Wasted $80 on a sketchy mini PC from Amazon that died in 3 weeks

Bought one of those cheap Chinese mini PCs last month (you know, the ones with the generic brand names). It worked great for about 20 days running a small Plex server and some light office stuff. Then one morning it just wouldn't boot. No lights, no fan, nothing. Tried a different power supply and everything. Seller ghosted me on the return request. Anyone else gamble on those and get burned?

3 comments

3 Comments

lisa97622d ago

Built-in obsolescence isn't just for expensive stuff anymore.

tessa_kelly21d agoMost Upvoted

Honestly I was one of those people who thought cheap electronics were just bad luck or bad choices. Like you'd spend twenty bucks on a charger and it dies in a week, I'd blame myself for being cheap. But this point about $80 stuff being a total gamble is actually spot on. Ngl I've had a $60 Bluetooth speaker last four years and a $90 one break in three months. It's not about price it's about how they design them to fail just slowly enough that you don't notice. Really opened my eyes to how that kind of built-in failure is everywhere now even at the budget end.

milar4622d ago

Honestly I gotta push back on this a bit. If you spend $80 on any electronics you're basically rolling the dice these days. That price point screams disposable toy not long term hardware. Ngl I've bought three of those cheap boxes over the years and two are still running fine, one needed a new power brick after six months but that's a $15 fix. @lisa976 is right that planned obsolescence is everywhere but at $80 you're getting what you pay for, a gamble not a guarantee. Next time maybe grab something with at least a halfway decent warranty or buy from a retailer that doesn't let sellers ghost you.