Advice on buying mini desktop PCs on AliExpress (or anywhere else)

I frequently buy smaller/cheaper products on aliexpress. I have received every item I've ordered. Quality is "OK". But do not expect premium items at super cheap price. Most items i've seen that are name brand/premium works out to be about same price as if you buy in Canada , sometimes even higher priced after shipping is included. Shipping time for can vary from 2-3weeks all the way to 8 weeks or more. You have the option of paying for faster shipping, but it'll add to the cost significantly. Return policies? Don't expect services like you would from North american stores. I've received items that were broken, offered full refund. Or they'll ship a new item if you pay shipping again.

I am almost certain you would be able to equal or in some case find a cheaper option within Canada/locally.

It sounds like you'll be better served getting a gaming laptop.

I'd say aliexpress is good for smaller/simple items. But for more complex electronics or larger items, risks are higher and shipping usually kills the deal.

I ordered 2 mini PC during 11/11 holiday sale. I would not order it at regular price.
Both PC arrived fast. Intel one had DHL shipping included and it arrived in couple of days. Seller declared it as low value TV box and there was no other charges.
AMD one arrived within 2 weeks and there was no other charges involved.
In both cases I ordered configurations without RAM and HDD. Both PC are running great. One is used for CAD and other on runs couple of VM. They are fast and silent.
For reference I paid US $595.76 for Morefine S500+ Mini PC AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX and US $385.21for Nuc11th Gen Mini PC Intel i7 1165G7.
Nothing in Canada could match those specs and prices. Build quality is excellent and BIOS is unlocked. You can find many YouTube videos doing reviews of those boxes and they are mostly positive.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003394501967.html

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003349714611.html

TE7 wrote: ↑
For reference I paid US $595.76 for Morefine S500+ Mini PC AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX and US $385.21for Nuc11th Gen Mini PC Intel i7 1165G7.
Nothing in Canada could match those specs and prices. Build quality is excellent and BIOS is unlocked. You can find many YouTube videos doing reviews of those boxes and they are mostly positive.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003394501967.html

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003349714611.html

You got a good deal on the Ryzen mini pc. The link is now ~$750USD/$970 CAD for the R9 5900HX no ram/storage.

If you buy on AliExpress, assume no returns

1. They make you jump through hoops to prove it is defective
2. You have to pay shipping back to China which usually costs a small fortune

If you want a portable gaming unit. Get a Nintendo Switch

coilz wrote: ↑ You got a good deal on the Ryzen mini pc. The link is now ~$750USD/$970 CAD for the R9 5900HX no ram/storage.

Rakuten cash back made it even better deal.

I would buy local. At least if something goes wrong you can bring it to the store and you actually have the option of easy hassle free refund.

Buy on AliExpress good luck on any support and don't even bother with a refund. Also there are Youtube channels who try to order their PC on AliExpress ended not even what was order or arrive all broken and won't even boot up.

Huge YMMV with ali, I would not be comfortable purchasing a high dollar value item but that's just me - as you can see, people do have positive experiences and there are deals to be had if you are comfortable with the potential risk.

There are some unique items out there that are hard or impossible to find locally, sometimes Ali is the only option when it comes to that (like mobile CPUs soldered onto desktop sockets with shims included to use them on desktop systems, also some interesting hacked up motherboards by unknown manufacturers and features you wouldn't expect - like thunderbolt on AMD systems etc. )

as most people have said, assume there is no easy way of dealing with doa/warranty/returns, even if the seller claims that they will. remember that this involves cross-country shipping and dispute so you are at a disadvantage if you want to bring up a claim

that being said, i still buy stuff from aliexpress, but only on stuff that is not too expensive ($300 or below) that i can afford to lose. i have bought mini pcs in the past though aliexpress for the past few years. quality is okay, but in the end i end up using intel nucs instead due to better quality.

one of the mini pcs from aliexpress did crap out, and off to e-waste it went. and the brand (of the mini pc that crapped out) simply disappeared from the internet so these manufacturers simply come and go, so dont expect any support from them. actually, now that i checked, all the brands that i bought mini pcs from have vanished.

but if it's for gaming use, definitely go local. for light use, mini pcs from aliexpress are fine as long as they are priced cheap and you are aware of the risks. i would definitely not spend $1000 on a gaming pc from aliexpress. get a gaming laptop locally that provides reliable warranty services instead. gaming hardware is susceptible to thermal/heating issues and if it craps out you will wish that you have warranty. i would never use an aliexpress pc as my main computer

it is indeed YMMV, so i would advise against spending to much money on aliexpress. assume that anything you buy from aliexpress are disposable gadgets

You can check ebay for Lenovo Tiny, HP Mini, Dell Micro
https://www.servethehome.com/introducin ... evolution/

Back in Nov 2021, for 450 CAD, I was able to get an used like new HP Elitedesk 800 G4
Core i7 8700T
16 gb ddr4
500 gb nvme ssd
Wifi
Windows 10 (upgrated to 11)

Those computer are ofter lease returns from large offices fleet

I'd grab a refurbed mini pc from bauer or ca.refurb.io

The reason I bought two mini PC from AliExpress was that I wanted to test the latest Intel & AMD CPU. We are running the first generation of Threadripper CAD workstations in our office with dedicated video cards. We paid close to 4K per workstation at the time. As technology progress that was cheap & easy way for me to see how current mobile processors compare to 5 year old Threadripper processor. I have to say that I'm impressed with performance and we had very small issues (artifacts) in our CAD software as integrated video cards are still not as powerful as dedicated ones. As we plan to upgrade our workstations in a year or two mini PC will be definitely or way to go. I can't comment on gaming performance but everything else was excellent including build quality of both Mini PC. I would not trust RAM & HDD from AliExpress vendors and that's why I ordered bare-bone systems. I replaced thermal paste in both mini PC and for the past 4 months they are running great. One is used daily as CAD workstation and the other runs VM's and docker images 24/7.
Also, I like possibility of using M.2 key to attach external video card to Mini PC if ever needed for our CAD applications.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3304741 ... uo4gb&mp=1

I can understand reservations about buying from AliExpress but if you do your homework properly there is a good chance that you'll be satisfied with purchase. There are reputable sellers and good products but quantity of junk is also overwhelming, so saying about something being too good to be true definitely applies here.

Morefine has web site and provides some drivers and BIOS updates. It is not on the level of Dell or Lenovo support but honestly I didn't expect any support at all.

https://morefines.com/pages/faqs-test-rep


I can also recommend MinisForum to purchase Mini PC from. I did it in the past and I was satisfied with product. They have a bit higher prices than AliExpress. They have support and forum page and you definitely will get warranty & support.

https://www.minisforum.com

https://www.minisforum.com/support

https://bbs.minisforum.com

If your budget allows get an Intel NUC with the Nvidia 2070 GPU. If not get a gaming laptop instead.

This one? https://www.amazon.ca/Beelink-Versatile ... C67&sr=8-8

scoper wrote: ↑ If your budget allows get an Intel NUC with the Nvidia 2070 GPU. If not get a gaming laptop instead.

I actually have a gaming laptop but I prefer not to carry it on my travels.

yesstyle wrote: ↑ This one? https://www.amazon.ca/Beelink-Versatile ... C67&sr=8-8

The Beelink ones are not bad - at least there's another option for me to get something locally.