Switching From Jekyll to 11ty
Part of the reason I moved over from Jekyll to 11ty was the Build time. While Jekyll is really good...
March 20, 2025
Hello my name is Ruben Gutierrez and I've been working on computers for a while now. Throughout the last 20 years I've probably owned about 50 or so computers ranging from $1500 laptops to free desktops I've received from clients and friends. Owning and repairing countless computers has helped me learn what to look for and understanding the trade offs between different brands, price ranges, and features.
Earlier this year I set out to buy a new work computer to complete a desktop set up I've been slowly piecing together over the last few months. This led me to buy one of the best computers I've ever bought for the price ($50). Check out the thought process that went into buying this hidden little gem.
The computer I use everyday is a mid range Lenovo laptop I bought from a major retailer for $600 brand new. This laptop has a very capable 6 core CPU (Ryzen 5500U) that has idle speeds of 2.1GHz that top out at 4GHz. This computer has been able to keep up with my needs as a website developer. As a developer my workflow regularly consist of having multiple tabs open on different instances of Google Chrome while simultaneously switching between half a dozen different design application (Figma, GIMP, Photoshop, Figma, Visual Studio Code)
Right away I decided that I wanted my new computer to do everything my current laptop can. Thinking back to it, wanting the same performance from a $600 laptop for a fraction of the price sounds completely absurd, but after digging around the internet and a ton of reading I was able to find exactly just that.
I started off by comparing a bunch of diffrent types of computers over the cours of a few days. After putting all of my options side by side I was able to come to start getting a better idea of the type of computer I was going to buy. These are some of my the major thoughts that went into this process.
With CPU technology progressing so quick my first instinct was to look at new laptops. What I realized quickly was that new laptops sold in my price range have lower end chip sets that are designed for light use. These types of laptops are mainly for people who use their computer for simple tasks like internet surfing and checking emails. A PC in this price range would make it hard for me to run some of the design programs I use and would make it even harder to multitask between them. I've known this about laptops in this price range part of me was hoping that the technology had improved significantly but after using some in store samples It all came back lol.
Countless hours of comparing CPU's made me realize that in order to get a computer that can match the level of performance of my newer $600 laptop at a fraction of the cost I'm going to have to look for used computers that where initially sold at the higher end of the price range when they where brand new. The reasons for this is because a lot of used computers that where once flagship devices still have chip sets in them that can deliver a similar experience to some of the new mid range computers coming out now in 2025.
As much as I've enjoyed the mobility and convenience of my laptop I was looking forward to being able to use my large 32 inch monitor more regularly and becoming a little more stationary in my new desk. Having a desk means more space and with that the list of computer options immediately grew to include desktops.
On paper, an older desktop would fit me well. A lot of older desktops have the type of hardware I'm looking for and they where mass produced for the corporate world which means that they're readily available for low relatively low prices.
Unfortunately the more I thought about having a giant computer tower sitting on or under my desk the more I started to get uncomfortable with the idea of the clutter that comes with that. I already don't have a lot of space to work with so the search continued.
Eventually my dislike of clutter forced me to think outside of my usual preferences which is how I ended up looking further into Mini PC's. Mini Pc's are compact computers that can have internals from either a desktop or a laptop computer.
One of the reasons I'd didn't even consider a Mini PC's from the start was because a couple of years ago I had purchased a brand new one for my dad as a home entertainment system for his birthday. Although I was very surprised at the size and portability of the device I wasn't too sure about the performance for anything more than what I had purchased it for after the initial set a bit of basic testing.
Despite that experience my growing list of requirements led me to learn more about these types computers and I found a nice little sub category of older mini pc that fit my situation perfectly.
After countless hours of typing in variations of the phrase "cheapest mini pc" into Google I can confidently say that I ended up purchasing the The Lenovo ThinkCentre M715Q.
The 2nd Generation Lenovo ThinkCentre M715Q is a mini PC from 2018. Initially sold for around $1000 brand new, they're now available for around $50 on eBay or Amazon. This computer even after 7 years can hold it's own when compared to my current laptop which has a processor that came out this decade. I would be lying if I said the the processoers are idential as one is a little more seamless than the other but the truth is I don't really think about performence when I'm using it for intense multitasking and design. This computer is also the size of a grammar book, half the time I don't even realize it's there.
Part of the reason I moved over from Jekyll to 11ty was the Build time. While Jekyll is really good...
The Lenovo ThinkCentre M715Q Provides Higher End Performance For Only $50.