Desktop gaming (usually) means building a tower PC or shelling out premium prices for something capable. The GMKtec K8 Plus flips that equation by packing serious gaming hardware into a mini PC that now costs less than Apple’s base Mac Mini, and Amazon just dropped it to a record low of $519 (down from $738). With an AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS processor, 32GB of DDR5 RAM, integrated Radeon 780M graphics, and a 1TB SSD, this pocket-sized system handles AAA gaming at 1080p.
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What Makes This Mini PC Punch Above Its Size
The AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS processor brings 8 cores and 16 threads with a boost clock up to 5.1GHz which puts it in the same performance bracket as many full-sized desktop chips. The 16MB L3 cache helps the CPU access frequently used data faster and reduces bottlenecks during gaming and heavy multitasking. What separates the 8845HS from the similar 8745HS model is the inclusion of an NPU, a dedicated chip designed to handle AI workloads like Windows Studio Effects, Copilot tasks, and local AI processing without burdening the main CPU cores. If you’re experimenting with AI tools or running productivity features that leverage machine learning, this NPU accelerates those tasks considerably.
32GB of 5600MHz DDR5 RAM provides you the breathing room you require to run your games, dozens of tabs open in your browser, Discord, stream software, and your video editor all at the same time without lag. DDR5 is also higher bandwidth than the older DDR4, so data travels between the CPU and the RAM more quickly and this provides you better game frame times and better application responsiveness.
Storage arrives through a 1TB PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSD which gives read speeds of 5,000-7,000 MB/s or so, depending on the drive you choose. This makes a difference when you are loading bigger game files, launching Windows, or transferring footage to where you’ll be editing it. PCIe 4.0 is double the speed of PCIe 3.0, and the ability to upgrade to 8TB makes it so you won’t have to replace the original drive should you decide you want to add another drive.
The AMD Radeon 780M integrated graphics is where this system surprises people: Built on the RDNA3 architecture with 12 compute units and 768 stream processors clocked up to 2,700MHz, it outperforms the previous generation 680M by a significant margin. This GPU handles demanding titles like Cyberpunk 2077 at minimum settings around 30-40 fps at 1080p, and less demanding games like FIFA 23 or Fortnite run at medium to high settings with smooth frame rates.
The Oculink interface is something you won’t usually find on retail mini PCs: Oculink gives you a high-bandwidth external GPU connection so you can attach a full desktop graphics card in an external enclosure should you, someday, desire increased gaming muscle. It carries exponentially higher bandwidth than Thunderbolt or USB4 where external GPUs are connected, and gives you much less loss of performance and providing you with a real upgrade path without having to replace the whole system.
What’s more, two USB4 ports at 40Gbps each have Power Delivery 3.0 and DisplayPort 1.4 so you can attach fast storage, charge gear, and power displays all out of the same port. HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 2.1 outputs have 60Hz 8K resolution support, and the system can power four displays at 4K resolution. For multi-monitor productivity configurations or creative applications where you want the extra desktop real estate, this connectivity makes the K8 Plus into a real workstation.
Dual i226V 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet ports support the speedy and rock-solid wired connections of 2.5 gigabit Ethernet, which makes a difference for big file transfers or reducing latency in internet gaming.
At $519, the system costs you less than an entry-level Mac Mini but gives you gaming power Apple’s system lacks and expansion-room flexibility so you’ll have wiggle-room later to upgrade.
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