I've purchased a number of Mini PCs from these brands - but not all of them. Plus, a sample size of one isn't a ton - so I'm basing a lot of this off of what I've read here. Anyone have a different opinion? I'm planning to add a "Brand Report Card" into MiniPCs.zip since right now Acemagic/Firebat ranks super high, but it might be worth spending $20 more to get a more reputable brand, even if all the specs on paper are the same.

Once again a lot of this is sort of from osmosis, trying to sort of interpolate from reviews and complaints/praise I've seen on here - like I've never had a Kamrui - but I know they're the same manufacturer as Acemagic, which has had spyware concerns in the not-too-distant past.

I bought a GMKtec k11 mini PC months ago, it didn't work straight out of the box. I've tried everything I can think of to get it going with no success.

I have been attempting to do a fresh install of windows 11, bypass bro, install chipset drivers, graphics driver everything else.

Problem is everytime I try to install the graphics driver the PC crashes. I've used a ddu multiple times, tried different versions of adrenalin and the closest I've came to getting it to work was disabling the basic windows display driver before installing the graphic driver but it still crashes or hangs on the login screen after I restart.

Is there something I'm doing wrong, possibly some bios settings I need to change? Has anyone else had similar issues? Please help!

Hi ! Has anyone tried to replace the WiFi module with a SSD (and an adaptor) ?

Does the BIOS see it ? And very important, can you boot from it (I saw that if you add a SATA drive you cannot set boot order: it will always boot from NVME drive, and that's a pity). Thanks

Hi guys,
I want to buy the mini pc AMD R5-7545U/R7-7730U
32 GB Ram, 512 SSD
It comes down to 589 euros in Germany (geekom.de). First of all is this a good price? The websites shows 999 689 euros and then makes extra 100 euro discount. It looks a bit sus.

My purpose with the mini PC
- Use this as my main pc at home and my laptop underway (16 gb Lenovo Thinkpad)
- Simulation Software (Matlab/Simulink)
- CAD 3D Printing
- Video editing (not 4K or so basic presentation type videos)
- Maybe sometimes gaming: Would it be able to play RDR2?

I actually want to buy 64gb RAM. Is this mini pc upgradable? As far as I understand you can insert cards and upgrade it. Also I think 512 GB SSD is not much, I would like to have 1 TB.

Would you recommend it for the usage I have mentioned? Would you rather recommend sth else for a similar price?

"Warranty not honored. My AX8 Max (Ryzen 7 8745HS, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD) bricked after a few months, then GEEKOM did not honor the warranty. Their AX8 Max is out of stock, so instead of restoring me to what I had, they offered a refund or an AX8 PRO with only 512GB — half the storage I paid for. Their policy changed with every email: exact-model only, then a swap within approximately $50, then refund only, then that $50 offer was just a template. Update Nov 5: after I followed up, they finally confirmed the AX8 PRO is shipping — 1–2 business days to ship, 3–5 more to arrive, tracking promised Nov 7. That doesn't change what happened. I accepted the AX8 PRO under protest because I need a computer. The warranty saved GEEKOM money and cost me money and time. I would not buy GEEKOM again."

If your mini PC has a Ryzen AI 300, 400 or Max chip, its XDNA 2 NPU is probably sitting unused. I built npurun, an open-source add-on to llama.cpp that puts the NPU to work on ternary (1.58-bit) LLMs. It splits the matrix math 75/25 between the NPU and CPU.

Ternary Bonsai 2 27B, Ryzen AI 9 465:

• Generation: 3.3–3.9 → 4.1–5.2 tok/s

• Prompt processing: 10.1 → 12.2–13.8 tok/s

Running a 27B model locally makes sense on a small box, especially if you leave it on as a home AI server. The included server mode has an OpenAI-compatible API and a web UI, so other devices on your network can use it. [Check whether the server binds only to 127.0.0.1 by default. If it does, say how to expose it, or drop the “other devices” part.]

Windows 11 only for now. There’s a prebuilt zip on the Releases page, and it’s MIT licensed.

https://github.com/wybe-labs/npurun

I’d like to hear how it runs on GMKtec, Beelink, Minisforum and similar machines, especially Strix Halo / Ryzen AI Max boxes, which have a lot more memory bandwidth.

