NiPoGi Essenx E1 Mini PC AMD Ryzen 3250U Windows 11 Pro (2C/4T, up to 3.5 GHz) 8GB DDR4 RAM + 256GB SSD, 4K@60Hz dual display HDMI 2.0 + DP/AWi-Fi/BT/LAN, mini computer for office/education

I purchased this MiniPC to act as an 'always-on' machine to manage my 2 NAS boxes, and have to say that I have been very impressed with it so far. Physically, it is tiny - same length / width as a CD and only a couple of inches tall. Performance-wise, setup was a doddle and despite the relatively low spec, it boots up pretty fast and didn't come with much in the way of 'bloatware' pre-installed - at least, not that I really noticed; just the usual Microsoft Apps that come as part of Windows! When it is running, it truly is whisper quiet yet still allows me to browse the web, edit spreadsheets, watch videos and play music without seeming to struggle, so more than adequate for my needs. To begin with, I was a little worried that the blue glow emitted when the device is on would be distracting or overly bright when the room was dark, but this proved to be unfounded, and is actually very subdued (looks more intense in the photo than it really is!). Talking about that glow, it is worth mentioning that the light changes to a dim red when the device is put into 'sleep' mode - a really nice touch to visually indicate its status at a glance. All in all, I really can't fault this MiniPC; outstanding value for money, and delivers great performance while taking up minimal space!

So for a while I had been running my Plex server from my customer built gaming PC. The problem was that even at idle my computer was pulling quite a lot of watts - CPU approx 28w, GPU 18w (both measurements taken from HWInfo64), and I cannot even begin to measure how many watts all 9 fans, water pump and everything else in my setup is pulling without having to buy a measuring device to plug into my mains. If I was to hazard a guess, I would say around 100w at idle. So how many watts was this little PC pulling at idle? Three. That's it, 3 watts of power when just sitting there. Even when plex was streaming a film to another device, it only went up to an average of 6. This machine's CPU apparently has a TDP of 15 watts. I've yet to get it to do that with what I do. So what you get for your money is an Intel N95 CPU - this is essentially 4 e-cores with no hyperthreading that runs at a max boost of 3.4Ghz. At idle it can run as low as 900Mhz from my testing and average use it pushes at around 1.5-2Ghz. This would be web browsing and youtube video watching. The memory config I got was the 8Gb model, which for the purpose I needed it for is perfectly fine. a 256Gb NVMe drive was installed the version I had which contained the Windows 11 OS. Kudos to the seller, absolutely no bloatware was included. It doesn't really get any cleaner as an install, unless you wish to wipe and install your own OS of choice. It's not a lightning fast drive but still fast enough for day to day usage and still a million times faster than a mechanical hard drive. Two HMDI outputs are supplied which can drive two 4K (2160p) monitors/TVs at a max of 60Hz. Of course if doing so, try not to push too much out of the CPU at once, especially multimedia based stuff. The manufacturer even supplies a short HDMI cable in the box. What is a great little bonus is the removable SSD drive enclosure on the underside. If you have no intention of installing one, then you can just simply unclip this part and the PC is even thinner. However it is a great addition and again for my Plex server it meant I could connect a 2Tb SSD drive to the underside to store my media. Now I run it as a Plex server and for that it is perfectly fine. Just some tweaks may be needed to ensure that Plex is running towards the faster end of transcoding as opposed to pushing the CPU and you will be fine. In all honesty I couldn't see really any difference in quality on 4K videos. Gaming? Forget it. Unless you plan to run older stuff (retro gaming like Mame/Retroarch etc...) or DOS based games (DOSBox etc...) then it's not meant for current gaming. Will most modern games run? Yes. Is it worth it? Absolutely not. But then it wasn't designed for that. Noise levels, it really is a quite little thing. As long as you have the power settings to balanced and not try to push it beyond what it's really designed for then you barely hear the fan at all. Mine is located right behind the TV in my front room and even when everything else is off in the room, I struggle to hear the PC running. Aesthetically it looks very nice with the LED lighting going around the top, just under the lid and through the cooling fins, so if you have the PC on a desk, it does look very good. So in conclusion, if you are looking for a daily use mini-PC for browsing, office type work and even basic low spec gaming or running a media server, this machine is for you. For the price, I cannot really fault it.

I bought this to swap out a raspberry pi that was set up as a media center. The power usage is minimal for running non stop and comes with windows installed. So far no issues although I installed libreElec and now cannot reinstall windows without buying a new serial. Haven't used for gaming so unsure how powerful the onboard graphics is.

