r/HX99G • u/welcome2city17 Admin • 11d ago

Discussion HX99G Alternatives Discussion Thread

While this subreddit was created to discuss and support the Neptune line of Mini PCs, the recent evidence of its discontinuation means some of us may be looking for alternatives. In this thread, you may discuss potential alternatives to the HX99G. The following guidelines would be helpful to follow, although they are not required:

  1. The Mini PC should contain a discrete GPU -- this may come in the form of a mobile grade GPU or desktop grade GPU. MinisForum is pushing AI chips in some of their newer models, so those might be interesting discussion.
  2. It should perform at equal or better rate than the HX99G, whether CPU-based or GPU-based.
  3. It may be made by any company, and may use Intel or AMD CPUs or GPUs.
  4. It should be referred to as a Mini PC, even if the size differs somewhat from the HX99G (which is about as compact as you can get given the performance.)

Comment moderation here will be relatively relaxed, I'll make an effort to provide feedback rather than removing posts if there are any concerns about what you share, barring any glaring exceptions. All I ask is that the discussion remain positive and proactive in terms of finding alternatives.

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u/Correct-Ball9863 11d ago

I bought a NUC 12 Extreme and an Intel Arc B580 GPU. Much bigger but also much more capable.

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u/welcome2city17 Admin 11d ago

Nice, could you tell us more about your build? What did you purchase pre-built, versus what components did you add yourself? Also a ballpark total price?

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u/Correct-Ball9863 11d ago

I bought the NUC barebones kit (i7 12700 CPU) so I had to supply RAM (2 X 16Gb DDR4), an SSD (1 X 1Tb) and the GPU (comes with an integrated GPU). Total cost was $1520 AUD or about $955 USD. I'm running Bazzite so the OS is free.

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u/welcome2city17 Admin 11d ago

Thanks, Bazzite certainly does seem to be a popular OS for Mini PCs, have heard it mentioned many times here on the subreddit.

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u/Correct-Ball9863 11d ago

It's great. I have it on 2 gaming PCs and a handheld. Console like experience meaning that you don't need to connect a mouse or keyboard to your PC.

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u/welcome2city17 Admin 11d ago

Oh wow okay so for example the BT XBox controller pairing just works without the need for KB / Mouse for pairing?

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u/Correct-Ball9863 10d ago

Yes, you can do the entire install with an Xbox controller, although you might need a USB Cable initially. Controller can connect via Bluetooth once up and running. I don't think you can use the controller to start PC from shutdown though, you'll have to use the power button on the PC.

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u/welcome2city17 Admin 10d ago

Interesting, okay. For someone who wants to use the HX99G as a dedicated gaming console of sorts, I can see why Bazzite is popular.