If you dont need gfx, you can still turn a 6th Gen NUC into a pretty "mid range" pc. (also the author of this post is wrong about the Intel NUC being fanless)
i7 NUC - http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/nuc/nuc-kit-nuc6i7kyk...
NVME SSD - http://www.samsung.com/global/business/semiconductor/minisit...
32GB DDR4 - http://www.corsair.com/en-us/corsair-memory-32gb-2x16gb-ddr4...
When I was buying some NUCs for a project at work I am pretty sure I saw a few diffrent models some with passive cooling and some with fans.
all the ones i have taken apart have a fan in the lid.
Hell, if you really wanted gfx, that thing's got a thunderbolt port.
It's just a misleading title. It isn't about the death of the midrange computer in general, just about one person phasing out a form factor. All he says is that "for me" the midrange computer is dead. VR is definitely a huge potential for midrange computer growth in the next few years.
Re:The midrange computer dies
by bryanlarsen on Thursday April 21, 2016 @03:24PM
(#11544726)
The upcoming nVidia Pascal and AMD Arctic Islands will likely meet minimum VR specs with under 50 watts of power, so VR laptops and NUC's will be very feasible quite soon.
Minimum specs. But what about when we want 8K-per-eye VR? It will always be possible to get better performance out of a bigger machine. Small form factor is great, but I wouldn't sacrifice quality for a smaller box when it's just going to sit in the corner anyway.
Luckily, gamers are keeping the mid range market alive, and it seems quite likely that VR enthusiasts will ensure that it stays alive for a few more years.