GMKtec NucBox 5 Micro PC Review: Fantastic Price to Performance!

The new GMKtec NucBox 5 is a huge upgrade from previous tiny PC models: it has an 11th-generation Jasper Lake N5105 processor, WiFi-6, Bluetooth 5.2, and lots of new ports. Let's take a deep dive into its potential for PC gaming, retro emulation, and as a dedicated Batocera machine, too.
Buy it on Amazon: amzn.to/3HRvTpd
GMKtec Amazon store: amzn.to/3zZWY7J
GMKtec website: gmktec.com/products/intel-11t...
Mini PC spreadsheet: tinyurl.com/RGCminiPC
This was a review unit sent to me by the manufacturer. All opinions are my own, they did not see this review ahead of time, and no money was exchanged in any way.
Timestamps:
00:00 introduction
01:24 unboxing and impressions
02:52 tech specs & teardown
03:56 Windows 11 setup
05:03 PC gaming
07:30 retro game emulation
11:09 GameCube, Wii, 3DS, Wii U, Switch
13:48 PS2 and PS3 testing
15:19 Batocera experience
16:58 summary (likes & dislikes)
19:35 conclusion
If you want to support the channel, please consider Patreon: / retrogamecorps
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Theme song written by Jim Gray of Our Ghosts:
ourghosts.bandcamp.com/album/...
Note that this description may contain affiliate links. By clicking on an affiliate link and buying something, I may earn a small commission of the sale at no extra cost to you.
This video is for entertainment and educational purposes only.
#MiniPC #Batocera #RetroGaming

[@Chris.Davies]

Just got one for my retail store, but with 16GB RAM. Fantastic little machine, doing all work-related jobs with ease, and always very responsive. I use this machine to show people we're living in the future.

[@realdragonrude]

I think it would be cool if you did a NUC buyers guide video starting with the cheapest ones and what you can expect from those lower end intel cpus

[@slappymcphee]

They have gone a bit expensive for the 5105 based units compared to the 4125 based units most likely due to popularity rather than supply chain. The Chuwi Larkbox Pro with the 4125 costs $120 less and you still get solid performance for what it is. Once you get over 300 bucks there are a lot more options. Granted they may not be tiny, but at that point common sense should kick in.

[@Lilacs4]

It's so amazing what they can pack into such a tiny device! Your vids always tempt me to buy more devices but Lord knows I have too many already lol 😅

[@Lonewolf-mt4fw]

Can you mention them

[@billtevepaugh]

I built all 4 of my kids each their own Ryzen 5 3600 (technical electric gate flippy chips)/RX580 8gb (same but different type technical electric gate flippy WITH DrawFast Hands of Lines and Circles multisparkerlater flippity flop electric gate swooshing and whirling chips /Teamgroup Vulcan 32GB 3200mhz/ and Blah Blah's, Yada Yada's, and Flashy Flashing McFlashers for them during the pandemic. They've been doing pretty good. I went with that because I had that same as cash type deal with a company, and that was all they had.....plus each purchase came with guaranteed future debt, depression and potential early onset male balding! After that I was laid off. Been in debt ever since, still haven't recovered and really been trying keep my mind off of getting one of these little things to try, so in other words what I'm saying is.... if you have too many of them, let me know, would gladly take one for a little while on loan to try out!! Plus, I really just wanted to say flippity flop and flipper chips...

[@8-bitbert]

Thank you for this video! This is exactly the information I was looking for, I'm buying one of these to velcro to the back of my tv and leave retro games running 24/7. This video gave me all the info I wanted, thanks again!

[@sunnygalli]

FYI you can get these with a 128GB SSD from aliexpress for around $180.

[@elgabrieldemartino]

This is a video of greatness thanks for making videos Russ keep up the good work 😊

[@Rakoonic]

Would be good to do a quick update on some of these boxes. This one is now down to $180 USD on Amazon, and I just picked up a Beelink mini PC (N5059 with 8gb ram / 256gb SSD) for a measly $150. Pretty insane value!

[@Covnam]

Great review! I wonder how a 12th gen will do in a year or two... We're getting closer and closer to a small, (relatively) inexpensive box that can play all SD systems without issue. Can't wait till we get there =) A barebones option without an SSD and no windows license to save money would definitely be nice. If they could get it to $150-$200, it'd be pretty great.

[@creepingmee]

i watched this video on my livingroom tv with my nucbox1 plugged into it. My nucbox1 i use like you said as a kind of roku box. i also play retro games up to GC with it. it seems like the N5105 is only slightly faster than the J4125 in my nucbox1. I guess I'll wait for a later generation before i upgrade. Overall I am satisfied at the price/size/performance ratio.

