Hi , i have GMKtech G3.Good pc for its price.About temperature ...well , open ..repaste CPU and you will be supprised of result.-20 degrees and fan will not rupm up ! . Thanks for the review! .
Solid for those on an extremely tight budget or living in a country with an extremely low pay scale. Otherwise, pick the other options if someone has the funds available. More modern CPUs and some good iGPUs are: BeeLink SER7, Geekom A7, Minisforum UM780 XTX, Intel NUC 13 Pro, HP EliteDesk 800 G9, or M2 Mac Mini (including 16GB of RAM). All provide an excellent experience at price ranging from $700 to $900.
If you had to rate them from Best to Worst when playing demanding games, how would you rank them? 🤔 Without adding a Thunderbolt, GPU, or anything... thanks!
@Arnell_Long BeeLink SER7 for most stable. UM780 XTX for pure raw performance, but it will generate fan noise. Geekom A7 for people who play less than 2 hours straight pure day due to mediocre fan. The Mac Mini, HP EliteDesk, and Intel NUC are better suited for those who already own a PS5 or Xbox series S console.
@@akin242002 So the UM780 is similar to the HX99G and HX100G? I might pick that up eventually...I have a PS5, Xbox Series X, Switch OLED, and a Legion Go. Not too shabby of a list you have there. 🙏🏽
Yeah I dont get this extreme focus on gaming and emulation by ETA prime either. That is not why i would buy a mini PC.. mainly low powered computing, streaming, piholing or routing
@@666Maeglin i mean, gaming, emulation and 3d modeling are the most heavy operation on a pc, isn't try to use it on those operations a nice way to show it's max performance?
@@666Maeglin Gaming is a heavy process, using it as a show of performance isn't the issue. The issue is ETA PRIME never says anything negative. Ever. A complete shill.
Nice review of this unit; I'd been curious to hear what you had to say about it. The fan ramping up and down often (and noisily) would be a deal-breaker for me but I noticed the comment below by @karateto1 about repasting the CPU having a significant beneficial improvement. I'd have no issue doing that, but many people would, and if that were to prove a common thing (rather than perhaps that unit being an anomaly) then there's no excuse for GMKtek not noticing and fixing this before it went out the door.
I just bought the beelink 12pro with 16gb and 1tb for about $160 USD. It's my first N100 and I'm unimpressed, but for the pricepoint, I can do some webdev and homelab stuff. I think I'll aim for n305 or just real i5 in the future.
I'm going to be living the hotel life for work for next couple of months, any suggestion on the nest budget pc that could run diablo and poe. Not interested in a laptop
Really great and helpful info on mini's 👍 Thank you for tons of excellent content. Price of this NucBox G3 makes it easy for me to get several for home tinkering, setting up family members, and outfitting an office team. Confirmed 32gb ram works. I had enabled C-states and set TDP to 15W, too. Great for your audience that you showed how to do BIOS changes (6:02). In Linux with sysbench, I get max CPU package temp of 72°C (in 24°C room temp); idle 48°C. (I did not measure NVMe temp like you.) Also with sysbench and Linux, max power draw using Kill-A-Watt meter is 24W; idle 12W. With the included 12V 3A (36W) power adapter, a max draw of 24W feels right. But what do I know!? If I use Windows, Cinebench and 3DMark, I might update this post. My G3 sits right next to me and is silent; its fan is quiet and turns on infrequently. Did I win a little "silicon lottery" binning with my G3's N100? Dunno. It might be that for the G3's UEFI-BIOS, no mitigations will be needed for CVEs 2023-40238 and 2023-39539 (LogoFAIL). I am still looking into this. Kindest regards, friends and neighbours. P.S. I was surprised that the motherboards as well as ICs and ports are identical for NucBox G3 and Morefine M9 (not M9S or M9 Pro). Besides mobo, other differences between G3 and M9 are their ssd, ram and case materials. G3 mobo faces "up," and M9 faces "down" -- or vice versa from Yukon or Ushuaia.
The N100 is really out there killing it. I wonder what other ways there are for some of these mini PCs to differentiate themselves. Maybe integrating CEC support, an infrared sensor, small built-in UPS + solar panel, or maybe a form factor like the raspberry pi 400, that would be great for traveling.
