GMKtec NucBox K8 Plus Review: Incredible Performance and Value from $389 💪

GMKtec NucBox K8 Plus, High Specs at a Budget Price

In the world of mini PCs, the GMKtec NucBox K8 Plus has emerged as a standout option, offering powerful performance in a compact form factor. With its Ryzen 7 8845HS processor, 32GB of DDR5 RAM, and 1TB of NVMe storage, the K8 Plus is making waves, offering a truly incredible value at a starting price of just $389 when on sale on AliExpress with Coupons. It is also on Amazon and can be found on the GMKtec website with worldwide shipping.

But is this little powerhouse truly as capable as it seems, or does it fall short when pushed to its limits? In this review, we’ll dive into the performance, design, and features of the GMKtec K8 Plus to find out if it can hold up to the hype.

Unboxing and First Impressions

The GMKtec NucBox K8 Plus comes in a surprisingly compact package, with everything you need to get started. Inside the box, you’ll find the mini PC, HDMI cable, a power adapter, VESA mount, and a warranty card. There’s minimal documentation that includes the basics like specs and installation instructions.

The build quality is solid for a device of this size, and the design is sleek and understated. The K8 Plus is similar in appearance to its predecessor, the M7 / M7 Pro, with a well-ventilated top that helps dissipate heat. The compact form factor is roughly the size of a wallet, making it easy to tuck away behind a monitor or mount discreetly under a desk using the included VESA mount.

On the front, you’ll find an assortment of ports, including USB 4, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, a headphone jack, and the power button. The back houses additional ports, including another USB 4, two USB 2.0, HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 2.1, and two 2.5G Ethernet ports. There’s also a Kensington lock slot for added security.

Key Features and Specifications

The K8 Plus is powered by AMD’s Ryzen 7 8845HS processor, a 8-core, 16-thread chip built on the Zen 4 architecture. This provides a strong performance foundation for tasks ranging from productivity work to gaming and high-end emulation. The integrated AMD Radeon 780M GPU is capable of handling many modern games and demanding applications.

In terms of memory and storage, the K8 Plus comes with 32GB of DDR5 RAM and a fast 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD. This combination of speed and capacity ensures smooth multitasking and quick load times, even for larger applications or games. The unit comes pre-installed with Windows 11 Pro, so there’s no need for a complicated setup — you’re ready to go as soon as you power it up.

Another highlight of the K8 Plus is its future-proof design, with support for an Oculink port, which allows you to connect a full-sized graphics card for even more power if you need it. This makes the K8 Plus a versatile choice for users who may want to upgrade the GPU down the line.

Performance Testing

To see how the K8 Plus performs under real-world conditions, we tested it across a range of tasks, including everyday productivity, gaming, and emulation.

Everyday Tasks and Productivity: From web browsing to running office applications like Word and Excel, the K8 Plus handles basic tasks without a hitch. It also excels in more demanding applications such as 2D graphics software and digital audio workstations (DAWs). With 32GB of RAM, you’ll find no performance bottlenecks when multitasking, and even more demanding tasks like video editing run smoothly.

Streaming 4K content on platforms like Netflix and YouTube is also no problem, with the K8 Plus delivering smooth playback without stuttering. The device remains quiet even under light loads, making it an excellent choice for media consumption or as a home office PC.

Gaming Performance: When it comes to gaming, the K8 Plus is surprisingly capable for a mini PC. It handles most 2D games effortlessly, but its real strength lies in mid-tier 3D titles. We tested it with a variety of esports games, including Dota 2, Rocket League, and Fortnite. The K8 Plus ran all of these games smoothly at 1080p, with frame rates hovering around 80-100 FPS. Even demanding titles like Counter-Strike 2 and Tekken 8 ran well at medium settings, with only slight dips in performance under heavy load.

For AAA titles, the K8 Plus showed its limits, but it still managed to run Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p with FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution) enabled. The performance was a bit lower than high-end gaming PCs with dedicated GPU, but still very playable. In particular, turning on FSR helped maintain smooth frame rates, even in more intense scenes.

High-End Emulation: The K8 Plus shines in the realm of emulation. It easily handles PlayStation 3 and Wii U titles, including Ridge Racer 7 and Wipeout Fury, which ran flawlessly. Higher-end emulation tasks like Nintendo Switch and Xbox 360 games are also possible.

For retro gaming enthusiasts, the K8 Plus can emulate systems from the Commodore Amiga to the Sega Model 3 with ease, providing smooth performance even at higher resolutions (4x for PSP, PlayStation 2 games and Xbox Games). This makes the K8 Plus an excellent choice for anyone interested in a compact emulation setup.

Temperature and Fan Noise

In terms of cooling, the GMKtec K8 Plus performs admirably. At idle, the CPU temperature stays around 40°C, and the fan remains virtually silent. Under gaming load, the CPU temperature rises to around 71°C, but the system is still quite quiet. The fan ramps up only when we raised TDP to 65W, under heavy stress tests, and even then, the noise levels are relatively modest, with power consumption peaking at around 83 watts.

When performing maintenance or upgrading, opening the K8 Plus is a breeze. The top panel comes off with a simple twist, and there are screws in each corner to access the internals. The storage and RAM are easily upgradeable, and the CPU is cooled by an interesting heatsink that ensures thermal management remains efficient.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Excellent performance for its size, especially with the Ryzen 7 8845HS and Radeon 780M GPU.
• 32GB of DDR5 RAM and 1TB of PCIe 4.0 storage for smooth multitasking and fast data access.
• Support for future upgrades, including the Oculink port for adding a dedicated GPU.
• Impressive gaming performance, capable of running AAA games under FSR.
• Quiet and efficient cooling, with minimal fan noise even under load.
• Great value, one of the best mini PCs in terms of price-to-performance ratio.

Cons:

• Wi-Fi performance could be better, as it only supports Wi-Fi 6 instead of the newer Wi-Fi 6E.

Final Thoughts

The GMKtec NucBox K8 Plus is a remarkable mini PC that packs impressive performance into a compact and quiet package. Whether you’re looking for a powerful workstation for productivity, a capable gaming PC for esports titles, or a versatile emulation machine, the K8 Plus checks all the boxes. Even if at $600, this Mini PC makes for outstanding value in the mini PC market.

For those seeking a quiet, efficient, and upgradeable system for a wide range of applications, the GMKtec K8 Plus is a solid choice that offers a level of performance usually reserved for much more expensive systems. Highly recommended!

► Purchase links

GMKtec: GMKtec K8 Plus

Amazon: GMKtec K8 Plus

AliExpress: GMKtec K8 Plus

► Related Videos

Our GMKtec K8 Plus Video Review: https://youtu.be/OkaSLBVLPp0