[@richarddukard8989]

I think it would be helpful if you compared these mini PCs to the Raspberry Pi 4, considering you can't really find the RPi4 around anymore, and these could be a good replacement. My biggest question is how much power this mini PC uses, compared to the Pi?

[@slappymcphee]

It has a 10W tdp. Honestly if power consumption is a concern none of these Micro/Mini PCs will be too bad. To me though they have gone a bit expensive for the 5105 based units compared to the 4125 based units most likely due to popularity rather than supply chain. If they do interest you to "replace" a Pi4 purchase check out the Chuwi Larkbox Pro with the 4125 as it costs $120 less and you still get better performance than a Pi4.

[@DarkWorldQ8]

The 128GB model is now $140 on an Amazon sale

[@guitarsimon1]

Hahaha that hurricane kick 💥🦻😂

[@darrenweets6391]

The color-code chart is a great idea.

[@shaolindreams]

Definitely seems a step up from the Lark box Pro, which i was considering. Nice Review. I hope they make a Super Console X out of it.

[@shaolindreams]

Just copped one for £200 256GB version. Not wanting it for anything extreme, just want to tinker around with a low power mini PC. I'm definitely going try that batocera box setup😃

[@hadouken2123]

Thanks again for the video! I am thinking about getting an Intel NUC 11 essential with n6005 cpu. Do you have an idea if this will be fast enough for gamecube and wii using latest batocera ?

[@jwill7998]

Thanks! I'm looking for a replacement computer for my MAME cabinet. Preferably something with a small form factor and can play up to NAOMI and Killer Instinct.

[@RetroGameCorps]

That’s a great point about arcade. Because this will power on when plugged in, you could hook it up to a power strip and boot up Batocera (or a Windows frontend) with the flick of a switch.

[@dfgrow]

I've had one of these now about 2 months got it when eta did a review and I been able to run all games up to ps2 that's where it get under 60 fps runs bigbox nice its a nice little box for what it is for gamecude I ran dolphin and was able to play all games at 2x I got it to make a mame arcade machine

[@trafficjam822]

update on it? thinking of buying one, but i read that people say they die after a few months

[@dfgrow]

@trafficjam822 so far it's still running not sure why some people's die

[@trafficjam822]

@@dfgrow bet thanks

[@shade20x64]

Not sure if you've seen it or not, but there's a Rii handheld keyboard that also has a controller on the back. I picked one up and the controller is actually fairly comfortable to use. Combined with this it could make the ultimate tiny media and gaming station.

[@NScherdin]

The Pi400.

[@shade20x64]

@@NScherdin This is more powerful than the Pi400. And the Pi400 would also need a mouse added (the Rii keyboard includes a touchpad).

[@ccricers]

I have the Larkbox which is last gen, and most GC games ran fine in 1x resolution and started to hit a wall with Wii games. Some ran okay for the most part like Tatsunoko vs Capcom so did you try running just in 1x res? I think going 720p would be pushing these Intel mini PCs too much for emulation. That Switch performance was better than I expected, though.

[@Rpgamer50]

Favorite Channel

[@samh5886]

Single or dual channel ram? Can use cpuz or similar software to verify if you do not want to tear it apart to check physically. And I seen a couple of your videos where batocera performance always seem lower than the equivalent in windows for the newer systems that is more intensive. Is this because of generally less good emulators on the Linux side? I would imagine batocera being more light weight and consuming less resource for the OS compared to windows.

[@etharp1980]

Hey Russ any idea how FX3 can do on it? Id like to use this for my pinball machine… Also can the Ram be upgraded for sure to 16gb to run the new Pinball Fx?

[@myusrn]

If you install this to the back of a monitor vesa mount what do you attach a monitor stand or arm to at that point?

[@shampec6185]

it's compact design. there are having larger cases with n5105 which mb work faster. and having dual memory channel with 16 gb what may add performance too

[@z0rrer0]

Thanks for the analysis ^_^. Could you please precommend me some device: minipc, raspberry... or whatever for less than 200 EUR to play mame arcade games like golden axe or so on a CRT TV? Thanks a lot mate. Keep up the good work

[@MohammaDoesLife]

If I use a wired controller, will it cause the Nuc box to move easily when I'm gaming?

[@TheSolo38]

hi great video just ordered one can I ask how to i get all them games on the emulator

[@omarguerrero6417]

i was able to get halo reach to play but lowering the resolution of game graphics can missed with the menu

[@marcinmorun]

Is the 8GB RAM running in dual-channel mode?

[@gcarrillo789]

I’m looking for a good game console that come pre loaded with games. What would you recommend? I want to play retro games with my son. His really into Pokémon, mega man, sonic, power rangers. Any advice would be great thanks

[@realdragonrude]

The real problem is that it cost the same as a steam deck which is a pc and a handheld so it then becomes a niche product

[@chrishoward574]

Will this work with a type c that charges and also works as a display connecter?

