'd stick a Linux distro on it and do everything I'd need to do. Surf the web, print, spreadsheet, everything!
I wonder what processor is in it?

 

[OVERKILL]

Not quite as small as the OP's, but I've rolled out a number of HP Elitedesk Mini's:

Mostly in clinics. They have 3x DisplayPort or 2xDP + 1x HDMI port, 256GB SSD's, i3, i5 or AMD CPU's.

Been really impressed with the performance in the roles they've been placed and as noted by the OP, you can use a VESA mount to put them on the back of a monitor.

 

[Skippy722]

Originally Posted by Jimzz
Things like this are really not a good choice for a work environment. They cost as much or more than a small desktop but either can't be upgraded and/or repaired if needed.
That and are slower than a entry level desktop. They are laptops without the screen/keyboard.


My employer uses these almost exclusively in the shop for things like our electronic time card system, inventory, downloading CNC programs, pulling up the electronic set up notes, etc. They last years.

 

[Pew]

Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Not quite as small as the OP's, but I've rolled out a number of HP Elitedesk Mini's:

Mostly in clinics. They have 3x DisplayPort or 2xDP + 1x HDMI port, 256GB SSD's, i3, i5 or AMD CPU's.

Been really impressed with the performance in the roles they've been placed and as noted by the OP, you can use a VESA mount to put them on the back of a monitor.


I got one for our company to see how they were. They didn't fit well with us since we at the [relatively] low performance, I would rather have our users on laptops for remote work but definitely great for places that don't need laptops or workstations.

 

[OVERKILL]

We are using them primarily for checking DICOM stuff from the PACS, booking patients and billing (EMR stuff) and the like. They work really well in being able to pair with a very large monitor, or monitors, while consuming minimal space. Interesting that yours had a SATA SSD, the ones I've bought have had M.2.

 

[jayjr1105]

My lenovo M73 tiny has a 2.5" sata almost exactly like the one above...

I love this thing. Every part is serviceable. It's running Batocera Linux right now acting as a retro gaming console.

 

[BHopkins]

Originally Posted by hallstevenson
Originally Posted by Jimzz
Things like this are really not a good choice for a work environment. They cost as much or more than a small desktop but either can't be upgraded and/or repaired if needed.

These are ideal for work environments and this is specifically what they're designed and marketed for. These are not home computer replacements. No one "upgrades" computers at work nor do they repair them. If something acts up, you replace them (under service contract typically too).


These are fantastic for the work environment. Our large company uses them extensively, although we use the Dell Optiplex models. I haven't checked price recently, but when our company first started using them they cost slightly more than a small desktop Optiplex. But the advantages were well worth it. Since they take up a fraction of the space that even a small desktop does, they can be put in places where a regular desktop would never fit, freeing up space for more important things, such as machine controls, tooling, sensors, or machine motion. They boot up extremely fast, are very stable, and since they are so small, they don't get bumped, and they aren't in the way.

In the plant I just transferred from, every PC on the production floor has been replaced with these small format computers. I'm assuming the price has came down, because these small computers are now replacing desktops whenever they are cycled out. The only exceptions are those of us who need laptops and those who need a lot of computing power, such as CAD.

Being able to upgrade a computer really isn't relative in 95%+ of the applications. Except for CAD stations, in the last decade, I have never seen a computer upgraded. That's a thing of the past for most applications. Large companies don't bother trying to upgrade a computer to keep in functioning. In fact, our company replaces all computers on a 3 year cycle.

Those that have had their regular desktop replaced with the new small profile computer actually like them, as it really helps to unclutter their desk.

 

[mk378]

Tax laws favor leasing business equipment for 3 years. So the company chooses the build they want then 3 years later turn them in for a new model. There's no need to consider upgrading.

The 3 year old used ones flood the third-party resale market making them cheap for home / hobby use.

 

[Quattro Pete]

The NUC has connections for both 2.5" SATA and mSATA. I ended up buying a 2.5" SATA drive as it was cheaper at the time.

 

[jayjr1105]

Originally Posted by mk378
Tax laws favor leasing business equipment for 3 years. So the company chooses the build they want then 3 years later turn them in for a new model. There's no need to consider upgrading.

The 3 year old used ones flood the third-party resale market making them cheap for home / hobby use.

This is exactly what our company does. We call it HAAS (hardware as a service). After 3-4 years, employees can buy them for next to nothing. This client is actually buying them outright.

 

[Nick1994]

I'm an IT Equipment Coordinator for a large corporation. I looked at these after our Lenovo rep talked about them, but they only support 1 monitor unless you get weird adapters.

I stick with the Lenovo M720q.

 

[csandste]

I suspect that my I5 with eight gigs of memory might be marginal for Win10. I do kind of wish I had booted Win10 up before nuking it just to see how it ran, I also hated to pay $195 for it (fifty bucks thrown away), but for something light like Linux Mate, I'm extremely happy.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted by csandste
I suspect that my I5 with eight gigs of memory might be marginal for Win10. I do kind of wish I had booted Win10 up before nuking it just to see how it ran, I also hated to pay $195 for it (fifty bucks thrown away), but for something light like Linux Mate, I'm extremely happy.


An i5 with 8GB of RAM should run 10 like a dream, I've put it on Core2Duo hardware

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Originally Posted by csandste
I suspect that my I5 with eight gigs of memory might be marginal for Win10. I do kind of wish I had booted Win10 up before nuking it just to see how it ran, I also hated to pay $195 for it (fifty bucks thrown away), but for something light like Linux Mate, I'm extremely happy.


An i5 with 8GB of RAM should run 10 like a dream, I've put it on Core2Duo hardware

Exactly. I run W10 on a 7-year-old laptop with i5 and 8GB RAM. It runs just fine. Just make sure you have SSD.

 

[Pew]

Originally Posted by OVERKILL
We are using them primarily for checking DICOM stuff from the PACS, booking patients and billing (EMR stuff) and the like. They work really well in being able to pair with a very large monitor, or monitors, while consuming minimal space. Interesting that yours had a SATA SSD, the ones I've bought have had M.2.


Indeed, there's a M.2 slot right under the SATA tray. I originally had this come with the stock 500GB HDD since a SSD upgrade from the website was like +$120 for a little 128GB stick - totally not worth the price.