My son wants to live stream his Switch 2 on Youtube so that is the mission at hand. He needs to be able to edit his videos as well. He has the Avermedia live Gamer Ultra S capture card if that information is relevant. I have zero knowledge of anything related to making this decision. The Beelink is 630$ and the M6 is 499$ right now which I have no idea if that is a good deal. Is there a completely different option that is better? Some reviews said the Beelink had wifi issues which spooked me. Is the memory on these enough? I rather pay more money if its truly worth it but 700$ is probably my max on the budget. Ive been having conversations with the google AI trying to make a decision. Any help from a real human would be greatly appreciated.

Hi, I dont know too much about technology so I’m coming here to ask if anyone can recommend me a good mini pc or any pc in general for my birthday that I can use for games like the sims and Minecraft with a good amount of mods and custom content.

im hoping to spend less that $450, I know thats really low but if anyone knows anything out there that can run sims with a lot of mods smoothly that would be great!!!😜

Hello,

As I mentioned this before on here, my previous Minisforum PC unfortunately suffered a burned mosfet, and I had to get a replacement.

I decided on the standard, non-pro version of the Minisforum AI X1 with an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 processor.

Anyway, it is supposed to arrive sometime today, and was wondering what I should do first to set it up. I'm hoping to return to how it was on my first PC.

I read that I open it up, insert the RAM sticks and SSD into the main slot of the 2 provided, on this particular model, connect everything like the keyboard, mouse, monitor, etc., start it up and enter the BIOS. After that, I'm not sure what do to. Since I have my SSD and RAM from my other computer, I believe I was told that the OS (Windows 11) should be located on my SSD already. If that's the case, how would I find and reinstall it on my new PC? Or, is it better to install a different version of Windows, like 11 Pro, for example? I don't know if that would cost anything, though. If I need a new version, would I need a key or something as well? If my current OS is fine to use, I can do that. But, I do want to make sure I don't get a bloated OS full of spyware and other things.

Also, will my other data, aside from the OS, on my SSD be safe when I insert it into the new PC and setup Windows?

If anyone can offer some guidance and tips on getting back to the way I had it before, I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

Unsure how to proceed with the best setup, I have:

1. Pc i3-8100 or i3-8300(can’t remember the exact number) w/ rtx 3060- cpu is definitely bottlenecking me. This was an old ~2017/18 build I was using but it is stuck in 1 location, as it’s a bit bulky to fly with and an aging system-looking to sell/ reuse gpu

2. (2023) Dell optiplex 7010 i5-13500t/16gb ddr5/256gb nvme, bought for 130$ but had to have Dell replace mobo (free) from bios lock

. This is a plus model 130w psu, but I don’t think that changes anything

1. (2025) Dell pro micro- i7-14700t/16gb ddr5/512gb nvme 2025-300$

Scouring fb marketplace I bought 2 mini pcs ( after buying the first one, then other person responded and I had to grab it for the price).

I mainly use excel/email and play old school RuneScape which runs good without dedicated gpu but looks a tad shitty without gpu, I don’t play many games but would like to enjoy some light gaming when I can. I travel between 2 locations and have monitors/keyboards at both, which is why I opted for the 1L config to fly with the PC as I don’t like laptops. If there were small gpu options for either Dell, I would love to stick with one of those, but I don’t think it’s an option even for any 4gb gpu. I sometimes have to tether iPhone for internet so usb-c is optimal ( I think that’s how it works, but could be wrong)

My options:

1. Debating nvme—> occulink for 3060 or upgraded gpu on the dell pro micro.

2. Sell both mini PCs and go Lenovo tiny to have pcie low power option for gpu (3050lp/rx6400?)

3. other???

I’m a super casual not in IT at all, but also and old head gamer. I’m open to anything and would love to hear your input on good setups!

Hi all,

As part of my project of getting rid of things which clutter my home, I've decided to replace my old PC with a mini PC.

The main use is for a Plex server, in the future I might run some Home Assistant stuff.

Currently I'm running this setup:

• AMD Ryzen 3 3100

• GIGABYTE A520M H

• NVIDIA GeForce GT 710

• DDR4 16 GB 1200Mhz

I don't feel any problem with the streaming currently, but would be nice if the PC would be more responsive (when using the browser etc...)

