This week, I ordered my second mini-pc for radio operations. It’s the Bosgame P3 Lite, and here is how I made the choice.

How well might a mini-pc perform for ham radio and SWL SDR use? I could have just picked one at random. But, instead, I did some research first since I was considering a move away from a traditional desktop.

My criteria included a similar base clock speed to my old i5-4670 (around 3.2 MHz), more cores (6 or 8 versus 4), more RAM (24 or 32 GB DDR5 versus 16 GB DDR3). Also, I wanted dual high speed Ethernet to support a direct connection to my ANAN 7000DLE. And, of course, lots of storage and Windows 11 Pro. An added bonus would be support for UHD monitor resolution at 3840 by 2160, should I decide to go that route versus dual monitors.

I made a spreadsheet with lists of mini-pc models and their CPU’s. To this, I added several CPU benchmark scores. and referenced these to my existing Radios computer. My analysis showed there were lots of mid-range mini-pc in the $CDN400 to $CDN600 range that should give me a 4X to 5X performance boost.

My final choice was the Bosgame P3 Lite at $CDN445 after a $100 Amazon coupon. At this price, I am hoping to get a mini-pc for radio operations with performance comparable to a low-end gaming desktop at one third the price.

While waiting for the results, you may want to watch this short video about my soon-to-arrive computer.

My Second Mini-PC for Radio Operations – Expectations

Based on the CPU benchmarking, I am hoping to get a 4x to 5x performance boost over my 2013 i5-4670 desktop. As described earlier, my experience with the low-end Beelink S12 N100 was a bit disappointing.

But Ryzen makes great chips and the Ryzen 7 6800H is a well regarded CPU for performance laptops. It also has the reasonably new Radeon 680M integrated graphics with triple monitor support. The Bosgame P3 Lite has lots of USB ports for radio accessories.

I will get things set up this week and report on the results thereafter.