Published April 5, 2026 at 4:00 PM EDT.
Monica J. White has been covering technology for over 10 years. Since then, she’s built and tested many PCs. She has written thousands articles on PC hardware, graphics cards, handhelds and peripherals. Monica is always happy to talk about all things computing, from GPUs and processors to headsets and programs.
Monica is a contributor to TechRadar and other publications, including Tom’s Guide Laptop Mag SlashGear Whop Digital Trends. She wants to make PC gaming, and computing fun and accessible to all audiences. Monica is always elbow deep in her computer case.
She’s either upgrading, testing, or planning her next build. As the tech-support person for her immediate circles, she is never short of work.
She loves to play video games until early morning hours, and spend time with her pet. Do you love mini PCs?
Mini PCs are smaller than laptops, but stilllarger than desktops, with specifications that fall somewhere between. My mini-PCs are begging to be put in my bag, but they’ve spent their entire lives on the shelf. Wasting money. Mini PCs are more versatile than most people realize. If you have one, it’s a good idea to use it daily, not just as a driver but also as an assistant for your primary computer.
You shouldn’t compare your mini-PC with your main PC
It’s a common misconception that mini PCs are desktops because they don’t have a display.
This couldn’t possibly be more false. Some are amazing, like Apple’s Mac Mini. Many of these PCs aren’t beastly, but that’s okay, they weren’t meant to be. But that doesn’t mean they are useless.
Having owned several mini-PCs for both my personal use and to review, I have always seen them as what they are: drastically reduced versions of computers in all aspects.
It’s their biggest strength and the main reason they work so well alongside a desktop computer (or laptop, depending on your preference). It’s for this reason that I believe mini PCs are better suited as secondary computers than primary ones. When you stop thinking of them as undersized computers, they become much more useful.
GEEKOM IT15 U9-285H
7 /10
Storage
2TB SSD
CPU
Intel Core Ultra 9 285H
Free up the main computer by removing background garbage
.
Allow the mini-PC to handle annoying tasks
Photo credit: Hannah Stryker/How-To-Geek
I changed my opinion when I realized that a Mini PC is more useful as an all-purpose machine than it would be if used for general purposes. Although I’m aware that some modern mini PCs can be used for gaming, I have never done so.
They were used for things that cluttered up my main computer, like downloading, backing up, syncing, and staying accessible for remote access. My colleagues also use them to run Plex servers or virtual machines. This separation of tasks is what makes it so valuable. You can keep the main machine free of mundane tasks by giving them their own space. This also helps my system feel more predictable and organized. My workloads and data are already separated across multiple storage devices.
For example, I use something called a “abuse drive” for all the garbage that my main SSDs should not be handling. A mini PC is an upgrade of this type of drive. It can handle all the background work while you focus on what you care most about with your main computer.
The mini PC for remote access, rescue and other duties
It’s one of the things I love about mini-PCs
– Credit: Patrick Campanale/How to Geek
My favorite use for mini PCs is using them as a device that can be accessed when my primary PC is not working or is busy.
Set yours up to allow remote access and it will become a useful gateway for your home network. You can use it to grab files, monitor downloads, restart applications, or manage your shared folders all without needing your main computer. I like using the mini-PC as a back up machine in case something happens. This is like a more advanced version of a rescue disk. You can use your mini PC to create a bootable USB drive, upgrade your BIOS or drivers, and do serious troubleshooting.
You can use your mini-PC to benefit your whole family. Mini PCs are great for home entertainment systems and living room consoles.
One mini PC is enough to help an entire family.
This mini PC is small and quiet. It can be easily tucked away next to routers, TVs, printers, etc. It can do all the little tasks that aren’t necessary to be done on a main computer. For example, sharing files over a network, hosting an online media library, or managing a printer. As long as the main computers can remotely connect to the Mini PC, many tasks can be centrally managed across the network. This will give you a shared computer that is not overly-shared.
Performance is not the real winner
The value of a mini-PC is not just in the benchmarks.
Many tasks you can delegate to an entry-level, basic PC won’t be as taxing for a desktop or laptop. Mini PCs are often limited in their abilities because they lack a graphics card or run mobile CPUs. It’s okay, you don’t need to get a lot of performance out of your PC. Prioritizing workloads is more important than keeping everything tidy.
Avoid wasting your mini-PC’s potential.
Many people buy them as something fun to have, but then they end up sitting on a shelf. You can still get a great deal out of your mini PC. Using it every day alongside your primary PC will help you to maximize your investment, maintain your PC and automate a number of boring tasks that go on behind the scenes.
This is enough for me to own a mini-PC. GEEKOM mini PC (19659025)
GEEKOM (
]CPU
AMD Ryzen 7430U]
I hope that this article convinced you of the need for a small assistant. The Geekom is an excellent choice. This is not a beastly computer, but will do all those annoying jobs while you can concentrate on your main machine.