Cheap, functional, upgradeable: HP’s Stream and Pavilion Mini desktops reviewed

These inexpensive Windows desktops have a surprising amount to offer.

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[tipoo]

The processor in that 179 Stream Mini has a tray price (what manufacturers pay - not what we pay) of 107.00...That's kind of funny in a way. The entire rest of the machine has to fit in 72 bucks, and eke a profit out of there somewhere.

HPs race to the bottom is both turning up some exciting products, and a bit worrying. Like, can they really make any money on the $99 Stream 7?

 

[tipoo]

Hat Monster[/url]":1bfl1vz4]

tipoo[/url]":1bfl1vz4]The processor in that 179 Stream Mini has a tray price (what manufacturers pay - not what we pay) of 107.00...That's kind of funny in a way. The entire rest of the machine has to fit in 72 bucks, and eke a profit out of there somewhere.

HPs race to the bottom is both turning up some exciting products, and a bit worrying. Like, can they really make any money on the $99 Stream 7?

The tray price is what tiny manufacturers pay - it's a reference point, a place to start negotiations. Tier 1 OEMs pay a fraction of it. Back in the day, Intel was selling some Pentium 4 grade at a tray price of $269 while a leaked document from Dell showed Dell paying $110 for the same product.

Was that including the, uh, "Special incentives" during the Pentium 4 days though?

 

[tipoo]

salamanderjuice[/url]":2dca8g63]

multimediavt[/url]":2dca8g63]Meh. For $50 more than the Pavillion mini (upgraded) I can get a bottom end Mac mini with a 1.4 GHz Core i5 (Haswell 4260U) with Intel HD 5000 graphics, two display port/thunderbolt ports, the same USB config, same RAM config, not have to "mackintosh" it, etc.

If tinkering is your thing, then one of these might suit some need, but if you want a useable mini PC then I would pass. The only thing the Mac mini doesn't have is an option for 802.11ac wireless, but that's really only good for local traffic in most homes in the U.S. Surprised the Mac mini wasn't even mentioned in this "neutral" article.

The bottom barrel Mac Mini doesn't have RAM slots either so your stuck with that 4GB for the life of the device. It also has half the hard disk space. But if you know you're never going to upgrade the memory and really want it for OS X it's probably worth the $50 extra.

Yeah, anything after Snow Leopard is zero fun on 4GB (it's ok with a solid state drive, but that's not in the base Mini either), while Windows 8 and 10 are very manageable on 4GB for average users.