GMKtec AMD Ryzen 7 Mini PC Review: Small but Mighty Gaming Beast

 It’s impressive how compact the #ad GMKtec AMD Ryzen 7 Mini Gaming PC is, cramming so much power into a chassis that could almost double as a paperweight. At first glance, you might mistake it for a particularly sleek external hard drive rather than a bona fide gaming rig, yet there’s far more to this diminutive wonder than meets the eye. Featuring an AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS processor—which boasts eight cores and sixteen threads, with turbo frequencies of up to 5.1 GHz—this system seems determined to rewrite expectations of what a mini PC can achieve. Having spent a fortnight with it, I’ve come to appreciate its strengths, quirks and overall suitability for both gaming and productivity.

Physically, the unit is remarkably well put together. The chassis is made from a matte-black aluminium alloy, and though it’s predominantly plastic on closer inspection, it still feels solid. There’s no sense that you’d be worrying over dents or scratches in day-to-day use—this is a design intended for portability as much as endurance. Ventilation grilles along the sides and at the rear hint at the cooling solution within, without making the overall aesthetic look too aggressive or fan-like. At under two litres in volume, it’s easily tucked behind a monitor or perched on a bookshelf, yet there’s a reassuring heft to it that prevents any “cheap” impressions. Rubberised feet keep it from sliding around on a desk, and the top panel sports a subtle “GMKtec” logo that doesn’t scream for attention, respecting a more minimalist sensibility.

Dive into performance, and things get really interesting. The Ryzen 7 8845HS is a laptop-grade chip designed for high clock speeds in confined spaces, which makes it an inspired choice for a mini PC. Coupled with 32 GB of DDR5 RAM running at 4800 MHz, you’re looking at a system that breezes through multitasking, content creation, and, yes, gaming—even if you’re not installing a discrete graphics card. The integrated Radeon graphics aren’t going to top leaderboards in Shadow of the Tomb Raider at ultra settings, but dial things down to medium or low, and you’ll find it perfectly serviceable for many esports titles like Rocket League or League of Legends at respectable frame rates. For heavier triple-A titles, however, you’ll want to consider an external GPU solution, which leads me to the Oculink port that GMKtec has thoughtfully included.

Storage is similarly generous: a 1 TB PCIe 4.0 SSD provides exceptionally rapid load times for operating systems and applications, while also leaving ample room for games, videos or work projects. In practice, I clocked boot times of under ten seconds, and launching even large programmes felt almost instantaneous. There’s also enough headroom to install a second M.2 drive if you fancy further expansion, though treading inside the chassis isn’t for the faint-hearted—clear instructions and patience are a must. For anyone wanting to edit 4K video or handle sizeable raw image libraries, that combination of speedy storage and multi-core processing is a godsend.

Connectivity is a highlight here. On the rear, you’ll find two HDMI 2.1 ports, which support up to 4K at 120 Hz or even 8K at 60 Hz, paired with a DisplayPort connection via USB4, which itself supports DisplayPort 1.4. That means you can run multiple high-resolution monitors without a fuss—ideal if you spend your days leaning on twin-screen setups. There are two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports and two USB 2.0 ports for legacy peripherals, plus a USB4 Type-C port for the latest devices. Networking comes in the form of dual 2.5 Gbit Ethernet ports alongside Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2, which should keep you ahead of the curve when it comes to bandwidth. Plug in a wired connection for any latency-sensitive gaming session, and keep Wi-Fi free for streaming music or casting to your smart TV without interruption. I particularly liked having two Ethernet ports—perfect for those who want to share this unit in a small home server or network-attached storage (NAS) setup.

What about thermals and noise? In a chassis this small, you might expect a turbine-like racket under load, but I was pleasantly surprised. With the CPU pushing 100 percent utilisation in a stress test, the fans ramped up audibly, yet the overall decibel level never felt oppressive. If you’re sitting a foot away from the unit in a quiet room, you’ll hear it, sure, but it isn’t distracting during, say, a late-night writing session or a mid-day conference call. The internal heat-pipe system does a credible job of keeping the processor within safe operating temperatures; I never saw it breach 90 °C, even under prolonged gaming stress. When idle or handling light office work, the fans dropped to a whisper, making the system practically inaudible.

Day-to-day tasks are a breeze. It boots into Windows 11 Pro in under a dozen seconds, and switching between Microsoft Office apps and Chrome tabs feels utterly frictionless. I even tried plugging in a USB audio interface and recording a podcast, and the onboard sound card delivered clean, no-latency performance. For content creators, it’s more than capable: editing 1080p video or batch-processing photographs is genuinely painless. Of course, if video is your primary focus, you might hanker after a dedicated GPU, but the option to hook one up via the Oculink slot means you’re not locked into the iGPU forever.

In summary, the #ad GMKtec AMD Ryzen 7 Mini Gaming PC is an elegant balancing act between raw performance and compact convenience. It doesn’t pretend to replace a full-sized desktop tower, especially if you’re determined to run the latest triple-A games at ultra-high resolutions, but it’s an undeniably compelling choice for anyone needing a versatile, space-saving workhorse. With its high-end CPU, ample RAM, fast SSD and robust connectivity, it slots seamlessly into both home offices and gaming dens. For those who prize desk real-estate and portability without compromising on speed, this little machine is hard to beat. If you can live with integrated graphics for now—perhaps planning a discretionary eGPU down the line—you’ll find this mini PC punches well above its weight.

 

   👇 Grab Yours Here:
➡️ Purchase the GMKtec AMD Ryzen 7 Mini PC:
#ad https://amzn.to/3HklXIn

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.