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[Vendor: X-Dynamic] Refurb(Good) - Lenovo M93P Tiny PC, Intel i5 4570T - $98.83 [4GB/500GBHDD] - $125.00 [8 GB/240GBSSD]

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Mar 30th, 2023 11:27 pm

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Mar 18th, 2023 3:10 pm

ADenariusSaved [OP]: Deal Fanatic; Jan 11, 2020; 5829 posts; 4514 upvotes; TheprimOrdialsingula…

Mar 18th, 2023 3:10 pm

[Vendor: X-Dynamic] Refurb(Good) - Lenovo M93P Tiny PC, Intel i5 4570T - $98.83 [4GB/500GBHDD] - $125.00 [8 GB/240GBSSD]

Deal Link:: https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/re ... o/12321330
Price:: $98.83
Savings:: $200
Expiry:: April 11, 2023
Retailer:: Bestbuy Marketplace

Warning: MARKETPLACE Item, not BestBuy itself!
Sold and shipped by X-Dynamic Systems | 4.6 seller rating (193 reviews)

Not to be necrothread filing, but original thread posted by @Hugh here:
https://forums.redflagdeals.com/best-bu ... 3-2601444/
There have been pertinent updates since.

Synopsis of previous thread:
$200 market value
Can run 1080p, but not 4K
No HDMI, displayPort and VGA [you can always get a DP/VGA to HDMI converter for a low single-digit amount of CAD]
Idles at ~15W ?
CPU Benchmark: https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cp ... Hz&id=2041
Cheaper than a Pi 4 at current market prices, but way more functional [but commensurately consumes more power]
Cheap Windows 10 Professional license, if you're the type to pay MSRP, or the type to pay at all!

Link to cheap edition that you can easily upgrade [4GB/500GB HDD] - $98.83:
https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/re ... o/12321330

Link to a more functional edition that you can probably use as is without having to open the thing up [8 GB/240GB SSD] $125.00 [price decrement of $10 from last time $149?] - $125.00:
https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/le ... d/13444314

Two frontal USB 3.0 slots, Three USB 2.0 on the backside
Ethernet port, HDMI, VGA, and Power slot also on the backside

Mine ($98.83'er) came with a short blue ComFast WiFi dongle stuck into the front USB-slot

Some reported keyboard and mouse, this was not my experience. Comes with power supply brick and power cable [have to mention it these days...]

This thing will conk out of security updates in Oct 2025 for W10P, but you can always brute-force-install W11P onto it [presumably uses the same activation key you can extract from PowerShell]. W11 "officially" requires an 8th generation Intel chip or above and a TPM v2.0 - this does not meet those reqs. Alternatively, you can install Linux quite easily. Heck, some people even put Intel-based MacOS on this (probably won't be easy).

The expiry date is an incrementally moving target, so I guess they really want to get rid of these things.

I'll be opening this thing up within the week, so I can take pictures of the internals.

Last edited by ADenariusSaved on Mar 29th, 2023 8:47 pm, edited 8 times in total.

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50 replies

Mar 18th, 2023 3:21 pm

K85: Member; Jan 23, 2007; 302 posts; 315 upvotes; London

Mar 18th, 2023 3:21 pm

I'd just love to find one for 150 that's got hdmi and can do 4k video files....

+3

Mar 18th, 2023 5:08 pm

Hugh: Deal Addict; Sep 13, 2004; 4853 posts; 2358 upvotes; Toronto

Mar 18th, 2023 5:08 pm

K85 wrote: ↑ I'd just love to find one for 150 that's got hdmi and can do 4k video files....

A DP port is standard. A second is optional (perhaps it is only cabling).

The M93p DP has limitations: at UltraHD 60Hz, I think that you can only get 8 bits per pixel per colour. No High Dynamic Range (10 bits).
DP->HDMI requires an active dongle. Passive ones (often just a cable with the right connectors) cannot do UltraHD 60Hz.

https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/ca/en/prod ... orm-factor

Since Haswell, new codec acceleration hardware has been added to each succeeding Intel generation. And, late in the game, better iGPUs. So if you want to play videos, I recommend a newer processor. But the devil is in the details. We use an Android TV box for streaming: cheap, simple, quiet, small, low maintenance.

