{"id":4006,"date":"2026-11-05T10:35:46","date_gmt":"2026-11-05T18:35:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marcoscarpio.com\/wordpress\/?p=4006"},"modified":"2026-11-06T08:32:25","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T16:32:25","slug":"the-woes-of-owning-a-budget-mini-windows-pc-or-why-your-seemingly-doa-mini-pc-only-has-a-bad-memory-module","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marcoscarpio.com\/wordpress\/2026\/11\/05\/the-woes-of-owning-a-budget-mini-windows-pc-or-why-your-seemingly-doa-mini-pc-only-has-a-bad-memory-module\/","title":{"rendered":"The Woes of Owning a Budget Mini (Windows) PC: Or, Why Your Seemingly DOA Mini PC Only Has A Bad Memory Module"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you’re among the crop of longtime Windows PC users who ditched their bulky desktop tower\/mini-tower rigs for the latest palm-sized, easy-on-the-budget<\/strong> mini PCs, you probably either love them or blame yourself for buying one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plenty of them are out there these days, in various CPU\/GPU\/memory configurations to suit your needs and budget. But most come in cheap plastic cases, with external power bricks, and are manufactured in China. Forget remembering the brands; Chinese PC makers are notorious for slapping different, easy-to-forget brand names on mini PCs from the same factory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I consider $400 to $800 the best price range for these “budget” mini PCs, if you have time to sort them out by specs. These days, you can spend $1,000 on a “mid-grade” graphics card alone for your full\/mid\/mini-tower gaming rig.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I got one in late 2024 – powered by an AMD 8-core Ryzen 9 CPU\/Radeon 680M GPU<\/strong> with 32GB (2 x 16GB, DDR5<\/strong>) SODIMMs (socketed), 1TB <\/strong>of M.2 2280 NVMe PCIE 4.0 SSD<\/strong>, dual 2.5Gbps <\/strong>Ethernet ports with Windows 11 Pro<\/strong> pre-installed. But that was before DRAM prices went to the stratosphere due to the AI hype.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Windows-based PC makers usually follow Apple’s lead when the first Mac mini<\/strong> (6.5″x 6.5″x 2″) showed up in 2004. When Apple further shrank the Mac mini’s form factor to 5″x 5 ” x 2″ in 2025, similar-sized “PC minis” showed up with an assortment of CPUs to choose from: AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm’s ARM-based Snapdragon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My mini PC, from a Shenzhen, China-based company called BOSGAME<\/a><\/strong>, measures exactly like the latest Mac mini – 5 “x 5 ” x 2″- and I got it as my way of evaluating how it measures up to my robust, reliable, albeit older, desktops in mini-tower and micro-ATX cases. A few of them can no longer be upgraded to Windows 11 because they lack TPM 2.0 hardware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn’t expect much –quality and reliability<\/u>-wise- from these Windows-based mini PCs, unlike when I first bought my first Mac mini in 2005. Apple had long established itself as a reliable computer maker since they first came up with the Apple II<\/strong>. No wonder they have a cult-like following among collectors. With that in mind, I purchased an extra three (3) year warranty for the mini PC\u2014just in case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so, since early December 2024, the mini PC has sat next to my backup web server (a 2013 Mac Pro<\/strong>), which shares a 32″ LG OLED monitor along with a Windows 10 Pro-based full tower PC (I use it to manage all the gadgets on the network rack).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Incidentally, both machines are minimally used, unlike their cousins: a 28-core M3 Ultra Mac Studio<\/strong> (my main web server) and a self-built AMD Ryzen 9<\/strong>-powered micro-ATX desktop with a 1200-watt PSU. I never turn either unit off, except for maintenance or during extended power outages in our area\u2014which is very rare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honestly, I prefer Windows 10<\/strong> to Windows 11<\/strong> since the former still has some of the features that I had been accustomed to using through the years, since Microsoft finally got it right with a GUI-based OS – Windows 95<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two weeks ago, after less than 500 hours of full-time use over about two (2) years<\/u>, the Bosgame mini PC went seemingly DOA. The power button LED lights up, but nothing appears on the monitor. Poking a pin into the reset hole for a few seconds (then releasing) didn’t improve it. Pressing the power button randomly would only turn on the power button LED, and only intermittently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Arrows<\/a>
You will need to remove three (3) more Philips-type screws (#1 & #2 are recessed) after removing the initial four (4) that hold the bottom cover on this BOSGAME P3 “budget” mini PC.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

After opening the unit’s all-plastic case underbelly (held by just seven (7) Philips screws, including a slender heatsink) to expose the user-replaceable components inside, I noted that the small internal fan doesn’t spin after powering up the unit. Not a good sign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
