This was posted 3 months 2 days ago, and might be an out-dated deal.

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GMKtec Mini PC: Intel N97, 12GB DDR5, 512GB SSD, Windows 11 Pro - $239.99 Delivered @ GMKtec_AUS Amazon AU

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GMKtec Mini PC: Intel N97, 12GB DDR5, 512GB SSD, Windows 11 Pro - $239.99 Delivered @ GMKtec_AUS Amazon AUAffiliate
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Shon on 19/09/2024 - 20:46 amazon.com.au (5006 clicks)
Last edited 19/09/2024 - 20:49 by 1 other user
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N97 > N100 except for wattage. DDR5. Seems decent for the price.

Tiny Micro Pocket Mini PC Computer】GMKtec G5 mini PC is one of the smallest computers on the market! It is powered by the latest 12th Gen Intel Alder Lake N97 processor (4C/4T, 6MB Cache, Up to 3.6GHz, 12W TDP), delivering unrivalled smoothness and efficiency, with up to 40% higher performance than the N100/N95/N5105/N5095. The N97 comes with an upgraded iGPU Intel UHD Graphics 24 EUs 1.20GHz, 40% performance increase over the previous N-series. Nucbox G5 is pre-installed with Win 11 Pro.

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closed Comments

  • Nukkels on 19/09/2024 - 21:15
    +19

    While the CPU may be faster, note that it still uses wifi 5 and Bluetooth 4.2, unlike the N100 version which has wifi 6 and BT 5.2 (it also has a 1TB SSD).

    • Ademos on 20/09/2024 - 09:14
      +3

      Not just the CPU, the GPU is faster, which is a key consideration for most users of these tiny pc's that can't be fixed via dongle.

      • meong on 29/09/2024 - 16:03

        I think even wifi+bt card can be replaced sometimes

    • Ademos on 04/11/2024 - 11:20

      This deal had nvme drive too I think. This is now sata, far slower.

  • TightLikeThisx on 19/09/2024 - 21:25
    +8

    N97 supports In-Band ECC. Whether this is implemented in the BIOS is another story though.

    For more info see below. Note this is a different system. It just explains In-Band ECC well:

    https://www.anandtech.com/show/18732/asrock-industrial-nucs-…

    • Schrodinger on 20/09/2024 - 06:14
      +18

      RIP anandtech!

      • TightLikeThisx on 20/09/2024 - 08:44
        +1

        Amen. Quality in depth reviews. They will be missed!

      • Ademos on 20/09/2024 - 09:21

        Ahhhhhh noooooo. Man.

  • bulla3 on 19/09/2024 - 21:34
    +1

    I assume these things are more than fine to simply watch YouTube and do some word processing for kids?

    I haven't looked into a new desktop pc for yonks, these things are popping up everywhere and look surprisingly powerful?

    • SeanConnery on 19/09/2024 - 21:49
      +9

      I have the slightly less powerful G3 Intel N100 model. It plays 4k60p Youtube videos perfectly smoothly. Word processing and excel etc are also a breeze. No issues. Edit: Got my N100 G3 from Aliexpress last week for $155.

      • OzHan on 19/09/2024 - 22:06

        Do you have the link? did you check the power draw on idle?

        • SeanConnery on 19/09/2024 - 22:09

          I dont have a wattmeter thingy. Whats the best software to check it with? (also new to Windows 11 too, still trying to familirize myself with this new layout.)

        • prankster on 19/09/2024 - 22:21
          +1

          Why they ask on power draw on idle?
          Is there a concern these small PCs generate a lot of power on idle?

          • SeanConnery on 19/09/2024 - 22:24

            @prankster: Just downloaded HWmonitor. At idle, with no software running, the 'Package' section under power shows it hovering around 1-2W. I use mine to display a 24/7 feed of my WIFI security cameras and it hovers between 6-9W and in the MAx column shows 11W. Tested it while playing some 4K60 videos again, and around the same wattage as running my security cameras, around 7-9W while playing youtube videos. Dont ask me about gaming, wont have time to test that.

