GMKtec M5 Plus Gaming Mini PC Ryzen 7 5825U (Upgraded 7430U/ 5700U), 32GB RAM 1TB SSD Dual NIC LAN 2.5GbE Desktop Computers, Triple 4K Display, WiFi 6E, USB3.2, USB-C, BT 5.2, DP, HDMI 2.0

I bought 2 of these units with the intent of creating a Proxmox cluster, but decided before doing so I would benchmark the out of the box install of windows to hopefully give everyone a good idea of performance.Most of this review is going to be from the point of someone that works in IT/Homelabber/Developer, so if you are just looking to buy this desktop as a home user, just look at the benchmark numbers and compare to your current machineInstalled latest windows updatesRan windows debloat scripts before testingSuite of testsGeekbench 6passmarkcinebench r23Crystal Disk MarkOut of the boxPBO max was set to 4.55Ghz and was hit during benchmarksXMP was correctly enabled at 3200MT/sInfinity Fabric timings were only around 1200mhz????CPU package was capped at 15watts per the CPU spec (~25watts from the wall during windows setup, ~10 watts at idle)Microsoft account requirement was DISABLED!! I only use a local account on my last remaining windows machine so this was definitely nice to see??? I would be curious/concerned about any other tweaking done to the OS, would definitely recommend you download the official installer from Microsoft.Fan noise could best be described by, have you ever watched a video on youtube with a small jet engine in it? it sounds like that from a pitch/tone perspective but quieter, it wasnt enough to be overly annoying but you can definitely hear it.Crystal Disk: 3500MB/s Seq, 53MB/s RND4k read. 2600MB/s Seq, 106MB/s RND4K writePassmark CPU: 15427 multi, 3008 singleGeekbench: 6516 multi, 1822 singleCinebench: 6650 multiAfter tweaking,Bios, power mode set from balanced to performance. This causes the system fan to go full jet engine modeIncreased Vram split to 8GBPassmark CPU: 20335 multi (~30% improvement), 2962 single (margin of error)Geekbench: 7876 multi, 1816 singleCinebench: 9730Im sure you could put ryzen master on here to tune some more settings but I didnt want to risk a brick or anything.If you are planning on putting this in a homelab and have a closet so you dont hear the noise, run it in performance mode, it makes a sizable difference.For fun I also tested CS2 after the tweaks, on the de_dust2 benchmark map, high settings preset, and native res, this got an average of 38fps and 0.1% lows of 20fps. Definitely not a gaming machine but on lower settings, upscaling, etc you could probably push this to around 50 or 60fps with easeOverall its a solid little unit for a homelab and virtualization and would make a solid desktop if you just needed something that was small, low powered, and could pack a decent punch. Or even an HTPC, especially if you put it in power saver mode

My name is Dr A and I am a real person. I recently purchased this product, the GMKtec Plus Gaming Mini PC Loaded with Win 11 and a 1T SSD. It can be used for Gaming but can also be used as a PC, which is what i bought it for. I love its compact size. It sits on my desk next to my monitor. It is extremely quiet. literally, I cannot hear its dual cooling fans working. As with most electronic devices things rarely go smoothly which is where technical support is extremely important, especially when this purchase involves software (Win 11) and hardware. I did have issuers getting some of my old peripheries to work correctly and I had some Win 11 glitches. I am happy to report that the technical support I received was outstanding, to say the least. After about 5-7 days of working kinks out, I discovered the errors were mostly on my part, such as the Microsoft One Drive, and Screen Saver, Screen sleep and Power plans such as PC going to Sleep functions were working. Once I resolved the One Drive issues (I completely by removing it from the OS register and deleted it from my computer. I do not use or need the Cloud. The only issue remaining were the screen saver and screen shut off and Mini PC not going to sleep functions not working. With the aid of technical support, we believed the issue may be with my older Hp monitor with it VGA port. In order to get the monitor to work and to plug into the Mini's HDMI port I need to use a VGA to HDMI adapter. I was thrilled this adapter worked well however, I later discovered this adapter was preventing the Screen Saver and Sleep (Power Setting Plans) from working correctly. I was advised by technical support to test the Mini PC with a different monitor. I tested with the HPE243 monitor with a dedicated HDMI port. I connected it to the Mini PC with the HDMI cable which shipped with the Mini PC. I tested it with WIFI connect and also unconnected. I also tested it at different launch times for the Screen saver and screen power off as well as mini PC Sleep functions. To my surprise the monitor and or adapter were the issues. Problem solved. All functions are now working perfectly. I created a Recover Disk and performed a full disk image backup onto an external drive. Now, I'm all set. Oh, I also order a new monitor. I cannot thank the technical support staff enough for not only helping me with the hardware side but also on the software issues. The GMKtec Plus Gaming Mini PC is an amazing Mini PC. I've already referred several of my friends. I highly recommend, if you are looking to conserve space and have a great Mimi PC/gaming box, this is the one for you. An addition: I discovered the new win 11 does not like wireless USB mouse. If you use one the power plan functions will not work, the screen saver, screen power off and PC sleep. I tried this on three separate machines with wireless usb mouse. Once disconnected and a conventional wired usb mouse connected, all worked well. This was not the case in win 10.

Although I returned two, this is an amazing machine. The power and capability for something that can fit in the palm of your hand is amazing. The first one that I returned had an Intel i5 processor and graphics were basically acceptable on my 65” family room TV, but it started dropping the Wi-Fi connection, so I returned it. The 2nd one that I bought had an AMD processor, and having been a fan of AMD for many years, I thought that I would try it. It ran well but had poor graphics on the 65”TV, so I also returned that one. Having previously had a business building custom computers, I really appreciate this minicomputer when used in the right applications. Cooling also seemed good, but better with the AMD processor (heat is always the bad guy with electronics, and cooling something this small can be an issue). So, despite my issues, I rate both as a 4