GMKtec G5 Micro N97 TINY NUCBOX BIOS Update & Show/Fix CPU Throttling {Part 2 of ...}

[@Warrior0fDoom]

Fantastic review! Thank you for posting. I was deeply curious how well it handled emulation and this answered my question 😁

[@UdayNimbalkar]

Complete review of the Gmkteck with additional useful gadgets

[@home-uf3tg]

thanks great video. I ordered one. looking forward to test those

[@ElderSnake90]

Thank you for this! I need to tear mine down and do this thermal paste fix as the temps do worry me. Also maybe I'm unlucky, but fair warning to anyone about the included SSDs on these. I have the 256gb model and the SSD suddenly died on me after just a week of using it. The NUC itself is fine and I've just been running on a micro SD card until my replacement SSD arrives, a bit slower to boot etc obviously but at least I've been able to use the thing.

[@PiManiac]

Dismantling is pretty straightforward, just watch the connector where the two boards connect. (A bit of patience required to reconnect also) @HTwingnut has a better teardown tbh but didn't have the success i did with re-pasting. I have purchased about 6 of these so far and no SSD issues yet. I have been speaking to GMKtec support and hope the paste used is changed for those (like me) who like to push this little NUC harder than just browsing and watching KZbin.

[@ElderSnake90]

@@PiManiac thanks for that info, it's hard to find much detailed stuff on these around the net oddly enough. As for the SSD, I guess I really am unlucky!

[@PiManiac]

Some tests ran by me this afternoon. N100 CPU= Geekbench 6.3.0 CPU = 985 Single/2985 Multi. GPU Tests Vulkan = 3731 - OpenCL = 3270 | N97 CPU = Geekbench 6.3.0 = 972 single/2984 Multi. GPU Tests Vulkan = 5975 / OpenCL = 5186.

[@michaelm4407]

My Geekbench 6.3.0 N97 for GMKtec G5: single core - 1223, mult-core - 2888 on balance power plan mode.

[@PiManiac]

@@michaelm4407 How about the GPU Vulkan/OpenCL tests?

[@michaelm4407]

@@PiManiacGPU Tests Vulkan = 5963 / OpenCL = 5207. Seems similar to yours. I'll need to replace the thermal paste after noticing thermal throttling in HWinfo64. Trying to decide on Kooling Monster KOLD-01 vs MX4. I wonder if HTWingnut used too much thermal paste on his G5 considering the N97 is a small APU.

[@PiManiac]

@@michaelm4407 I certainly used less than he did and i hope soon, this is not required. This is a cheap/awesome little unit for what your getting here.

[@michaelm4407]

@@PiManiac Was it difficult to reassemble the G5. I think I will struggle to put back the ribbon cable for the upper motherboard. Do I need a tweezer of some sort? I don't think I've seen any videos re-assembling the G5 from anyone yet.

[@jlr3636]

Can you explain “emulation”, I’m not familiar with this phrase. I’m looking for a mini to edit photos in Photoshop , no videos, email, some word processing, and KZbin. Not sure if will run Microsoft Flight Simulator?

[@PiManiac]

basically, allows one computer system to mimic another via software. Most Mini PCs can do all that you want. However, the latest Microsoft Flight Simulator will need a fair bit of GPU power. (depending on your expectations)

[@Urosaurus]

Thanks for this. Did they remove the bios update from their website?

[@PiManiac]

@Urosaurus No. It's still on GMKtec website (more links, support, firmware update) and i also host/link to it above in the full video description. Thanks

[@Urosaurus]

@@PiManiac great, many thanks!

[@PiManiac]

** Update ** BIOS update has gone from GMKtec website so, only my share which is linked above.

[@unknownidentity0815]

​@@PiManiac es gab Probleme nachdem BIOS Update mit der Win 11 Aktivierung

[@PiManiac]

@@unknownidentity0815 Interesting. I activated before updating and have been fine. Do you have more details?

[@srvuk]

It is a bit of a shame that the lack of decent CPU paste takes some shine off the box.

[@PiManiac]

I did reach out and received a reply that their techs will look into but, time will tell.

[@ElderSnake90]

Hopefully they take the advice and act on it. I did new paste on mine yesterday and its just a world of difference. I used a nano diamond thermal paste which was a couple dollars more than the usual ones at my local but it certainly worked well. I can't get it to go higher than 79c now in stressing (and generally more like 75c) whereas before I'd often see 89-96c. I used to hear the fan revving up to maximum speed constantly but now as its running cooler I rarely ever hear it.

[@PiManiac]

What do you want to see next?

[@Urosaurus]

The maximum CPU speed. Boosted and sustained. Geekbench 6 GPU benchmark, please. Cheers!

[@PiManiac]

@@Urosaurus Max 3.6GHz, Sustained 2.9GHz. Geekbench 6.3.0 = 972 single/2984 Multi. Geekbench GPU Vulkan = 5975 / 5186 OpenCL

[@Urosaurus]

@@PiManiac thank you

[@unknownidentity0815]

Has anyone ever seen more than 2.9GHz on the Intel N97 NucBox G5?

[@PiManiac]

The maximum boost frequency for 1 core is 3.6 GHz / 3600 MHz (for like 1-2 seconds) The maximum sustained frequency for ALL cores is 2.9 GHz / 2900 MHz. I've seen 3.4 MHz a few times using Batocera Performance graphs.

[@unknownidentity0815]

@@PiManiac okay. Yesterday I saw in a Video that you have to enable C-States and Set the CPU Power to 15W. I'm Testing it right now. I always Stop at 2.9 GHz

[@PiManiac]

@@unknownidentity0815 Most will tell you C-States are best left off but, it make very little difference. The power supply that comes with the G5 is 12w/3a and others have tested with better power supplies that can make the required 15w with no better benchmark results. You cannot run at the BOOST CPU speed for more than a few seconds. 2,9 is the MAX you will see with benchmarks. It's the GPU@1200Mhz that enables the N97 to beat the N100.

[@unknownidentity0815]

​@@PiManiacOkay, the 2.9GHz performance of the CPU is sufficient for me. I knew that the 3.6GHz is single-thread only. but even with the CPU-Z stress test, I couldn't get more than 2.9GHz with one core. I tested C-State and now see more than 2.9ghz even in task manager.

[@PiManiac]

@@unknownidentity0815 Whilst I see a slight inprovement in Geekbench 6 Benchmark scores with C-States ON, Batocera seems to run worse so, Windows/RetroBat may benefit from it being enabled more. (& i still see a core going way over 2.9 on Batocera at times)

[@chaiyong7998]

24. Don’t buy Gmktec, you have alot more problems that you’ll have to fix yourself because their customer service is a joke

[@PiManiac]

I have to say, they have been great with me. I just purchased their new latest released R7 Pro Model and its GREAT also. (AAA GOW Ragnarok/Cyberpunk are Playable etc)