Xi3 X5A for workstation?

[Pierat]

I am looking to buy a PC solely for running Quickbooks. We have all Macs here, but the version of Quickbooks we require doesn't run on a Mac. The PC will run headless, accessed via VNC. VM is not an option, as the computer that will access it is not quite powerful enough to run two OSs simultaneously. Boot camp is not ideal either, as the workflow involves both Quickbooks and Mac OS to be running at the same time. We have been running this setup for about 4 years, but I want to replace the giant, noisy, power-sucking Core 2 Duo Gateway E6610D we've been using. Having a small PC on the network just makes the most sense for us.

So I see lots of options these days for tiny PCs. Two in particular have me intrigued. First, the Intel NUC. There are lots of options, I don't even know them all yet. Second option are some of these little stick PCs, like the Compute Stick. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any of these that will run headless. Finally, this unit from Xi3. I never even heard of the company and they are already out of business. It seems they ran themselves into the ground. Well, now for the low, low price of around $100, you can buy their machines. The specs are:

Manufacturer: Xi3
Series: X5A
Model: X5A-5342US00
CPU: 1.8GHz dual–core x86-based, 64–bit processor
Memory: 2GB DDR2 RAM
Hard Drive: 64GB mSATA SSD
Operating System: NONE INSTALLED
6x USB 2.0 ports
2x eSATAp ports
1x 1Gb Ethernet port
1x Microphone connector
1x Headphone connector
1x Line-in/Line-out connector
1x DisplayPort (DP/DVI, HDMI optional)
1x DisplayPort (DVI + VGA, DVI-DL)
Power: 20 Watts
External Size: 4.270x3.656x3.656–inches
Color: Gray

I am wondering if this little machine would be suitable to run what I need. I don't care if it has no warranty and the company is out of business. For under $100, I'll just buy something else if it fails. This seems like the best option, but I would like to know if anyone else has something to recommend in the $100 price range. Again, this computer will not run any games or anything. Heck, it won't even be used for web surfing. It's only purpose is to run Windows 7 or later and run Quickbooks.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Pierat]

I guess I should add that I am swimming in 2.5" SATA drives and I have some RAM sitting around. Not sure the RAM is entirely compatible, but if I could get a barebones NUC and use my own RAM and HD, price wouldn't be too much more than this Xi3. Also, I just found out that Intel Compute Stick can run headless. Looking at that as an option now, too.

 

[bambiboom]

I am looking to buy a PC solely for running Quickbooks. We have all Macs here, but the version of Quickbooks we require doesn't run on a Mac. The PC will run headless, accessed via VNC. VM is not an option, as the computer that will access it is not quite powerful enough to run two OSs simultaneously. Boot camp is not ideal either, as the workflow involves both Quickbooks and Mac OS to be running at the same time. We have been running this setup for about 4 years, but I want to replace the giant, noisy, power-sucking Core 2 Duo Gateway E6610D we've been using. Having a small PC on the network just makes the most sense for us.

So I see lots of options these days for tiny PCs. Two in particular have me intrigued. First, the Intel NUC. There are lots of options, I don't even know them all yet. Second option are some of these little stick PCs, like the Compute Stick. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any of these that will run headless. Finally, this unit from Xi3. I never even heard of the company and they are already out of business. It seems they ran themselves into the ground. Well, now for the low, low price of around $100, you can buy their machines. The specs are:

Manufacturer: Xi3
Series: X5A
Model: X5A-5342US00
CPU: 1.8GHz dual–core x86-based, 64–bit processor
Memory: 2GB DDR2 RAM
Hard Drive: 64GB mSATA SSD
Operating System: NONE INSTALLED
6x USB 2.0 ports
2x eSATAp ports
1x 1Gb Ethernet port
1x Microphone connector
1x Headphone connector
1x Line-in/Line-out connector
1x DisplayPort (DP/DVI, HDMI optional)
1x DisplayPort (DVI + VGA, DVI-DL)
Power: 20 Watts
External Size: 4.270x3.656x3.656–inches
Color: Gray

I am wondering if this little machine would be suitable to run what I need. I don't care if it has no warranty and the company is out of business. For under $100, I'll just buy something else if it fails. This seems like the best option, but I would like to know if anyone else has something to recommend in the $100 price range. Again, this computer will not run any games or anything. Heck, it won't even be used for web surfing. It's only purpose is to run Windows 7 or later and run Quickbooks.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

pierat,

There is currently a large number of reliable used workstations at reasonable cost. How about:

Dell Precision T1600 320GB HD 4GB RAM Core i3 2100 3.1GHz Win7 PRO Desktop #43 > $75 or offer + $18 shipping

The i3-2100 is 2-core /4 thread @ 3.1GHz (65W), max 32GB of DDR3-1333, has Win7 Pro, and Intel HD Graphics 2000 for setup and if it needs to be a standalone.

Not a tiny pocket system, but I think these were the smallest model of Dell Precision. That should be ultra-reliable, quiet, have good performance in business uses, and respond to at least one round of upgrades. If you need a very fast disk system, add a PERC H310 RAID controller ($50) and that will convert it to 6GB/s and get full benefit of an SSD and run a RAID 5 of those spare 2.5" HD's.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

HP z620_2 (2017) > Xeon E5-1680 v2 (8-core@ 4.1GHz) / 64GB DDR3-1866 ECC Reg / Quadro P2000 5GB / HP Z Turbo Drive M.2 256GB + Intel 730 480GB + Seagate Constellation ES.3 1TB / ASUS Essence STX PCIe sound card / 825W PSU / Windows 7 Prof.l 64-bit > 2X Dell Ultrasharp U2715H (2560 X 1440)

[Passmark Rating = 6166 / CPU rating = 16934 / 2D = 820 / 3D= 8849 / Mem = 2991 / Disk = 13794] 4.24.17 Single Thread Mark = 2252