GMKtec Mini PC N150, G3 Plus Intel Twin Lake N150 (3.4GHz), 8GB DDR4 RAM 256GB PCIe M.2 SSD, Desktop Computer 4K Dual HDMI/USB3.2/WiFi 6/BT5.2/2.5G RJ45

It works as advertised
I have various Windows 10 devices that are not upgradeable to Windows 11 so I purchased this with the intention of making this my new anchor Windows PC (I’m primarily a Mac user) and I plan on only using it for basic word processing, web browsing, and activities better suited to the Windows world.This is a preliminary rating as I received this device just yesterday. Packaging was professional and set up/personalization straight forward using a USB wireless Logitech Key/Mouse. Bluetooth setup for my Harman Kardon speaker and other bluetooth devices failed (wouldn’t recognize anything discoverable) so I next began the lengthy process of Windows updating (actually still happening) and the bluetooth issue resolved itself somewhere along the way. So, beyond the bluetooth issue, this mini PC has been flawless, speedy, quiet, and has gotten only mildly warm during operation. I ran 5 YouTubes videos simultaneously as a test without issues. The system says it is running Windows 11 Pro, it has 475GB of storage (512 was advertised), 16GB memory, and the N150 chip. I’m on Google Fiber and my speed check was something like 400+ down/300+ up from the opposite side of the house from the router. I have NOT yet checked the other ports (USBs/HDMI/LAN).I’m not a computer geek so I can only share my ‘user’ experience as I compare this with my other devices (Macs/Chromebooks/Windows) and there have been no discernible performance issues.Wrapping up, so far, and comparing price vs. performance, I am happy with my purchase.

Started out great, really impressive, then it died, but customer support was excellent
For the first 24 hours, I was really impressed. Really snappy performance, 8 GB of RAM was plenty for simple tasks, and the SSD was capacious at 256 GB, considering the price. The inclusion of Windows Pro made the box almost free! However, after updating to Windows 11 Build 22H3, during the process of applying updates, the computer locked up. After 60 minutes with the computer no longer visible on the network and the keyboard and mouse non-responsive, pulled the power cord. Upon restoring power and turning on the computer, the PC was stuck for hours at the spinning circle during boot.Two more power-cycles and Windows repair interface appeared. Selected Windows Reset, Local Source (wouldn’t work with cloud source), Windows began resetting. However, after a restart, computer back to the infinitely spinning circle. :-(If this had proved reliable, I’d have bought a dozen or more as remote monitoring PCs for client networks. But given that I’ve had good luck with the similarly priced AWOW models, I will not be investing any more money or time in the GMKTek offerings.Update 01-07-2024———————–Fortunately, GMKTek provides a download for a Windows 11 re-installation ISO. With this and leveraging a fair amount of knowledge of Windows installation options, was able to re-image the SSD. Unfortunately, the product key is invalidated and I had to use a spare Windows 10 product key to re-activate Windows. Unfortunate the GMKTek hasn’t worked out the same relationship with Microsoft that Dell has, whereby any Windows 11 ISO used to load Windows onto a Dell OptiPlex results in an automatically activated Windows 11 installation.Bottom line is that after recreating and updating all apsects of the re-installed Windows 11 OS, the PC is back to running normally. I know to steer clear now of some driver updates. The PC has been running for about 36 hours and I’ll post an update if that changes in the near future.When this PC works, it represents a great value for the money in terms of hardware specs and a Windows 11 license. However, taking into account the time issue remediation takes and the expertise required, the TCO (total cost of ownership) rises significantly. If I never have to do brain surgery on this device again, I’ll still feel the cost was justified based on the performance of this sub-$200 device.P.S. I now make a complete image backup before running/installing ANY updates so I can simply restore the image backup rather than running into yet another Windows 11 re-installation process and the requirement to use/purchase another Windows product key.P.P.S. The WIndows 11 re-installation ISO download was 11 GB and was not a standard Windows 11 installation ISO. This had to be burned to a flash drive (I used a 16 GB USB3 model; I used Rufus to create the bootable UEFI flash drive) and then the GMKTek PC booted with it. Upon boot, I was faced with a terminal window and a couple of choices. The one I chose led to an image/sysprep process that fortunately got the PC bootable once again with Windows 11 Pro.P.P.P.S. Highly recommended –> As soon as you boot the device for the first time, find a tool such as ProduKey by NirSoft and extract and save the Windows 11 product key. Ideally (although I didn’t have a chance to test), this key would work if a re-install was ever required. The other option, that I was waiting for until the PC was fully updated, is to create an image backup using any number of tools, including the image backup tool in Windows. Thus, if any of your update processes results in a non-bootable PC, you can simply re-image from the backup and avoid having a non-activated instance of Windows 11.Update 01-12-2024———————–Vendor reached out proactively and offered some assistance, although I’d resolved the corrupt Windows 11 issue independently. However, that level of customer support is remarkable considering the price of this product and the lack of such support from other vendors with much pricier offerings. Due to this, upgrading the rating to four stars.Update 01-13-2024———————–Customer support proactively reached out and provided a product key so I could activate Windows 11 and free up my personal product key. GMKtec’s proactive reaching out to a customer with issues is almost unparalleled in my experience over 40 years, so despite the issues I encountered, I’m raising my review to five stars. For a product this inexpensive but with excellent performance, providing this level of customer support is laudable.

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.

small size high quality