Streaming sticks are cool, nifty little devices. With a small gadget, you can turn your aging TV, or any other screen, into a fully-fledged smart display, ready to play all the content you’d ever need. Not only that, they are also rather cheap, reliable, and available from various other manufacturers. Add to that a miniscule form factor, ease of use, and you get a cool little device that does its job both at home and at the office.

With all that praise, you’d think that I would be all for these little streamers. Unfortunately for them, there is a much better way to turn your devices “smart”. Not only does it combine all (and more) the streaming capabilities of the streaming stick, it gives you much more possibilities, from light gaming to a self-hosted streaming service. The mysterious device is, of course, a mini PC.

Mini PCs can do anything you throw at them

Stop being limited

Choosing the mini PC might not give you the dedicated streaming experience of the streaming stick. With the remote it feels much more “natural” than using a keyboard and a mouse. There are ways to address it, from installing a dedicated streaming operating system to simply getting used to it and using the advantages of the keyboard (remember how annoying putting in your email and a password using a remote is?). This just means you can make the experience extremely similar to the streaming stick, or make use of the full PC environment, switching between the two as you wish.

Streaming sticks can be rather bad at streaming

Ooops, there’s no app for that

For something made strictly for streaming, streaming sticks sure do have trouble with it sometimes. Whichever manufacturer you choose, there always seems to be one or more of the big streaming apps missing. And of course, it’s usually the one that’s just released that streaming hit everyone’s talking about. And if you go for a chinese device, you might also have problems with certain security protocols, limiting your playback resolution.

On a PC, the world is your oyster. Virtually every streaming platform has a web player, available straight from your web browser. Not only that, you can expect the performance of the mini PC to be miles better than the streaming stick. No more laggy menus or limited streaming resolutions, as even ancient PCs are capable of crisp-looking 4K image and fluid playback.

PCs can do so much more than streaming sticks

Make your own console or start a household streaming service

However, mini PCs have advantages outside the realm of media consumption. It’s extremely easy to set up one to be your own console as well, making it a complete entertainment system with streaming and gaming always ready to go. Emulating retro consoles is easy on the hardware, and can let you re-experience all these childhood memories. Hook up a controller, and you can chill, switching between Nintendo, Sega and Sony systems without even standing up.

However, emulation is not the only thing that a mini PC introduces into your media center arsenal. With a little bit of tinkering, you can make it do double duty, both as your streaming center, as well as your own streaming platform. Setting up a small media server in your living room is extremely easy, requiring just a simple setup, and it can seriously level up your streaming game. Whether you want to back up your physical Blu-rays or DVDs and have them available online all the time, or back up your digital library and make it available on the network, you can easily and quickly do it with a mini PC (and a bit of additional storage).

Ultimately, you get what you pay for

One device, so many possibilities

As I mentioned in the beginning, the biggest advantage of a streaming stick is its affordability. When it comes to the price, it’s really difficult to beat that achievement. If all you need is something to let you watch Netflix on your TV, a streaming stick might still be the way to go.

That being said, hooking up a mini PC to your TV not only expands your streaming possibilities. It makes the whole experience smoother and more versatile, but it also allows you to do so many other things, from just browsing the web from your couch to chilling in front of a game with your friends.

So, when you decide to get yourself a mini PC, you have to be ready to spend more than on a basic streaming stick. Don’t fret, though, as the price difference is genuinely not terrible, especially considering how much more powerful and capable even the most basic mini PC is. Moreover, if you decide to go for a used unit, the possibilities expand even more, letting you choose from thousands of configurations and price points.

When you’re looking for a new machine, the prices for a basic mini PC that will still crush all your streaming needs easily start at around $150. You’re getting a rather barebone configuration, probably with 8GB of RAM and a CPU that’s a couple of years old, but the whole package deals with the typical media center needs in no time. It’s small, speedy, and extremely easy to hook up and start enjoying. Of course, you can also go a bit more high-end, and with each upgrade you’ll get not only better playback and smoother operation, but also the ability to play or emulate more demanding titles, as well as host more powerful and versatile servers.

If, however, you’re looking for something even more budget-oriented, the used market has got you covered. Sure, you can go for the most basic new mini PCs, but for the same price, a used computer offers much better performance. Not only that, you can find a great unit for less than $100 with a 7-8th gen Intel processor that will handle virtually everything you’ll throw at it, and could easily replace your typical office computer.