I just ordered this G3. By any chance, did you still do a clean install of Windows 11? Do I need to or it's practically Malware free as the review said?
Cheers mate! Just subscribed to your channel!😄 I like how you do these reviews with performance, noise and wattage. Do you know any fix for the fans ramp up on this G3? Also, can you test these mini-pc, like usb speed, as a NAS or DAS. saw a little article by androidauthority on how to pair these N100 machines to make a DIY NAS server titled "I saved $100s building my own NAS home server". Thanks
I purchased the 16GB RAM / 512GB SSD version, but both components turned out to be from some off-brand Chinese manufacturer. When I left a review on the offical product page, it wasn't approved, yet reviews with photos showing LEXAR-branded components were accepted. This feels shady. Returning the units would be too much of a hassle. Lesson learned: stick with reputable brands that have a reputation to protect, not these fly-by-night whitebox resellers. I am posting this on everything i can find related to GMKtec NucBox G3.
@@Robtech Hikvision is not so bad, I have heard of them. they at least have *some* reputation to defend :D Have you ever heard of ZETTASTONE though? The RAM is not such a big deal, but I would have really liked to not fear downtime due to data loss. For the upgrade price I could have bought brand name components, but silly me, I wanted to reward them for such a nice job they did with this mini-pc by buying from them and not getting the barebone.
These new n100 minis are amazing compared to the Gigabyte Brix n2807 I've been running as a basic desktop for 10 years now on Ubuntu 14.04. I'm thinking it's time for an upgrade!
That’s still very bad perfomance for Valorant and LoL. Which cheap mini PC would you say is better for people looking to play those games with steady 100+ FPS on high settings?
Valorant is heavily CPU bound. I haven't tested high settings, but something like a Ryzen 5500U easily holds above 100FPS at 1080P. The Beelink SER5 5560U is my pick under $250.
bought this to offload scheduled tasks my office pc does. might upgrade to 16gb and 1tb. just took it out of the box and popped it open. first thoughts i noticed it was using dd4 4 maybe i should have coughed up 20 more bucks for the ddr5 version. i think it should be sufficient for what i want to use it for. got the 16gb for like 30 bucks
I'm working on a synthesizer emulator and was going to use an OrangePi 5 Plus, but its only 75% the speed of the N100, starts at $150 and by the time you add a case and storage you're way over the price of the G3. This is also the only NUC that includes a 2.5Gbit ethernet port at this price.
The Firebat T8 plus whatever at 16gb 4800Mhz ddr5 (slower than ddr4 3200??)ram and 512Gb hd at 140usd at Ali is slightly cheaper I feel. I picked one up yesterday for a diy handheld. Now is a company could make a mini gpu that fits in the m.2 slot without adapter that would be killer!
The T8 Plus is great. I find people want to buy locally off Amazon though for the easy returns and faster shipping. I buy stuff off AliExpress pretty often though. Make sure the T8 Plus is running memory at 4800 if you haven't already. By default it's less. I have the BIOS tweak in the review.
I was unable to get mine to run Valorant as it crapped on about secure boot and I didn't know and wasn't game to change anything in the bios. I have two of these and use Ubuntu 22.04 lts as my main computer.
Hello. Please help me choose GMKtec NucBox G2 | T-bao T8 plus | GMKtek G3 Not needed for games. Will work constantly 24/7 Proxmox will be installed, on which NAS storage will work, as well as a web server, a separate clean Windows, which will sometimes be launched for office tasks, possibly a smart home.
@Robtech what's the n100 mini you would recommend that IS NOT running Gen3x2 and instead full Gen3x4 in NVMe speeds? Have you tested the NVMe that comes with the mini in another computer? Does it run at full Gen3x4 speeds? I feel like that's such a bait and switch: saying it's Gen3 when it's not FULL Gen3.
@@Robtech been looking at that one - you're quite right, it does indeed have x4 speeds on that Gen3 bus. Is there a holy grail n100 that has Gen3x4 and dual NICs? I can't seem to find one.
