Top 5 Mini PCs Under $250 So Far...2024

In this video we take a look at the top five minis under $250US in 2024. These budget mini PCs are my favorites at the time of this video. All are compared via performance analysis, pricing and more. These five best minis are available on Amazon and elsewhere.
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Amazon USA Links
► Minix Z100-0dB: amzn.to/44ABJXh
► GMKtec G3: amzn.to/3y8qvgl
► Beelink SER5 5560U: amzn.to/3wjk9ui
► GEEKOM MiniAir 12: amzn.to/3UBtzKS - Use coupon robtecha12 for 5% off.
► Morefine M8S: amzn.to/4bkCFSb
Worldwide Links:
► Minix Z100-0dB: www.geekbuying.com/go/8fAI9HvL
► GMKtec G3: shrsl.com/4hkpo
► Beelink SER5 5560U: shrsl.com/4ibo3
► GEEKOM MiniAir 12: www.geekbuying.com/go/8fAOfCpw
► Morefine M8S: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_Dm3...
Worldwide AliExpress Links:
► Minix Z100-0dB: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DeS...
► GMKtec G3: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DBn...
► Beelink SER5 5560U: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DD5...
► GEEKOM MiniAir 12: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_De9...
► Morefine M8S: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_Dm3...
Amazon UK
► Minix Z100-0dB: amzn.to/3S3WF30
► GMKtec G3: amzn.to/3xxQjlX
► Beelink SER5 5560U: amzn.to/4ba8uND
► GEEKOM MiniAir 12: amzn.to/47iM76G
► Morefine M8S: amzn.to/3rV4WNA
Amazon Germany
► Minix Z100-0dB: amzn.to/3Oda0oE
► GMKtec G3: amzn.to/3JdYxlR
► Beelink SER5 5560U: amzn.to/3JGqanU
► GEEKOM MiniAir 12: amzn.to/3R1ayja
► Morefine M8S: amzn.to/48Z11jx
Amazon Canada
► Minix Z100-0dB: amzn.to/4ban6g4
► GMKtec G3: amzn.to/3JbUkz7
► Beelink SER5 5560U: amzn.to/3JCOJSr
► GEEKOM MiniAir 12: amzn.to/3ujqqVm
► Morefine M8S: amzn.to/46RqhGC
Amazon Australia
► Minix Z100-0dB: amzn.to/3Sco1Eg
► GMKtec G3: amzn.to/3xxQhdP
► Beelink SER5 5560U: amzn.to/3w9MKlF
► GEEKOM MiniAir 12: amzn.to/4ddmLul - Use coupon robtecha12 for 5% off.
► Morefine M8S: amzn.to/46VXq3Q
Review Links
► Minix Z100-0dB: • The Greatest Fanless M...
► GMKtec G3: • The Cheapest Mini PC I...
► Beelink SER5 5560U: • Best Value Mini? Beeli...
► GEEKOM MiniAir 12: • The Intel NUC Replacem...
► Morefine M8S: • One of the Best! Moref...
Shop online (Generic Links):
► Amazon US: amzn.to/40NeFmk
► Amazon Australia: amzn.to/3G3T9zW
► Amazon UK: amzn.to/47iM76G
► Amazon Germany: amzn.to/3R1ayja
► Amazon Canada: amzn.to/3ujqqVm
► Amazon Other Countries: amzn.to/40NeFmk
► Aliexpress: s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_A8v...
► eBay: ebay.to/30oMKc2
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00:00 - The Best
01:27 - Best Silent
02:58 - Best Value
04:22 - Best Performance
05:41 - Best Cooling
07:17 - Best Tiny
10:33 - Other Minis

[@brads2041]

I bought a 5560u based on your reviews

[@marksemczyszyn]

Me too. Ridiculously over performing machine for the money and practically silent to boot.

[@dannieduplessis2432]

Are you from Australia ? How much did you end up paying for it ?

[@marksemczyszyn]

@@dannieduplessis2432UK. £233 from Amazon on a sale.

