Thinking about downsizing my PC

[MegaDrive1987]

As the title suggests I've been thinking about downsizing my PC setup to a mini PC for a few reasons. First of all I don't play any modern AAA games anymore, I only play classics and lighter games as well as emulating up to PS2 so a mini PC with a Ryzen 5 5650GE would be perfect for those requirements. I also want something a lot more energy efficient as the cost of electricity is absolutely ridiculous these days. There's also the added bonus of size with them being tiny. Currently looking at the Lenovo ThinkCentre m75q Gen 2 Tiny. Comes with a Ryzen 5 5650GE, 16GB RAM and 480GB NVMe drive for £255 although I'd be putting the 2TB out of this desktop that I'm using now into it.

 

[NotReallyHere]

I think it's a fabulous idea, personally

I don't do any AAA gaming, either, and barely play games on a computer outside of emulation. My longtime desktop was a 2014 model Mac Mini, with an Intel i7, 16 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD. And I believe the peak wattage for that computer was 40 W? Under max load?? Yeah, it's been a real champ. In fact, I'm making this post on that very computer right now

I did upgrade recently to a 2018 Mac Mini, which was the last model to use Intel-based processors. Has an i7 with more cores, along with 64 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD. Haven't had the time to properly set it up yet, but... soon. If it's anything like my current model, I still expect to be using it in the 2030s!

Best of luck to you, whatever you decide to do

 

[MegaDrive1987]

I think it's a fabulous idea, personally

I don't do any AAA gaming, either, and barely play games on a computer outside of emulation. My longtime desktop was a 2014 model Mac Mini, with an Intel i7, 16 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD. And I believe the peak wattage for that computer was 40 W? Under max load?? Yeah, it's been a real champ. In fact, I'm making this post on that very computer right now

I did upgrade recently to a 2018 Mac Mini, which was the last model to use Intel-based processors. Has an i7 with more cores, along with 64 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD. Haven't had the time to properly set it up yet, but... soon. If it's anything like my current model, I still expect to be using it in the 2030s!

Best of luck to you, whatever you decide to do

Yeah I'll probably grab it if it's still available after Christmas, I'll be selling my desktop on then, either as a whole build or I might strip it down and sell it in bits if I can get more money that way although to be honest I'd rather just sell it on and get rid in one go. I think the peak wattage of that under load is 65W but I doubt it will pull that much when gaming.

 

[vulonkaaz's iconvulonkaaz]

downsizing the computer is what you do in summer, in winter you use your gpu to heat up your house

 

[Blamhammer]

Oddly enough i've kinda done this too, but I went with a laptop. I begun searching for one with a OLED panel on it and hoooo boy are they expensive. :(

I found a Gigabyte Aero 15" 2019 unit for a decent price with specs that allow me to play all the games I care for, plus with the added OLED panel for retro gaming. It has a HDMI out so I can use this as a primary machine too.

 

[SoThankful]

I don't have a PC at all. Just a weak laptop. I was also thinking about getting a mini PC or maybe invest in a Steam Machine.

 

[bjork]

Is that computer able to be placed vertically, by any chance? This is a cool idea, but the orientation is how the computers are at work. I don't want to feel like work when I'm not physically there, heh.

 

[vulonkaaz's iconvulonkaaz]

Is that computer able to be placed vertically, by any chance?

yes Lenovo Thinkcentres are usually sold with a stand to place them vertically

 

[NotReallyHere]

downsizing the computer is what you do in summer, in winter you use your gpu to heat up your house

I don't know how many on here remember the monstrosity that was the Power Mac G5, but...

"Lovingly" referred to as the "cheese grater" by many, those of us who actually used one knew how hot they would get - especially if you kept it on the floor, under your desk! No lie, it was very much like having your own personal space heater. Which, in the Winter months, was honestly pretty handy

Also, massive props to the OP for having concerns regarding electricity use and efficiency. Whether it's a monetary issue or an environmental one - or both - we can all do our part to reduce our impact. When it comes to how much electricity or resources our everyday appliances use, it's a topic that many never even think about in the first place.

A smaller, more-efficient computer may not be an option for everyone, but for those of us who are in the market for this sort of thing, it's nice to know that such solutions are out there

 

[MegaDrive1987]

Oddly enough i've kinda done this too, but I went with a laptop. I begun searching for one with a OLED panel on it and hoooo boy are they expensive. :(

I found a Gigabyte Aero 15" 2019 unit for a decent price with specs that allow me to play all the games I care for, plus with the added OLED panel for retro gaming. It has a HDMI out so I can use this as a primary machine too.

What sort of stuff do you play?

 

[Blamhammer]

First games I put back on the laptop were Deus Ex and Thief Gold.
Games set in dark areas that would be best played on a CRT or OLED. OLED does a good job but I’ve learnt a few new things about them, one of them being something called "black crush". Even if I have to up the gamma a bit it still looks miles better than a IPS panel.

This is quite a capable laptop (it’s packing a RTX 2070 mobile). Tokyo Extreme Racer (2025), System Shock remake, Satellite Reign, Radio the Universe demo, Deltarune, Disco Elysium, Wasteland 2, SC Chaos Theory, and then there’s Retroarch.