Evesham Mini PC Plus

The Mac Mini proved to be a big success with Apple fans wanting a compact and quiet computer to use at home.

Until now, the PC industry hasn’t quite managed to match this feat. However, Evesham is one of the first companies to come up with something that can go head to head with the Mac Mini.

The appropriately named Mini PC is almost exactly the same size as the Mac Mini, measuring 6.25in wide and deep, and just 2.25in high.

Our review unit was the Mini Plus model, which costs £699 and houses a 2GHz Pentium M processor, 512MB of Ram and an 80GB hard disk. There’s also a £499 version with a 1.4GHz processor and 40GB hard disk.

It’s important to remember that, just like with the Mac Mini, these prices don’t include a monitor, keyboard or mouse – if you don’t have spares lying around, you will need to budget for these items.

Tucked away at the back of the unit are a complete set of USB2, Firewire, Ethernet, audio, DVI and video-output ports, so you have all the connectivity options you’re likely to need. With such a small case, it’s no surprise there aren’t any internal expansion slots available.

The Mini PC worked well during our tests, and we were pleased to discover that it was almost completely silent, apart from occasions when the hard disk was being made to work particularly hard.

That said, the Mac Mini does appear to be better value. For £499 you can get a 1.4GHz Mac Mini with an 80GB hard disk, wireless networking, Bluetooth and a better software bundle. Of course, if you’re set on Windows, Apple’s version isn’t an option.

It’s good to see Evesham taking on Apple at its own game, but the Mini PC is a little expensive given its relatively modest specification.