The specification is impressive, as is the performance once fired up.
That combination will also see you through mid-level gaming, although a few tweaks may need slight reductions.
However, then you come to the build quality.
You’ll also find it widely available in a number of configurations at Amazon.
The build quality is solid, with a metal casing that gives the machine a premium feel.
The transparent top is positioned slightly above the body of the machine to enable airflow.
While the dark grey transparency could add to the aesthetics, it seems to lack impact here.
This compact size makes it easy to position on your desk or mount using the included VESA mount.
The rest of the machine is neatly laid out.
Below these ports is additional venting, highlighting GMKtec’s focus on effective cooling.
More vents appear on either side of the machine, further aiding airflow.
The most impressive design feature is the inclusion of the Oculink display port.
This is coupled with AMD Radeon 780M graphics which seems to be the choice for high performance mini PCs.
Our review sample came equipped with a 1TB SSD and 32GB of RAM.
This cooling is essential for the smooth running of these compact machines.
The power of this PC is more than enough to handle large multi-sheet spreadsheets with calculations without issue.
Likewise, opening large Word documents as well as working on PowerPoint presentations was well within its abilities.
The benchmark Windows Experience score of 8.2 mirrors the smooth use of the machine for day-to-day admin.
This speed from the SSDs was apparent throughout the test.
Likewise, all options in Lightroom ran smoothly.
Switching to gaming to push the abilities of the GPU, the results were interesting.
In Cyberpunk 2077, this was also playable at 1080p with low-to-medium tweaks without ray tracing.
Increasing the resolution of these games to 4K showed the system beginning to struggle.
Editing in DaVinci Resolve or Photoshop proved just how powerful this machine is.
However, some render times may take a while.
Should I buy a GMKtec Nucbox K8 Plus?
What initially looks like a budget-friendly option might not remain so in the long run.
It would help if you had a tidy machine.
If you prefer a neat setup, this is for someone else.
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