Mac Mini

Hey everyone,

Since most of you guys definitely know way more about this stuff than I do, I wanted to see if a mini PC in the $300 range could actually handle some gaming. To be more specific, I’m just looking to play League of Legends and Dota 2—nothing too crazy, just those two.

I stumbled upon this deal:
MINISFORUM Windows 10 Pro Mini PC,
Intel Core i5-5257U Dual-Core Processor,
8 GB DDR3L
256GB SATA SSD
Supports 4K HD@60Hz/HDMI VGA Port/Dual WiFi/Gigabit Ethernet/BT4.2
Price is $320

Any advice would be awesome, thanks! 😉

send with my 9 T using Reddit

You won't run into any issues at 720p if you just lower the settings a bit.

I'm thinking about hooking this Mac Mini up to my 55-inch TV, but I'm worried it might look a bit weird or out of place. You guys have any better ideas for a setup?

send with my 9 T using Reddit

League of Legends, and especially dota, have become way more demanding over the last few years. Plus, if you try running games on a 55" screen at 720p, it’s going to look absolutely terrible. Then there's the input lag—if you actually play MOBAs seriously, a TV is just way too sluggish and unresponsive compared to a standard monitor.

My advice? Save up a little more cash to aim for something like this:

AMD Ryzen 5 Pro 3400 g CPU tray + Wraith Spire cooler, s. AM4
Gigabyte GA-A320M-S2H, AM4
DDR4 16GB (2x8) G.Skill 3200MHz AEGIS C16, F4-3200C16D-16GIS
Kingston SSD 240GB A400 2.5" SATA, SA400S37/240G
Zalman T7 Midi Tower Black Acrylic window
EVGA 400W Power Supply, PPA4004900

Total: $993 gadgetguide.com

With this setup, you'll be able to play MOBAs at 1080p with 60FPS if you drop the settings down a bit. You might even squeeze League of Legends through on max settings. Still, I wouldn't recommend gaming like this on a TV. FIFA, racing games, fighting games—those are fine, but MOBAs where split-second timing is everything in a team fight? Definitely not. 🙂

$1000 isn't really the issue; the real headache is that I don't have any room in my apartment for a massive tower (at least, according to my wife 😁). Is it possible to cram this setup into a smaller case since the PC is going to be sitting right in the living room?

send with my 9 T using Reddit

35cm x 35 cm by 17cm mini case$50
https://www.newegg.com/p/naviatec-nvt-601-case-medium=click

Everything will fit since you're using a micro motherboard that matches this mini case perfectly.

This is easily the smallest PC you can actually get some decent performance out of.

https://www.amazon.com/asrock...m_medium=click

https://www.newegg.com/processors/amd...price-89984231

The barebones kit includes the power supply. The Stock Ryzen cooler fits the case just fine.

Throw in 2x8GB of RAM and an SSD, and you're good to go.

The AMD Ryzen 5 Pro 3400 g is miles ahead of any ultra-low voltage chip out there. Should be plenty for those games.

wiredotter14 said:This is the smallest PC you can actually fit decent components into.

https://www.amazon.com/asrock...m_medium=click

https://www.newegg.com/processors/amd...price-89984231

The barebones kit includes the power supply. The Stock Ryzen cooler fits the case perfectly.

Just throw in 2x8GB of RAM and an SSD, and you're good to go.

The 3400G is miles ahead of any ultra-low voltage processor, and I think it’ll handle those games just fine.

Nice, this is exactly what I was looking for since I figured size would be the main factor. I just didn't know the specific name or where to track it down.

Stick a 3400G and 2x8GB 3200MHz RAM in here and you'll run League of Legends and DotA quite smoothly. 🙂

Grab a case around 14x14x7 inches so you can actually fit a standard power supply in there. Honestly, relying on a 120W 19V adapter seems like a recipe for disaster, especially since that AMD Ryzen 5 Pro 3400 g can pull up to 116 watts all by itself when you're pushing multi-threaded tasks.

https://www.guru3d.com/articles-page...-review,4.html

Just got back from a quick dive, $1067 regarding how they put that config together... Honestly, it might be a struggle to run everything I have in mind... It’s weird because those aren't even super heavy games, and I don't plan on cranking the settings to max anyway. I just want to be able to jump in for a quick match here and there.

send with my 9 T using Reddit

Alexander Moore67 said:Grab a case around 13x13x6 inches so you can actually fit a standard power supply. Using a 120W 19V adapter is going to be a major weak point since the AMD Ryzen 5 Pro 3400 g hits 116W on its own during multi-threaded loads.

https://www.guru3d.com/articles-page...-review,4.html

You're looking at a 116W peak draw from the wall, plus an RTX card pulling at least 15W just sitting idle. The Deskmini only puts out 120W at 19V before you even account for efficiency losses.

The 3400G should run fine on Stock Ryzen settings.

James Stewart94 said:I just got back from scuba diving, $1067 though I'm a bit skeptical about how they'll put that build together... It might be tough to get the performance you're dreaming of. It's strange because those games aren't even that demanding, and I don't plan on running them at max settings anyway... I just want to be able to jump in for a quick match every now and then.

Sent from my phone using Reddit

Try heading over to Micro Center or maybe Best Buy; that local shop doesn't have any CPUs in stock right now, and honestly, their service isn't great. What you've got planned should run perfectly fine on a 3400g.