Beelink EQ13. I tested the N200 model. It has dual Gigabit LAN and a Gen3 x4 slot. There's an N100 model which should be the same just with a CPU change.
I've bought, returned or sold several minis over the past two years and the G3 is the only one I've kept. Not because it's the fastest, quietest, or most stylish PC, just because there is no point in selling it. I bought it from GMKTEC as a barebone for about 100 dollars and fitted old memory and an SSD and it runs fine. It's as fast as all the other N100s I've owned (5, maybe?) and I actually like the budget vibe. It doesn't have USB C, so I can't power it from my monitor, but it's hard to get upset with a computer that costs so little. I've used it for work and it's fine. It solves a problem I have with N100 devices, that they aren't cheap enough to fiddle with. Someone else has commented on repasting the chip, which I wouldn't think of doing on anything more expensive in case I broke it, but the G3 is worth peanuts and makes a good hobby unit. Mine has been in its box for over a month (been using my MacBook air for work) and it doesn't matter because I don't feel like I'm wasting any money. I have a plan of things to try on it, including Linux and Plex, but I don't have to rush. At the end of the day, the only real advantage other N100s might have is USB-C, whereas this is dirt cheap and reeks of good value. I even like the industrial green colour. Bargain to the point of almost being theft.
hey, i’m looking to get a mini pc that I can power with a monitor. (looking for a minimalist set up) I plan on installing linux and don’t need it for any sort of gaming. Just office work type use case. any recommendations? if it has a barebones option that would be a plus, but not a necessity.
Instead of rapid-fire talking, it would help if you point to parts. like the nvme drive, and reveal the type and max size, etc. Why is there a M.2 SATA slot? Isn't that MUCH slower than NVME?
Most specs are pointed out including the drive brand any type that was included. ruclips.net/video/Mv-UqxTJ4Zc/видео.htmlsi=c3on87pGQdetRa4K&t=259 I don't go over things like lack of PCIe lanes on N100 CPUs limiting the drive speeds in every review.
Rob thanks for the review and including minecraft and Roblox. Just one comment. Roblox has a huge variety of games of which certain games (like frontlines ) are way more demanding iGPU wise than others (like natural disaster survival).
@@Robtech Thanks for taking user feedback seriously! The one you currently use seems perfect for light Roblox gaming, but I would recommend to add a heavier title like frontlines to expose the limitation of iGPU's, (Roblox also automatically scales graphics with iGPU, such that a game will look worse and with a reduced view distance on a lower end iGPU compared to a higher end. For instance the difference between an 6900HX with a 680M and a 4800U with Vega are very obvious.)
Hey Rob, been watching your PC reviews along with newer console ones. Nice to see some local Aussiel content! Have been debating which n100 to go for on a price/noise level as performance is quite similar across the range, which model would you be pushing towards that supports NVME? Cheers!
That's a tough one since quiet is subjective. Anything above 30dBA for me personally is not quiet enough at this low end. It really depends on your tolerance to fan noise.
Thanks Rob for another fine review. I have the G3 and it's a wonderful mini PC (I have few N100 PCs for different tasks). I have the green color which is nice touch. plasticky but good one. (Matte finish) I even added a 2242 1TB drive to this as additional storage. (which to me was also a nice feature considering the footprint) In my uses (media server) doesn't get to load often. so barely noticeable and very quiet (again, at least for me) The ease of opening the lid is a treat - and WIFI and LAN performance are super stable. All in all a very reliable N100 implementation.
@Robtech if you had to pick one, which would you say is THE BEST N100 machine? (price, noise and performance)? With NVME/SODIMM aka not soldered storage/memory
Thank you for your great reviews! I just found out about these mini PCs recently. I'm currently choosing between the 16gb ram version of this G3 and (what seems to be) a generic T9 Plus Mini N100 with 16gb LPddr5 ram... I will only use it for browsing, RUclips, media playerr, Documents, and the USB ports to access external storage, no gaming or any heavy task. Which one, for you, would be the safer bet between the two?