            • chid on 19/09/2024 - 23:31

              @SeanConnery: that lines up with what I'm seeing as measured by power draw (rather than by device)

            • GordonD on 20/09/2024 - 08:12
              +1

              @SeanConnery: I don't understand the interest in these numbers. Unless you are running off a battery.

              HWMonitor is telling me the Ryzen 8000 series CPU in the computer next to this one on my desk is idling at <1W for the cores, and about 5W for the package. The difference between 5W and 2W is a few bucks a year in a device that costs a hundred times that.

              • Ademos on 20/09/2024 - 09:22

                @GordonD: The CPU is one thing. The motherboard chipset and everything else is another. Core CPU consumption at idle is often not even remotely indicative of overall in this "micro" space. HWmonitor can't monitor what doesn't have sensors. You need a wall plug / external monitor to get a true reading.

                • GordonD on 20/09/2024 - 19:18
                  +1

                  @Ademos:

                  You need a wall plug / external monitor to get a true reading.

                  I quoted HWMonitor numbers because that's what was being talked here. No-one else is quoting numbers measured at the wall.

                  I have a professional quality power monitor. Here's the numbers for a system with a cheap old 12V power brick powering a picoPSU powering an ASUS M-ATX motherboard with an SSD, DDR5 RAM and a Ryzen 8000 series CPU with an AMD Wraith fan on it.

                  power brick powered on, but not connected to picoPSU: 5W
                  power going to picoPSU but motherboard off: 7W
                  same but motherboard asleep: 9W
                  motherboard running, but CPU idling: 35W
                  CPU idling reading from HWMonitor for package: 6W

                  HWMonitor says the peak power consumption of the CPU is about 20% higher than its TDP

                  The way for me to save watts would clearly to go get a new brick. Its not hard to find one that only draws 0.5W with no load on it, and is way more efficient. But since my system isn't running 24/7, the cheapest solution to saving watts is simply to use the on/off switch on the power board its plugged into.

                  I suspect the way other people would save the most watts would be to worry less about getting a CPU that used 1 or 2 watts less at idle and instead finding the most efficient power supply for it. Then saving more watts with things like passive cooling instead of a fan. That's how my HP thin client does it. Efficient power supply. Passive cooling. Everything needed in one SoC, no chipset.

                  • Ademos on 03/11/2024 - 10:34

                    @GordonD:

                    No-one else is quoting numbers measured at the wall.

                    That was my point. Everyone else is quoting ultimately useless metrics, as shown by your own testing.

          • OzHan on 19/09/2024 - 22:32
            +9

            @prankster: Only reason many people buy these over the used (much cheaper) micro PCs is they are low on power usage.

          • krisspy on 19/09/2024 - 23:32
            +6

            @prankster: These tiny computers are often used as servers/nas and are left on 24/7/365

            • gizmomelb on 04/11/2024 - 17:44

              @krisspy: For some useful metrics, I have an Intel N5095 mini-itx NAS motherboard, with 16GB DDR4 RAM stick, 1x 256GB M-SATA drive and 5x 10TB SATA HDDs and according to my power meter it draws max 77.9 W during boot and averages 59.2W at ''idle'' (quotes because it's running a heap of docket containers and never goes into true idle mode). My stand alone N100 mini PCs (different brand to the one on sale here) are around 30W usage with just their NVME drives.

      • djbst on 19/09/2024 - 22:17

        AUD 155 or USD 155?

        • SeanConnery on 19/09/2024 - 22:21

          AUD

          • djbst on 19/09/2024 - 22:23

            @SeanConnery: how much RAM and SSD do you have?

            • SeanConnery on 19/09/2024 - 22:26
              +3

              @djbst: 8GB ram, 256gb SSD. Came with Windows 11 preinstalled. Its fine, however, my other PC I use daily has 64GB of ram. I'd recommend going for the 16GB of ram option if you plan to use this for daily web browsing. Might just be a placebo from going from 64gb to 8GB, but it does feel a tad sluggish when you open multiple tabs.

