This is the cheapest Core i7 PC but it comes with one big compromise

This is not your average computer; Partaker’s fanless mini PC is far smaller than most rivals on the market with a volume of just 1.5L.

It's on sale for $413.99 at Gearbest with this exclusive coupon code: F472573500A27001. Depending on exchange rates, you should pay around £339 or AU$689.

A quick check with Dell shows its cheapest Core i7 device cost almost twice as much, albeit with a slightly faster i7 CPU, twice the storage and 12GB RAM.

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At 22.5 x 18.5 x 4.8cm, the Partaker is about the size of a thick hardcover book and yet has some great expansion capabilities.

The model on offer comes with an Intel Core i7-8565U (four cores, 8-threads), 8GB DDR4 and a 128GB SSD, and other options are available up to 32GB memory and 1TB SSD. Sadly, you cannot buy the Partaker PC without the RAM or SSD.

Its thick aluminum body acts as the perfect heatsink to cool the internal components. There’s plenty of connectors as well, with one LAN port, one Displayport, one HDMI port, eight USB ports (half of them USB 3.0), two audio connectors and two external antennas.

You can use two memory slots and it supports one mSATA SSD, one 2.5-inch HDD and one M.2 NVMe SSD.

In terms of caveats, there's no operating system (which could prove an issue for novice users), memory card reader, SPDIF connector, 802.11ac and the PC doesn’t support Windows 7. There’s also no VESA mount, which you can add for an extra $5.

Bear in mind...

If this product comes from mainland China, it will take at least a month to reach either the US or the UK (and potentially more). You may be levied a tax either directly or through the courier.

Have you managed to get hold of a cheaper product with equivalent specifications, in stock and brand new? Let us know and we'll tip our hat to you.

We’ve ordered one for review, so stay tuned for more!

Note, Gearbest offers an expedited shipping option from China for free with an estimated delivery time between three and seven business days to the US.

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Désiré has been musing and writing about technology during a career spanning four decades. He dabbled in website builders and web hosting when DHTML and frames were in vogue and started narrating about the impact of technology on society just before the start of the Y2K hysteria at the turn of the last millennium.

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