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The original was posted on /r/samsungdex by /u/sukutaraida on 2025-10-25 16:07:35+00:00.
For most of my life, I used big, power-hungry desktop computers. But where I live, houses have strict limits on how much electricity we can use. So, I’ve spent years searching for a computer that’s powerful enough for my work but doesn’t use a lot of power.
My journey looked like this:
- Old PCs 2002-2011: Used too much electricity.
- Apple iMac/Mac Mini 2011-2022: Better, but still used more power than I liked.
- Samsung DeX 2022-now: The winner. It uses less power than a standard light bulb!
[[My Two Super-Cheap DeX Setups]]
I believe in using what works, not what’s expensive. Here are my two battle-tested setups:
Setup 1:
- Phone: Samsung S20 FE ($370 - new)
- Monitor: Unknown Brand 17" Monitor ($132)
- Adapter: Unknown Brand Dongle ($3)
- Keyboard: Unknown Brand Bluetooth Mechanical ($17)
- Mouse: Logitech Peeble $17
- Total: ≈ $539
Setup 2:
- Phone: Samsung S21 FE ($72 - used!)
- Monitor: 40" Sony TV ($240 - I already had it)
- Adapter: Uknown Brand Dongle ($3)
- Keyboard: Unknown Brand Wired Mechanical ($17)
- Mouse: Logitech Peeble $17
- Total: ≈ $106 (not counting the TV)
These cheap setups have been running perfectly for 3 years. I don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on fancy brands when the cheap ones do the exact same job.
[[What I Actually DO on DeX]]
I’m a power user, so I push DeX to its limits. I even coded my own web apps on it! Here are the apps I use for work and fun:
- Music & Audio: Cubasis 3, Lexis, Audacity (via Winlator)
- Photo Editing: Lightroom, Photoshop (via Winlator)
- Productivity: Obsidian (for notes), MobiOffice, Quick Edit (for coding)
- File Management: Solid, FX, X-plore
- Internet: Brave, NetGuard, 1DM+
- Emulator: PPSSPP, SuperMDS
- Manga & Anime: Tachiyomi, Aniyomi
- Media Player: MX Player, VLC
Yes, you read that right—I can even run famous Windows programs like Audacity and Photoshop on my phone.
[[The Honest Truth]]
Is It Perfect? No. It’s far from perfect. Compared to a Mac, DeX can feel buggy and unpolished. But here’s the bottom line: It’s incredibly usable. I’ve chosen to stop updating my devices OS (iOS, Android, Mac & Windows since 2014, a controversial choice, I know!), and I’ve had zero security problems because I’m careful about what I do online.
Final Thought: If you need a computer that’s good enough, incredibly cheap to run, and surprisingly powerful, Samsung DeX is an amazing choice. It’s not for everyone, but for someone like me who values efficiency and simplicity, it’s a hidden gem.