GMKtec Mini PC, Intel Twin Lake N150 (Upgraded N100), 16GB DDR4 RAM 512GB PCIe M.2 SSD, Desktop Laptop 4K Twin HDMI/USB3.2/WiFi 6/BT5.2/2.5GbE RJ45 for Workplace, Enterprise

Great performance for its size
The Windows 11 showed as cannot be activated because it tried before the Wi-Fi connection was configured. One retry and it’s legit. The case is tiny, around 1/3 the size of a Mac M1 Mini. Storage is an AirDisk 500GB, which appears to have been a historically slower SSD but has stronger recent PassMark scores. Running a few apps has been comfortable, VS Code is pretty snappy and GoGoDuck browser is fair. Not very confident about running heavy apps/services like an RDBMS server or Visual Studio 2022, but this definitely does the job for basic browsing/social media/word processing. Glad I bought it, it puts a few old Intel Atom devices to shame. Probably a good competitor to some older gen i3/i5 Core computers. And it is so very quiet and cool! I did have a BSOD and a few keystrokes not registering quirks, so there may be a patch or two ahead, but it’s a solid, performant mini-PC with great bang for the buck (so far, anyway).Following up after a week or two: Still very pleased with the G3 Plus. Trying to run a VirtualBox VM with XP didn’t go well, but it’s great for low-demand office apps, browsing, and lightweight programming. Lag suggests 1080P or lower resolution would be necessary for any motion video gaming.

Faster than I expected
GMKtec G3 PLUS 8gb memory, 256gb storageI had been looking for a backup for my three year old Lenovo laptop in the event that it might quit on me in the middle of doing my taxes. I didn’t want something that cost more than a couple of hundred dollars – just something that might be able to take over in the midst of a crisis. I read a few dozen reviews of these mini PCs and most of them were far more powerful and expensive than what I needed.But around Christmas, Amazon had a deal on the GMKtec G3 PLUS mini with an N150 chip, 8 gigs of ram and a 256 gig storage drive. It clicked all my buttons. It arrived quickly (Thanks Amazon!) and I started it up within a few days.The first thing I noticed was the Windows 11 Pro operating system. I’ve never used that flavor of Windows before and found some differences from my Lenovo laptop which was upgraded from Windows 10 Home to Windows 11 Home. The other thing I found was that despite its presumably slower processor (than the Lenovo Core 5) it is pretty zippy. Nothing seemed slower or more cumbersome than what I was used to. Last, I noticed that this small green box on my desk never makes a peep – apparently there is no fan necessary to dispense heat from the processor.Plusses- This thing is tiny. It is as quiet as a church mouse, has plenty of ports (four USB3 and two HDMI ports) and takes up very little landscape on my desk.- The GMKtec G3 Plus processor is more powerful than I expected. I have one huge Excel file that contains over 20 thousand rows of data and I tested my new box by sorting the rows in different ways. It didn’t pause a bit – almost scary how fast it handles data. Again, versus my Lenovo’s Core 5 processor, I noticed no difference.- The operating system is Windows 11 Pro. I’ve never needed a Pro edition of Windows before, so I’m not sure if this is a plus or a minus. See note below about SMB access.- This dynamo is so quick at doing things that I’ve changed out my Lenovo laptop as my main machine and now use this. I keep 90% of my work on a network drive, so accessing what I need is easy, regardless of which computer I’m working on. But the extra room this small box gives me on my desk made this switch inevitable. There seems to be no downside to moving from a 12 gig Intel 5 laptop to this GMKtec.- Support is really on-the-ball. I contacted them via email over a minor issue and they got back to me within a few hours. That is extraordinary.Minuses- This is picky, but I wish GMKtec had designed the box around a USB-C power supply. Instead, they provided a fairly large power brick with a proprietary plug. Not a huge deal, but most of my laptop computers and Chromebooks take USB-C power inputs.- Windows 11 Pro will not connect to two older Buffalo NAS devices. The error seems to be connected to an issue with SMB1. No problem connecting to my newer Synology and UGreen NAS drives, but I cannot for the life of me get the GMKtec to talk to those older drives. My Lenovo laptop, running Windows 11 (not Pro) has no problem at all. This might not be an issue with GMKtec, so this, too, is a minor point.All in all, this GMKtec is an incredible bargain. It is small, sleek and impresses me every day that I use it. The storage can be supplemented with a bigger internal drive and the memory can be upgraded. It could attach to the back of a monitor that has the necessary screw ports (my monitors do not have these) for a even smaller foot print. The USB ports meet my needs and this is one of my best purchases of 2024.

Really good PC for the price,

I’m someone who’s used to working with a traditional desktop setup, and so, I was skeptical about how well a mini-PC like the Nucbox G3 would work for me. However, after having it for a few weeks, I can say with confidence that this little box has blown me away with its performance, especially considering its price-point.SetupInitially after I opened the box, I was impressed with its compact size and sleek design. Setting up this computer was a breeze; it comes pre-installed with Windows 11 and the SSD allows for the booting of the computer to be very fast. Overall, the computer was extremely easy to get up and running, just plug it in, boot it up, and go through a quick Windows 11 setup and you’re ready to start using the computer.Price-to-PerformanceWhat sells this little computer for me is the price-to-performance ratio. The cheapest option is only ~$266CAD (8GB RAM 256SSD) and the most expensive option is ~$350CAD (16GB RAM 1TB SSD) at the time this review was being written. Wifi and BT is integrated. You can connect two 4K screens and run 4K videos on both at the same time. The noise from the cooling fan is negligible since it throttles according to load. Generally, in this price range, you wouldn’t find a computer nearly as good and especially not within such a small and compact size. The fact that is comes pre-installed with Windows 11 is just the cherry on top. This is great computer that costs less than some smartphones, yet I feel not any compromise.SizeThe Nucbox G3 is incredibly small, which makes it great for creating a “hidden” setup. You can just stick it to the back of your monitor and create a “hidden” PC setup and if you have a wireless keyboard and mouse, you can also create a “wireless” setup. As well as being great for creating a “hidden” setup this computer is also great as a media computer. Stick it to the back of your TV, connect a wireless media keyboard and you got yourself a media setup. Another great thing about the small size of this computer is its portability, taking this computer somewhere else and setting it up is just so easy compared to a regular computer because of its size. This computer is a great middle-grounds between a laptop and a regular desktop PC. Overall, the small and compact size of this computer fosters many benefits and allows for a variety of different setups you can create.ConclusionHonestly, if someone had switched my PC with the Nucbox G3 and didn’t let me know, I probably wouldn’t even notice a difference in my day-to-day use. It’s a really great computer and I have nothing bad to say about it at this point because it is serving me very well. You’re likely not going to be doing intense gaming on this (although you could do some casual, light gaming pretty well on this thing). From its quick and easy setup to its compact size I was delighted all the way through.