Mini PC recommendations Please ??

[fwm891]

I'm currently using a lappy in my obsy but only having 2 USB ports is making life a little awkward at times especially now I have a dual camera set-up running. Originally I've been running a USB 3 cable direct from camera to PC and everything else via a hub to the other PC port. I'd like to get more USB 3.# ports available if possible. Ideally I'd like to keep to a budget of around £200 with Windows  10/11 installed. Beelink seem to have offerings in that area, but there are obviously other brands/models that may be better ?

Not something I've really delved into before as an old laptop has always sufficed. Now with 2 imaging cameras and a guide cam plus all the other bits I think I need something with a little more 'capability'.

Cheers

Francis

 

[Dr_Ju_ju]

One question I have, does it have to be Windows, or could you go Linux etc.?  If so them that opens up a grater range from Raspberry Pi's (5), to Pine64 Rock64Pro etc. which give you a lot of bang for your pennies....

[Elp]

Mele is another one. Minisforum also make small desktop replacements but might be overkill (also might not be suitable for a cold moisture prone environment).

[Vroobel]

The Mele 4C 16GB RAM and 512 GB SSD seems very good, Cuiv the Lazy Geek reviewed it. Amazon has a bargain now: 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/MeLE-J4125-Computer-Portable-Ethernet/dp/B09TKM8VGT/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=Jk602&content-id=amzn1.sym.f4bf6248-c25e-4846-ab32-07f8b3e1cc4d%3Aamzn1.symc.afd86303-4a72-4e34-8f6b-19828329e602&pf_rd_p=f4bf6248-c25e-4846-ab32-07f8b3e1cc4d&pf_rd_r=CCCNPE8M9DSCYZNGAW00&pd_rd_wg=k7dyo&pd_rd_r=e5c16519-1874-4b92-adcb-af857eab5508&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_atf_m

I'm not sure about it's powering. It works with USB C Power Distribution (PD), but I prefer just a simple 12V DC 5.5/2.1mm socket.

I would buy it, but have other priorities now.

 

 

[fwm891]

16 minutes ago, Dr_Ju_ju said:

One question I have, does it have to be Windows, or could you go Linux etc.?  If so them that opens up a grater range from Raspberry Pi's (5), to Pine64 Rock64Pro etc. which give you a lot of bang for your pennies....

Hi Julian,

Ideally Yes. Pretty much all my software is windows based. Some I could download a Linux version of but that would be another learning curve I don't really want to climb.

[fwm891]

11 minutes ago, Vroobel said:

The Mele 4C 16GB RAM and 512 GB SSD seems very good, Cuiv the Lazy Geek reviewed it. Amazon has a bargain now: 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/MeLE-J4125-Computer-Portable-Ethernet/dp/B09TKM8VGT/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=Jk602&content-id=amzn1.sym.f4bf6248-c25e-4846-ab32-07f8b3e1cc4d%3Aamzn1.symc.afd86303-4a72-4e34-8f6b-19828329e602&pf_rd_p=f4bf6248-c25e-4846-ab32-07f8b3e1cc4d&pf_rd_r=CCCNPE8M9DSCYZNGAW00&pd_rd_wg=k7dyo&pd_rd_r=e5c16519-1874-4b92-adcb-af857eab5508&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_atf_m

I'm not sure about it's powering. It works with USB C Power Distribution (PD), but I prefer just a simple 12V DC 5.5/2.1mm socket.

I would buy it, but have other priorities now.

 

 

Thanks - I'll go and find Cuiv's review. Only seems to have 3 USB ports and I'm not sure about the USB C powering....

[Vroobel]

Both USB C fully support USB 3 Gen 2, so excluding the powering if one is for that purpose, you have 2 x USB A 3.2 (Gen 1 and Gen 2), 1 x USB 2.0 and 1x USB C Gen 2

 

 

 

Edited May 1 by Vroobel

[Tomatobro]

I have five ( brought used of Ebay) NUC's in service (i3 and i5) which all have Win 10 pro ( for remote desktop) and all run off a 12 volt supply. Fast boot up and they range from 4 to 8Gb ram and most have 256 Gb storage.

Although the power input state 18 volts I have never had an issue running them at 12 volts

The most I have paid is £110 

Worth considering if cash is tight.

