This Mini, Mini PC Packs a Punch! GMKTec G5 N97 Review

Buy one on Amazon: lon.tv/m07ey (compensated affiliate link) - The GMKTec Nucbox G5 is tiny but delivers surprisingly good performance with its Intel N97 processor that surpasses the N100 based Mini PCs we've looked at lately. See more Mini PCs: • Mini PCs , my latest videos: lon.tv/latest and subscribe! lon.tv/s
VIDEO INDEX:
00:00 - Intro
00:53 - Price
01:10 - Processor, RAM & Storage
02:17 - Ports
03:15 - Fan Noise
03:39 - Web Browsing & KZbin
05:05 - Speedometer Benchmark
05:26 - Word
06:12 - VESA Mount
06:43 - Gaming: Dark Forces & GTA V
07:49 - Gaming: Playstation 2 Emulator PCSX2
08:21 - 3DMark TimeSpy Benchmark & Stress Test
09:28 - Windows 11 Pro & Virus Scan
10:27 - Linux & Plex Serving
11:58 - Conclusion

[@nathankelley9760]

Tech Dir at a private school. Anytime I can save money and get a PC that works reasonably well, I'm all for it. I have a couple GMKTec N100's installed on the back of 75" interactive panels and they work great. Bought the 12GB / 256GB reviewed in this video on the GMKTec Amazon store for around $178. Fortunately I have Windows edu licensing and I'll also zap it and reinstall Windows when it arrives. This one I'll try as a teacher desktop with a 1080 monitor at the desk and also feeding a 1080 signal to a 75" panel at the front of the classrom. Thanks Lon, your videos are a valuable resource.

[@ryanw8664]

I got this exact unit one month ago and so far it’s been great!

[@jaredhuang2225]

Wow Intel really messed up the naming scheme for these processors. The N97 boosts 200mhz faster and has 350mhz faster GPU than the N100, probably because they allow it to run at 12W TDP compared to 6W for then N100; other than that they have the same specs (cores, cache, process, etc.)

[@LonSeidman]

It's super confusing!

[@rafi6618]

and also the fact those wattages mean nothing except for the need of a fan (which the n100 version also comes with)

[@bryans8656]

I've got the GMKTec with the N100 and I like its upgradeablity.

[@eightbit1975]

Thanks for the review Lon, always a pleasure to watch your reviews of these incredible new devices. I personally have a GMKTec N100 NUC and I am blown away by it. Now thanks to your review I want this G5 N97. Thanks for helping me empty my wallet :) In all seriousness, really great devices. I am now a big fan of this manufacturer in particular.

[@LonSeidman]

They are really cranking out some good, affordable stuff. Hopefully they stick around and their devices keep working over the long haul :)

[@CallMeCJorDandy]

Keep one of this in your office shelves , This is really amazing and a break-through design ❤

[@-iIIiiiiiIiiiiIIIiiIi-]

Lon is killing it in 2024!

[@Warrior0fDoom]

I think the form factor is excellent for people with limited space like a dorm room, or for use in a media center, or a small desk in a kid's room. For everyday office work, watching videos online or from the SSD or one of the USB 3.0 ports I think this is a great fit for casual use. It's very budget friendly and takes advantage of a modern compact lower power draw CPU That came to the market recently. The Intel integrated UHD 1200 graphics are an excellent value and a definite step above the previous integrated graphics offerings such as the Intel UHD 750 found on the 3.4 Ghz N100 CPU. I'd definitely pick this tiny beast of the alder lake chip set with a CPU that can go up to 3.6 GHz and a GPU at 1.2GHz out the gate. This chip has only been on the market since the first quarter of 2023 so it has plenty of years of life in it still. 😁

[@markwilliamson9199]

Good review as always! Just need to add turning on C States in Bios as this increases performance

[@jimcabezola3051]

I REALLY like this physical format! Over the past 18 years, I've used various Mac Mini models, so I like the small machines. Mahalo for looking at the Linux performance on this model! I hope the...guts...of those sexy, new Snapdragon X Elite chips you've been evaluating recently find their way into THESE pocket rocket computers! Tiny size...low power consumption...the successor to all my old Apple Mac Minis! Aloha!

