Best Budget Mini PCs in the UK 2016

This post features the best budget mini PCs in the UK, also explaining the concepts behind them and why you should get one

Mini PCs are gaining ground in the UK, as they are reliable, light, cheap and can be used as a complement for your TV or also a desktop PC depending on your requirements. Let’s see what are the best selling mini PCs in the UK and understand why they are so popular

Mini PCs – A Good Investment or a Superfluous Gadget?

Mini PCs are amazing devices, but not everyone should buy a mini PC. Mini PC users have specific needs, which usually are all related to owning a cheap, light device while maintaining acceptable performance levels that a smart TV for example will be unlikely to deliver.

Just like any gadget, mini PCs also have their drawbacks. The main one in the case of budget mini PCs is the performance, as they have lighter components, which consume less energy, but at the same time provide less performance, so if you are a gamer I would recommend you to pick

On the good side, the main advantages of mini PC are: its dimensions, as an example, if we consider that the ASUS Chromebox has a weight of only 600 grams. They can be considerably lighter than most laptops and virtually all desktops.

The second limitation on budget mini PC is their storage, they generally are solid state drives (SSD) with a very limited capacity. The good thing about this is that this problem can be easily circumvented by buying an external hard drive, use one of the USB ports of your mini PC and accesss a lot of data from the external storage drive.

Mini PCs have a very good starting price, being some models available in the UK sold under the 100 pounds price category.

Mini PCs are ideal for streaming services like Amazon Prime, Netflix and others.

Budget mini PCs can be also a good solution for digital nomad, making you travel light but you will have to travel to places where you know a monitor will be available, with an HDMI port to connect your mini PC.

So let’s have a look at the best budget mini PCs available in the UK in 2016:

Eggsnow Fanless Core i5 Mini PC Desktop Computer with Intel Core i5 5200u 2.20Ghz 300M Wifi

Processor:Intel Core i5 5200u 2.20Ghz (Estimated Delivery Date:Usually arrive within 5-8 days)
Memory:Support Dual Channel NB Memory SO-DIMM DDR3L (Maximum to 16GB RAM, 2x8GB)
Hard Drive:Support 1xMini PCIE Msata SSD+2×2.5″ HDD/SSD (SSD Max.512GB x 2, HDD Max.2TB)
Built-in Wireless Network Card:Wi-Fi 300Mbps;”Operating System & RAM & SSD & HDD”(Not Include)
Front&Rear Ports:1xPower indicator and switch;4xUSB 2.0;4xUSB 3.0;1xSD Card Reader;1xMIC;1xSPK;1xDC IN;2xHDMI;2xLAN Ports(RJ45);1xFiber Port.

Click here to read more or buy this mini desktop PC from Amazon.co.uk

Lenovo ideacentre Q190 Ultra Small Desktop PC (Black) – (Intel Celeron 1017U, 4Gb RAM, 500Gb HDD, WLAN, Integrated Graphics, Windows 8.1)

Compact and space-saving design – at just 22mm wide, this could be the world’s smallest desktop
Lenovo Rescue System – makes data backup and recovery simple
S/PDIF for lossless digital audio output supporting 5.1 channel surround sound
Rediscover your computer with access to a world of entertaining and useful apps like Lenovo Companion and Lenovo Support
Click here to read more or buy this mini desktop PC from Amazon.co.uk

HP 300-030na Pavilion Mini Desktop (Intel Core i3 1.9 GHz, 4 GB RAM, 1 TB HDD, Windows 8.1)

Primed for productivity with Windows 8.1, the latest Intel processor, plenty of hard drivestorage, and dual monitor support.
This tiny PC really stands out. It’s attractive enough to sit on your desk, yet small and coolenough to keep in a cabinet.
Get all the features you expect in a tower while using less energy on average. Using only 60 watts of power, the HP Pavilion Mini is small and smart.
Access multiple music sources from one location with HP Connected Music. Listen to radio stations and broadcasts from all over the world with TuneIn Radio and integrate your music library and leading music services in a single, unique application