[wongataa]

I have one of those Beelink computers on my telescope mount.  It works just fine.  It isn't the fastest but is good enough to run NINA, PHD2, etc.  It has been happy outside all night imaging.  It came with Windows 11 Pro so I can remote desktop into it.

[fwm891]

The Beelink and Remote Desktop sound a good option and I can use the current laptop for that task. I’ve always been dubious about electronics and *bay but will take a look…

[WolfieGlos]

Must admit I'm looking into the route of a mini PC too, for a future upgrade.

If you are set of a Beelink mini PC and don't mind the higher price, then FLO have a few left of discontinued ranges in their offers section.

[TiffsAndAstro]

1 hour ago, fwm891 said:

I'm currently using a lappy in my obsy but only having 2 USB ports is making life a little awkward at times especially now I have a dual camera set-up running. Originally I've been running a USB 3 cable direct from camera to PC and everything else via a hub to the other PC port. I'd like to get more USB 3.# ports available if possible. Ideally I'd like to keep to a budget of around £200 with Windows  10/11 installed. Beelink seem to have offerings in that area, but there are obviously other brands/models that may be better ?

Not something I've really delved into before as an old laptop has always sufficed. Now with 2 imaging cameras and a guide cam plus all the other bits I think I need something with a little more 'capability'.

Cheers

Francis

 

I use bootcamp on a MacBook Pro with two usb ports. One goes to the Macbook charger, the other to a 4 port usb hub velcro to my scope.

600d, guide cam and mount usb go to this hub leaving one spare.

Power to 600d and two dew heaters go straight into my gang adapter.

Would a usb port suffice for now?

I also need an astro mini pc, but something like mele quieter only has 3 usb ports, and I'd like connect 600d power and both dew heaters to also connect to it

[TiffsAndAstro]

55 minutes ago, Tomatobro said:

I have five ( brought used of Ebay) NUC's in service (i3 and i5) which all have Win 10 pro ( for remote desktop) and all run off a 12 volt supply. Fast boot up and they range from 4 to 8Gb ram and most have 256 Gb storage.

Although the power input state 18 volts I have never had an issue running them at 12 volts

The most I have paid is £110 

Worth considering if cash is tight.

Can you connect 600d power usb and two usb dew heaters to it?

As well as guide cam and mount?

[Bivanus]

I have a BeeLink and it does everything I want from him. I have no doubt a NUC can do the same. The only thing you must be aware is the voltage required to supply them , as it's not 12V rather 19V or 21V depending on the model. There are some older and a tad slower models that do run on 12V so it's a question of carefull selection.

My model is this : Amazon.com: Beelink SER5 Mini PC W11 Pro, AMD Ryzen 7 5800H(8C/16T up to 4.4 GHz),16GB DDR4 1TB NVME SSD Graphics 8 core 2000 MHz WiFi 6/BT5.2/DP+HDMI+Type-C Triple Display Mini Gaming PC Computer : Video Games

 

[fwm891]

17 minutes ago, Bivanus said:

I have a BeeLink and it does everything I want from him. I have no doubt a NUC can do the same. The only thing you must be aware is the voltage required to supply them , as it's not 12V rather 19V or 21V depending on the model. There are some older and a tad slower models that do run on 12V so it's a question of carefull selection.

My model is this : Amazon.com: Beelink SER5 Mini PC W11 Pro, AMD Ryzen 7 5800H(8C/16T up to 4.4 GHz),16GB DDR4 1TB NVME SSD Graphics 8 core 2000 MHz WiFi 6/BT5.2/DP+HDMI+Type-C Triple Display Mini Gaming PC Computer : Video Games

 

That model is probably a little OTT for me. There are some SER 5 units on *Bay atm which are just over my preferred budget tempted...

[Bivanus]

😄 Yup , I'll admit, I splurged.

I was also reading about you using a double rig and USB ports requirements, the BeeLink is a tad lacking there whyle some NUC models can be upgraded with an USB quad lid like this Intel NUC Quad USB 2.0 Port LID for Panther Canyon NUC11PA (gorite.com) However , again , it's a matter of finding both the NUC and the lid AND it's USB 2.0 

Makes one wonder why don't they add more USB 3.0 ports to new models ? 