@@francyspi4610 No, it's not that one. The T9 Plus is that even smaller, palm-sized one with the LED lights at the bottom. I've seen different brand names with the exact same look. But I did eventually ordered this GMKtec G3. Still waiting on the delivery
@@johnnylektric I understood. You meant Ninkear T9 Plus MINI. Anyway I think that the Nuckbox G3 is better since has a wi-fi 6, Upgradable RAM and 2,5 Gigabit speed ethernet. Furthermore you have all the needed driver on GMKTec web-site included the new bios version.
Just bought a G3 after your review. When enabling c-states bios freezes, can't find any info on this, any ideas? it doesn't exactly freeze, I can get to c-states and enable but can'tb go back, just up and down. Just figured it out, have to use the finction key.
@@francyspi4610 Very pleased with the G3, I bought it instead of going from a Raspberry Pi4 to a Pi 5, mainly used for tinkering, looking at alternative OSs etc. ,although it's ersily capable as a working desktop if you are not into gaming. Since it's not a main PC replacement, for me it comes down to price. The G5 is a similar price but there isn't much between the two, the G5 is a bit faster. If I was going for a desktop replacement I'd be looking at an i9 processor.
Always love your reviews mate. I bought this PC barebones for 99€ in a sale. I love how they ship it locally, so its 99€ shipped and no import duties required. I added an old 4gb sodimm ddr4 stick and loaded up linux on a 4€ 64gb USB stick, also from a sale. It's a fantastic little media and retro gaming box, easy to work on too because of that clip on top lid.
Hi , i have GMKtech G3.Good pc for its price.About temperature ...well , open ..repaste CPU and you will be supprised of result.-20 degrees and fan will not rupm up ! . Thanks for the review! .
Any wifi of Bt issue due the realtek module?
I admit that I just want this mini pc because of the charming green color lol.
Solid for those on an extremely tight budget or living in a country with an extremely low pay scale.
Otherwise, pick the other options if someone has the funds available. More modern CPUs and some good iGPUs are: BeeLink SER7, Geekom A7, Minisforum UM780 XTX, Intel NUC 13 Pro, HP EliteDesk 800 G9, or M2 Mac Mini (including 16GB of RAM). All provide an excellent experience at price ranging from $700 to $900.
If you had to rate them from Best to Worst when playing demanding games, how would you rank them? 🤔
Without adding a Thunderbolt, GPU, or anything... thanks!
@Arnell_Long BeeLink SER7 for most stable. UM780 XTX for pure raw performance, but it will generate fan noise. Geekom A7 for people who play less than 2 hours straight pure day due to mediocre fan.
The Mac Mini, HP EliteDesk, and Intel NUC are better suited for those who already own a PS5 or Xbox series S console.
@@akin242002 So the UM780 is similar to the HX99G and HX100G? I might pick that up eventually...I have a PS5, Xbox Series X, Switch OLED, and a Legion Go.
Not too shabby of a list you have there. 🙏🏽
If your priority is gaming, the HX99G and HX100G are miles ahead of any integrated graphics.
Is this same as mini 12 pro but cheaper?
Question, what do you mean by mash the delete key? Where is the delete key?
www.computerhope.com/jargon/d/delete.htm
@@Robtech on the keyboard, well now I feel stupid, thanks.
We all have to start somewhere.
“Instead of doing the same game and multimedia tests on this one…” ETA Prime viewers feel seen. Great video!
Yeah I dont get this extreme focus on gaming and emulation by ETA prime either. That is not why i would buy a mini PC.. mainly low powered computing, streaming, piholing or routing
@@666Maeglin ETA prime is probably outsourcing 90% of his video production so don't expect high effort
@@666Maeglin i mean, gaming, emulation and 3d modeling are the most heavy operation on a pc, isn't try to use it on those operations a nice way to show it's max performance?
@@666Maeglin Gaming is a heavy process, using it as a show of performance isn't the issue. The issue is ETA PRIME never says anything negative. Ever. A complete shill.
Finally. I was waiting for your review of this since you're the only guy I trust when it comes to mini PCs.