              • djbst on 19/09/2024 - 22:30
                +1

                @SeanConnery: Thanks, yeah. I'm thinking of going for 16GBs just in case. I'm planning to use it run a plex server and a few other things. 16GB ones on Aliexpress goes for about $230. I'm thinking if it's better to buy it from Amazon for $10-$20 more.

      • LuffyTuffyFluffy on 20/09/2024 - 06:08

        What's the noise like on load and idle? I've watched a few YT on these cube PC's and they can get pretty loud.

        • gizmomelb on 21/09/2024 - 11:45

          they get loud when you're doing something (like gaming) that really stresses the CPU and the graphics. I've been using an intel n100 mini PC for most of a year now and it's silent while browsing, reading emails and watching youtube at 1440p (and the second mini PC which is used as a media centre playing 4K resolution, dolby vision encoded videos with dolby atmos sound) and they are totally silent as the fan never ramps up because the CPU usage barely goes over 10% (only time it does is when I'm downloading files and I run a PAR check on the files - then it uses all 4 cores and is noisy for a few minutes while checking a 50GB file for download errors).

      • magic8ballgag on 02/10/2024 - 11:37

        Did it come with a proper AU power plug, or an an adaptor?

        • SeanConnery on 02/10/2024 - 19:42

          EU plug. No adapter.

  • MrPants on 19/09/2024 - 21:35
    +9

    That PC is tiny! I've coughed up bigger things than that!

    I should probably see a doctor…

    • mousie on 20/09/2024 - 07:17
      +4

      Your cough may have less preinstalled malware

      • sirix on 20/09/2024 - 10:43
        +1

        I've got one of these, running SentinelOne, nothing picked up… care to elaborate?

        • gizmomelb on 21/09/2024 - 11:47
          +3

          There was one mini PC manufacturer who had some suspect software installed in their factory default wndows 11 image, which was attributed to their third party partner who provided / made the image for them and pre-images all of the SSDs which went into the mini PCs. The company made this publically know, apologised and offered free replacement downloadable images so users could flash their system if they thought it was sus.

          Personally I don't trust ANY laptop or desktop with a pre-installed O/S - always flash it yourself so you an be sure it doesn't have any hidden programs.

  • jwh on 19/09/2024 - 21:39
    +5

    Saw this the other day when looking at the Bosgame 6900HX machine, got sidetracked, and the size piqued my interest.

    Comparison here between the N95, N97, N100 and N305. Doesn't look like a "40% performance increase", but still a better chip than the N95/N100 and the TDP wattage claims are a bit dubious across the series. It's a confusing naming convention.

  • SAU on 19/09/2024 - 21:51
    +5

    Start making more dual NIC!

  • jdhau on 19/09/2024 - 21:58
    +1

    But can it run Crysis?

    • Zilch on 20/09/2024 - 03:16

      yeah

  • tryonthis on 19/09/2024 - 21:58
    +1

    Would something like this be ideal for watching Stremio 4k content? Currently using a Chromecast with Google TV 4k and it seems to buffer/skip quite a bit despite changing a few settings.

    • Shon on 19/09/2024 - 22:15
      +9

      Stremio buffering is usually a bad source or low/no seeds. Works fine on my Chromecast at 4k.

    • adamshere on 19/09/2024 - 22:39
      +2

      Do you use real debrid? I stream 4k content on the Google TV 4k but I don't Chromecast I have the app installed on the device itself.

      • tryonthis on 19/09/2024 - 23:47
        +1

        Yep, RD. 4k streaming with other native apps (Kayo, YT, etc) are fine but I regularly have issues with Stremio.

        • liongalahad on 08/11/2024 - 01:22

          I have stremio+RD on CCwGT as well as in Samsung TV. Both work flawlessly with 4k content. But I use 15-20 GB files max, never tried the larger ones (due to bandwidth limit on my nbn)

  • Fappy Bunny on 19/09/2024 - 22:14
    +3

    So far ,tired 2 of these mini PC with n100 and n95.
    The CPU heatz up quite a bit and the fan just go full power trying to cool it down, which makes it quite noisy. Noting I'm only browsers websites.