Follow the set-up instructions to the letter, and you can't go wrong. I bought this to replace my ageing HP 8000 USFF PC, which. while second-hand when I bought it for £120, is still functional but can't be updated to Windows 11 (and has a couple of dodgy USB ports). I knew I'd have to bite the bullet and migrate to Windows 11 eventually, so bought this mini, and now have it mounted on the back of my monitor. It took me a few days, but now I have the mini set up just like the HP8000. Very happy with the purchase, does everything I need it to do (and no, I'm not a 'gamer'). Office, Accounts, browsing, streaming video... all a breeze just as they were on the old HP. The miniPC can be made even smaller by removing the detachable base which can house a standard 2.5" SATA drive, but I have a 256GB SSD in there for additional storage... very handy too during the migration from my old HP. Criticisms? If I'm picky, it's the lack of USB ports. It only has 2x USB3 and 2xUSB2, so I've got a USB3 hub and a USB2 hub to increase the number of ports available for peripherals like external drives, wireless keyboard and mouse dongle, USB-powered speakers etc. But apart from that, I'm glad I took the plunge. Or at least I was until I read that Microsoft look to be releasing Windows 12 next year! So much for Windows 10 being the 'last ever version of Windows', the gying lits. Anyway, the NiPoGi is great value for money.

I was not expecting something so small to have so much power for the money . Really great little computer

When I was in the market for a new PC, I was torn between a desktop and a laptop. In the end, a Mini PC turned out to be the perfect middle ground. It was a great purchase, very discreet, quiet, and looks great on my desk. Despite its compact size, it offers impressive port availability and versatility. Plus, with Windows 11 onboard, it gets the job done. The built-in memory was a bit limited, so I installed an internal hard drive from my previous laptop, which was very easy to do. I’ve had it for a year and a half now, and it still runs just as smoothly as it did fresh out of the box. Honestly, what more could you ask for in a PC?

My version came with a preinstalled OEM's modified windows ISO. This would be generally fine (many legit OEMs add scripts to Windows), unfortunately this mini pc seems to have a malware. You can find it under: c:\recovery\OEM\OsVer in this folder you'll see ENDEV.exe Keep in mind that the folders are hidden, you need to type the directory path manually in the address bar, otherwise you won't be able to see them. ENDEV contains RedLineStealer which is a malicious malware that could scrape all your data (passwords, credit cards, etc) from your website and communicate them back to an unknown address. I didn't find any proof that it had been running on this pc, but the malware is there, it could just be dormant. Avoid to buy at all costs!

This is a very small MiniPC which is slightly larger than a packet of butter being an exact square shape. It comes with a metal mounting bracket which you can fit to the back of your television if it has a mounting point. Two small screws are supplied. This mini PC just plugs into the television using the supplied HDMI lead. I found it is better to put this MiniPC underneath the television on top of the DVD player rather than fit it to the rear of the set. The drawback of fitting the MiniPC to the rear of the TV set is that you have to lean over the set to reach the power button to turn the thing on! I also found the fan makes more noise when the MiniPC is mounted vertically. The fan noise is hardly noticeable when the MiniPC is placed on a flat surface. But if you hang it on the back of the TV set, then that location amplifies the sound. You can buy this MiniPC as a replacement for an existing Desktop machine, using your old keyboard, mouse and monitor. If the monitor only has a VGA connector, then you will need to order a small HDMI to VGA adaptor. I found no problems at all using my VGA monitor with the adapter. The only slight snag is that if you do not connect a TV set, then there is no sound, unless you have a PC sound system you can plug in. The initial set-up of the MiniPC went without a hitch in my case. However, it is advisable to connect your MIniPC directly to the router using an Ethernet cable for the initial startup. Once the set-up has been completed, and you are in Windows, you can enter choose your WiFi connection and enter your password. There is no opportunity to set up WiFi during startup, so you have to connect the Ethernet cable if you want your Windows to install on the latest version straight away. As regards speed, the MiniPC seems quite fast and responsive for web browsing and YouTube videos. But for other tasks such as rendering a video file, it is no faster than a laptop. I think if you want a MiniPC for gaming, then I would pay a bit more. This is a good buy for the £124.99 Amazon voucher price I paid in October 2023. Bear in mind you have got to factor in the price of a Keyboard, mouse and screen if you do not already have these. I would order a laptop from Amazon if you do not have a suitable keyboard and screen. Although this MiniPC can be plugged into the Television and is great for watching YouTube videos. in front of the TV is inconvenient in other ways and you can find yourself kneeling in front of the set with the keyboard and mouse on the carpet!