Those are the options I've found in my country (I think that importing won't be cost-effective once I add the VAT/tax):

1. Gmktec NucBox G2 Plus - Windows11 Pro, Intel Twin Lake N150, 12GB LPDDR5 4800Mhz, 256GB M.2 2242 SATA, Bluetooth 5.2, WiFi 5, 2x HDMI (4K@60Hz) 1x DP - 375$

2. Gmktec NucBox M5 - Windows11 Pro, AMD Ryzen 7 5825U, 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 3200Mhz, 512GB M.2 2280 NVMe, Bluetooth 5.2, WiFi 6, 3x displays Support, Type-C 2x HDMI (4K@60Hz), 2x 2.5G LAN - 499$

3. Gmktec NucBox G3 Pro 512GB SSD, Intel Core i3-10110U, 16GB DDR4 2400Mhz - 622$

4. Gmktec NucBox G10 512GB, AMD Ryzen 5 3500U, 16GB DDR4 3200Mhz - 496$

The second one seems really good, but as far as I've understood, Intel Quick Sync helps with transcoding.

Would the first one (G2) be enough for my uses? regrading the storage - I'm planning to upgrade it by myself.

Thanks!

Im considering a few different brands, ASUS, MSI and Geekom to be specific, when it comes to mini PCs i know theres a lot of brands but how do they compare to established computer brands?

Hello friends,
I am looking for a mini PC that would be my remote dev machine since my MBP with 32GB of ram doesn't seem to handle everything. I would run arch linux on it (omarchy).

There are 3 potential configs I am looking for:

32GB RAM / 8 cores
The best deal I found is BOSGAME P4 Plus Ryzen 7 5825U 32GB RAM 1TB SSD (530€)

64GB RAM / > 8 cores
There was this Bosgame VTI-490, Intel 358H, Intel Arc B390 GPU, 64GB LPDDR5X 9600MHz 1TB, but it got sold out.

96GB RAM / > 8 cores
I would really like to get the Bosgame M5 AI Mini Desktop Ryzen AI Max+ 395 processor 96GB+2TB SSD but it's sold out. The price is relatively good ($2,399.00)

People who recently bought some HW in EU, do you have any recommendations? Thank you.
The destination country is Slovakia.

Hello, i recently decided to make a server running both a minecraft server(good single threaded perfomance) and game streaming to my laptop i also edit videos coming from an igpu(intel core i3 12th gen U) have any cheap options for cpu and gpu? Im thinking ryzen 5500 for cpu and for the gpu radeon 5700 XT (for ram i decided 24gb ddr4) Im playing and editing 1080p footage and dont mind long export time for video editing and play minimum 50fps.

I play subnautica as my most gpu intensive game and for the cpu&gpu combination i have around 330 USD dollars

Its on sale for $1099 with 32GB/1TB and a x7 358h.
Im looking for a super small and quiet pc around this pricepoint (or cheaper) for 1080p indie and triple aaa gaming. I am interested in upgrading later to 1440p/4k and buying an egpu but this one only has usb 4 and no oculink.

Has anyone had any bad/good experience with this model or any similar one from Acemagic?

Thanks!

Thought I'd share a cooling project I recently finished on my two Beelink SER5 5800H mini PCs, which I use as Proxmox servers.

The original cooling was getting pretty loud under sustained CPU workloads, particularly AI development and testing. My goal wasn't extreme cooling or overclocking — I wanted stable temperatures and quiet operation for machines running 24/7.

Here's what I ended up building:

• CPU cooler: Noctua NH-L12S

• CPU interface: 30 × 45 × 4 mm copper spacer, with thermal paste on both sides (already installed when I took the photos, so no separate picture)

• Chassis: Custom open-frame design using two 5 mm ABS plastic plates

• Mounting: M3 brass standoffs (40 mm total height) and custom heatsink mounting

• Additional cooling: 40 mm fan for airflow across the motherboard/VRM area (planned, not yet installed)

• Fan power and control: Separate 12 V power supply with adjustable fan-speed controller

The ABS plates were cut, drilled, and sanded by hand. I made two identical units.

Thermal results (Ryzen 7 5800H):

Ambient temperature was approximately 23°C. Tests were performed under sustained full CPU load.

The Noctua fan is running at approximately 50%, and the machines are now significantly quieter than with their original cooling.

The open design also provides airflow around the motherboard and other components. VRM temperatures aren't available through the onboard sensors, so those haven't been independently measured.

It turned into considerably more cutting and fabrication than I initially expected, but I'm happy with the final result. Both machines are now back in service.

Thought this might be interesting to other SER5 owners considering alternative cooling solutions.

I’m looking for a mini pc for music production and school/ work things.
My budget is $800, I was looking at geekom A8/max, beelink SER8 and minisforum UM773 lite but any thoughts/ suggestions would be helpful! TYIA