We have come from a long way of hauling large pcs and slow hard drives, to small, portable mini pc's and ssd's. :)
Nice review of this unit; I'd been curious to hear what you had to say about it. The fan ramping up and down often (and noisily) would be a deal-breaker for me but I noticed the comment below by @karateto1 about repasting the CPU having a significant beneficial improvement. I'd have no issue doing that, but many people would, and if that were to prove a common thing (rather than perhaps that unit being an anomaly) then there's no excuse for GMKtek not noticing and fixing this before it went out the door.
Hi bro,
You review every mini pc so far
Which one is the best affordable gaming good mini pc in your choice.
Tell us 😊😊
What's your budget?
Another great video. Hands down this is one of the best channels on RUclips 🤩
I just bought the beelink 12pro with 16gb and 1tb for about $160 USD. It's my first N100 and I'm unimpressed, but for the pricepoint, I can do some webdev and homelab stuff. I think I'll aim for n305 or just real i5 in the future.
I'm going to be living the hotel life for work for next couple of months, any suggestion on the nest budget pc that could run diablo and poe. Not interested in a laptop
This is probably best for installing something like Batocera and turning this thing into a retro gaming console.
thanks for including the tutorial for bios on this G3,,,, did you renew the thermal paste yet?
Really great and helpful info on mini's 👍 Thank you for tons of excellent content.
Price of this NucBox G3 makes it easy for me to get several for home tinkering, setting up family members, and outfitting an office team.
Confirmed 32gb ram works.
I had enabled C-states and set TDP to 15W, too. Great for your audience that you showed how to do BIOS changes (6:02).
In Linux with sysbench, I get max CPU package temp of 72°C (in 24°C room temp); idle 48°C. (I did not measure NVMe temp like you.) Also with sysbench and Linux, max power draw using Kill-A-Watt meter is 24W; idle 12W.
With the included 12V 3A (36W) power adapter, a max draw of 24W feels right. But what do I know!? If I use Windows, Cinebench and 3DMark, I might update this post.
My G3 sits right next to me and is silent; its fan is quiet and turns on infrequently. Did I win a little "silicon lottery" binning with my G3's N100? Dunno.
It might be that for the G3's UEFI-BIOS, no mitigations will be needed for CVEs 2023-40238 and 2023-39539 (LogoFAIL). I am still looking into this.
Kindest regards, friends and neighbours.
P.S. I was surprised that the motherboards as well as ICs and ports are identical for NucBox G3 and Morefine M9 (not M9S or M9 Pro). Besides mobo, other differences between G3 and M9 are their ssd, ram and case materials. G3 mobo faces "up," and M9 faces "down" -- or vice versa from Yukon or Ushuaia.
Have this running batocera with no windows it's awesome for retro gaming
Is there enough clearance for an NVME M.2 WITH Heatsink?
Hi :) I want to ask, does the device (GMK G3) support upgrade from DDR4 3200 MT/s to DDR5 4800 MT/s?
RAM slots can't be upgraded. Supports DDR4 only.
The N100 is really out there killing it. I wonder what other ways there are for some of these mini PCs to differentiate themselves. Maybe integrating CEC support, an infrared sensor, small built-in UPS + solar panel, or maybe a form factor like the raspberry pi 400, that would be great for traveling.
Intel NUCs used to include IR sensors, but they didn't seem to hit off with other brands. Being able to use a remote was a nice bonus.
Thanks for the review!
Can I use the extra m.2 slot for a tpu like Google Coral?
I got the barebones on 9.9 sales about 82usd!!!!
this is *exactly* the morefine m9 inside.
From one Rob to another, great job.
Thanks Rob!
I have one of these, and it's surprisingly capable. I did double the RAM to 16GB for better multitasking, and added additional storage.
Where did you get the ram?
@@Pavasoz Amazon
I just ordered this G3. By any chance, did you still do a clean install of Windows 11? Do I need to or it's practically Malware free as the review said?
@@johnnylektric I didn't do a clean install, the device is malware free.
@@bryans8656 appreciate the info! Thank you!
shame it only has 1 ethernet port but not bad for the price.