It is astonishing how long Intel held off on supporting UltraHD on HDMI. Even when they did support it, they left some part to the motherboard manufacturers (TDMI?) so even to this day some new computers don't support UltraHD on HDMI. My old XPS15 with an UltraHD screen does not support UltraHD on its HDMI port!

+2

Mar 18th, 2023 5:13 pm

snailium: Sr. Member; Jan 15, 2010; 505 posts; 294 upvotes

Mar 18th, 2023 5:13 pm

K85 wrote: ↑ I'd just love to find one for 150 that's got hdmi and can do 4k video files....

I'd suggest you get at least 7th Gen for 4K video (at least UHD630 iGPU).

+4

Mar 18th, 2023 5:27 pm

Gee: Deal Expert; Aug 2, 2004; 36688 posts; 9937 upvotes; East Gwillimbury

Mar 18th, 2023 5:27 pm

I would skip anything that uses DDR3, the max you can install is 16 Gigs of RAM

There are plenty of 6th Gen (Sky Lake) Lenovo Tiny out there for a little more money

I have been selling off our company’s fleet off lease 8th Gen Tiny’s the last few months and they support all the requirements to run Windows 11 Pro

For 300$, you get a machine that will last you beyond 2025 when they stop Windows 10 support

Home Automation Thread

Heatware

+2

Mar 18th, 2023 5:31 pm

dcxx: Deal Addict; Dec 10, 2005; 1062 posts; 2418 upvotes

Mar 18th, 2023 5:31 pm

I got a few from last sales. None are 4570t. Got 4570s and 4590,both are nice little upgrades.

+1

Mar 18th, 2023 5:37 pm

jfd3220: Sr. Member; Jan 21, 2010; 536 posts; 699 upvotes; Brantford

Mar 18th, 2023 5:37 pm

Bauer Systems has some brand new M910Q Tiny with an i5-6500T and keyboard/mouse for $165.
Here is their price list.

+5

Mar 18th, 2023 5:43 pm

moeymoeymoeymoe: Sr. Member; May 7, 2015; 776 posts; 1218 upvotes; Toronto, ON

Mar 18th, 2023 5:43 pm

jfd3220 wrote: ↑ Bauer Systems has some brand new M910Q Tiny with an i5-6500T and keyboard/mouse for $165.
Here is their price list.

You think this can host Plex

+2

Mar 18th, 2023 6:02 pm

DaSnipe: Deal Addict; Dec 8, 2008; 1252 posts; 304 upvotes; Montreal, QC

Mar 18th, 2023 6:02 pm

moeymoeymoeymoe wrote: ↑ You think this can host Plex

Get the one with the 7500T so you can get the UHD 630 if you want to transcode 4k for plex, well worth difference

+3

Mar 18th, 2023 6:21 pm

Loomy: Deal Addict; Jan 13, 2003; 2872 posts; 2741 upvotes

Mar 18th, 2023 6:21 pm

K85 wrote: ↑ I'd just love to find one for 150 that's got hdmi and can do 4k video files....

Have you considered buying something new? Jasper Lake CPUs are faster and only like $10 more than the Gemini Lake and other CPUs that lots of people use for Plex servers on their NAS boxes. Prebuilt N5095 8GB RAM 128GB SSD from Aliexpress are under $200 shipped:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004294451209.html

https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale- ... annel=main

Last edited by Loomy on Mar 18th, 2023 6:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

+2

Mar 18th, 2023 6:22 pm

Hugh: Deal Addict; Sep 13, 2004; 4853 posts; 2358 upvotes; Toronto

Mar 18th, 2023 6:22 pm

Gee wrote: ↑ I would skip anything that uses DDR3, the max you can install is 16 Gigs of RAM

There are plenty of 6th Gen (Sky Lake) Lenovo Tiny out there for a little more money

I have been selling off our company’s fleet off lease 8th Gen Tiny’s the last few months and they support all the requirements to run Windows 11 Pro

For 300$, you get a machine that will last you beyond 2025 when they stop Windows 10 support

You are not wrong but $300 is different from $100. To be fair, you have to look at the total cost, including RAM and disk that you need to add: that reduces the multiple. Maybe you have to add other bits and bobs.

Then you have to evaluate the lifetime of this asset. A better box is probably useful longer.

