LattePanda or alternative under $400?

[offtheradar]

I’m considering a LattePanda Alpha build. It has an Intel 8th M3-8100y and 8GB RAM. My only use for macOS is Xcode.

Before I purchase the board I wanted to know if there are any alternatives with similar or better performance for around $400 (excluding SSD) that I should consider?

Thanks!

 

[trs96]

One of these with an i7-4790 would be great for coding. The extra 8GB of ram is helpful too. You can install your own SSD or even an NVME drive via a PCIe adapter. Not nearly as small as an LPA but much more powerful and upgradable.

https://www.newegg.com/dell-optiplex-9020-business-desktops-workstations/p/1VK-0001-4U0W8

 

[offtheradar]

Thanks for the suggestion- I think this machine is a a bit bigger than what I’m looking for.

 

[trs96]

Thanks for the suggestion- I think this machine is a a bit bigger than what I’m looking for.

They make i5 and i7 versions in the USFF that aren't a lot bigger than the Latte. A little bigger than a Mac mini.
https://www.newegg.com/dell-optiplex-9020-home-business/p/1VK-0001-3BFR2

The other advantage is that you get a desktop class CPU that is fully OOB supported in macOS. The HD4600 graphics are also fully compatible. I'm not sure exactly what laptop class CPU you'd get with a Latte.