forum thread Posted by LovelyCheetah | Staff • Last Wednesday
Mar 26, 2025 3:05 AM
Item 1 of 9
Item 1 of 9
forum thread Posted by LovelyCheetah | Staff • Last Wednesday
Mar 26, 2025 3:05 AM
Prime Members: GMKtec Nucbox K8 PLUS Mini PC: AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD $522.49 + Free Shipping
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There is a $70 off $469 code that can be applied right before you press order — AEUS70. That brings the cost of the K8 Plus 64GB/1T configuration down to $525 after taxes.
Hmm the last time this Mini PC was posted some users were discussing this in comparison to the mac mini. Might be worth checking out those comments and also the youtube video linked https://slickdeals.net/f/18134233-prime-members-gmktec-nucbox-k8-plus-mini-pc-w-amd-ryzen-7-8845hs-32gb-ddr5-ram-1tb-ssd-win-11-pro-522-49-free-shipping?src=Si
They canceled my recent order for this exact model and their shipping times are getting ridiculous.
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There is a $70 off $469 code that can be applied right before you press order — AEUS70. That brings the cost of the K8 Plus 64GB/1T configuration down to $525 after taxes.
I've tested mine extensively and even paired it with a Geforce 1650 desktop GPU via the Minisforum Oculink dock and verified the graphics benchmark results were nowhere near the same. A desktop 1650 scores 4300-4400, while the internal 780m in the K8 Plus with DDR5/5600/CL46 SODIMM RAM is going to in the 3200-3300 range in 3Dmark Timespy, which is in line with a Geforce 1050ti.
the DESKTOP version of the 780m (Ryzen 8700g) scores north of 4800... which is what the Techpowerup data is showing for the 780m which has misled many a breathless Youtube reviewer and enthusiastic Redditors everywhere.
An 8 year old budget desktop GPU is anemic for modern gaming. FSR helps but the lower resolution and lower framerate you are upscaling from means worse the quality of the upscaled result along with the input latency that comes with all upscaling technologies. It CAN run a lot of older games fine if you accept the huge hit in graphics quality (the 1050ti was a decent budget GPU 8 years ago) but the resulting input lag makes it a less than ideal option for anything in the twitchy "esports" shooters family, including Fortnite or Valorant.
As a general purpose daily driver Windows/Linux desktop it's fine, a superb choice for a Bazzite / Steam OS box including some retro emulation ... a dab of super glue will kill the notorious stealth internal microphone that is a "feature" of the design. The top panel doesn't have enough of a gap to let exhaust heat out from the SSD/memory and VRM's on top of the machine so it tends to run about 5-6c hotter than it needs to under load. I'd look into a 3D printed spacer panel which will improve cooling of these key components ( https://www.printables.
At this point, the Ryzen 8000 is old stock, it has been replaced (rebadged) into the 200 series AMD mobile APU's at the bottom of their current production stack. The Ryzen 7 260 / 8845hs / 7840 hs are all the same processor but is now two full generations behind the latest the Strix Point (AI 300 series) and Strix Halo (AI Max series, though also numberd in the 300 range) APU designs.
As production of the new Strix Halo stuff is ramping up there will be lots of good deals on older mini PC designs to clear stock and these will get cheaper, particularly those based on the Ryzen 6/7/8000 series with SODIMM memory. Beyond the huge jumps in CU count with the newer graphic chipsets the pivot to LPDDR5x with the 300 series has a massive impact on graphics performance which is what typically bottlenecks these (thus the mobile vs desktop difference in scores between Radeon 780m examples).
I've tested mine extensively and even paired it with a Geforce 1650 desktop GPU via the Minisforum Oculink dock and verified the graphics benchmark results were nowhere near the same. A desktop 1650 scores 4300-4400, while the internal 780m in the K8 Plus with DDR5/5600/CL46 SODIMM RAM is going to in the 3200-3300 range in 3Dmark Timespy, which is in line with a Geforce 1050ti.
the DESKTOP version of the 780m (Ryzen 8700g) scores north of 4800... which is what the Techpowerup data is showing for the 780m which has misled many a breathless Youtube reviewer and enthusiastic Redditors everywhere.