[@asan1050]

Hey Lon!, Thanks for posting this video

[@jaylaw7629]

There is a firmware update released in late May that fixes the GPU being capped to 1.0 Ghz,. Now it runs at the full 1.2 Ghz. Also had to re-enable C-States and set it back to 15W in the updated bios. Not sure I'll notice a difference, but I do play a number of casual games on this since it 's the perfect form factor to sit on top of my bedroom TV. I stream any graphically heavy games from a gaming laptop w/ a 3070. Steam and Proton have come a long way on linux. Running Linux Mint 21.3, everything working great. This hardware is relatively new, so it needed the Edge version with the newer kernel.

[@richardremmele8685]

My N5105 at 2 GHz ran better than an N200 because it ran at only 1 GHz. I don't think, based on my experience, 1.2 GHz is enough for multitasking.

[@chasjeff]

Thanks Lon. Great review as usual.

[@ericB3444]

@@chasjeff thank YOUS for thanking great LonBall Plus.

[@itsaperfectdork]

These will be replacing my raspberry pi 4s.

[@tylerwatt12]

Maybe if it had gpio. RPIs aren’t just general purpose computers

[@BodyByGaming]

@@tylerwatt12 just plug an arduino into usb 😂

[@screenplayhouse4932]

Hey Lon. Long time fan. I gotta say I tried the previous green model you show at the beginning and the price savings wasn't worth the terrible fan noise. At current Amazon prices the Beelink Mini PC, AMD Ryzen 5 5560U is a far better deal for like $30 more -- and it's near silent.

[@HarvardHeinous]

The one they sent you for review didn't have any viruses on it. 😉

[@supriyasou3722]

I really want to buy one of these mini PCs but can't find a good use case for me. If there was a way to run Google TV OS on these, I could use it as a replacement for Nvidia shield.

[@six1nyne]

dude this thing can emulate up to ps2 native, this thing is a beast i picked one up on sale for 161.00

[@PiManiac]

I also emulate PS2 @ 720p/1080p, Switch, OG Xbox and 2d PS3 titles on mine. (Videos coming!)

[@ajwalker4416]

Wow, that's really impressive in such a small package. And the price is nice as well 😁

[@trevor_mounts_music]

The fact that this even runs GTA5 is astonishing to me. Should play all my old man 90's PC games and emulation just fine 😂

[@micahthewise1]

Looks like the Chuwi Larkbox Pro case with different colors! I love the nano-sized form factor.

[@WeAreMovieMakers]

Would be nice to see the inside.

[@MisterPikol]

o wow, it's so tiny. thanks for letting us know it runs at 4k 60hz.

[@diamonddave45]

Great little PC if you wanted to run a BBS such as Synchronet or Mystic. And thanks for testing in both Windows and Ubuntu.

[@NopWorks]

Imagine how even better these would be with the new ARM chips. But I'm pleasantly surprised at its GTA performance. Did not expect that out of a PC that's this tiny.

[@PiManiac]

Personally, I found it easy to overheat and throttle but equally as easy to fix with some MX4 CPU re-pasting. (Video now uploaded) This box is then AMAZING for emulation of PS2/Wii/GC/Switch/Wiiu/OG Xbox and even PS3 2D titles. (Many upscaled.)

[@richardremmele8685]

I have a GMktec M2 i7 and I only mention this because I tried a N5105 running a 2 GHz according to Task manager and it did everything fine for my Plex, Gmail, light video editing, 4K download and playback but one at a time. Plex and video download or anything else and Gmail brought it to 100% with ultimate failure. So Plex and gmail was fine or plex and anything else was fine. I also tried the N200 but it was only 1 Ghz and was worse, so I went with the i7 @ 3.4 GHz. I don't do gaming and the fan was quiet but did become slightly noticeable at times because it is variable. I wish Ron and others would address the effect of the GHz of the processors.

[@shinobusensui9395]

Nuce they have usb c power delivery but companies really need to have usb c video out. Alot of people are starting to use these mini pcs with xr glasses to have a minimum setup

[@ronm6585]

Thank you.

[@raduser]

Lon, great video as usual. I bought an Anker solar portable LED projector. Do you think that this mini-pc will play nice with this projector? Thanks

[@nrnoble]

Very competitive with Raspberry PI when a Pi has similar addon components.

[@LonSeidman]

Yes definitely - this and the N100 Mini PCs significantly outperform even the Pi 5.. The GPIO capability is still an advantage for the Pi but I think most consumers will get a great value with an Intel Mini PC at this point. I did a video on this a few weeks ago: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b3XJfGSZe9qEb68

[@Bareego]

Linux is just so good on the n97 and n100 machines, and I love this tiny format, I have the firebat t8 pro (of similar size) and it rocks on Mint XFCE4 Beta. If the pc comes without a vesa bracket, just get some velcro tape and use that. Also makes it easy to take off the computer if you need to plug/unplug something from it. The only drawback I've seen from this tiny form factor is that if you want to upgrade the SSD you often end up having to get a SATA 2242 SSD, which are slow compared to NVME and cost a lot more for equal space. Going forward I'll only get mini pcs that have 2280 NVME SSDs.