    Honestly i have given up on these mini PC

    How's everyones experience?

    • Shon on 19/09/2024 - 22:17
      +2

      Beelinks, whisper quiet running a server and one running chrome/kids games.

    • zoltanc on 19/09/2024 - 22:23
      +1

      That’s why I posted this deal:

      https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/865965

      I have since set up the N200 EQ13 and yeah, it is very quiet for a fan cooled PC.

      • Fappy Bunny on 19/09/2024 - 23:09

        OOO interesting. seems like a lot of variants of beelinks
        S12, S12 PRO, EQ12 , EQ13

        seems like EQ12/EQ13 is the way to go for noise , extra 100 dollars i can get a quiet pc, seems worth it.

    • FunkyPants on 19/09/2024 - 22:25

      I use minisforum um 790 pro. Higher price but very quiet and alright for gaming 1080p.

    • SeanConnery on 19/09/2024 - 22:29
      +1

      Yep, my N100 GMKTEC G3 is the same. The fan goes from 0-100 anytime you do anything on it. Is there a specific BIOS setting or software we can download to control the fans? Though, I leave my one on 24/7 running my security camera software and it completely silent. But once you open up a browsers, those fans kick in immediately for 1-2 secs.

      • Fappy Bunny on 19/09/2024 - 23:00
        +1

        can related to this, TRIGKEY N100 had bio i could change the fan's temperature threshold but ended up pointless cause how the cpu would heatup pass that threshold anyways.

        the only way to resolve have a better tiny fan and hence it's nothing u can do to fix unless you want to rip it out and install a higher quality (sound and speed wies) fan.

      • Mark365 on 20/09/2024 - 09:04

        Yes there is. You can change it to quiet mode.

    • axyh on 19/09/2024 - 23:31
      +1

      I have a MeLE Overclock4c N95 as a Proxmox node running multiple VMs. It has a fan, but I’ve never heard it ramp up.

      • gizmomelb on 21/09/2024 - 11:49

        nice.. I bought an N5095 NAS motherboard with 12x SATA ports and will be using it as a NAS / home server.. want to give proxmox a go, but may be lazy and just install xpeneology on it.

    • gizmomelb on 20/09/2024 - 00:34

      I've got a Kamrui and a Chuwi Larkbox X 2023 (both N100) and their fans are usually silent when I'm watching 1440p youtube, have 10+ browser tabs open AND I'm downloading stuff from usenet at my near full NBN speed (I have to slow it down so it doesn't cause youtube to buffer). So no idea what you're ''doing wrong'' - maybe your system fans need a clean (do you have pets?). The only time my fans ramp up are when the usenet download has finished and it does a quickpar integrity check on the file (and it may need to rebuild a RAR file), even then it's only for a few minutes at most.

    • Mark365 on 20/09/2024 - 08:57

      I have the K8, ive set bios to quiet mode.

    • Sum1 on 20/09/2024 - 09:12

      Take a look at the robtech youtube channel as he seems to put the temperature and fan noise in his review.

      Seems like acemagic and minisforum looked alright although I think I heard they shipped with some dodgy windows but as long as you wipe clean that it should be alright

      I have this dream quest unit and CPU temp is running hot as per his review. I have to do a repaste job on it and its now at least not thermal throttling at 86 and hovering below 70 degrees under full load.

      The SSD seems pretty bad though with a very slow write speed that is slower than traditional HDD once it gets filled up around 25% full but then again these mini PC cost only around $200 and it is replaceable so can't complain much.

      https://youtu.be/cZd73SO6Jxg?si=-my0wVj1hJ7VKJAl

    • Ademos on 20/09/2024 - 09:31

      Got one running ~5x 4k streams. A few weeks ago. It's fine. I don't get the ramping you describe and I can't hear it at full tilt anyway, though it is in the TV units cupboard.

