A sub-$150 Intel N100 Mini PC! GMKTec G3 Review

[@dannyboy42223]

Love the Linux compatibility notes. Great as always

[@huboz0r]

I went ahead and got it before this excellent review was available. 2.5 gigabit Intel networking for this price is simply unmatched - there is no other n100 box that even comes close to this value. As long as you use a recent Linux kernel, its an amazing little low-power server. Minor remark with regards to the SSD specification: the 2280 slot is NVME but the 2242 slot is SATA-600 only (not NVME).

[@SpaceJazz3K]

Good catch! Guess they had to cut corners somewhere, each NVME is basically PCI-E

[@sailorsonic78]

Could you recommend a drive please?

[@uNReALTVonYT]

Hi, Does it get hot and is it noisy? Please 😁🙏

[@huboz0r]

@@uNReALTVonYT The fan is audible under full load. It is equal to what a laptop would sound like under load. I wouldn't say it gets very loud and because of the fan it does not get hot.

[@uNReALTVonYT]

@@huboz0r ​ Thanks for the reply, didn't receive mine yet, also I am afraid about viruses (via bios), did you test it for viruses? Also is the power adaptor ok for 24/7 running? 😅 thanks again!

[@perryholman5302]

Thanks Lon, another great video. I have been running 3 of these for 6-12 months, 2 as part of a proxmox cluster, and 1 as a stand alone Windows 11 Pro PC. They have not given me any trouble. One point to consider, these boxes come with Cstate disabled in the BIOS. I might recommend to enable Cstate, this just let's the power to drop while idle. Thanks again!

[@jcmcgarry27]

Just bought one for my receptionist's station using your link. Thanks for the great find, Lon!

[@ariessilva]

Thanks for incorporating virus check/license stuff on your reviews. I got burned with the am06 pro malware. Now to protect my self i will always reinstall the os fresh on any computer

[@avalagum7957]

If you reinstall Windows, does it automatically recognize that this computer is already registered with Windows 11? Or do you have to extract the Windows 11 key from the original Windows?

[@ariessilva]

@avalagum7957 if it's tied to your ms account it will recognize it otherwise you'll need to extract

[@tim3172]

@@avalagum7957 Digital entitlements are linked to the firmware of the motherboard. It should (unless something extraordinary took place or they used an unapproved activation method) activate immediately.

[@jeffnew1213]

I have two of these units. One purchased bare bones directly from GMKtec and another purchased on Amazon. They are quite decent little machines. They run Windows 11 perfectly. I also tested them as wee little servers, running ESXi 8.02. That runs fine as well, with the exception of the onboard TPM not being addressible by ESXi. Windows Server 2025 was another story. I could not get drivers for all the onboard hardware for that version of Windows. This was some months ago, so drivers might now be available. The Intel 2.5Gg NIC onboard is of the I225v variety, not the I226v. All in all, a cute little, very low power, machine for out-of-sight tasks and uses. Good review! Thanks!

[@cj_zak1681]

Wow so many of these mini PCs coming out lately, it's incredible. I do think they're cool but I'm amazed there's such a big demand for these

[@domramsey]

Feels like it would make a nice little home Proxmox / Home Assistant server.

[@jacobnoori]

Seems like a great little device. Always appreciate you checking for Linux compatibility, Lon.

[@davedillehunt1807]

Thanks for including Plex in your review!

[@john_in_phoenix]

I have one of these, and they are a great value. It has no problems using the Microsoft media creation tool to wipe the drive, load Windows and register it. As you did, I had zero problems loading Ubuntu. As you noted, the WiFi card is weak, but I got it for the 2.5 Ethernet myself.

[@eugene9000pro]

Wifi card is replacable. What is the type of slot that it uses?

[@john_in_phoenix]

@@eugene9000pro The same slot used by every wifi card.

[@SpaceJazz3K]

The case and NVME support of the box is very tempting.

[@hassan_ksu]

Just received mine. Speed and build quality is good for $145. I have one small complain the ssd and ram get real hot to the touch so you might want to add heatsink to both if you plan to run this 24hrs (as I'm planning to do). Overall happy with it.