[@CrypticNinja]

Is this box running the 8gb ram on a single channel? Does it have the option to put another 8gb for dual channel? PSP and onwards would perform much better if this is possible!!

[@oswaldmosley6179]

I want something like this but I want a 12th gen and dual channel. Does this one have duel channel?

[@he_uziel]

hello, I have the u59 with the same processor and I tried the mario galaxy with the native resolution and it did not run at a good speed, to have good performance should I do dual channel in the ram?

[@fede29262]

Hi. Does this product come with a valid Windows 11 licence? (or is just a preinstalled Windows but unlicenced). Thanks!.

[@christophermccarty1867]

Usb-c charging port or power port? Does the computer have a battery?

[@floppydisk4500]

I'm thinking I'm gonna use one of these for a high power cyberbeck

[@adnerayala3409]

Hey did you try the RADXA ZERO ?

[@Tudsworth]

"Nintendo Wii... Not quite as good" *Bitcrushed Ryu noises intensify*

[@antodreamscl]

Hi, you boot Batocera from a SD card; can it be booted from a usb external HDD?

[@NeverTakeNoShortcuts]

any idea how many watts this draws on idle?

[@NickferZev]

Ngl, I know next to nothing about these emulator PCs, so I thought this one would be far cheaper than it actually is. Very low chance of me buying one, but I’m still considering, given that it’s at a discounted price this week only.

[@MrQuay03]

It's $177 now on Amazon for 256 GB

[@godsidonps491]

Whats gonna play ps2 and ps3? What hardware should I purchase?

[@farukdiner6310]

Hello. How can I turn on this computer from keyboard or mouse? I cannot find bios configuration.

[@theflyingjapman5771]

Can this be installed w/ openwrt as a portable router?

[@l3g10nw]

where do i get that retroarch with games?

[@lumi_lab]

Can please make a fan noise test video

[@erkanbuyukoglu8003]

bu cihaza win 10 yükledim ancak bluetooth sorunu oluştu çözemiyorum yardımcı olabilir misin ?

[@paolozago6123]

There's no comparison between the N5105 and N4125, the new Celeron is so much faster and the GPU in the 5105 is almost the best one for a Celeron (I think only the 6005 has a better one). I just got an Aerofara Aero 2 Pro and it's an excellent emulation machine, it would be nice to have a comparison between these two N5105 based devices to see how (if) thermal throttling affects the NucBox more

[@leonboy9388]

At some point i will tell my wife my hoarding of random devices is because of your content 😂🤣

[@aymanibrahim9736]

I tried Batocera, it was a good experience, but I was under the impression that when using it, the OS will use the full system resources, instead of running emulators while your resources are running the native OS at the same time, whether windows or Mac or whatever. So I am asking if what I said above is valid? should batocera run faster and better? or am I not understanding this incorrectly.

[@marksemczyszyn]

Linux is very optimised to run well without the overhead of a GUI. So it has an advantage in that respect. But. Emulators of a higher level benefit from higher performing graphics drivers. Depending upon the emulator, they may run better with Windows because of DIrectX. Unless the GPU vendor puts time and money into Linux drivers, the default big market will always be Windows. It very much will depend upon the emulator you’re using.

[@aymanibrahim9736]

@@marksemczyszyn thanks for clarifying, I think I am understanding you and this could be the case. I am running a Mac mini late 2012 (with metal) with 16 GB ram, i7 with Intel HD 4000, with the slow ass stock 5400 RPM hard driver (i honestly don't know how it is still running after literally 10 years) , it runs emulators pretty well, up to PS2, God Of war 1 and 2 play smoothly with rare dips, (with speed hacks), same for SOTC, but all at NATIVE res, on PSX2 with metal support, a few games you could escape with 720. And PPSSPP at 720 sometimes 1080 on some games, and OPEN EMU runs everything up to PS1 but all run at core specified which is mostly native. When I ran batocera, it was a nicer experience and interface, and I loved the customizability for every system or game, but the problem was that PS2 and a few others ran slower/ worse. It only runs in Open GL/ VULKAN I think, if I am not mistaken. I am super new to emulation, and I was a bit disappointed when standalone batocera ran slower, I think it comes down to its inability to run metal as standalone, I dunno if it is possible to do so in future versions, cause it really makes a great user experience. Thanks again I guess I will stick to standalone emulators for now.

[@LockeLeon]

I've been craving for Raspberry Pi size x86 computer for a long time. Could you test if it can decode and play 4K HDR videos from youtube without stutter?

