Contemplating getting rid of my Celeron Lenovo laptop and getting a tiny box like pc with a ryzen 5, 32g ram. The only drawback is win11. But I know how to rid of one drive (permanently) so I guess that isn't a big deal. Found many cheap computers but they have i3 and those have always been too slow for me. Linux is just incompatible with my daw and video editing software so that's out. Does anyone have one of these types and if so what are your thoughts on it
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Most have soldered RAM or a single Laptop style RAM slot so your options for future upgrades will be limited. Depending on the brand you may or may not be able to replace the CPU.
So first thing would be to figure out your use case and how long you want this thing to last you. Regardless this will be a significant upgrade.
The RAM will likely be an eventual limitation for video editing if you go up to like 4K or higher res.
One upside is with a mini PC you can get a real monitor with proper colour accuracy which will make your life easier.
I have not done DAW work since my Power Mac G4 days but if you need external peripherals as many USB ports you can bet on it will be a good plan. same with storage for video.
Also look up your video editor and figure out what CPUs and GPUs it plays best with.
Sadly there are not simple and easy answers but hopefully this gives you a starting point.
I use a Mid Tower PC in large part because for my purposes I need something that will hold a full size GPU and plenty of storage along with good airflow.
Airflow and design is also something to look into. Poorly designed mini PCs that look great on paper thermal throttle meaning you never get full performance out of them.