Cheers mate! Just subscribed to your channel!😄 I like how you do these reviews with performance, noise and wattage. Do you know any fix for the fans ramp up on this G3? Also, can you test these mini-pc, like usb speed, as a NAS or DAS. saw a little article by androidauthority on how to pair these N100 machines to make a DIY NAS server titled "I saved $100s building my own NAS home server". Thanks
I purchased the 16GB RAM / 512GB SSD version, but both components turned out to be from some off-brand Chinese manufacturer. When I left a review on the offical product page, it wasn't approved, yet reviews with photos showing LEXAR-branded components were accepted. This feels shady. Returning the units would be too much of a hassle. Lesson learned: stick with reputable brands that have a reputation to protect, not these fly-by-night whitebox resellers. I am posting this on everything i can find related to GMKtec NucBox G3.
Mine came with Chinese branded RAM and storage as well. Hikvision for the storage and Wodposit for RAM. It's in the review.
@@Robtech Hikvision is not so bad, I have heard of them. they at least have *some* reputation to defend :D Have you ever heard of ZETTASTONE though? The RAM is not such a big deal, but I would have really liked to not fear downtime due to data loss. For the upgrade price I could have bought brand name components, but silly me, I wanted to reward them for such a nice job they did with this mini-pc by buying from them and not getting the barebone.
These new n100 minis are amazing compared to the Gigabyte Brix n2807 I've been running as a basic desktop for 10 years now on Ubuntu 14.04. I'm thinking it's time for an upgrade!
That’s still very bad perfomance for Valorant and LoL. Which cheap mini PC would you say is better for people looking to play those games with steady 100+ FPS on high settings?
Valorant is heavily CPU bound. I haven't tested high settings, but something like a Ryzen 5500U easily holds above 100FPS at 1080P. The Beelink SER5 5560U is my pick under $250.
Be careful, crazy fan noise will make you nuts!
High fan noise drives me nuts, that's for sure 😅
Does anyone problem with the Realtek RTL8852BE installed? Sometime the network card network drops if wi-fi is with 2,4ghz mode...
Almost perfect I/O. Good to see no PCI lanes wasted on extra ethernet ports. Shame there's no USB-C though.
bought this to offload scheduled tasks my office pc does. might upgrade to 16gb and 1tb. just took it out of the box and popped it open. first thoughts i noticed it was using dd4 4 maybe i should have coughed up 20 more bucks for the ddr5 version. i think it should be sufficient for what i want to use it for. got the 16gb for like 30 bucks
I'm working on a synthesizer emulator and was going to use an OrangePi 5 Plus, but its only 75% the speed of the N100, starts at $150 and by the time you add a case and storage you're way over the price of the G3. This is also the only NUC that includes a 2.5Gbit ethernet port at this price.
I subbed for showing the bios tweaks. Great attention to detail. Love your reviews. You are now the king of the mini pcs! 👑
Great work! Question: could any of these N100 stream 1080 to YT via OBS?
The Firebat T8 plus whatever at 16gb 4800Mhz ddr5 (slower than ddr4 3200??)ram and 512Gb hd at 140usd at Ali is slightly cheaper I feel. I picked one up yesterday for a diy handheld. Now is a company could make a mini gpu that fits in the m.2 slot without adapter that would be killer!
The T8 Plus is great. I find people want to buy locally off Amazon though for the easy returns and faster shipping. I buy stuff off AliExpress pretty often though. Make sure the T8 Plus is running memory at 4800 if you haven't already. By default it's less. I have the BIOS tweak in the review.
It's OK but I tend to think that the 16Gb models with 512Gb storage are the best way to go if you can afford it.
I was unable to get mine to run Valorant as it crapped on about secure boot and I didn't know and wasn't game to change anything in the bios. I have two of these and use Ubuntu 22.04 lts as my main computer.
Hello.
Please help me choose
GMKtec NucBox G2 | T-bao T8 plus | GMKtek G3
Not needed for games.
Will work constantly 24/7
Proxmox will be installed, on which NAS storage will work, as well as a web server, a separate clean Windows, which will sometimes be launched for office tasks, possibly a smart home.
T8 Plus
@@Robtech why, at least in a nutshell?
CPU temp and fan noise.