An 8 year old budget desktop GPU is anemic for modern gaming. FSR helps but the lower resolution and lower framerate you are upscaling from means worse the quality of the upscaled result along with the input latency that comes with all upscaling technologies. It CAN run a lot of older games fine if you accept the huge hit in graphics quality (the 1050ti was a decent budget GPU 8 years ago) but the resulting input lag makes it a less than ideal option for anything in the twitchy "esports" shooters family, including Fortnite or Valorant.
As a general purpose daily driver Windows/Linux desktop it's fine, a superb choice for a Bazzite / Steam OS box including some retro emulation ... a dab of super glue will kill the notorious stealth internal microphone that is a "feature" of the design. The top panel doesn't have enough of a gap to let exhaust heat out from the SSD/memory and VRM's on top of the machine so it tends to run about 5-6c hotter than it needs to under load. I'd look into a 3D printed spacer panel which will improve cooling of these key components ( https://www.printables.
At this point, the Ryzen 8000 is old stock, it has been replaced (rebadged) into the 200 series AMD mobile APU's at the bottom of their current production stack. The Ryzen 7 260 / 8845hs / 7840 hs are all the same processor but is now two full generations behind the latest the Strix Point (AI 300 series) and Strix Halo (AI Max series, though also numberd in the 300 range) APU designs.
As production of the new Strix Halo stuff is ramping up there will be lots of good deals on older mini PC designs to clear stock and these will get cheaper, particularly those based on the Ryzen 6/7/8000 series with SODIMM memory. Beyond the huge jumps in CU count with the newer graphic chipsets the pivot to LPDDR5x with the 300 series has a massive impact on graphics performance which is what typically bottlenecks these (thus the mobile vs desktop difference in scores between Radeon 780m examples).
Great write up 👍
I was wondering what real world use would be like using the oculink.
Did I read it right that the same gpu plugged into the oculink scored 1000 pts lower vs plugged into a desktop system?
What was notable for me is that the 780m is often compared to the 1650 in Reddit posts and Youtube reviews because of Techpowerup GPU comparison chart data has led many reviewers to incorrectly draw the comparsion when talking about mini PC's running itterations of the 780m paried with slow PC5600 SODIMM RAM.
This is misleading, presumably out of ignorance vs malice, because the Techpowerup data is derived from the 780m being tested in a desktop 8700g APU, which performs better primarily due to faster/lower latency desktop RAM. I wanted to validate that assertion by running the K8 Plus with typical Crucial PC5600/CL46 RAM and seeing how it stood up to an actual Geforce 1650. I verified the scores I got for the 1650 GT matched on both the iGPU dock connected to the K8 Plus and in a stand-alone desktop first to make sure Oculink was not a bottleneck. I then compared the scores between it and the integrated 780m which showed how slow the K8 Plus (and most 8845/PC5600 equipped) mini PC is running the same graphics chipset.
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What was notable for me is that the 780m is often compared to the 1650 in Reddit posts and Youtube reviews because of Techpowerup GPU comparison chart data has led many reviewers to incorrectly draw the comparsion when talking about mini PC's running itterations of the 780m paried with slow PC5600 SODIMM RAM.
This is misleading, presumably out of ignorance vs malice, because the Techpowerup data is derived from the 780m being tested in a desktop 8700g APU, which performs better primarily due to faster/lower latency desktop RAM. I wanted to validate that assertion by running the K8 Plus with typical Crucial PC5600/CL46 RAM and seeing how it stood up to an actual Geforce 1650. I verified the scores I got for the 1650 GT matched on both the iGPU dock connected to the K8 Plus and in a stand-alone desktop first to make sure Oculink was not a bottleneck. I then compared the scores between it and the integrated 780m which showed how slow the K8 Plus (and most 8845/PC5600 equipped) mini PC is running the same graphics chipset.
Wow. Thank you. Clearly addressed my question.