Hi guys, I’m looking to buy a small Windows desktop computer to sit alongside my iMac. I’ve currently got 27" iMac 5k with an additional 28" 4k display. I work in the building design industry and mostly use Revit and SketchUp applications. Up until recently I’ve used Parallels to run Revit and I use SketchUp for Mac. I need to be able to use SketchUp for Windows but the software no longer supports VM computers so I’m stuck using 2016 version of the application. I’m looking at hooking up a Windows machine to the 4k display to run the software natively, but I don’t want a big tower taking up room. Is there such thing as a small Windows desktop that I can buy for my needs? Thanks in advance.
I just recently chose an HP 6300 for my union office. Older, but still can be found with an i7 processor, can go up to 32GBs of RAM, you can get a slim type graphics card, and put in an SSD for the OS and add at least one other harddrive for storage. Windows 10 compatible, of course. They’re like maybe $300 used.
I’d suggest an Intel NUC mini PC, they come in all sorts of specifications from basic Celerons right through to boxes with I7 chips.
https://www.intel.com.au/content/www/au/en/products/boards-kits/nuc.html
They’re available from CentreCom, MWave, Kogan and a heap of other places, just Google for a shop near you.
NB they come as fully built, partly built or kit so make sure you know what you’re buying.
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Thanks guys I’ll check out those recommendations.
Definitely the NUC. It’s been the micro-PC standard for a few years now. Gives the Mac Mini a real run for its money, especially since the latter hasn’t had a proper update in a loooooooooong time.
I’ve had a look at those machines, they look pretty good and exactly the size I want. Now all I need to do is get one that will be powerful enough to run 3D modelling software. Thanks again guys, much appreciated.
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Personally I would be having a look at what laptops cost too. Dell run some pretty good specials pretty often, although you’ve just missed the last run. Even so, these two options (which are really the first I saw rather than any real thought) seem to compare pretty well. Sure you are trading off size vs portability… but is that attractive for you?