The Mac Mini m4 is no longer available where I am, the new Mac Mini m6 is slightly more expensive than the Steam Machine.
Interesting. In the US, the Mac Mini is $899 for the cheapest model, while the Steam Machine is $1049. It’s another $400 for 24GB unified RAM/512GB SSD to match the Steam Machine’s specs, but the Mac Mini’s low end starts lower.
The mini PC brands still matter even with linux, because I want hardware reliability and drivers support.
Ah, that’s a different kind of “trust” than I thought. I thought you meant factory-installed malware because they’re mostly no-name Chinese brands or something like that.
I have some experience with that, as I’m running Linux on four mini PCs of three different brands (a “Minisforum,” a “Bosgame,” and two “Nimo”). The Nimos have been fine (but I don’t recommend the Amazon seller I got them from because he screwed me out of some RAM). I had a problem installing Debian on the Minisforum, but it works fine with Kubuntu.
The Bosgame is the most relevant: I got it for my parents and installed (I think) Kubuntu on it, but it seems to have some kind of driver problem with the power management because it doesn’t wake from sleep properly. It also got hot enough to scare my mom, although I’m not sure how reliable her complaint is because what she thinks is too hot might still be within the normal operating range, for all I know. (It’s at their house, so I don’t have easy access to diagnose it myself.)
Anyway, even though it’s massive overkill for their “hardly computer-literate Boomer” use-case, I’m replacing that Bosgame with a Steam Machine solely because it’s the only mini PC I know of with first-party Linux support!
(Sigh) At least the grandkids might get some actual gaming use out of it when they visit…
elucubra@sopuli.xyz 6 hours ago
If your parents are “hardly computer-literate Boomer”, their use will be pretty basic, no? Why waste a steam machine? Get a slightly used Lenovo or other enterprise grade SFF pc, or even a mini. Install Debian with KDE or Mint. Ultra stable, Massive support. If possible with a Ryzen. Plenty of graphics power even for ligh/medium gaming. Driver problems are unlikely in a 2-3 year old business machine, and will be relevant for 5-10 years for their kind of use.
grue@lemmy.world 5 hours ago
I already did that. My mom freaked out because it got kinda hot once and started whining about how she should’ve stuck with a Mac. So now if I want her to stay on Linux it has to be a mini PC that comes with it from the manufacturer, and AFAIK the Steam Machine is the only such thing that exists.
I fucking know it’s irrational!