Mini/Nano Small Form Factor x86 PCs

Strider · Post by **Strider** » Wed May 18, 2022 12:59 am

The chip shortage has pushed me to look at alternatives for some of my projects, needs, ideas, and just for fun. One such change was really looking at older used x86 hardware, more specifically, SFF PCs. I never had any interest in them in the past, too slow for my needs, or so I thought. I used them at work like most people, and they never impressed me, but I also never had one I could mess with.

For about $50, you can buy a quad-core (AMD E-Series, Atom, Celeron) SFF PC and bypass many of the shortcomings of ARM based computers. So, I did just that, buying a Zotac Intel Celeron N2930 (ZBOX-CI320NANO-P), it only came with a 2GB stick of RAM and no HDD or PSU, but that's more than enough to get me started. Now I just need to buy a proper PSU for it, I'm currently using my buck/boost converter to play around, stable but not ideal. I dropped a 120GB SSD in there, Ubuntu 20.04 again, and so far so good. https://www.ebay.com/itm/185278053607? (Was $45, they went up.)

I'm not sure what I'll be using it for exactly, maybe Bench PC 3.0, or higher end emulation, we'll see. For now, I'm just having fun seeing what it can do, and getting a lot of practice in Linux, and that's always a good thing. While it runs off 19V, much more than anything else I am playing with (the Pi's) obviously, I was shocked to see it drawing such low amperage. This was during heavy load, installing Ubuntu. I have yet to see it go much over .500A, but I also don't want to over-stress it with my current power delivery, 12V 3A being boosted.

Do you use/like SFF PCs at home? Do you use it for something other than daily computing?

Oh, and I love the way they make it easy to get inside, the 4 feet are thumb screws, so convenient.

Note to self: Dust my PC side panel. ?

Strider · Post by **Strider** » Fri May 20, 2022 6:37 pm

I got it setup, just as yet another bench computer configuration. Works like a charm. Fits well on my desk. ?

I bought a 19V 3.4A 65W power supply off Amazon to run it, though like most of these cheap power bricks, it only outputs 18.84V, but the ZBox runs stable under load so no complaints as of yet.

Now I just need to pick up an 8GB stick of DDR3L RAM, the 2GB it came with works, but I don't want to rely on a swap file on the SSD.

TomXP411 · Post by **TomXP411** » Fri May 20, 2022 6:50 pm

I'm a big fan of these mini PCs. I have 5 or 6 of them, although I use them mostly for day to day tasks. I have a Hades Canyon NUC that I use for media and light gaming in my office, an i7 and i3 NUC that I use for media in other locations, an Alienware Steam Machine box that I use for light gaming and media on my home theater system, and a Skull Canyon NUC that I used as a video encoder. (That has since been replaced by an HP EliteDesk.)

They're pricey, though... one trick is to buy them used. I can usually get systems on EBay for quite a bit less than the new price, and an 8th Gen i7 is plenty adequate for anything short of 3D gaming.

hardrockhero · Post by **hardrockhero** » Sat May 21, 2022 12:12 am

another good option is to buy chrome boxes, you can install galliumOs on them. Its a Linux distro for Chromebooks and Chromeboxes. Ive had alot of good results with it.

Strider · Post by **Strider** » Sat May 21, 2022 4:41 pm

@TomXP411 The NUC is the one mini PC that actually sparked my interest when it was introduced, just not enough to make me want to invest in one. Now that I've actually had time to play around with this ZBox, I may very well look into getting one. I have no issues buying used on eBay, that's where this one came from. I'm thinking of getting one as an HTPC/Steam Link/Emulator replacement.

@hardrockhero I did look at the chromeboxes, some were even cheaper than the ZBox. What stopped me is my unfamiliarity with them, not sure they could run what I wanted. Also, I wanted as much USB connectivity as I could get without using a hub. Lastly, I would want one that uses traditional SODIMM's and SSD storage that can be swapped or upgraded. I don't care of eMMC or running off SD cards on anything outside of a Pi3 or older. Still, for the price, one would be fun to play with.

hardrockhero · Post by **hardrockhero** » Sat May 21, 2022 4:54 pm

@Strider So in my bedroom i have a busted Chromebook behind my tv. Its running GalliumOS, and it connects to my tv via HDMI and i just have a SABRENT 4-Port USB 3.0 Hub that runs from the Chromebook under the tv and sitting right in front (I have it stuck to my entertainment stand with Velcro tape). I use a wireless keyboard mouse set that uses 1 dongle and i have the other ports for my different controllers. It does the job and the limited storage isnt such an issue since i mostly use it for retro gaming and video streaming.

Strider · Post by **Strider** » Fri Jun 03, 2022 12:04 am

This ZBox CI320 is surprisingly useful, I kinda want another one...

With 8GB of RAM and an SSD, it's actually a snappy little system. With the included 2GB, it was hitting the swap file far too often for my liking, not only for speed but SSD longevity. Now, that's no longer an issue. Picked up an 8GB stick of Team Group DDR3L 1600 on Amazon and it works flawlessly, even if it only runs at the systems max 1333. Plenty fast for my tasks.

Just for fun, I installed some "retro" games on it to see how well it performed, if the Pi 4 can handle it, this should do better, and it did. Source ports for Doom and DN3D, OpenRCT2, ScummVM running old Lucas Arts DOS games, all run great, as expected. OpenRCT2 runs much better than on the Pi 4, actually able to hit 60FPS, where on the Pi 4 is tops out at about 20FPS, still playable but so much better on the ZBox. It also handles sites like YouTube and image heavy sites much better than the Pi 4 obviously.

If I get a second one, I would likely set it up as a small HTPC since it has a VESA mount and fill slap right on to the back of my TV. It can handle local and online streaming easily, but it also works great using Steam Link. The Pi 4 does will with Steam Link as well, but the ZBox is a bit faster at it.

I'm glad I went down this road. ?