I recently tried to use a Raspberry Pi 5 as a regular desktop PC. The experiment wasn't a failure—I was able to use a Pi to get most of my work done for a few days. But the device's performance, and especially the relative immaturity of the Linux Arm software ecosystem, meant that there were lots of incompatibilities and rough edges.
One of the problems with trying to use a Pi 5 as a regular desktop computer is that, by the time you've paid for the 8GB version of the board, a decent active cooler and case, and (ideally) some kind of M.2 storage attachment and SSD, you've spent close to a couple of hundred dollars on the system. That's not a ton of money to spend on a desktop PC, but it is enough that the Pi no longer feels miraculously cheap, and there are actually other, more flexible competitors worth considering.
Consider the selection of sub-$200 mini desktop PCs that litter the online storefronts of Amazon and AliExpress. Though you do need to roll the dice on low-to-no-name brands like Beelink, GMKTec, Firebat, BMax, Trigkey, or Bosgame, it's actually possible to buy a reasonably capable desktop system with 8GB to 16GB of RAM, 256GB or 512GB of storage, a Windows 11 license, and a workaday x86-based Intel CPU for as little as $107, though Amazon pricing usually runs closer to $170.
In a fit of curiosity, I bought two of these systems to experiment with. We're still talking about no-frills, low-performance computing. But can these little PCs succeed where the Pi 5 let me down?
Oops! All E-cores
Junky, low-performance, generic mini PCs have been a thing for a long time, but within the last year or so, they've gotten a lot better because Intel's cheapest, slowest processors have also gotten a lot better.
Prior to this year, I would have agreed with you — but the N100 is a really great processor (same goes for the N95/N305), both in terms of efficiency and price/performance.
The AliExpress set were the first to market, but if you are concerned about the machine's provenance, companies like ASUS are starting to offer N100-based solutions as well:
ASUS ExpertCenter PN42|Mini PCs|ASUS Global
That one is available in a barebones for ~$220, just add a SODIMM and SSD. Or this MSI for even less (~$190):
Hard to find a decent, recent used Dell/Lenovo/HP mini PC for that.