Name: GMKtec G3 Desktop Computer
Brand: GMKtec

Summary

A small 4-core mini PC built around the Intel N100 chip, aimed at office work, media playback and light server duty, with a case small enough to tuck under a television. Check the configuration before buying: the barebone version ships without RAM, storage or an operating system, and the maker’s own page does not list the port layout or the Ethernet speed.

Strengths

Draws about 6–8 W at idle, so it runs cheaply as an always-on box.
The 115 x 108 x 44 mm case fits under a television or behind a monitor.
Reviewers describe it as quiet, with no noticeable noise in the Assistouest test.
RAM and the NVMe drive sit under the top cover, so both are easy to replace or upgrade.
Wired network performance measured about 854 Mbps down and 308 Mbps up with 17 ms ping.
Netflix streaming held around 50% CPU at about 1.27 GHz, which leaves headroom for light use.

Weaknesses

Geekbench scores of 871 single-core and 2,428 multi-core mean it stalls on long or intensive work.
Intel’s own limit for the N100 is 16 GB, which conflicts with the 32 GB GMKtec advertises; one owner saw a 32 GB module detected as 8 GB.
The barebone version needs DDR4 SO-DIMM memory, an NVMe SSD and a Windows licence or a Linux install on top.
Linux setup was rough in one test: sound and Wi-Fi did not work out of the box in Linux Mint and HDMI audio needed a startup command.
The maker’s page lists no dimensions, weight, wattage or adapter details, and it does not say whether a power supply ships in the box.

Verified specifications

CPU	Intel Alder Lake-N N100, 4 cores / 4 threads, up to 3.4 GHz; one source lists 3.5 GHz.
Graphics	Intel UHD, 24 execution units, up to 750 MHz; dual-display 4K at 60 Hz.
Storage	M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 NVMe, expandable to 2 TB; a 256 GB YMTC drive read about 1.5 GB/s sequentially and wrote about 461 MB/s.
Ports	2 x HDMI 2.0, 4 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 1 x USB-C, 1 x RJ45, 1 x 3.5 mm audio and DC input.
Wireless	Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2.
Power draw	about 6–8 W in light use, up to about 15 W under heavy load; full CPU load pinned the N100 at 100% at about 3.3 GHz.
Dimensions	115 x 108 x 44 mm (4.5 x 4.2 x 1.7 in), about 361 g.
Warranty	one year, with a 7-day hassle-free return.

Full research notes and sources

Performance and everyday use

The N100 is a low-power chip, not a fast one. In Geekbench on Windows 11, a 16 GB + 512 GB unit scored 871 single-core, 2,428 multi-core and 3,216 GPU with OpenCL. Streaming is the comfortable case: HD YouTube played fine in one test, Plex live TV streamed well after about 10 seconds of buffering at startup, and Netflix used about half the CPU.

Assistouest’s verdict was that it suits light office work, streaming and a secondary or light server role. Memory is DDR4-3200, and the storage slot takes an M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 NVMe drive.

Networking and connectivity

Two HDMI 2.0 outputs drive two displays at up to 4K 60 Hz, and the port list adds four USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, one USB-C, one RJ45 and a 3.5 mm audio jack. There is no internal speaker, so audio comes through HDMI or a headset.

The wired link is the strong side. On a 1 Gbps fiber connection the Assistouest unit pulled about 854 Mbps down and 308 Mbps up with 17 ms ping. The Wi-Fi test was far weaker at about 61 Mbps down and 92 Mbps up, and it ran over Wi-Fi 5 even though the rated radio is Wi-Fi 6, so the test conditions are unclear. Whether the RJ45 port is gigabit or 2.5 gigabit stays unresolved: Hagensieker, Assistouest and Alsgeeklab say 2.5 GbE, while Liliputing’s launch coverage says gigabit, and the measured 854 Mbps does not separate the two.

Opening the top cover gets you to the RAM slot and the NVMe drive. Hagensieker added a 1 TB SSD and 32 GB DDR4-3200 to a barebone unit, and Assistouest says memory expands to 32 GB, though Intel’s own ceiling for the N100 is 16 GB. One commenter reported a 32 GB Crucial SO-DIMM detected as 8 GB with no confirmed fix.

A barebone buyer has to supply the memory, the drive and the operating system. Hagensieker notes that a Windows install needs an OS image downloaded rather than a drive cloned, with drivers on GMKtec’s site. Linux Mint needed extra work: sound and Wi-Fi failed out of the box and HDMI audio required a startup command.

The warranty is one year on the maker’s page, worded as 365 days with a 7-day hassle-free return. No failure-rate, teardown or long-term durability data were found for this model.

Is it worth it?

Reviewers in 2024 were positive around $99–$119 for the barebone version, and one of them paid $199 for the 16 GB + 512 GB configuration without complaint. The GMKtec US page listed $169.99 for that 16 GB + 512 GB configuration and marked it sold out at capture (GMKtec, 2026-11-04). Launch coverage had the 8 GB + 128 GB version from $180.

Running costs are the easy part: about 6–15 W in tests. The expensive part is the barebone route, where RAM, storage and a Windows licence are all on you. No competitor prices were verified in this pass, so there is no wider value threshold to compare against.

Which model this is

This page covers the original GMKtec NucBox G3 with the 12th-generation Intel Alder Lake-N N100, listed on GMKtec’s US store as “NucBox G3 most cost-effective mini PC with Intel N100 processor”. It is not the G3 Plus, which uses an N150 chip and is sold as an upgraded N100 successor, and it is not the G3 Pro, which carries a Core i3-10110U. The hardware comes in barebone and 16 GB + 512 GB configurations, with a Titanium Grey finish and US or EU plug options.