[@cubertmiso]

undervolt ram a bit?

[@hassan_ksu]

@@cubertmiso I haven't done it... I added heatsink to both and it's good

[@uNReALTVonYT]

@@hassan_ksuHi, do you have any advice for a good heatsink please? Also what’s your temp and is it noisy? 😁🙏

[@hassan_ksu]

@@uNReALTVonYT I got a cheap one from Amazon, for the noise it's not too noisy. One you are using it you can hear the fan but not crazy. Good thing when it idle it's quite. My use case is 95% idle... I'm using it as a virtual machine.

[@uNReALTVonYT]

​@@hassan_ksu Thanks mate for the reply, didn't receive mine yet but I am afraid about viruses (via bios), did you test it for viruses? Also is the power adaptor ok for 24/7 running? 😅 thanks again!

[@WoodyTheArmadillo]

Great review thank you

[@bryans8656]

I've got one of these (16/512) and it's a surprisingly capable device.

[@asan1050]

Thanks for posting this video

[@SoySauceJohnny]

I have this running Zorin OS. Runs good. Nice cheap Linux box.

[@GrishTech]

Perfect little virtualization host.

[@joaovidal2658]

Thanks for the linux review

[@madhats13]

Might get something like this as a Steam Link box

[@iandale8062]

I have two of these. One with Windows 11 Pro and the one I use all the time with Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

[@bbgarnettTotallyNotABot]

Keep up the great work

[@RoadGlider505]

I purchased one of these after seeing it on your channel. I found that it was very slow, compared to a real computer. I decided to return it, and it took hours to do a reset. Not impressed.

[@ralphmcmahan2139]

This replaced my NUC 7 J4125 in bedroom. Running fydeos (Chrome OS.) During playback there isn't a huge difference, but fiddling around on the desktop it's a world faster.

[@Weeem]

Costs £275 in UK Amazon for the base model :( (approx $350)

[@jameswubbolt7787]

The price is right. ❤

[@AlanMok-mb1oz]

That is a great PC

[@jbarr]

While it doesn't have a ton of vCPUs, I can see 3 of these being used as an affordable Proxmox HA cluster.

[@МиколаЧерновол-г4й]

hi. Is it still working? I am interested in the reliability and resource of this computer..

[@dturk964]

Always love your reviews! I'm sure there would be limited interest, but I'd like to also see how these mini PC's do as an NDI receiver running the NewTek NDI Studio. Maybe compared to the BirdDog Play.

[@LonSeidman]

They should perform well at that task!

[@199724]

So it runs ChromeOS flex?

[@fede29262]

Hi! A question about these Nucbox min PCs: if I choose the option without internal storage (barebone), will the computer still be licensed when installing Windows 11? Or does the barebone option not have a Windows 11 license? Thanks!

[@mrb552]

Hi Lon. How did HD HomeRun server work on it?

[@Cloxxki]

This one, or a Chuwi Larkbox, of you could only have one? :)

[@nickbader7704]

Great video. I wish there was more like it. I do have a question. I'm starting a project where I'm building a system that allows me to stream my families local OTA stations to my home that is outside of the range of long-distance antennas. My setup would include an antenna placed at a family's home with a good tuner (HDHomerun ATSC 3.0 capable), hooked up to their home network and a mini pc that I can access remotely to stream to my home. Would this mini pc be able to stream up to 4k resolution? I'd like to create a setup that's as future proof as possible. Thanks.

[@LonSeidman]

ATSC 3 doesn’t allow for that due to drm. For ATSC 1 you could do it through plex - it should work well for that.

[@nickbader7704]

@@LonSeidman so if the DRM issue is resolved, would a setup like this help me stream 4k? I'm patient enough to have the setup in place for when it might take place.

[@PuchoWebSolutions]

Hello from New York City! Please explain how to install a second SSD to dual boot Linux. Thank you for informative video.

[@terryfobishop3655]

83410 Friesen Circles

[@mikehenika2002]

Looks like the G2 model has the usb-c but I'm not sure if it's for data or power only.