  • iforumos on 19/09/2024 - 22:18
    +1

    I bought a MacBook Pro with a broken screen for $350 and removed the screen, so now I have an all-miss-one computer, lol. It's better and more powerful than any mini PC with a 2.6GHz 6-core Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, AMD Radeon Pro 5300M 4GB, plus a well-built bonus keyboard, the best trackpad, and great speakers.

    • FunkyPants on 19/09/2024 - 22:27

      Lol. Never thought like that ! Connect it to a portable monitor and you'll be ok again :p

    • heef on 19/09/2024 - 23:23

      This is the way! Replaced my NUC with a Lenovo Yoga with a suicidal hinge (snapped and cracked the screen on the way out)

      • TrulyUnicorn on 20/09/2024 - 01:18

        lol my partner just had that exact experience with their Lenovo Yoga. Thankfully you can get replacement screens for $120 and it's an easy enough job to do on top of screwing the hinge back in.

        • heef on 20/09/2024 - 09:53

          That's a good price, I did an M1 air screen and that cost me $350. But that included the top shell and hinge assembly.

          I couldn't find anything reasonable for my model, only terrible generic 200nit 45% NTSC panels. Headless it shall remain!

    • belongsinforums on 20/09/2024 - 09:05

      I thought the point of these is low power usage

      • Ademos on 20/09/2024 - 09:30

        It is, and if he's got an older gen i7 without quick-sync, it'll actually be far worse for video transcoding (plex, security cams, OBS, etc).

  • captainmac on 19/09/2024 - 22:27
    +9

    What is this? A PC for ants?

    • ohgee on 19/09/2024 - 23:00
      +3

      I don't wanna hear your excuses! The PC has to be at least… three times bigger than this!

      • captainmac on 19/09/2024 - 23:31
        +1

        I have a vision!

  • magnitude on 19/09/2024 - 23:15
    +1

    I just returned a N97, my N100 is noticably faster and has no issues with 4k 60khz with deep color on. The N97 was flickering several times every couple of minutes. i'm happier with the n97. Maybe the GPU issues would be fixed eventually with drivers but until then it was driving me nuts.

    • Mark365 on 20/09/2024 - 08:59
      +1

      I get the flickering with my K8 when i use the hdmi switch, but no issues when connected directly to monitor.

  • Palomino on 20/09/2024 - 00:58

    decent media nuc I got the 256gb version for 229.99 last sale built a media server

  • jedimaster on 20/09/2024 - 01:29

    how is this for Plex?

    • Ademos on 20/09/2024 - 09:28
      +2

      Beyond capable. Plex will leverage the intel quicksync built into it. My box is running plex and some security cams, and doesn't max out even with 5x 4k streams going.

      You'll want an external storage though, obviously. Or network attached storage. Lol. And wired, its built in wifi isn't particularly fast.

      • jedimaster on 20/09/2024 - 09:57

        I am currently using this with an external 4TB hdd attached for plex and its been very capable as long as I enforce direct play so I guess will stick with it for now.
        https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/805877

        • Ademos on 20/09/2024 - 10:01

          That doesn't have "proper" quick sync decoding, the N97 would be more capable. Well, I mean it can easily do 4k transcoding, of some massively high bitrate rips I've got. But hey, if it works for you!

  • mistere on 20/09/2024 - 02:08
    +1

    Looks like a good option for plex media server

    • gizmomelb on 20/09/2024 - 10:40
      +1

      jellyfin for the win.

  • Sum1 on 20/09/2024 - 08:52
    +1

    There is a review btw for its power usage, temps etc for those that are interested.

    The high temps might be a deal breaker for some.

    https://youtu.be/cZd73SO6Jxg?si=-my0wVj1hJ7VKJAl

  • Ademos on 20/09/2024 - 09:27
    +3

    These things are wild.

    Use Intel Quicksync, and this little thing is running

    1 x 4k camera stream into OBS, doing overlays, and pushing out 2x 4k Streams to youtube/twitch.
    Plex, and 2x transcoded 4k streams out to users at times.
    Remote desktop

    And still barely cracking 70% usage of cpu/gpu at peak.

    It can probably run home assistant and a galaxy of other things, and even more if I switch to linux from windows.

