If you need a portable computer but do not want to get a laptop because of its price or you do not
feel like throwing out your monitor, why don’t you consider getting a Mini PC? For most people there are only two alternatives - a huge desktop or an expensive laptop but actually there is another viable alternative not many people know of - Mini PCs.

Essentially, Mini PCs are in between a desktop and a laptop - in terms of price and portability but not as far as features are concerned. What is different in a Mini PC is comparison to a desktop confuguration are the dimensions of the mother board - it is much more compact and as a result can fit into a considerably smaller case with specially designed cooling. Otherwise, all the components that you put into th Mini PC, are the same as for desktops - and here is where prices diference with laptops comes from!

Although Mini PCs are not as portable as a laptop, they are much cheaper than laptops with the same power and there are really very small cases that are certainly more portable than a huge desktop case. There are Mini PCs that weight about 2 kgs but even if you get a “bigger” one - for instance one of the Shuttle’s Mini PC (www.shuttle.com) you still can put it in the case and carry it without much hassle. And if you have a slim LCD monitor, you can take it as well, for instance to the next LAN party.