 

Edited May 1 by Bivanus

[fwm891]

Okay all I've taken the plunge:

Beelink MINI S12: Intel N100 Quad-Core CPU, 16GB RAM, 500GB SSD, Dual 4K@60Hz HDMI, Windows 11 PRO

I was going round in circles from one model to the next trying to work out exactly what the differences were that warranted a fiver here or -£10 there I avoided DOS as it brought back memories of Commadore 64 days and tape machines...

Edited May 1 by fwm891

[old_eyes]

You will be fine with that.

Win Pro is a good choice as you can use remote desktop from anywhere on your network. You can use AnyDesk with Windows Home, but I have always found it a [removed word] to make work reliably across different machines, so the small extra price for Pro has been well worth it for me.

 

[Tomatobro]

1 hour ago, TiffsAndAstro said:

Can you connect 600d power usb and two usb dew heaters to it?

As well as guide cam and mount?

In the observatory I have three NUC's. One is called Dome NUC, another is called Pier NUC and the third is called AllSKY

Connected to the Dome NUC is the Pulsar dome and Shutter controller, ZWO astro camera (various), 7 position filter wheel, ZWO focuser, monitor with keyboard and mouse, runs NINA , Sharpcap, PHD with its own zwo guide camera. The mount is a Skywatcher EQ8-r and C du Ciel planetarium. There are also some RS232 serial devices controlled via TeraTerm and a GPS receiver.

The Pier NUC has an internal Dome camera, a Unihedron sky quality monitor, a cloud monitor (via Bluetooth) and dew heater controllers as well as an emergency system shutdown system controlled via a radio link and some switchable power ports controlled via Teraterm

The third NUC is connected to an all sky camera.

All these systems operate on their own Remote desktop from the house

Edited May 1 by Tomatobro
picture added

[TiffsAndAstro]

That is an amazing setup. 

For my more basic setup, I just need something that can handle 3 data usb and three power usb.

Maybe just two power usb if I replace my dslr with an uncooled osc.

Are yours mounted on their scopes and if so how and how heavy are they?

Edited May 1 by TiffsAndAstro

[ONIKKINEN]

3 hours ago, Elp said:

Mele is another one. Minisforum also make small desktop replacements but might be overkill (also might not be suitable for a cold moisture prone environment).

I have a Minisforum Win10 mini-PC. Dont remember the exact model name but it wasn't very expensive (i think 300€ or thereabouts). Its not very good for planetary and has a habit of crashing Sharpcap pro with high framerate video captures. I think the i5-2000 something series CPU (dont know the exact model) in it cant quite keep up, would go for a different model if i bought one now. Its not a critical issue though, i just have to set the framerate limit to something like 10fps when starting the capture and then immediately unlock it once the recording starts. For deep sky never had issues.

[Elp]

4 minutes ago, ONIKKINEN said:

Minisforum

I was looking at a high spec one for another purpose but heard about it thermal throttling so wasn't of use to me. For general purpose pc duties they offer a lot of spec for the price.

[TiffsAndAstro]

1 minute ago, ONIKKINEN said:

I have a Minisforum Win10 mini-PC. Dont remember the exact model name but it wasn't very expensive (i think 300€ or thereabouts). Its not very good for planetary and has a habit of crashing Sharpcap pro with high framerate video captures. I think the i5-2000 something series CPU (dont know the exact model) in it cant quite keep up, would go for a different model if i bought one now. Its not a critical issue though, i just have to set the framerate limit to something like 10fps when starting the capture and then immediately unlock it once the recording starts. For deep sky never had issues.

I'm seeing tiny mele quieter 3 for about £150 on fleabay. I just need to research getting power to three usb devices from these things. And some money astro cam is still a higher priority for me, I think, as long as my latest rewiring attempt holds up.

An asi air is the obvious choice, but I don't like manufacturer lockin and I really like Nina.

[Vic L S]

Sorry to jump on this post with a question, but how does a mini PC work? Do you have to attach it to a seperate screen? Or can it run wirelessly and you can work remotely? 

I'd like to start using NINA but need the portability of the ASIair, so have never considered it as don't want to be tied to a laptop. 

[fwm891]

I use NINA with the dual set-up. Running 2 instances the extra ram and multi cores should help. I was having a problem with downloads as one camera seemed to be being delayed while the first camera downloaded. See what happens once I get everything loaded and switch off the updates etc...