Head over to Amazon to check the GMKTec NucBox K3 Pro, a fully fledged Windows 11 Pro mini PC with a 12th core Intel Core i7 processor, only for this Black Friday. For all the talks of AMD and Ryzen dominating performance, Intel still is a very potent alternative especially from a value for money alternative.
Ed: Check out our Black Friday deals and our black Friday Mini PC deal page
At just under $399, a 15% saving off the sticker price of $470, the GMKTec NucBox K3 Pro is better than anything I’ve seen at this price point. The Core i7-12650H has 10 cores and 16 threads and is significantly more powerful than what AMD has to offer in this price range.
We have reviewed it recently and said "On paper, this machine seems reasonable, and it is beautifully engineered. However, the processor was the bottom mobile i7 from the 12th generation, and the price isn’t appropriate for its performance. The K3 Pro is an excellent justification for buying the K2 instead." That was with a price 50% higher (around $600) though.
When paired with 24GB LPDDR5 memory (dual channel, upgradable up to 64GB) and 1TB SSD, it should easily breeze through all office and business tasks. Clearly this is a workstation-grade product although there’s no discrete graphics card.
Despite its tiny size, this workstation PC has plenty of ports: Thunderbolt 4/USB 4.0/DisplayPort, two HDMI, four USB ports and one Gigabit Ethernet port. You should in theory be able to drive up to three 4K displays (or even a single 8K monitor - if you find one).
Elsewhere, there’s Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 courtesy of an AMD RZ608 chip; note that there’s no card reader although GMKtek bundled a VESA mount, should you want to put it behind a monitor.
Other than Windows 11 Pro, a surprising addition, there’s no bloatware to suck the life out of your business PC. It’s worth noting that the SSD is a Gen3 one which is a bit of a disappointment but won’t matter to most users as it is still far faster than SATA-based SSDs. The parts are easily accessible thanks to a lid that can be removed with any tools; the chassis has plenty of vents for cooling.