[@avalagum7957]

I wonder if 3-Year Protection for $25.99 (or 2-Year Protection for $18.99) is worth it. I heard that sometimes these mini pc's die after a few months for no reason.

[@LonSeidman]

I generally am not a fan of those extended warranties but at least you could get your money back if it dies after a year or two.

[@reddeviluk]

I've been using one as a Plex server for a few months now.... Running perfectly

[@mtpaladin9863]

Hi, may I know if we want to reinstall/reformat this.. does it work the same like a normal pc? Get into bios/ boot from usb & reformat?

[@dualpapayas]

Yes, press the Del key during startup to enter the BIOS.

[@DavePrivett007]

Are you sure the 2242 internal drive socket is NVME?

[@francyspi4610]

Does anyone problem with the Realtek RTL8852BE installed? Sometime the network card network drops if wi-fi is with 2,4ghz mode...

[@joshuaray]

Any idea how this would handle an NVR program like Blue Iris? Handling around 6 cameras?

[@richardpeterson2357]

is there any videos that show the installation of windows 11? I would like to get one and I know how to take it out of the box so 99 % if the videos on youtube are worthless but I would love to see a video of the installation

[@LonSeidman]

Windows is preinstalled

[@richardpeterson2357]

@@LonSeidman how does it know what language to use what name will the computer have will it all ready be connected to my wifi so what you are saying is all i have to do is turn it on and it will be ready to go right

[@supriyasou3722]

Is there any way to install Android TV OS on this to use this as a more powerful alternative to fire tv cube or apple tv?

[@Cloxxki]

Have you explored that more since? I've never had a TV box but the utility is slowly starting to dawn on me. I might even use such a mini PC as a...PC. Whether that makes any sense when I'm also going to get a new snappy laptop anyway, I don't know. With a mini pc on the desk, the laptop could be more TV focused? I have an HDMI 2.1 cable under my new floor, in case I buy an 8K TV (I intend to, haven't had a TV in decades). With a powerful TV box...the laptop and cable might lose their added value?

[@Просто_Иван]

Will it handle pycharm?

[@east103W]

Would an inexpensive little box like this one make a good media PC, one for exclusive use with a 4K TV ? I'm looking for something that wil let me surf the web, do basic email, plus stream YT and other hi-def and 4K content, plus run local movie files from locally attached storage at full hi-def resolutions.

[@LonSeidman]

I generally don't recommend mini PCs for media playback any longer due to HDR imcompatibility. The Nvidia Shield is the better option paired up with a Plex server

[@jeffreymcquillen1208]

Can it handle video editing,like DaVinci Resolve?

[@chrisbullock6477]

Cost affective, but I'd save $100-$150 more and get something with dual channel ddr 5 and at least 6-cores

[@lordwiadro83]

This PC is $149. Where would you get ddr 5 and 6 cores for $10?

[@TohTomajohs]

I want to get a mini pc. I have monitor, keyboard and mouse. Is that all I need to have?

[@LonSeidman]

Yes that and the mini pc :)

[@TohTomajohs]

@@LonSeidman yes lol . Awesome thanks! I'm trying to learn programming and some light gaming so I feel this will be a good pick before i invest in money on a PC

[@scottgray6099]

Sub $150 in america but those links are £360 and £443 in the UK. Rip off.

[@DonovanInocencio-u3i]

Jerald Gardens

[@snikenfixen]

What about the fan noise on the device?

[@dualpapayas]

Robtech's review on it shows a load noise of 37 decibels, which makes it one of the noisier N100 based systems.

[@DarrenMalave-h1u]

Smitham Common

[@np-hs7mr]

Could it work good as Plex server?

[@LonSeidman]

Yes it’ll do well - supports transcoding

[@john_in_phoenix]

Works better in Ubuntu, since Plex has known problems transcoding in Windows. Just FYI (yes I have one).

[@alansmithee.01]

@@LonSeidman With all the mini PC's hitting the market it would be a great opportunity to do one of your Plex videos to compare their Plex performance, especially if you can compare Fedora and Ubuntu/Mint vs Windows. Fedora is pretty bleeding edge and should have solid support for Alder Lake-N

[@reddeviluk]

I use one for Plex only. Two USB external drives plugged in works perfectly and silently.

