There's a trend quietly sweeping the circles I currently inhabit. People needing a new Windows or Linux machine are abandoning both the pre-built tower and the lovingly self-assembled rig in favour of mini desktop PCs. Cheaper to run, takes up less space, all the hits.
I, naturally (Mr Negative), have been responding to every such purchase with barely concealed scepticism.
So I bought one.
The Beelink Ser5 MAX. My reasoning was watertight, decent spec, £329 ($450), and absolutely nothing else. I placed the order with the quiet assumption I was throwing money into a fountain. The expectation of return was not the point, and the bar was set subterraneanly low.
Two weeks later, having used it daily on Windows, I find myself in the uncomfortable position of admitting I was wrong, well, mostly. It's fast, it's reasonably quiet, the build quality is decent, and if it keeps this up for a few more weeks, I'll actually hang onto it. That's how good it seems to be.
Now, the caveats, because there are always caveats:
Anyone else gone down this route? Curious whether I'm an outlier or just late to the party.
I, naturally (Mr Negative), have been responding to every such purchase with barely concealed scepticism.
So I bought one.
The Beelink Ser5 MAX. My reasoning was watertight, decent spec, £329 ($450), and absolutely nothing else. I placed the order with the quiet assumption I was throwing money into a fountain. The expectation of return was not the point, and the bar was set subterraneanly low.
Two weeks later, having used it daily on Windows, I find myself in the uncomfortable position of admitting I was wrong, well, mostly. It's fast, it's reasonably quiet, the build quality is decent, and if it keeps this up for a few more weeks, I'll actually hang onto it. That's how good it seems to be.
Now, the caveats, because there are always caveats:
- Support quality is... variable
- It's Chinese-made, Chinese budget quality.
- QA standards are emphatically not Apple, Lenovo, or Dell, from what I have heard.
- The 3-year warranty almost certainly means a trip back to China if anything goes sideways
Anyone else gone down this route? Curious whether I'm an outlier or just late to the party.
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