GMKtec NucBox K8 Plus vs Geekom AX8 Pro - Which Ryzen Powered Mini PC will win?

[@SMOOREZ]

*Let me know if you've dealt with GMKtec and how their support has been. Yes they have their drivers on Google Drive and their email is via gmail instead of an actual domain but they were fine with me but that's cause I'm a reviewer and not a regular customer.* I was not paid for this review. I have to select Paid Promotion on KZbin since I received an item of value from a third party. All opinions are my own in this one. A massive thank you to GMKtec for sending me this sample out for review! I really do appreciate it! I'm glad I got to compare this to the Geekom and finding out the winner. Check it out here if you want - www.gmktec.com/products/amd-ryzen-7-8845hs-mini-pc-nucbox-k8-plus I hope you all enjoyed this review regardless. Let me know what you thought of this one down below. NOW I'm done with Mini PCs for at least 2 years. I promise ;) Timestamps: Introduction: 0:00 Links & Disclaimers: 1:40 Current Pricing & Variations: 2:26 Advertising: 3:50 Full Specifications: 5:08 Unboxing & Around the PC: 7:06 Quick Look Inside the PC: 8:56 BIOS, Setup, Boot Times, Device Manager, GPU-Z & CPU-Z: 9:57 Onboard Microphone Test & AS SSD Benchmark: 11:11 Cinebench R23: 12:28 Cinebench 2024: 13:45 Gaming Test - Grand Theft Auto V: 14:22 Gaming Test - DOOM Eternal: 16:07 Gaming Test - Cyberpunk 2077: 17:30 Gaming Results, Thoughts & Fan Noise: 20:04 Teardown & Upgrades with bonus rambling: 21:41 Conclusion & Customer Reviews: 24:27 Links, thanks to GMKtec & Timestamps: 26:18 Rambly Outro: 27:43 Any questions let me know! Be good people!

[@AngusYoung1973x]

25 secs ago, early me, bloody heck.

[@wot69]

Always a good day when smoorez release new video

[@springbay1]

Good review. I picked up one of these during the "Pre-Black Friday" sale. Sales are just getting earlier and earlier, aren't they? But then GMKtec and all the other Chinese mini-PC manufacturers seem to have a new sale almost as often as Ali Express. So, I'd recommend always waiting for the next sale. Also, the models don't seem to have a long product cycle since the manufacturers are basically buying up what CPUs are left from the big company's laptop production... Anyways, I watched a hefty amount of KZbin mini-PC reviews before deciding on this one to replace my seven-year-old i5 Intel NUC as my living room PC connected to my television and loudspeakers. This one, in my opinion offered the most bang for the buck and still provided up to date specs to be around for many years to come. The ordering process was fairly straight forward. You tick the boxes for your configuration and your area. In my case Europe, with European power brick plug. That will give you the final price, without any additional import taxes or shipping fees. If you chose the wrong area and plugs, you are on your own. The unit arrived in a little more than a week, delivered to my door, and the item was trackable all the way. Things to be aware of. I ordered the 32GB/2TB configuration and my SODIMM were Crucial, while my SSD was a Lexar NM7A1, so basically a somewhat slow SSD. What you get depends on what is available at that time, and you won't know until you pop up the lid. I added another Samsung 990 4TB in the second slot. Due to the top fan being placed right above the second slot, there is no room for a heatsink on that second SSD. But the fan being there, probably will be enough. All in all, I'm very satisfied with my purchase, but it's only been a few weeks since I received it. So, time will have to tell how well it goes. Feel free to ask any additional questions. Not about gaming though, I have zero intention of playing any games on this one.

[@ramboti6402]

Watching this from a Lenovo Ideacentre Mini gen 8 01IRH8 with a i5 13500h and 16gb ram that I got for 350 usd. Wasn't a fan of mini PCs, but mobile componets are getting better and better..