And of course you should evaluate how useful the box will be. For some things, the M93p is just not great. I mentioned video.

After all that, I still imagine that there are use cases where the M93p makes sense.

I've bought a couple of used M75q boxes at $300 and $350 with Ryzen processors. I think that they are probably better than 8th gen Intel Tinys, but I don't actually know. The Intel boxes are a little more expandable, I think.

I like my M93p Tinys but I don't see myself buying more.

+2

Mar 18th, 2023 6:57 pm

Cucumference: Deal Addict; Aug 19, 2018; 1998 posts; 2584 upvotes

Mar 18th, 2023 6:57 pm

You don't need to compare this with other SFF, something like a N5095 on Amazon for around $200 would still beat this box on video playback significantly. Probably much faster overall with SSD and 8GB ram when running Windows, too. And if you are not running windows I think an android box would beat this box.

+1

Mar 18th, 2023 7:16 pm

ADenariusSaved [OP]: Deal Fanatic; Jan 11, 2020; 5829 posts; 4514 upvotes; TheprimOrdialsingula…

Mar 18th, 2023 7:16 pm

Could use it as a private server / firewall as well. Host your passwords and critical files (VaultWarden/KeePassXC).

Good for kids as a disposable experimental/training computer as well - without the distractions of modern gaming.

Also cheap Windows Professional license which may be repurposed into a new system later? Not sure how porting between mobos would work - or what kind of key this is (MAR?)

Can also put on ChromeOS Flex (good till 2026) and use it as an uncontaminated security terminal for banking and investments and taxes? Can also repurpose it as a Hackintosh for Intel-Based MacOS, YMMV.

Conversely, you can also use this as a dirty computer (TAILS OS) if you're into the Dark Web / piracy so you don't contaminate your clean systems. Creates an anonymous expendable breakable computer for anything shady. Or a crypto wallet, if so inclined.

Yeah I'm not a media consumer, 1080p is plenty for me. I'm mostly into programming and educational stuff (lectures). This isn't going to run Cyberpunk 2077.

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Mar 19th, 2023 3:33 am

Gee: Deal Expert; Aug 2, 2004; 36688 posts; 9937 upvotes; East Gwillimbury

Mar 19th, 2023 3:33 am

Hugh wrote: ↑ After all that, I still imagine that there are use cases where the M93p makes sense.

I've bought a couple of used M75q boxes at $300 and $350 with Ryzen processors. I think that they are probably better than 8th gen Intel Tinys, but I don't actually know. The Intel boxes are a little more expandable, I think.

The M93p makes sense if you want to use it as a retro gaming computer, a Home Automation server, a small hypervisor running a reverse proxy, VPN server (WireGuard, OpenVPN), DNS (Pi-Hole, AdGuard Home)

But even, then I would get a better machine just to be able to run more services.

The M75q vs the M720q. I think the Intel 8th Gen has a slight edge over the Ryzen 3xxx. I guess it depends on what you are running.

Home Automation Thread

Heatware

+2

Mar 19th, 2023 11:02 am

repatch: Deal Fanatic; Mar 5, 2007; 8906 posts; 9375 upvotes

Mar 19th, 2023 11:02 am

Gee wrote: ↑ I would skip anything that uses DDR3, the max you can install is 16 Gigs of RAM

There are plenty of 6th Gen (Sky Lake) Lenovo Tiny out there for a little more money

I have been selling off our company’s fleet off lease 8th Gen Tiny’s the last few months and they support all the requirements to run Windows 11 Pro

For 300$, you get a machine that will last you beyond 2025 when they stop Windows 10 support

And for what do you need to do on a machine like this that requires more than 16GB of memory?

Hosting multiple VMs is about the only thing I can conjure up. For the vast majority of people 16GB is overkill, never mind more.

+2

Mar 19th, 2023 1:13 pm

snailium: Sr. Member; Jan 15, 2010; 505 posts; 294 upvotes

Mar 19th, 2023 1:13 pm

At this point, 4th Gen can be only considered as Raspberry Pi substitute, only suitable for PiHole and strongswan.

File server, transcoding, it is better to have a larger form computer. At least it needs some space to install hard drives for mass storage.

BTW, 4th gen Tiny form (or HP's DM form) doesn't come with NVMe boot support.

