Fanless Intel N100 stick PC bundles Windows 11, 16GB RAM and 256GB eMMC into a tiny form factor

You usually don't need a PC that small. For this price ($250) you can just get a Beelink with a better CPU. Or an older model mini PC for $120.

Don't let these manufacturers convince you that you need their latest and greatest whatever.

I’m still buying the older NUCs on eBay for crazy cheap prices and slapping in new nvme drives which have been cheap along with cheap RAM. I end up with 32gb memory 1tb cluster nodes for like $175. Works great in the KVM, VMW, and HyperV lab deployments I need to test in my home labs. I will say that with the AV1 codec support this is interesting as a Jellyfin server though with connection to my NAS. It’s been tough getting cheaper codec capable CPUs.
- What procs do they have?
But the form factor is gorgeous!
That said, do you mind if I pick your brain as you appear to be quite learned on the subject. What do you think of these? https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B096FQGLDK
- Compare the stats for the CPU, memory, and hard drive. Every one is slightly different, so I can't tell you what to get.
  Form factor usually doesn't matter. You're not going to be looking at it all the time and showing it to people. It's a desktop.
  They're trying to trick you into not just comparing the specs and deciding on price. Pick a decent brand so you know the chipset is good and just look at the stats.
I like the idea of fanless because it's one less thing to fail. With an SSD, it means no moving parts.

Didn't they just discontinue the NUC?

I think it’s one of those “the NUC is Dead, Long Live the NUC” type situations. There are so many tiny pc vendors now selling models that just didn’t exist when the NUC was originally released.
- NUC was an Intel thing, it's used commonly for any USFF PC but NUC was specifically a line from Intel and, I believe, they sold the name off to Asus. They stopped making them, but other people are still continuing to make USFF PCs with Intel chips.
Just their own units I think.
They still make the stuff that goes in everyone else's.

Dell made something similar about 4 years ago.. I am pretty sure it was called an Optiplex 7070 Ultra. They came in an 8th gen i7 that would idle around 5w

I'm still on the hunt for an affordable mini PC with a decent GPU. Everything I've seen is well into the $1500+ range. I'm not talking about getting a 4090 or anything. Like, if I could find a mini PC with an 8G 2070, I'd be happy.

I just want to play games on my TV for around the same cost of a PlayStation or Xbox.... And be able to do it with a mouse and keyboard if I want. If I wanted to use a controller 100% of the time, I'd just get a console, but I don't.

Why not buy a Steam Deck?
- Because it will be permanently connected to my TV.
  It seems silly to buy a handheld that will never be used as a handheld.
Check out Miniforums HX90G/HX99G. Might be exactly what you're looking for.
I am currently still using my HX90G daily and when travel more than a week
- This is one that is on my radar, a bit on the more expensive side, at least compared to the console alternatives, but that's expected. You always get a discount with a console since they're counting on profits from game sales to make up the difference.
  Performance is slightly better than the Intel/1070 combo I'm using in the interim. The current system is a huge eyesore, which is why I'm trying to replace it.
  Before finding this gem, my front running idea was to pair a framework main board with a thunderbolt eGPU, but buying even a used GPU with the cost of an enclosure was going to add more than $1000 to the cost. It's likely more performant than even the minisforum options and others, with the ability to swap the GPU for upgrades, but I'm not sure how likely that is in the first place.
  The current system is older and in a medium tower case, it's a full custom build. Way too big to hide and needs pretty much everything upgraded, so rather than keep the eyesore and spend the money on a new main board/RAM/CPU/SSD etc, getting a smaller and more descreet system is preferable.
You could get an older gaming laptop
- Sounds terrible.
  That would be worse than the steam deck, since you're still making the compromise of a mobile/integrated GPU, and most gaming laptops are larger than their non-gaming counterparts. It's going to take up 3-4x as much space compared to the Steamdeck.
  I appreciate the idea, but laptops just have a lot of unnecessary components for my use case, making them too large to be practical for the purpose.

I have an 8530 Intel atom, 8gb ram 128gb stick....they're useless(to me). Very fun to toy with.

This stick is much much more powerful and useful.
- Idk I don't see the point if I have multiple laptops, multiple desktops, multiple cellphones. Samsung Dex on current phone. Raspberry pis, plenty of stand alone emulators. PSP, PS vita, 3ds, 2ds, NDSL, DS, commodity SOCs, steam streaming boxes, ect....I have them all. I can assure you, it's all the same. It will always be the same. Nothing changes, nothing is new. Arm, x86/x64 has been around for decades almost being able to be counted in multiples of 30. They have all accomplished what they have needed. And stagnated. I don't doubt it's more powerful. I do doubt it's much more useful than anything I've listed.

Probably no Linux support. That's always to be expected.

While it is pre-installed with Windows 11, it is compatible with Linux.
Literally inside the article. Second paragraph...
Really? I thought Linux could run on pretty much anything?
- You're thinking of Doom.
- According to the other person it comes with Linux installed. But you know, the legacy of not being Linux compatible is a big stain. I just don't and will not trust.