[@dave_r]

This is the second (I think) "top 5" where there is a different winner for each category - I like this format, and it's fun to see what you pick. I'm always tempted by that fanless Minix Z100, if just because it seems to well made, though with the 5560U coming in under $250 it's hard look at an N100.

[@ctascmercdoc]

Awesome content! Have been watching your reviews for a bit now and have purchased 2 Beelinks. 1 N95 and 1 N100 based units for running some game servers. With 16g RAM they both do quite well as several hosts as well as everyday tasks. I look forward to you releases and browsing your previous videos. Thank you much for your efforts

[@pfitz4881]

I've been considering the Beelink SER5.. Thanks for the reviews.

[@chromerims]

Great list, thank you 👍

[@kusandrzej7973]

Good job, keep it up 👍👍👍

[@Evilkingus]

Please be warned about the SER5 5560u. I bought it and 4K60 did not work. The image cut out to a black screen sporadically when running 4K60HZ - no matter if I used windows, linux etc. Customer service asked me to clean the ram, take a picture of the bios screen and ensure that the fan was connected - I kid you not. Of course I returned it immediately, when I realized customer service was not interested in helping. Besides these issues it was a great pc, really quiet and could run some PS3 emulator games like Tekken6 buttery smooth at 60fps (but then again others like God of War III were more like 12fps) - but it won't cut it. Imagine watching a movie or playing a game and then the image and sound cuts out? Fail.

[@fangexploring]

Thanks for all your useful reviews. Can the Beelink SER5 play Manor Lords reasonably?

[@rickbellaus]

Hey mate a table showing all features compared across models would be really handy.

[@bryans8656]

I've got that GMKtec G3 and it's worthy of its title.

[@Luke-san]

Been looking at that one for a while now. Planning to buy it and doing some Proxmox stuff. People commenting that they like it (for the price) is always a nice to know when looking around.

[@tempeleng]

@@Luke-san I've been looking at that too for the past week. But I keep getting distracted by the Gmktec M5 barebones on sale this week for a similar price. Some friends have spare RAM & SSD I can probably buy for cheap so I'm really, really tempted. Ryzen 5700u is 8c/16t and the box comes with dual 2.5G LAN, dual NVME. Compared to my current NAS/Jellyfin/Immich server which is an old dual core i5-6300U laptop that took >3 days to process my Google Photos backup.

[@Luke-san]

@@tempeleng I see it for like 300 Euro which is more than doube the price. Did you see it on the official page?

[@shayne87]

Everyone has different needs so I'm glad he breaks it down. I have zero need for zero decibels lol. The low white noise of a pc fan is simply not a priority for me. And Intel seems to have conceded to AMD now when it comes to even casual gaming so only the Beelink would be a consideration for my usage. I'm hoping he does a Top 5 For Gaming list.

[@guffer68]

Hi Rob - thanks so much for your awesome reviews. For the MOREFINE M8S, I'm discovering yet more options/indecision. Any recommendations on whether it's better to go DDR5 8GB (or 12GB in places), vs DDR4 16GB? Here's hoping you can help. Thanks!!

[@Robtech]

The only M8S N100 I've seen comes in a 16GB configuration. DDR5 is a few percent faster in graphics. I'd rather have more memory, especially if it's 8GB vs 16GB

[@guffer68]

@@Robtech hero! Thanks for the education :)

[@mooninthewater3705]

Any concerns about backdoors and malware in these inexpensive devices? I seem to recall that as an identified problem not so long ago.

[@Robtech]

These are clean. Was a problem with ACEMAGIC minis (which has been resolved at least the last one I reviewed) and Kamrui minis which I haven't reviewed. Got one coming up though.

[@loganwhite6173]

Now we need the top 5 from $250-$500. Im on the hunt now for one that can be used for work from home and diablo 4 when traveling for work

[@CtotheV]

I'd like you to compare the SUR5 vs the NAB9 to compare video editing ability.

[@Robtech]

SER5 1080P at best. NAB9 4K. Big difference.

