Is it time?

Brace yourselves. I’m old now and I just talk and talk and type and type. I have a question about replacing my main daily driver pc, but apparently, I have to tell you my life story first. Lol. But I figure the more information you have the better you can help me so here we go.

I have a few computers at home. My main personal pc, my media server (Plex), my backup pc, my old work pc, and my garage pc. I have a NAS and a NVR and home automation switches and sensors, on multiple networks. And laptops and tablets and stuff but I won’t go there.

I use my main personal computer for getting my daily news, emails, banking, downloading and editing videos, and running (2) 3d printers, and buying too much stuff on Amazon. I’m too old to game lol. Ok solitaire.

My media server and back up pc’s are both Beelink mini pc’s. My media server doubles as a make shift home server. I share the drives on the network and the rest of my computers can access those drives. My junk drawer.

My old work pc. I used to be self employed, I just retired. But I need to keep this computer running for another year or so for taxes and stuff. For Uncle Sam.

My garage pc runs a cnc laser engraver/cutter and a vinyl plotter/cutter.

Yes, I know I have too many toys and believe me, I am holding myself back. There are more lol

My main personal computer at home is getting old. Well, they all are, but I am more concerned about my daily driver main pc.

It is 11 years old now. I bought it in 2015. it’s a tower.



Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4790 CPU @ 3.60GHz 3.30 GHz

Installed RAM 24.0 GB (23.7 GB usable)

System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

Pen and touch No pen or touch input is available for this display



Windows 11 Pro

Version 23H2

Installed on ‎9/‎9/‎2023

OS build 22631.6199

Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.22700.1108.0



None of my computers were good enough for Windows 11 so I did some of the tricks that I learned here on this web site. I was able to install Windows 11 pro on all my computers. I think it was the dreaded TPM issue.

Now, 3 years later, my computer is still good, but I am getting a little leery that it is aging. And it seems like it won’t update Windows anymore. I seem to be stuck on 23H2.

It works well and it seems to be reliable and stable, but I am getting a little nervous.

I want to go shopping for a new pc. Amazon Prime Days are coming back again. I am thinking about another mini pc with external drives. My media server and back up pc’s are both mini pc’s with external drives running Windows 11 Pro. And they seem to be updating with no issues. I do admit there is a little delay in Plex but after it gets going it is fine. I think that is due to the external drives but I’m fine with it. I expect it now lol.

I am thinking about this one on Amazon:

Beelink SEi13 Pro Mini PC, Intel Core i7-13620H (10C/16T, up to 4.9GHz), 32GB LPDDR5X 500GB PCIe4.0 SSD, Triple 4K Display Mini Computer with HDMI/DP/USB-C, WiFi 6, BT5.2, 2.5G LAN

I like Beelink. I’m not sure why.

Any thoughts? Any opinions? Should I get a mini pc as my main daily driver pc? It seems like the way to go unless any of you can talk me out of it. Tell me about the Chinese back doors lol. I’m not sure what else to ask about.

Or is there some stupid trick I am missing to get my old pc current? Adding TPM? Replace the motherboard? But it is still getting old…

And then my last thought is what to do with my old personal pc. I guess I can replace one of my other aging pc’s with it. Something very non critical since it does not update anymore. Or I can take it out to a field and make a video like Office Space lol. Killing the printer. Lol

I’m old now and I like computers. I am self taught on pc’s and home networking and home automation. I think I know a lot more about computers and networking than most other people my age, but I don’t know everything. I am self taught and I know there are holes in my knowledge here and there. But I don’t know what I don’t know so here I am asking questions.

Should I or should I not get a mini pc as my daily driver main pc?

Make your answer as long as this post please lol. (sorry again for the long post.) And sorry I am posting a hardware question in a Windows 11 forum but I didn’t know where else to go. Flame on.

Thanks in advance.

Old-Steve

A PC with an I7-4790 can run Win11 26H2, although it may not receive it via Windows Update. Let's install Windows 11 on incompatible hardware

You probably have a better grasp of the limitations of mini PCs than I do. Most seem to use laptop components. If you don't require performance equal to the highest-end desktop PC CPUs, or the (internal) upgradeability of a large desktop PC, then it's not obvious to me why you'd reject a mini.

My last PC build was done nearly 3 years ago. In the past, I've been addicted to doing an upgrade every couple of years. Due to the current RAM and drive prices, plus the fact that current hardware is mostly an incremental improvement over 2023 stuff, I won't be upgrading anytime soon. I may be too old by 2028 or 2029 (maybe the market will resemble the old normal by then) to want to do the homebuilt thing again.

sdtag said:

It is 11 years old now. I bought it in 2015. it’s a tower.

Click to expand...

I actually had only 3 PCs in my lifetime, each for a decade with a short laptop intermission.
But with the current prices, buying PC is quite a challenge. Try a refurbished PC for 2-3 years.

sdtag said:

Any thoughts? Any opinions? Should I get a mini pc as my main daily driver pc? It seems like the way to go unless any of you can talk me out of it. Tell me about the Chinese back doors lol. I’m not sure what else to ask about.

Click to expand...

After i heard the news about Intel 13gen and 14gen had problems.. i would play it safe and go for 12gen and save a few dollars in the process as it sounds as you dont need high computing power.
We had a discussion about what computer brands is good for Linux when it came to my attention.. i had no clue about it before.

According to Dell Industry-wide Issue With Intel Core 13th and 14th Generation i5, i7, and i9 Processors | Dell US the effected CPU's are

Here is some context of our short conversation on the Linux forum.

(He mention )
I think some of you missed the news regarding oxidizing 13th and 14th gen Intel CPUs...
I respectfully disagree: these CPUs are subjects to accelerated aging, manifesting in growing instability rate, so especially in the context of a potential 2nd hand purchase, should be avoided.

Click to expand...

(My question )
Off topic question.
Is it all 13/14 or some versions of them?
I feel it can be good t know if i get the chance of upgrading hardware so to speak.

Click to expand...

(His answer )
Intel officially admitted only regarding the models used in DCs as the evidence presented by SREs based on thousands of units running 24/7 was too staggering to deny, but there were some reports from virtually all segments. Since Intel hasn't released failure rates for all models, it's impossible to reliably say if all were affected or just some.

Click to expand...

And for your Topic question.. I have never used a mini-PC so i dont know how good they are as a daily driver main PC. I kind of want to have a desktop so i can have several internal drives for speed as a 10-25Gbit network for fast network drives is still expensive with switches and optical NIC's

as for Chinese backdoors.. i never worrying about Vpro and IME.. as long you just have a good router and some good firewall rules you can close down any machine vulnerability's.. an example as basic Windows Updates and Telemetry i control that with firewalling.