what is mini pc

In a traditional office, computers is an indispensable office tool. Many teams are looking for more cost-effective solutions. The mini PC has emerged as a flexible alternative that can work in settings as diverse as edge computing, retail stores and factory floors — along with standard office environments.

A mini PC is built for a small footprint, often less than a foot wide. Despite its size, the machine packs a powerful computing punch and perhaps even some degree of upgradability. The market for mini PCs emerged in the mid-2000s with the convergence of two trends — the legacy-free desktop, which eschewed traditional connectors such as the parallel port in favor of USB and similar standards, and the small-form-factor PC. As technology began to improve and optical drives and other hardware were less necessary, it became possible to put increasingly powerful computers in much smaller form factors.

Generally, mini PCs leverage processing power more commonly seen in laptops and similarly low-powered solutions, but they tend to have more connectivity and upgradability options. A NUC, for example, can support external graphics processing units through its Thunderbolt ports and can leverage upgradable RAM and internal storage.

What Are the Advantages and Uses of Mini PCs for Businesses?

For businesses, miniaturized PCs are easy to maintain and replace, as they can be included in an embedded system and swapped out as necessary. While the Mac mini and Mac Studio are not meant to be upgradable, PC-based minis such as the NUC are. And for IT officials, they can be easy to repair or upgrade on the fly.

“Sometimes they need to swap out their memory or storage or do an upgrade out in the field,” says John Deatherage, chief marketing officer for NUC manufacturer and reseller Simply NUC. “I think most people who’ve worked with a NUC know how easy it is to do those things compared with some of the older technology.”

Additionally, for point-of-sale uses and digital signage, the adoption of industry-standard technologies makes it easier to manage machines remotely.

Mini PCs come in a variety of forms, and are generally versatile and by no means limited to desktops—though if you need a decent office computer, it‘s also a great fit. If you are looking for the right implementation strategy, we can give you the best advice and customize the mini PC you want.