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

Perfect replacement for expiring Windows 10 machine
For a long time, my 88 year-old mother had an older computer that she only used for simple tasks like browsing the web and typing documents. With Windows 10 security updates expiring, she needed an upgrade. This is perfect for her needs. It comes with Windows 11 Pro. Setting it up for her so that it worked closely like what she was used to did take some time, but that is Microsoft. It boots fast and reliably. It has good video. It has 4 USB-A sockets, so everything she had before plugged in and worked. Wi-Fi is quick and reliable. It has a very small footprint. Overall, I was exactly what she needed, and with the low price, I can say we are very happy with the purchase.

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.

I received this package from Amazon last Monday, superfast delivery even without Prime. The packaging was sealed and already small, and the box is even smaller, all the content is shown on the photo. The G3 is very light weight and there’s a metal clamp, I believe this is to attach and hide it behind a screen, however the box takes so little space that I simply place it even on a really small desk.The box’s plastic material feels like good quality and the colour is a nice, maybe dark-olive green, I prefer that over white which often gets yellowish over time, black collects dust and grey looks boring. It is replacing a bulky old Omen gaming PC in the living room area that was 8 time more in height and about the same difference is true for the surface area, the photo gives you an idea. The old PC was used mainly for internet researches, some homework related uses, some attempts in coding and writing emails etc. A Steam client was running on it with quite a collection, but more casual games. One issue was that the old PC was on 24/7 and a gaming PC is drawing a fair bit of power and I don’t need the heat it produces now in summer, the Omen must have used at least 10x more energy than this G3. The tiny charger that came with the box says in small font I believe 36W, but I suppose the G3 is running on a lot less on average, so at 20 Watts it costs just about 3 cents a day to run permanently. The box is slightly warm but definitely not hot. The other issue with the Omen was that it didn’t allow an upgrade to Windows 11 although the specs on that gaming PC are not bad. The G3 comes with Windows 11 preinstalled and that was very is easy to set-up. I recommend to take a backup with a 16/32 GB USB stick immediately once you’ve installed your browsers and any additional software. It takes about a night to run a Windows backup but it is just good practice because you don’t want to be forced to buy an expensive Windows licence if ever something happens, even if it feels unlikely with a fresh Windows 11, which in my experience is a stabile OS and has become fairly secure, make sure you don’t disable the updates.I’ve been running the G3 now for a week with three different browsers (Edge is preinstalled), countless tabs open. I had no problems connecting the Samsung screen via HDMI, a USB keyboard (even has French has second layout), a USB mouse and a headphone (cinch). My Wifi printer worked without much hassle, very easy to add it in Windows 11. This purchase fully meets my expectation and use case.

I recently had the opportunity to try out the GMKTec G9, a device that seeks to integrate the functionalities of a mini PC and a NAS. As a Linux user and someone who has GMKTec devices already (G3 and an M5) that are performing splendidly, I have a particular interest in its potential for Linux-based applications. I have a homelab setup with Proxmox, and this device looks to be well-suited to this architecture.The device’s compact form factor is immediately notable. Its small size is advantageous, particularly where there is limited workspace. The design is generally clean and understated.A primary feature of interest for the GMKtec G9 is its storage capacity. The inclusion of four M.2 slots allows for the installation of substantial high-speed solid-state storage. For Linux users, this facilitates a range of storage configurations, including diverse file systems, RAID arrays, and the potential for virtualization.The unit is shipped with Ubuntu pre-installed on the internal 64GB EMMC. The availability of an internal drive for the OS install (Ubuntu, Proxmox, etc.) is beneficial. This leaves the M.2 slots free for ZFS, RAID, and other storage configurations. Ideally suited to a TrueNAS or OpenMediaVault install.The device is equipped with an Intel N150 processor, which is more than adequate for server-oriented tasks, such as home server operation, media streaming (e.g., Plex). Thermal management is a consideration, particularly with the installation of four NVMe drives. I anticipate that the addition of low-profile heatsinks to the drives may be necessary to maintain optimal operating temperatures under heavy load.In terms of connectivity, the inclusion of dual 2.5GbE ports is a significant advantage. This feature is highly desirable for robust home server configurations. The device also provides a range of USB ports and HDMI outputs, enabling its use as a traditional desktop system if required.From a Linux user’s perspective, the GMKtec G9 presents a compelling combination of versatility, compact size, and reasonable cost. I am enthusiastic about the prospect of exploring its capabilities as a home server platform and investigating its potential for various Linux-based applications.To get an idea of how things would work in my environment, I first installed TrueNAS. This was a little tricky, having to install an older version to get the install to work on the eMMC. Once installed, it performs well, having added Plex to the mix. Network and Disk performance were as expected. Next, I installed Proxmox (again having to tweak the install to get it to install to the eMMC) and added it to my cluster. I migrated a Windows 11 VM to the G9 and was impressed with the speed.Lastly, installed a pfSense VM and plan on using the dual 2.5G NIC to modernise my firewall config.I now plan to replace my clunky EliteDesk and hard drive setup with the G9 after adding some more NVMe storage.All in all, impressed with the capabilities.