[@1zero67]

How good of a plex or jellyfin server would a unit like this make? How many transcodes or streams could you expect to get off a device at this price point? Just looking for something cheap that can handle 12 to 15 transcodes at once with quick sync enabled.

[@tim3172]

Since you gave us so much information to go off of, I'm going to need three crystal balls to deduce if you mean 720P streams, 4K HDR, the codec, and complexity. If you actually mean 12-15 1080P transcoded streams, then you're going to need something way, way higher end. The N100 can support one 4K HDR tonemapping session or 4 1080P transcoded low-complexity files. (NVidia consumer cards are limited to 8 streams, the bulk of their lower-end Quadro cards are also limited to 8 streams, and you'd need something like an P2000 for 14 1080P streams.)

[@tomg4030]

Requiring MS account is not a positive.

[@dansanger5340]

It's an indication that it's an unadulterated copy of Windows. I bought a similar PC, and it didn't require a Microsoft account during setup. Malware scans came up clean, but it behaved a little bit flakey, with Windows Update not working after a day or two, even after several refreshes of the Windows install. Eventually, I reinstalled Windows using an ISO downloaded directly from Microsoft and it worked fine after that.

[@MrThomasHart]

Tell me where this costs below 150? The base model on the German Amazon link is at 211 Euro. Which is in line with any other of the N100s that are sold

[@brucerosner3547]

I ordered one from AliExpress for $104.95 plus $10 tax in US. Has an EU plug. Plan to use as in-house media PLex server with large external USB drive.

[@moosekatdeluxe]

Do these make good media players? Just really to play Plex from my server. Do they do pass through audio (Atmos) as well as Dolby Vision?!

[@LonSeidman]

I don’t recommend PCs as media players for that purpose. They do not pass through Dolby vision

[@RT-yi6te]

when you opened it shows a 1TB drive and not a 256gb. Did you swapped ? Or it comes with it ?

[@LonSeidman]

As I mentioned at the beginning mine had a 1 tb drive and 16GB of ram. They sell that configuration too for a little more money .

[@CantankerousDave]

Unbuntu, the unOS! (There’s only one n.)

[@thepokeninjas]

U aint low we know u playing gta

[@FLOODOFSINS]

Just to be safe I think I would always just reinstall Windows 11 with a fresh install using the CD key it came with.

[@john_in_phoenix]

You don't need the CD key, it activated just fine using the Microsoft media creation software for me. Good thing, since I have no idea what the key is.

[@justinraynes898]

Microsoft hasn't done product keys for OEM Windows in years. Its all digital licensing now.

[@FLOODOFSINS]

@@john_in_phoenix you can always extract the key.

[@john_in_phoenix]

@@FLOODOFSINS But I have no need to extract the key. It works without knowing the key, so what would be the point?

[@tim3172]

@@FLOODOFSINS There is no reason to extract an embedded key. You can't move it to another motherboard. It's forever tied to that piece of hardware.

[@stevenknight95]

you are too late to review this mini pc

[@tim3172]

When was the supposed deadline?

[@Paperclown]

I hope people considering buying a MiSTer FPGA instead i love that little computer !

[@BensonRosalind]

5659 Klocko Lodge

[@fredadabecker4782]

7092 DuBuque Burgs

[@aa-xn5hc]

@aa-xn5hc 1 minute ago Please, review 4 or 5 SSD slots mini pc to make personal NAS

[@MrPir84free]

In a mini-pc, you won't find it. There's not the room in any mini-pc for that not to mention having to deal with the heat. The closest thing you're going to find is a USB enclosure to hold the drives, going to a fuller sized motherboard and sticking it in a case, or going outside of the realm of mini-PC's For example, there's a NAS board out there that runs using a RK3588 ARM chipset. It's ARM, holds 4 NVME drives, about $215 ~ 280 for the 16G model. Oh, and no case. CM3588 by WayponDEV and a few other amazon sellers.

[@tim3172]

@@MrPir84free Asustor Flashstor 6 and 12 Pro