Has anyone done any (vesa mount) mini-PC research?

[Mike - K8LH]

Hi guys. Just wondering if anyone has done any research on mini-PCs? Here's the back story on why I'm looking.

My wife and I replaced an old Trinitron technology TV with an NVIDIA flat screen TV/display recently, and it works great. When we connected a laptop to the display using HDMI, we were blown away by the video. Now we think we'd like to mount a relatively high performance mini-PC onto the display, using the four VESA screw locations on the back of the display, so that it can be used as an internet work station when we're not watching TV (actually, we watch very little TV).

Has anyone done any research on this and do you have any recommendations (price/performance)?

TIA. Cheerful regards, Mike

 

[Mickster]

IIUC correctly Mike,
this:
https://www.raspberrypi.org/faqs

along with this:
https://www.shapeways.com/model/526473/

...may do what you need for little outlay.

The time from ordering to delivery is anticipated to currently be approximately 5 to 18 weeks from RS & Farnell in the UK, stateside may have better timeframes?

I know Strantor & Ian Rogers both have a Raspberry Pi, but Strantor has limited time to evaluate his. Perhaps Ian could chip in?

Regards.

 

[Mike - K8LH]

Hi Mickster. Thanks for the reply.

I'm looking for a mini PC so that I can run Windows apps and watch on-line movies. As far as I know, the RasPi doesn't quite fit that category, does it?

In my searching I've come across a few devices using NVIDIA Ion technology. Anyone have any experience with those?

Cheerful regards, Mike

 

[picbits]

Acer Revo all the way. The older R3600 or R3610 can be picked up at a reasonable price and having the Nvida graphics card will happily play full 1080p with around 10% cpu usage despite the lack of processing power. They are quiet and reliable as well.

I use one of these for the main living room system feeding a 42" TV (never got round to mounting it via the VESA mount that came with it though). I also have an E-Machines ER1402 for the workshop. Both are running Linux but will happily run Windoze.