+2

Mar 19th, 2023 3:10 pm

Psyclist: Deal Addict; Oct 5, 2005; 2480 posts; 1546 upvotes

Mar 19th, 2023 3:10 pm

I feel these are getting too old now. I just grabbed a HP Elite Desk 705 G4 w/Ryzen 2400G 16GB RAM and 256 GB NVMe SSD for $179.

Spend a little bit more and youll get much more useful PC. 2400G has strong GPU performance for this price segment, great little do it all box!

FS: Nothing for now!

+2

Mar 19th, 2023 4:07 pm

Gee: Deal Expert; Aug 2, 2004; 36688 posts; 9937 upvotes; East Gwillimbury

Mar 19th, 2023 4:07 pm

repatch wrote: ↑ And for what do you need to do on a machine like this that requires more than 16GB of memory?

Hosting multiple VMs is about the only thing I can conjure up. For the vast majority of people 16GB is overkill, never mind more.

If you are running virtual machines, the more RAM the better. I wouldn’t consider 16 Gigs to be enough for server

8 Gigs use to be the recommended amount of RAM for a desktop. That is fine if you’re just checking email, using Office applications and watch the odd YouTube video. But then the Haswell an do all that too.

Windows 11 is getting bigger and bigger, I think you need more than 8 Gigs today. Just my browsing activity uses 16 Gigs. I usually have over 300 tabs open. My machine has 32 Gigs of RAM and 18 is being used.

Home Automation Thread

Heatware

+1

Mar 19th, 2023 5:38 pm

ADenariusSaved [OP]: Deal Fanatic; Jan 11, 2020; 5829 posts; 4514 upvotes; TheprimOrdialsingula…

Mar 19th, 2023 5:38 pm

Gee wrote: ↑ If you are running virtual machines, the more RAM the better. I wouldn’t consider 16 Gigs to be enough for server

8 Gigs use to be the recommended amount of RAM for a desktop. That is fine if you’re just checking email, using Office applications and watch the odd YouTube video. But then the Haswell an do all that too.

Windows 11 is getting bigger and bigger, I think you need more than 8 Gigs today. Just my browsing activity uses 16 Gigs. I usually have over 300 tabs open. My machine has 32 Gigs of RAM and 18 is being used.

Same situation on my main machine. But I'm finding too many tabs is hampering my productivity (yes I actually do stuff, kinda)...

I run VMs as well, 32 GB is good for me.

For general use 16 GB is fine. You can grab a legit 8GB DDR3 stick for $16 from Amazon.

Silicon Power 8GB DDR3L 1600MHz (PC3 12800) 204pin CL11 1.35V SODIMM Laptop Memory Module SP008GLSTU160N02
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07L89T9HQ/

I don't imagine anyone buying the computers in this thread for general use, unless hard up for cash or a Mac user that needs basic PC functionality because they're virtually (VM) hobbled by 8 GB of RAM lol...

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Mar 19th, 2023 7:20 pm

repatch: Deal Fanatic; Mar 5, 2007; 8906 posts; 9375 upvotes

Mar 19th, 2023 7:20 pm

Gee wrote: ↑ If you are running virtual machines, the more RAM the better. I wouldn’t consider 16 Gigs to be enough for server

8 Gigs use to be the recommended amount of RAM for a desktop. That is fine if you’re just checking email, using Office applications and watch the odd YouTube video. But then the Haswell an do all that too.

Windows 11 is getting bigger and bigger, I think you need more than 8 Gigs today. Just my browsing activity uses 16 Gigs. I usually have over 300 tabs open. My machine has 32 Gigs of RAM and 18 is being used.

A 'server' is what you need it to be. 16GB is PLENTY for most uses, most of my VMs are set to 4GB and things run fine. I'm not doing anything nuts, PiHole, pfSense, TrueNAS, stuff like that.

Having 300 tabs open is NOT your typical user, but given the latest memory saving feature of Chrome, that doesn't need 32GBs anymore anyways.

Use what you have, but to suggest most people NEED 32GB is simply wrong.

Heck, I daily drive a machine with only 4GB of memory, it has it's obvious limits, but works. Machine I'm using right now has 8GB and it's fine, haven't had a reason to consider upgrading it.

+1

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