Mini PC / Mini PC Stick Recommendation?

Beelink has lots of small capable mini PC.
i think you should aim for a j5xxx or an i3 if you want to spenda bit more.
I'm running Nina+PhD+sharpcap on my beelink j5040. Comes with win 10.

Olaf Fritsche:
Are you sure the ASIair wouldn't be for you? If your camera is from ZWO, I would take a closer look.

Thank you for the recommendation but I ruled out an ASIair for me - at least for now. Certainly a capable and easy to learn system but I don't like solutions which force you to use the gear of a specific vendor. If ASIair supported a broader product range I would buy it straight away.

Clear skies
Wolfgang

Also recommend BeeLink, have been running my scope on one for a year now and its been fantastic. It's not the most powerful minipc but perfectly ok for running SGP/NINA. It can run from same 12v power as the scope/mount too which is really handy.

Astrosigma:
NINA is open source, so surely it would work in a PC running Linux (compiling it by yourself).

NINA is written for Windows and requires the .NET Framework and ASCOM. I use a 12 volt Beelink mini PC with an Intel Celeron processor & Windows 10 Pro. I use Remote Desktop on my iMac and/or iPad to control everything from my home office.

Loran

I have used a Mele Quieter 2 for over a year now to "drive" my scope - small, lightweight, 5V and runs Windows 11 without issue.  I don't use Nina but use Voyager, PHD2, SharpCap, Pixinsight and all have no issues.  It is only 8GB of mem but I don't do any processing on it.  It's velcro-ed to my rig so cable management is easy.

If your budget is limited then I can recommend this device:

https://www.seeedstudio.com/Odyssey-Blue-J4125-128GB-p-4921.html

I bought the naked PCB which is even cheaper and 3D printed a case. Very light and runs NINA like a champ because it has 8GB of RAM

Highly recommend the Intel NUCs.  The new Pentium gold should be good on power, or the i3.  if you are using battery.  If electricity, any NUC will be very reliable.

I would go for any with the new Intel N5105 or N6005 chip. There is a broad selection in aliexpress.

I use the MeLE PC Stick [1] and Quieter2 [2].  PC Stick is powered over USB out of a powerbox advance.  Quieter is powered from powerbox micro from a 12V DC output using an adapter to convert from 5.5x2.1mm to USB-C [3].  The PC Stick is a little slower than the Quieter2 but both work well.  I run PHD2, NINA, SharpCap, FireCapture, Prometheus (metrics collection), and various custom metrics exporters on Windows 10.  Access with remote desktop via hotspot for better performance if in range, fallback to local network.

[1] https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LYRQZ59/
[2] https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08ZXXJL6N/
[3] https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XZ7Q2N7/

Tim Hutchison:
If you're looking for a stick, I am using this one successfully on my travel scope:
MeLE Fanless Mini PC Stick Intel... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08LYRQZ59?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

And if you're looking for a NUC, I have this one on 2 different scopes, one in my backyard observatory and one at a remote observatory.
Intel NUC Kit Mini PC Mainstream... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08N616V1T?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Ok, I thought what I ordered was over  kill.  You sir, are the king over over kill.  Nice looking bit of kit.

Thank you all for your suggestions, will have to make up my mind now. Good to hear that even a simple stick is able to run NINA. I assume I'll go for something a bit bigger based on your recommendations. Forgot to mention that power consumption is a topic since I'll use it with a portable rig and don't want to get the battery too big and heavy. So it seams I have to compromise on the horsepower of the CPU. The low profile MeLes look quite tempting.

Clear skies
Wolfgang

OK, scope outside now with Mele Quieter3Q attached (took me quite a while to get all the software installed and configured).  It's controlling everything nicely through its built-in USB 3 ports, so I have ditched my powered hub   Wifi from my garage (despite being behind a steel door and brick wall) is giving me 100Mbps down and 42Mbps up (that'll do nicely).  Power consumption seems to be about 5W with Stellarium, APT and PHD2  running.  CPU temp sitting at around 45 degrees now that it is outside at dusk.  It definitely seems like a good decision to have gone with the Intel N5105 version as it is nice and snappy.

[Update]  My gear is now capturing images merrily in the back garden using the mini-PC I bought.  PHD2 guiding, APT and Stellarium running.  CPU is below 25% utilisation and is at about 45 degrees.  I'm logged into it using remote desktop.  So, bottom line, it is more than man enough to handle all my USB connections and all the software whilst consuming about 5W.  FWIW:  platesolving using ASTAP is only taking a few secs as well.

I got thisa couple of years ago and it is still running flawlessly. My reasoning was:

• i5 cpu is the highest you can go and still use 12V for power.
• Fanless, I wouldn't have to worry about vibrations. It also uses the chassis as a heatsink, so a built-in dew heater
• plenty fast to run polemaster, avalon stargo, powerbox software, sgp or nina, all in parallel (including platesolving, etc...)
• comes by default with windows 10 pro, so you can RDP into it. RDP is far superior to any remote viewing software. I also have anydesk running in parallel in case I am not home and I want to connect
• 4 usb3, 4 usb2

But it's a bit heavy if you're planning to put it on the scope. I have mine mounted on the tripod, which works better for me when swapping scopes.