Uses of a Windows 11 miniPC that a Mac cannot fulfill

[Populus]

Okay, I’m a Mac mini user and I’m probably going to buy a new Mac mini in the near future

However, in order to perform a very specific firmware update, I need a Windows machine. So I’m getting a decent Twin Lake N150 quad core mini PC with
12GB of DDR5 and a copy of Windows 11 Pro pre-installed.

My question is, once I perform the firmware update, I could return it or keep it.

In order to convince me of keeping it, I’d like you to give ideas of software and use-cases where a cheap Windows x86 mini PC can be handy in the near future. My future M5 or M6 Mac mini is going to be much much more powerful than this miniPC, that’s why, in order to keep it, I need to know what interesting software is Windows only.

 

[maflynn]

My question is, once I perform the firmware update, I could return it or keep it.

There's the ethical question of buying a product that you have no desire to keep, but are only looking to "rent" it for free (or near free).

However, in order to perform a very specific firmware update,

You cannot do that in a virtualized environment?

In order to convince me of keeping it

I don't think anyone can convince you to keep or return a product, its your money, your decision.

I need to know what interesting software is Windows only.

Some really interesting software that's windows only - AutoCad, Solidworks, WindowsBlinds, Start11 and Fences (all from Object Desktop). Rufus, and there's also the very popular Notepad++ to wrap up what comes to mind.

For the most part, at this point of PCs and Mac platform maturation, what you can do on one platform, you generally can do on the other. Game playing is largely the biggest difference, though with buying a mini-pc, its not really a machine capable of playing AAA games, however panther lake may be changing that. If I were buying a mini pc/laptop, I'd be looking to Panther lake.

My future M5 or M6 Mac mini is going to be much much more powerful than this miniPC

Consider when a M5 Mini will come out - with the M4 Mini only a year old, and the average time span between releases is 720 days, its quite probably you have another year waiting and 2+ years for an M6 if you want to hold out that long.

 

[Populus]

Damn! I didn’t know Panther Lake was a thing. I thought Twin lake was the latest and greatest!

I’ll dig into that upcoming generation, and if the performance increase is significant, then I’ll have another reason to return this and wait for those! As long as the price range is expected to be the same ($150-$180).

I’ll keep thinking about the software you mentioned and see if I could benefit from having a secondary system running Windows. Thank you.

 

[pshufd]

Okay, I’m a Mac mini user and I’m probably going to buy a new Mac mini in the near future

However, in order to perform a very specific firmware update, I need a Windows machine. So I’m getting a decent Twin Lake N150 quad core mini PC with
12GB of DDR5 and a copy of Windows 11 Pro pre-installed.

My question is, once I perform the firmware update, I could return it or keep it.

In order to convince me of keeping it, I’d like you to give ideas of software and use-cases where a cheap Windows x86 mini PC can be handy in the near future. My future M5 or M6 Mac mini is going to be much much more powerful than this miniPC, that’s why, in order to keep it, I need to know what interesting software is Windows only.

I'd suggest borrowing one from a neighbor, friend, relative or coworker.

I've given Windows systems to coworkers and friends who asked and I have three Windows systems, one that I'd give away if asked and a bunch of Intel Macs that could do the job.

I agree that it's handy to have a Windows system around. My fitness watch requires a PC to backdate the firmware. It is possible to do it on a Mac but you need some third-party software. I tried to backdate my watch on my Mac for a few days and then I learned that you can't do it without special software.

I absolutely hate returning stuff but that's because I'm lazy. I'm okay returning stuff if an item does not perform as advertised or if it's the wrong product. But I've never purchased something with the intent to use it and return it. I know that it's a quite common practice and I imagine YouTube reviewers do that - some seem to buy several models, do their testing on them, make videos and then return them.

 

[pshufd]

Damn! I didn’t know Panther Lake was a thing. I thought Twin lake was the latest and greatest!

I’ll dig into that upcoming generation, and if the performance increase is significant, then I’ll have another reason to return this and wait for those! As long as the price range is expected to be the same ($150-$180).

I’ll keep thinking about the software you mentioned and see if I could benefit from having a secondary system running Windows. Thank you.

Panther Lake devices were suppose to ship this fall and have been slipped to 2026Q1.

I have been trying to get a handle on Intel 18A yields as there's no Panther Lake without Intel 18A being profitable.

Panther Lake sounds great though. I have a Lunar Lake laptop and it's great but it isn't heavy on multicore. Panther Lake looks to be about 12% more efficient than Lunar Lake and should have higher multicore performance with additional cores. I think that it will be great if they actually manage to make them. I suspect that they will get yields working by next summer. If that is not the case, then I think that Intel, as a company, won't exist in its current form in 2027.

 

[maflynn]

I have been trying to get a handle on Intel 18A yields as there's no Panther Lake without Intel 18A being profitable.

Seems like they got most if not all of the issues ironed out with 18A, and the yields are supposedly there. They held an influencer day touring the facility, talking about panther lake and and what not. Those YTers seemed to be impressed with 18A's status and Intel's ability to ship Panther Lake.

Personally, I'm impressed with Panther Lake, I'm curious to see it in real life - maybe get a new thinkpad or something.