[@der_kluger_gunther8391]

i'm always happy to see one of your honest review because i see what the product can do, and if it is as they advertise it or not, so it was not a problem for me to see the whole video with interest :) anyway my lazy @ss is used to have laptops (so i can take it on my bed, or anywhere if i need to) so a mini pc would not be great, but if i should change this (or any good mini pc) could be my way to go, they are pretty interesting tbh.

[@thany3]

It's kind of expected that it's so easy to take it to bits, and to upgrade components and whatnot. After all it's also sold as a barebone, so they had take into account consumers having to get into it. But even if it wasn't also a barebone, upgradability is still appreciated.

[@GriotDNB]

Nice, I like this stuff. Keep on keeping on.

[@TheRealPakLong]

I love your videos man!

[@srvuk]

Having watched a million and one mini PC/SBV review, this was pretty good. Just one critique. Not to have used timestamps would have been the surprise and giving what comes across as advanced apologies for something that needs no apology anyway, comes across as weak pandering in fear of somebody making a negative comment. You can't please all of the people, all of the time, so don't even think abut it. Honest reviews, with practical demonstrations are what matter most to real prospective purchasers.

[@RobinTheHoodedMan]

Yep, straightforward good review.

[@sayolikestech]

Good as always ❤

[@SkepCakes]

ah the Nutbox

[@Beaut2013]

I'd stay away from GMKTec. My G3 died after 8 monnths of light use. It was being used for nothing more than streaming KZbin and Amazon video content into my bedroom at night before bed. The paperwork i kept for it said it was under warranty for 1 year, but I would have to ship it bax in it's original box. Who keeps the original packaging for a computer? I won't be buying their computers again.

[@mythologymaster9989]

I keep my boxes

[@BlackHeadMob]

Almost useless warranty then, even if you somehow kept the original box and it would be in as new condition (which is unlikely) a manufacturer who makes a pc that breaks in 8 months will find another way to weasel out of the responsability to honor their warranty

[@Boogie_the_cat]

​@@mythologymaster9989I keep my cereal boxes, for the mazes and word jumbles on the back. With the picture of the tiger and the bunny. I don't keep any boxes past the 30 day return window, to the disdain of my cat. If I wanted an apartment full of boxes, I'd live at IKEA.

[@stevenspencer5367]

I really like these types of videos. I do like having a desktop PC but my new home just isn't big enough a normal sized base unit. With Microsoft ending Windows 10 support I'll need to get a new PC in the near future. So videos likes these are invaluable. I've seen the names on Amazon but having someone I trust going through one is going to help me make a decision when the time comes. I agree with how much use that microphone is going to be. I can see a gamer using it if their equipment breaks down during a game. Lol Talking about gaming lol as I've previously mentioned I am not a gamer but I did like watching you play some games and they do look really good. I've seen my friends play similar games in the past and I'm impressed by how much the graphics have changed. My PC will be a major part of my entertainment centre. Hooked up to main tv, used to play music, streaming and CDs. DVD to so I'd have to add an optical drive. One of the reasons I still have towers lol Music does sound better than streaming services plus streaming services don't always have the songs I want to listen to or the various remixes that you used to get on CD singles. Nor do they have some of the stuff I have on vinyl, yes I'm that old. 👌 I'd would still say that playing a record sounds better than a CD. Really enjoyed watching this video. ❤

[@TbM]

Got myself 2 years ago a MiniPC with Ryzen7 5800h (they made an error on amazon and I got 2 discounts at the same time, so 300€ instead of 500) and can play games on it on medium settings.... gets a little bit hot, but when you put 64GB RAM into it and change the graphics-card-memory in bios to 12GB it will run fine...

[@Mamiya645]

I had to get a little box like this but I was genuinely scared away by all the bad feedback about GMK, opted to drop €100 extra and get something via minisforum instead that was guaranteed to not punish me with customs tax fines. Happy with what I've got and only waiting for cheaper 48gb sticks and a 4gb nvme.