    Or I can just buy a second one to run absolutely literally everything else I'll want at home, leave the media/transcoding PC to do well, that.

    Absolutely wild. Far and away more than enough for a basic office/kids machine. I'd say non-gaming but it can actually run GTA at low res/graphics settings at useable FPS, if you're so inclined. Lol.

  • nicholastyc on 20/09/2024 - 12:30

    Plug your tablet to your monitor and connect the bluetooth kb/mouse. If you only need for browsing internet with bigger screen

    Done.

  • oscargamer on 20/09/2024 - 17:46

    Can the micro sd card be used as a d:\ drive for progs etc ? (assuming the 512gb SSD drive is the c:\ drive) ?

    • gizmomelb on 21/09/2024 - 11:55

      possibly..but it will be slower than the internal SSD. But I mean you could install something like SteamOS or Batocera on the micro SD card and then boot between windows and other operating systems if you wanted to.

  • Raj09 on 21/09/2024 - 12:19

    What's the use case? Why not use an old laptop for the same price to do streaming? Plus you have a screen. I want to know. I don't know what I'm missing

    • gizmomelb on 21/09/2024 - 14:50

      use case is limited by imagination

      • Raj09 on 21/09/2024 - 17:23

        What are you using it for?

        • gizmomelb on 21/09/2024 - 23:48
          +2

          Sigh. What do you currently use your PC for? Well this probably does the same thing, except it can only handle 1080p low to medium settings gaming.

          As I posted above I've been using an intel n100 mini PC for probably close to a year as a replacement for my gaming desktop. The mini PC handles youtube (1440p), browsing, email, music and sometimes 24/7 downloading almost silently and uses less power in a week than what my gaming desktop would in 2 hours. I still use the gaming rig when I want to play a demanding game, but most of the time I'm using the mini PC. I have a second mini PC which I have connected to the loungeroom TV and it is used for retro gaming (using the batocera O/S - easily handles upscaled 1080p PS2/Ga,ecube/WiiU) and also as a HTPC (Kodi). It can play Dolby Vision encoded files, but can only send HDR10 to my OLED TV, because no PC solution for DV decoding exists as yet (mainly due to restrictive licencing), it passes Dolby Atmos audio (well all audio actually) to my AVR to decode. I control KODI using my LG TV remove with a HDMI CEC to USB dongle I made.

  • kizzaaa on 09/10/2024 - 17:45

    Can anyone confirm the Wi-Fi/BT cards that are being shipped in these units?

  • FiveDarrah on 15/10/2024 - 20:54

    Missed out but glad I did. I went on to buy a minisforum UN100P for $288 off amazon, so only a little bit more ($+48).

    For that you get 4GB more RAM, 2.5G ethernet and most importantly (for me) - the ability to add a 2.5" drive internally. And also a somewhat more reputable brand.

    I'll be using this for seeding and storing some files I need access to on my local network. I will be building a bigger NAS for backups and media later on.

    • kfp187 on 11/11/2024 - 09:38

      I really considered getting this. But couldnt find enough detail on it.

      I hear it gets quite loud on load. Unable to adjust Ram and SSD and wifi chip. Is that the case?

      I ended up buying EQ13 over the weekend. But curious on thoughts

      • FiveDarrah on 11/11/2024 - 14:39

        Haven't put it under load, it's not going to be doing anything heavy. So far it's silent. As for internals, haven't opened it up yet.

  • mito on 22/10/2024 - 21:55

    If I install Linux and then decide to reinstall Windows again later, will the MS activation servers automatically recognise the hardware? I'm assuming they are providing some kind of OEM license and I won't get a proper key

    • gizmomelb on 23/10/2024 - 22:03
      +1

      unknown for this specific model, but the two other brands n100s I own don't have windows keys embedded in BIOS etc. nor could I extract the key from the pre-installed windows (which I never used, I installed win 11 pro with a key from an online site)

  • liongalahad on 08/11/2024 - 01:14

    This deal is back online, $299 on Amazon but just apply the $60 coupon.

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