[@BodyByGaming]

where did the outro go? I feel like I've been deprived of closure!

[@NopWorks]

I do miss that music and Lon's voice in the outro.

[@jayrtrapsi]

how much performance can it gain by replacing the msata to nvme ssd?

[@LAMARFC]

How would solid works run on this

[@AlexBoltonKing]

What are people's thoughts on the GMKtec K9 Intel Ultra 5 125H? Want a home server running proxmox and can't decide between that or the K8

[@LonSeidman]

The Intel performs a little faster than the Ryzen one. I reviewed it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ioHQfayYmbqmh68

[@ericB3444]

LonBall, my aunt Marmalade thought this was her pill box and swallowed the ram module. Is this bad for the unit?

[@LonSeidman]

It’ll eventually find its way back out!

[@GaryGiffin49]

Here in Canada that little guy is $357.00

[@paulov9626]

Nice review and certainly looks like a nice machine, however, is it available without Windows? I have absolutely no use for Windows and don't see why I should pay a M$ tax. If they are available without Windows then great, otherwise I have quite a selection of other NUCs from other manufacturers that don't force Windows with the sale.

[@cbluebeard]

I still have an instinctual aversion to a hacked version of Windows. REALLY gives me red flags. 1.What else have they secretly changed or added (a low level virus)? 2. It's just too good a deal. With all the inflation going on and it's only $150? hmmm Are you able to nuke the included Windows, download an .iso from MS, use a different SSD and install/update without issue? Does it still activate? Also, what kind of bios does it have and is it accessible?

[@kirkkohnen5050]

I have the same machine. Downloading a clean copy of Win 11 Pro and doing a clean install worked fine and activated fine too.

[@Sylvan_dB]

@@kirkkohnen5050 The wonderful thing about modern PCs, the OS runs BIOS/UEFI ACPI code extensively and with the highest privilege. Anything they want to hack in Windows can easily be made "permanent" in the BIOS/UEFI.

[@jothain]

Kinda cool, but that goes way over board with form over functionality. Reminds me of Tropic Thunder. "Never go full ret..." 🙂

[@Aviation2016]

I installed tiny 11 on it. Uses less ram and CPU.

[@iokwong1871]

Seriously, if they really want to sell their products, they should at least host their own supported software like drivers and BIOS updates and all those. Instead of Google drive that you can't download anything ever because the download quota that will be exceeded like all the time. And something as important as the BIOS updates link, appearing and disappearing at random.

[@AtlasTempest]

Lol try vr gaming on this

[@daveschmarder-1950]

I like these mini computer reviews. I did buy the Minix computer because there is no fan to worry about things. I think it will make a good Boomer Computer.

[@user-mc4ow1dt7l]

People one chanel ram so slow, know, you not have nice gaming performance in 1 channel ram😂

[@Sylvan_dB]

I don't get the 12GB RAM. Dedicate use, sure. But for a general purpose desktop system? Maybe if you are on a strict 2 or 3 year replacement cycle or if Windows was as aggressive about shutting down apps as Android... People just don't understand the power or crippling affect of RAM. "It works" is not at all the same as "it works really well." For my wife and kids I started buying 8GB in 2011 and only compromised that once since then... When Win10 was intro'd the claim was it would work well with 4GB and I tried, but it really needed 8GB to get comfortable. If not at first, you were sure feeling the pain of 4GB and were eager to upgrade hardware by the time Win11 came out. Now I view 8GB the same as I did 4GB back then and start with 16GB to get more useful and comfortable life from the hardware. So 12GB is more, but I'd be a lot happier to start with 16GB and for my use I'm buying 32GB (and ideally upgradeable to more). With my M1 Macbook Air I ignored recommendations that 8GB was plenty spent the money to get 16GB. It isn't really enough. It makes for an adequate Chromebook replacement but when you get doing anything serious the SSD gets a workout and that is simply not acceptable.

[@jonjohnson2844]

Why do they persist with the 'nuc' naming, it's terrible? 'Next Unit of Computing', what a meaningless title and acronym!

[@ericB3444]

@@jonjohnson2844 they do not persist you persist