[@NScherdin]

Don't think HDR is supported.

[@erictrauman2879]

just picked up a chuwi hero box on clearance

[@jasonshiers5771]

For its price it’s not to bad .

[@realityos]

Can you actually upgrade the RAM to 12GB? They said somewhere in the specs that its 12GB max.

[@madsdgdhg]

I contacted them directly by email. No predictions on when the 12gb version will be available. The memory is soldered.

[@richarddukard8989]

Interesting how you got 15 fps on Skyrim with low settings, but ETA prime got 60 fps 🤔

[@pholly]

Surprised there was no game streaming services in the video, I'm sure it's probably fine but it would have been a nice inclusion.

[@RetroGameCorps]

Good point, I try to add on "supplemental" tests with every video, and I spice it up each time, and streaming falls into that category for me. In this one I decided to try 3DS (a system I don't think is great to play on a TV, but others sometimes ask for) and a couple additional PC games like Skyrim and Minecraft. But for example, in my previous mini PC video (the MoreFine S500+) I tested streaming of Doom Eternal vs playing it natively on the PC, and on the one before that, I did some video editing. But yes, streaming is great on this!

[@farisomeragic8900]

We need raspberry pi 5

[@slappymcphee]

No, we don't need it. There is still plenty to unlock with the Pi4 especially with evolving Vulkan support.

[@farisomeragic8900]

@@slappymcphee better cpu we need like A77

[@mechanicalmonk2020]

They're using parts of your video on the Amazon page. I'm going to guess they didn't get your permission

[@nerdloftgaming]

That’s because GMKtec provided it to Russ, of course they’re going to use parts of his video.

[@stempo1]

Just picked one up for 120 bucks,

[@retropug]

That steal I did the same thing

[@OneTheAndOnlyOne]

weird my cheap Dell latitude 3189 fanless mini laptop with a N4200 and 4gb(ddr3) memory has way better performance...I only tried batocera ,but most psp games run full speed with 6x (God of War 3x @1080P runs full speed) ..I tried xbox but those games don't run at full speed but are playable (45FPS).. Also WiiU Mario Kart is very much playable (45-50FPS)

[@kinghoju]

I really don't know why these things need to be so incredibly tiny--I don't need to carry it in my pocket. I'd much rather have something 2x or even 3x the size (which would still be very small) with a bit more performance.

[@HyperShinchan]

3 reasons I can think of: 1) people in some places live in really, but really, cramped places. 2) The small form factor allows to place these things directly behind any monitor's VESA mount. 3) This class of CPUs can't take advantage of a larger form factor, they simply don't operate at TDPs high enough to require a larger case and more complex cooling. Larger size would mostly translate in more expandability and/or easier user access (some of these things are a nightmare to repair/upgrade apparently).

[@ziggy8757]

ill buy the generation of this that can at least handle wii games properly....not there yet

[@QinoCony]

you certainly did something very wrong in the emulators settings from the Wii in other tests on the same processor on other mini pc the games that had sudden drops didn't show this the processor would have to have one for 999mhz for this to happen lol in addition the processor and the gpu wasn't even used to its 100% that when you showed the msi on the screen anyway this video didn't help at all in my purchase it just left me extremely confused

[@chavao7.7]

Test emulador yuzu plis ?

[@Jaysun1]

I was about to buy one and then I read all of the amazon reviews. This thing will most likely crap out after a month or so.

[@Isweir]

If there’s ryzen and if there’s 32gb ram the. I’ll buy it, however it not, 8gb memory is too slow, only works for normal browsing and writing, can’t do extensive video media work Need at least 16gb ram and it’s not good for gaming which need a better cpu and 32gb ram.

[@destronia123]

This looks like a rebranded ZX-01...

[@clc6433]

Yes.. un-huh... maybe I'll break out the credit car- WTF THAT PRICE?!?

[@alexgonzalez9053]

Intel's 11th gen chips were kind of underwhelming to be honest, so I'm not expecting anything impressive of any devices using them. The miniPCs in this price range sit at a bit weird place in my opinion. If you're tight on money then getting an Nvidia Shield might be a better option despite losing some performance and if you spare a few more bucks then grabbing an X Box series S with a "free" high quality controller and better emulation on high end systems would make more sense. Honestly, I think what would made the scales go one way or anther would be what else you want to use your device for : if you're mainly interested in TV streaming save some bucks and get a Shield, if your want to play modern games too then go for the X Box and if you need another PC to to some light everyday tasks then go for one of these. They¡re close enough to one another in power vs price that it's other factors what should make you decide.

[@royzello]

how many fps in league of legends?

[@GirlOnAQuest]

Anything intel and mini = Garbage. Anything Ryzen and mini = god tier