[@tdata545]

Looking at my GMKTec sitting ontop of my REATAN that I'm using to type on. Odd choice of including two USB 2 ports, though that does mean I should be able to hack my Razer Phone 2 and update that to an AOSP build and make it a dedicated emulation phone. Not that I don't literally have 10 now, Android Emulator handhelds in Anbernic, Retroid, Odin, etc.

[@mattBLACKpunk]

3:17 fantastic stats selection

[@markenetube]

Does it have a loud sperkr? Is it 5g? What are the pictures like.? I am so confused. No but really great review.

[@CanizaM]

I think a classic wire-grill for the fan on top would look better and be less obstructive than the thin plastic cover. Anyone else remember when AMD K8 was an actual processor name?

[@calumsmith2413]

I bought a n97 mini pc as a second computer and was really pleased with the delivery time. It was sent from China and i received it in less than a week. All export fees and taxes were paid and peformance is impressive for a basic mini pc. Gmktec seem to be an up and coming provider of mini pc's.

[@ser777XD]

Ok this has nothing to do but from 19:28 to 19:34 looks like a joke in a Family Guy type of show, the way he looks at the guy, he approaches, charges the punch and the dude disapears from the scene and just to turn a little and see him in the ground, got me a laugh.

[@paranoiia8]

MiniPCs are really great for general media consumption and basic gaming(not everyone play latest games in full spec, even if I can play 2-4K I still play 1080 and I dont mind 30fps, I played 30fps my whole life, its not like today its lethal experience for human) What main issue with them is... long term thermal stress and build quality, internal not external, as pcbs are not that great. So what test you can do is running some medium-high stress over long period of time to see if you get any issues. MiniPC run like laptops so its normal for them to get hot so laptops underclock to cool a bit but some miniPC sometimes dont do that and wait to fan do the job... and that not best when you use it at the same time.

[@AlgoDellTerror]

Hi!! Is it possible that you could make a video tutorial on how to configure this minipc from the Bios to get the most performance of it? Mine will arrive within this week and I am very excited to find this video. Thank you so much!

[@HotRod-05]

Why did i read it as nukebox?

[@nekowolf583]

They wanted to name it that but apparently that’s incredibly offensive in French and Dutch.

[@swagcat201]

Smoorez can you Do a Review about a Yestel X2 Tablet this Thing have Spyware and adware how Do i know you think? I have it 💀 but the ui is intresting PLS Do a viedeo about it

[@ursie101]

Hi, thank you very much for the information you provide in this video. But I have a question: does the GMtec processor, Ryzen 7 8845HS, have an AI NPU? I don't understand why this mini PC is not promoted with AI features when GeeKom or Beelink are promoted with AI with the same processor. I would appreciate it if someone could help me with my question.

[@edtuckerartist]

Nice to know it's not cat paw proof with the rotating transparent plastic cover removed. Not that I have a cat or can afford a new PC - gonna have to get a new PC somehow next year - Thanks Microsoft for stopping Windows 10 updates!

[@maxl96systems]

You could also use Windows 10 LTSC edition, it's supported until 2032. Or Windows 11 IoT which doesn't enforce hardware requirements.

[@tomrow32]

@@maxl96systems They don't sell LTSC editions with standard licensing at all, let alone to non-business customers. Also, if 11 IoT is anything like 10 IoT, it can't run desktop apps at all, but needs to be sent MSIX Microsoft Store files made specifically for it?

[@maxl96systems]

@@tomrow32Windows 11 IoT does not include Windows Store, all the normal (non Store/UWP) applications are running fine for me. Store functionality can somehow be restored AFAIK, never bothered tho. For Windows 10 LTSC I honestly don't know about application compatibility and (missing) features.

[@immameme]

Mini PC and TechImma1st Don't take my comments seriously. It's only a meme

[@MotFPS]

The one thing we want to see if the oculink in action and no one is testing it. This video is such a disappointment.

[@antsgamingvideosn2b]

A M4 mini with macOS would beat both!

[@AmirRazan]

A mini PC that you can yell at? We're gonna be PC equivalent of Dankpods with this one! 🪨 🐍 🔋 🦆