The internal fan won’t spin after powering up the unit with the two (2) 16GB SODIMMs in their respective slots.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The two (2) 16GB SODIMMs (made by a Taiwanese company, ADATA<\/a><\/strong>) and the less-than-half-length, 1TB M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD (made by longtime DRAM maker Kingston Technology<\/strong>) both looked new when I removed them from their slots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also tested the unit’s switching PSU under load: an external brick that converts AC into 19V DC at 6.3A, and it passed with flying colors. I put the 1TB NVMe SSD in an external enclosure, and two (2) of my Windows-based PCs detected it, including an older AMD Ryzen 3<\/strong>-powered HP laptop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was about to return the $650 (10.25% tax inclusive) mini PC for a replacement, which is still covered under its three (3) year warranty, but I decided to check with Amazon first to see if the exact same unit is still available. But as with most mainland China-made goods sold at the U.S.’s #1 retailer (brick-and-mortar, online, or both), the unit is “currently unavailable.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also balked at returning the unit after learning the warranty stipulates that, if they refund me -via Amazon gift card- when an exact replacement is unavailable, I would receive only the unit’s cost minus the 10.25% tax<\/u> I paid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I truly like the specs of the mini PC I purchased in late 2024, particularly the user-replaceable 32GB DDR5 SODIMMs. I was shocked to learn that those 2 x 16GB SODIMMs would now cost me about $500.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just two (2) years ago, when I built a “gaming” rig for my niece, $500 would have given us some change (good for a box of great-tasting pizza) when we bought two (2) 64GB DDR5 sticks for her unit. And the two (2) 16GB DDR5 SODIMMs were selling for just around 1\/4 of today’s price!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At that point, I was deliberating whether to take a loss by returning the unit or keep it for the $500 worth of 32GB DDR5 SODIMMs. And I’m certain that I have a lot of PC parts lying around from now, seldom-used desktop tower\/mini-tower rigs. I only need a mini ITX<\/strong> mobo with SODIMM slots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I decided to keep the unit (for now, as my warranty is valid until Dec. 01, 2027) and build a USFF (ultra-small form factor) PC based on a mini ITX mobo with SODIMM slots. But before I hit the “Buy” button on such a mobo for about $300 plus tax (LGA1700 Socket for 12th\/13th\/14th Intel Processors), I tested the DDR5 SODIMMs first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Lo and behold, one of the 16GB sticks was the culprit for my seemingly DOA budget mini PC! Swapping them into the two (2) slots confirmed neither SODIMM slot was defective.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"The<\/a>
After I removed the defective 16GB DDR5 SODIMM, the internal fan spun up, and the unit booted normally. Note the “less than half-size” 1TB M.2 2280 NVMe SSD (top of the SODIMM) made by Kingston; it is screwed down in place using an “extender”.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

EPILOGUE<\/mark><\/mark><\/strong>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My 2024 BOSGAME P3 budget mini PC still works and runs the latest Windows 11 Pro, but only with 16GB of RAM. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I now own a defective ADATA 16GB DDR5 dual-channel memory 4800Mhz SODIMM, which currently costs $250 plus tax to replace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/a>
This 5″ x 5″ x 2″ 8-core Ryzen 9\/Radeon 680M GPU-powered BOSGAME mini PC cost me $650 (tax included) in late 2024. Now, just the user-replaceable 2 x 16GB DDR5 SODIMMs originally included with the unit will cost about $500 (plus tax) here in the U.S.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But I still have the option to return the entire unit for replacement or get my money back at a 10.25% loss until Dec. 01, 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Always consider buying an extended warranty for the “higher-end” models of these budget mini PCs. And, as much as possible, avoid buying units with soldered LPDDR<\/strong> (non-socketed, non-user-replaceable) memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you’re among the crop of longtime Windows PC users who ditched their bulky desktop tower\/mini-tower rigs for the latest palm-sized, easy-on-the-budget mini PCs, you probably either love them or blame yourself for buying one. Plenty of them are out there these days, in various CPU\/GPU\/memory configurations to suit your needs and budget. But most … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “The Woes of Owning a Budget Mini (Windows) PC: Or, Why Your Seemingly DOA Mini PC Only Has A Bad Memory Module”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-new-gizmos","category-whats-new"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Woes of Owning a Budget Mini (Windows) PC: Or, Why Your Seemingly DOA Mini PC Only Has A Bad Memory Module - Baclaran Para\u00f1aque Rizal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The pros and cons of buying that budget, Windows-based mini-PCs. 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