 

[Populus]

But honestly, is Panther Lake likely to be released in the ultra-low power segment of the market? Because all I’m reading is that Panther Lake will be used for the regular U lineup (good performant laptops) but what I need is just a cheap and capable mini-PC, and I don’t think Intel would use Panther Lake for the N150 substitute, much less in cheap 150€ mini PCs.

On the other hand, I’ve seen some interesting mini PCs with some low power Ryzen 5 for as low as 250€, but honestly, even tho they are much more powerful than an N150 mini PC, I’m not willing to spend that much on a secondary computer.

 

[pshufd]

Seems like they got most if not all of the issues ironed out with 18A, and the yields are supposedly there. They held an influencer day touring the facility, talking about panther lake and and what not. Those YTers seemed to be impressed with 18A's status and Intel's ability to ship Panther Lake.

Personally, I'm impressed with Panther Lake, I'm curious to see it in real life - maybe get a new thinkpad or something.

I've gone through a lot of those videos and didn't catch anything about the yields. Level One Techs alluded to things that he couldn't talk about and I assume that yields were part of that. The schedule was that products were scheduled to ship to consumers in Q42025 and that has been pushed back to Q1 2026. The question is will those products get pushed to Q2 2026.

The rumors on yields were really bad this past summer. That Intel hasn't answered the question by just coming out with the actual numbers has me concerned.

 

[pshufd]

But honestly, is Panther Lake likely to be released in the ultra-low power segment of the market? Because all I’m reading is that Panther Lake will be used for the regular U lineup (good performant laptops) but what I need is just a cheap and capable mini-PC, and I don’t think Intel would use Panther Lake for the N150 substitute, much less in cheap 150€ mini PCs.

On the other hand, I’ve seen some interesting mini PCs with some low power Ryzen 5 for as low as 250€, but honestly, even tho they are much more powerful than an N150 mini PC, I’m not willing to spend that much on a secondary computer.

I saw benchmark numbers on H chips compared to the V chips last night in a Gamer's Meld video and I asked why they were comparing an H chip to a V chip. The score was 50% higher which is to be expected in the different classes of chips.

Lunar Lake mini PCs aren't cheap. Here's an example: https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E168831...s-_-desktop pc-_-msi-_-83151696&source=region and it's $1,149.

Here's the Asus version at $1,199.99: https://mitxpc.com/products/90as00n1-m000l0

If they had these around $500, I'd replace my Windows desktop with one. But, for whatever reason, Lunar Lake mini-PCs and Lunar Lake laptops overall are just in a higher price tier.

And maybe Intel doesn't make something comparable for this version or maybe they come out with it in late 2026. But getting Lunar Lake is like when Apple came out with M1. It gives you an idea as to what Intel can do.

If you want good performance, need x86 and want high efficiency, Lunar Lake is it. It's just expensive. That's why that Asus laptop at Costco was so interesting. Lunar Lake 32 GB 1 TB for $699. It is back to the price of near $1,000. I am hoping that time lowers the price for Lunar Lake mini-PCs but it might not happen.

 

[Snowlover]

Okay, I’m a Mac mini user and I’m probably going to buy a new Mac mini in the near future

However, in order to perform a very specific firmware update, I need a Windows machine. So I’m getting a decent Twin Lake N150 quad core mini PC with
12GB of DDR5 and a copy of Windows 11 Pro pre-installed.

My question is, once I perform the firmware update, I could return it or keep it.

In order to convince me of keeping it, I’d like you to give ideas of software and use-cases where a cheap Windows x86 mini PC can be handy in the near future. My future M5 or M6 Mac mini is going to be much much more powerful than this miniPC, that’s why, in order to keep it, I need to know what interesting software is Windows only.

It is very easy to install windows 11 on your 2014 mac mini with a rufus made installer, did it on mine. I would do that and return the mini pc.

 

[Populus]

I just saw this Twin Lake N150 with 12GB of DDR5 mini PC I bought went from the 150€ I spent on it, to 220€. When I bought it a few days ago it had a discount, but I didn’t know the original price was more than 200€.

I’m going to test it for basic office tasks, update the monitors firmware (I need a Display Port connector without adaptors, that’s why I cannot do it from my Mac), and maybe some light emulation, and probably I’ll keep it. I very much doubt I’ll be able to get a much more powerful machine for as low as 150€.

 

[splifingate]

Okay, I’m a Mac mini user and I’m probably going to buy a new Mac mini in the near future

However, in order to perform a very specific firmware update, I need a Windows machine. So I’m getting a decent Twin Lake N150 quad core mini PC with
12GB of DDR5 and a copy of Windows 11 Pro pre-installed.

My question is, once I perform the firmware update, I could return it or keep it.

In order to convince me of keeping it, I’d like you to give ideas of software and use-cases where a cheap Windows x86 mini PC can be handy in the near future. My future M5 or M6 Mac mini is going to be much much more powerful than this miniPC, that’s why, in order to keep it, I need to know what interesting software is Windows only.

You could put opnsense (or pfsense) on it for router duties.

Or, you could just chuck it on the shelf for some other time when you might find the need to perform another firmware update