Where'd u get your shirt from, i love streets of rage
AliExpress
I really hope next gen chips support dual channel and have a bit more cores and/or speed.
@Robtech what's the n100 mini you would recommend that IS NOT running Gen3x2 and instead full Gen3x4 in NVMe speeds? Have you tested the NVMe that comes with the mini in another computer? Does it run at full Gen3x4 speeds? I feel like that's such a bait and switch: saying it's Gen3 when it's not FULL Gen3.
Geekom Mini Air 12 is a good one.
@@Robtech been looking at that one - you're quite right, it does indeed have x4 speeds on that Gen3 bus. Is there a holy grail n100 that has Gen3x4 and dual NICs? I can't seem to find one.
Beelink EQ13. I tested the N200 model. It has dual Gigabit LAN and a Gen3 x4 slot. There's an N100 model which should be the same just with a CPU change.
@@Robtech thanks so much for your input!
What is c stated and how does a novice unlock the level?
does it support higher refresh rates than 60hz?
If lower resolution than 4K resolution, yes.
@@Robtech thanks! I have a 1440p screen. Are you planning to review the G5? I am in between this one (G3), the T8 Plus, the Larkbox X and G5
I've bought, returned or sold several minis over the past two years and the G3 is the only one I've kept. Not because it's the fastest, quietest, or most stylish PC, just because there is no point in selling it. I bought it from GMKTEC as a barebone for about 100 dollars and fitted old memory and an SSD and it runs fine. It's as fast as all the other N100s I've owned (5, maybe?) and I actually like the budget vibe. It doesn't have USB C, so I can't power it from my monitor, but it's hard to get upset with a computer that costs so little. I've used it for work and it's fine. It solves a problem I have with N100 devices, that they aren't cheap enough to fiddle with.
Someone else has commented on repasting the chip, which I wouldn't think of doing on anything more expensive in case I broke it, but the G3 is worth peanuts and makes a good hobby unit. Mine has been in its box for over a month (been using my MacBook air for work) and it doesn't matter because I don't feel like I'm wasting any money. I have a plan of things to try on it, including Linux and Plex, but I don't have to rush.
At the end of the day, the only real advantage other N100s might have is USB-C, whereas this is dirt cheap and reeks of good value. I even like the industrial green colour. Bargain to the point of almost being theft.
hey, i’m looking to get a mini pc that I can power with a monitor. (looking for a minimalist set up) I plan on installing linux and don’t need it for any sort of gaming. Just office work type use case. any recommendations? if it has a barebones option that would be a plus, but not a necessity.
this also the easiest review to understand i could ever find about n100 powered mini pc. Thank you !
Instead of rapid-fire talking, it would help if you point to parts. like the nvme drive, and reveal the type and max size, etc. Why is there a M.2 SATA slot? Isn't that MUCH slower than NVME?
Most specs are pointed out including the drive brand any type that was included. ruclips.net/video/Mv-UqxTJ4Zc/видео.htmlsi=c3on87pGQdetRa4K&t=259
I don't go over things like lack of PCIe lanes on N100 CPUs limiting the drive speeds in every review.
Rob thanks for the review and including minecraft and Roblox. Just one comment. Roblox has a huge variety of games of which certain games (like frontlines ) are way more demanding iGPU wise than others (like natural disaster survival).
Which one would you recommend testing next time? Natural disaster survival?
@@Robtech Thanks for taking user feedback seriously! The one you currently use seems perfect for light Roblox gaming, but I would recommend to add a heavier title like frontlines to expose the limitation of iGPU's, (Roblox also automatically scales graphics with iGPU, such that a game will look worse and with a reduced view distance on a lower end iGPU compared to a higher end. For instance the difference between an 6900HX with a 680M and a 4800U with Vega are very obvious.)
Hey Rob, been watching your PC reviews along with newer console ones. Nice to see some local Aussiel content! Have been debating which n100 to go for on a price/noise level as performance is quite similar across the range, which model would you be pushing towards that supports NVME? Cheers!
That's a tough one since quiet is subjective. Anything above 30dBA for me personally is not quiet enough at this low end. It really depends on your tolerance to fan noise.
so about the same performance as a quad core 4570 or something like that from 11 years ago, but better graphics & lower power draw
I've seen i5-7400 thrown around a lot as similar performance.