[@johnnyquest2651]

I need one that handles browsing the web, microsoft office tools and can push 4k video playback (weather downloaded or online.)....and hopefully good both blutooth and wifi connections I have a decent setup but don't want to pay for power I'm not going to use. Which one would you suggest for me?

[@Robtech]

A mini with Intel's N100 should do the job.

[@bobnelsonfr]

Please keep an eye out for minis with two nvme ssd slots. I want to dual boot, with an OS on each drive. Thanks!

[@tempeleng]

Gmktec M5 (Upgraded) is on sale right now. Ryzen 5700U, dual 2.5G LAN, dual NVME. The barebones SKU is $235. The problem is they don't list out the full spec so I can't figure out if it's M.2 PCIE 3.0 x4 on both slots or not.

[@bobnelsonfr]

@@tempeleng Thanks for the info

[@jorgeh4591]

The link you attached for the MOREFINE is incorrect

[@Robtech]

Fixed, thanks.

[@DIYtechie]

Will the best performing mini pc 5560U play fortnite as well as a PS4?

[@Robtech]

Type "5560U Fortnite" in KZbin search for the results.

[@DDDD-mv2xj]

do you have plan for minisforum s100 (N100 pc stick) ?

[@Robtech]

I've got the UN100D at the moment.

[@smartcam1701]

Mini pc is the future. I has 5 mini pc from AMD alone and not disappointed.

[@affinitystablepeanuts]

EQ12 does no longer make it to the shortlist?

[@Robtech]

Still a good option if you need the dual network ports. But the price hasn't dropped since launch making it a little less attractive.

[@tmotten]

Need the best desktop (for office) replacement please.

[@Robtech]

All of them should do the job, but if you want something faster, then the SER5 5560U is plenty.

[@tmotten]

@@Robtech would you pick it over the ser5 with H chip though? Only a little more money

[@Robtech]

Which one? The only one popping up for me on Amazon is the SER5 MAX which is a very different mini PC and costs quite a bit more.

[@tmotten]

@@Robtech You're right. I wasn't looking right. The 5800H one is about $130 more. But to me that's not a deal breaker if the performance is much more. I'm guessing from watching your vid on it that it's not. I'm coming from a Dell XPS15 i7-9750H. The scores on the 5560U are better than it. Would real world be too?

[@smartcam1701]

Beelink SER7 Ryzen 9 6900hx currently super affordable and can play most 2024 game 1080p.

[@Traphomesboii]

Hi I was wondering if you knew how to zoom out of a 500% zoom I was messing with my pc and its so zoomed in 500% i can only only see my windows key and the date N time 😂 if I dont get a response by a few days most likely factory reset

[@Robtech]

Windows key and the minus key at the same time is zoom out.

[@CallMeCJorDandy]

Is there even a Mini Pc that had a very unique feature: say you can use a microscope or something ? That would be cool !

[@sosome1]

can you make video about mini pc's with AI chip processors under 250?

[@Robtech]

There are none that I'm aware of

[@nargalda773]

we have clearly different meaning of word "budget"

[@screenplayhouse4932]

This is all well and good, but are you like... a Mini PC expert? ;)

[@Nicnackity]

Is anyone?

[@screenplayhouse4932]

@@Nicnackity I was being sarcastic. Robtech is a God.

[@Nicnackity]

@@screenplayhouse4932 so was i lol. problem with texting.

[@archangelmusic13]

looking for a mini-pc that can handle ps3 games

[@Robtech]

You'll have to go with something more expensive than $250. A mini with a 7735HS would be the cheapest.

[@archangelmusic13]

@@Robtech ok, thanks for the reply, i think i will have to get a regular size desktop tower, the mini-pc's are just not cutting it.plus i can get a tower much cheaper that can do more than a mini

[@simcore999bernard6]

👍🏻

[@kirkkohnen5050]

Fun Fact: 0dB is NOT silent - it is a low level of noise. Silent would be -infinity dB. (I'm an engineer with OCD. Sorry.)

[@tempeleng]

Just assume it's to account for possible coil whine. Hope that helps your OCD.