A silent desktop for browsers, spreadsheets, video calls and development on multiple 4K screens. Prioritise display outputs, single-cable USB-C docking, 32 GB of RAM and quiet cooling over raw horsepower.
Count the outputs you will actually use: HDMI, DisplayPort and USB-C/USB4 with DP Alt Mode. Most modern chips drive up to four displays; budget N100 boxes usually stop at two or three.
USB4 or Thunderbolt lets one cable carry video, USB and Ethernet to a monitor or dock. Some models can even be powered over USB-C PD.
16 GB is the minimum for modern browsers and Teams; 32 GB keeps a development environment, Docker and dozens of tabs smooth.
An office box sits on the desk. Look for measured noise at typical load, not just maximum clocks.
Fine for web apps, documents and dual 4K displays at a very low price — but limited to one RAM slot.
| Graphics (iGPU) | Intel UHD (24 EU) |
| Memory Architecture | 1x DDR4/DDR5 SODIMM (Up to 32GB) |
| Storage Exp. | 1x M.2 NVMe + 1x 2.5" SATA |
| Idle Power | 5W – 8W |
| Est. Barebone Cost | $120 - $180 |
OPNsense Firewall, Pi-hole, Plex DirectPlay, lightweight Proxmox cluster nodes.
Eight full cores, dual-channel DDR5 and three or four display outputs for multi-monitor work at a mid-range price.
| Graphics (iGPU) | Radeon 680M (RDNA 2) |
| Memory Architecture | Dual-Channel DDR5 (Up to 64GB) |
| Storage Exp. | 2x M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 NVMe |
| Idle Power | 10W – 14W |
| Est. Barebone Cost | $310 - $420 |
Heavy 4K multi-monitor productivity, software compilation, medium Docker stacks.
Thunderbolt 4 docking, excellent Quick Sync for video calls and editing, and strong single-thread speed.
| Graphics (iGPU) | Intel Arc Graphics (8 Xe-cores) |
| Memory Architecture | Dual DDR5 5600 SODIMM |
| Storage Exp. | 2x M.2 PCIe 4.0 |
| Idle Power | 11W – 17W |
| Est. Barebone Cost | $520 - $720 |
Intel QuickSync 8K AV1 transcoding, media engineering, desktop virtualization.
Top efficiency keeps fans quiet; integrated Thunderbolt, Wi-Fi 7 and four-display support.
| Graphics (iGPU) | Intel Arc B390 (12 Xe3-cores) |
| Memory Architecture | LPDDR5X-9600 soldered (X-series) or DDR5-7200 SODIMM |
| Storage Exp. | 2x M.2 PCIe 4.0 / 5.0 (chassis dependent) |
| Idle Power | 5W – 10W |
| Est. Barebone Cost | $850 - $1,600 |
Quick Sync media servers and editing, efficient always-on workstations, 1080p gaming on the iGPU, on-device AI with OpenVINO.
| CPU | 6–8+ performance cores (Zen 3+ / Core Ultra) |
| Memory | 16 GB minimum, 32 GB recommended |
| Displays | 3–4 outputs, including USB-C / USB4 DP Alt Mode |
| Connectivity | USB4 / Thunderbolt for docking, Wi-Fi 6E / 7 |
| Noise | Under ~30 dB(A) at office load |
| Graphics | Intel UHD Graphics (24 EU) |
| Memory | 16GB LPDDR5-4800 soldered (12GB option) |
| Storage | 6x M.2 2230/2242/2280 (1x PCIe 3.0 x4 + 5x PCIe 3.0 x1), Up to 24TB |
| Idle Power | 6W – 7W (no drives) · ~17W with six SSDs |
| Price | $525 (N150/16GB/1TB) |
Intel N100 / N305 Micro Node
| Graphics | AMD Radeon 680M (12 CUs, RDNA 2, up to 2.2 GHz) |
| Memory | 32GB LPDDR5-6400 soldered (not upgradeable) |
| Storage | 1x M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 + 2x M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 (Up to 16TB) |
| Idle Power | Not published |
| Price | $619.99 (32GB/512GB) · $659.99 (32GB/1TB) |
Ryzen 7 7735HS / 5800H Mini
| Graphics | Intel Arc B390 (12 Xe cores, 2.5 GHz, 122 TOPS INT8) |
| Memory | LPDDR5X-8533 onboard (64GB) |
| Storage | 2x M.2 2280 (PCIe 5.0 x4 + PCIe 4.0 x1, up to 8TB each) |
| Idle Power | Not published |
| Price | $2,399.99 (64GB/1TB) |
Intel Panther Lake Core Ultra X9 388H / X7 358H