Hi Rob,
Can you check if gmktec mini pc's are affected with any malware?
I already did in the review. They aren't
does it run Fortnite?
Nope, not even close.
I want to get a mini pc. I have monitor, keyboard and mouse. Is that all I need to have?
That's correct.
I use my Beelink as a plex server
Great video. How do you set the auto power on in case the power goes? Thats the setting I need for a mini server.
Found it: PCH-IO->Wake on power->S0
Thanks Rob for another fine review.
I have the G3 and it's a wonderful mini PC (I have few N100 PCs for different tasks).
I have the green color which is nice touch. plasticky but good one. (Matte finish)
I even added a 2242 1TB drive to this as additional storage. (which to me was also a nice feature considering the footprint)
In my uses (media server) doesn't get to load often. so barely noticeable and very quiet (again, at least for me)
The ease of opening the lid is a treat - and WIFI and LAN performance are super stable.
All in all a very reliable N100 implementation.
Is 8GB of RAM enough for me to use this PC as a Windows 11 Plex server?
Why people complain about the realtek Wifi and bt module?
@Robtech if you had to pick one, which would you say is THE BEST N100 machine? (price, noise and performance)? With NVME/SODIMM aka not soldered storage/memory
I've got one more to review then I'm hoping to get my updated top 5 2024 video out.
@@Robtech will look forward to it thanks
AU power supply?
Thank you for your great reviews! I just found out about these mini PCs recently. I'm currently choosing between the 16gb ram version of this G3 and (what seems to be) a generic T9 Plus Mini N100 with 16gb LPddr5 ram... I will only use it for browsing, RUclips, media playerr, Documents, and the USB ports to access external storage, no gaming or any heavy task. Which one, for you, would be the safer bet between the two?
Do you mean the Chatreey T9 Mini ?
@@francyspi4610 No, it's not that one. The T9 Plus is that even smaller, palm-sized one with the LED lights at the bottom. I've seen different brand names with the exact same look. But I did eventually ordered this GMKtec G3. Still waiting on the delivery
@@johnnylektric I understood. You meant Ninkear T9 Plus MINI. Anyway I think that the Nuckbox G3 is better since has a wi-fi 6, Upgradable RAM and 2,5 Gigabit speed ethernet. Furthermore you have all the needed driver on GMKTec web-site included the new bios version.
Do you know a Mini pc with full arch support?
Arch Linux? Every PC that support a recent Linux distribution (like Ubuntu for example) 99% of the times works with all other distros.
Just bought a G3 after your review. When enabling c-states bios freezes, can't find any info on this, any ideas? it doesn't exactly freeze, I can get to c-states and enable but can'tb go back, just up and down. Just figured it out, have to use the finction key.
What is the purpose of c-states mode?
@@francyspi4610 I think it's a power saving mode for the processor, Rob says enabling makes it run faster.
@@marecheau77 Thanks. Are you happy with your g3? What's your view about g5?
@@francyspi4610 Very pleased with the G3, I bought it instead of going from a Raspberry Pi4 to a Pi 5, mainly used for tinkering, looking at alternative OSs etc. ,although it's ersily capable as a working desktop if you are not into gaming. Since it's not a main PC replacement, for me it comes down to price. The G5 is a similar price but there isn't much between the two, the G5 is a bit faster. If I was going for a desktop replacement I'd be looking at an i9 processor.
Yeah, seems to affect single core performance by around 15%. Not sure why it isn't enabled by default on every mini.
Always love your reviews mate.
I bought this PC barebones for 99€ in a sale. I love how they ship it locally, so its 99€ shipped and no import duties required.
I added an old 4gb sodimm ddr4 stick and loaded up linux on a 4€ 64gb USB stick, also from a sale. It's a fantastic little media and retro gaming box, easy to work on too because of that clip on top lid.
May Linux/Debian runs stable on this?
ruclips.net/video/Mv-UqxTJ4Zc/видео.htmlsi=c5COZ72or1Bl12wq&t=181