GMKtecG3 Plus Mini PC, Intel Twin Lake N150(Upgraded N100) 16GB RAM 512GB M.2 2280 SSD, Mini Desktop Computer Dual HDMI/WiFi6/BT5.2

The recent failure of my current NAS left me looking for something to take its place on our home network. Having owned several NAS systems I knew what features were important to me. Being just a normal home user and not a video creator I did not need something that could hold lots of TB but rather something to store routine files over the LAN, use as a Media server and allow for some Docker containers/Home Lab capabilities.The things I liked about the GMKtec G9 include:1) NVME storage up to 32 TB if Samsung/Lexar/Kingston drives are used and 16TB for all others. Combined with dual 2.5G LAN ports provide fast transfer speed for our family use.2) Dual booting to Ubuntu (on internal eMMC) or Windows 11 on one of the four NVME drives provides unbelievable flexibility to configure a Home NAS system how you want it. I installed and tested it with the following NAS software options.a. Window 11 NAS setup with three pooled drives and Docker Desktop installed.b. Unraid v7.0.0c. TrueNAS Scale v24.10.2d. Open Media Vault v7.7.0e. Xpenology -DSM was faster than on my old Synology DS1512+f. CasaOSg. Proxmox v8.3In all cases the eMMC was the install location, if possible, NVME drives configured as needed, Docker installed. With several containers running each option was tested. In all cases the GMKtec G9 performed the tasks without issues. Of note was that 4K video playback using Plex was better than my last NAS.3) All ports were tested and worked as advertised and achieved correct speeds. I tested each one even the 3x4K display functionality. The N150 CPU never lacked resources when subjected to more loads than would be normal in our family. That included several instances of Plex videos streaming, web page browsing and file operations simultaneously.4) The GMKtec G9 is a small form factor and comes with extremely low power consumption which is desirable when used as a family NAS that runs 24x7x365. I tracked the power usage for several days and it tracked between 11.6 watts at idle to 30.4 watts with maximum loading.My opinion on improvements for the GMKtec G9 would be:1) Temperature mitigation of NVME drives. Although at no time did the drive temperatures reach maximum under constant heavy loads they ran higher than I would like for a 24x7 NAS. I found that tweaking the BIOS Smart Fan setting would achieve a 10C lower temperature. This changed the sound level measured two feet away from not being heard to mildly being heard. For those that like numbers on my sound meter that was a change from about 45 dB to 50dB. I decided to retrofit a 12V DC 80mm Muffin fan to blow on the NVME compartment. When running the 12V fan at 6V it could not be heard and the NVME drives stay below 50C when running Crystal Disk Mark testing and below 40C for most other tasks. Also, at no time did the outside case get too hot to touch. The highest temperature area was on the side with the air vent discharge, it reached about 50C while most of the remainder of the case was at 35C.2) The space in the NVME storage area could be slightly larger. I was not able to fit the NVME heatsink bottoms into the area as there was not enough space between each NVME. I was able to fit the top pieces, but it was tight and may be an issue for other heatsink designs.3) The documentation could be improved with some additional information including recovery instruction on the dual operating systems and the website location for downloading the GMKtec G9 images and drivers. Also, for those that wish to know the Ubuntu password is 12345.In summary I am impressed with the GMKtec G9 as a home NAS replacement for my Synology. I can configure it the way that best suits my needs and be assured that it is up to the task of being a NAS and Home Server at the same time. I will be designing and printing a small bottom compartment to attach to the GMKtec G9 that will hold the 12V muffin fan and provide a stable open air flow platform that is both functional and good looking. I plan to run the GMKtec G9 24x7 as a Proxmox Hypervisor using several LVM containers and Virtual machines including TrueNAS, Home Assistant, Tailscale, PiHole, Plex/Jellyfin and any other software I might wish to experiment with.

5 de 5 estrellas — Excelente mini PC para trabajar y másDespués de investigar bastante, al principio me había inclinado por la versión con 12GB DDR5, pero terminé eligiendo el GMKtec G3 Plus y no me arrepiento. La compra tardó un poco en ser despachada, imagino que por la alta demanda, pero una vez que salió, llegó rapidísimo.Le instalé todo lo básico para trabajar: Word, Excel, Chrome... y me sorprendió el rendimiento. Abrí más de 15 pestañas, música corriendo por Chromecast a un parlante, y todo fluye sin trabarse ni calentar. Me dejó impresionado.Silencioso, potente, súper compacto y con consumo bajísimo. Ideal para laburo de oficina, home office, estudio o uso diario. No es una PC gamer, claro, pero no le tiembla el pulso con tareas pesadas.Me tomé el tiempo de investigar antes de decidir y me alegra haber hecho esta elección. Muy buen equilibrio entre calidad, rendimiento y precio.---5 out of 5 stars — Excellent mini PC for work and beyondI did a lot of research before buying. At first, I leaned toward the 12GB DDR5 version, but eventually went with the GMKtec G3 Plus—and I don’t regret it. It took a little while to be shipped, probably due to high demand, but once it was dispatched, it arrived very quickly.I installed all the basic office tools—Word, Excel, Chrome—and the performance really surprised me. Over 15 tabs open, music streaming via Chromecast, and everything ran smoothly without heating up or slowing down. I was honestly impressed.It’s quiet, powerful, super compact, and has very low power consumption. Perfect for office work, home office, studying or daily use. Obviously not built for gaming, but it handles heavy tasks with no issues.I’m glad I took the time to research before deciding. Great value for the performance it delivers.

I had previously purchased an N100 Alder Lake version of this machine for someone else. While setting it up and using it on a single 1080P monitor it performed really well for what it needed to be, Basic use and mostly Web. So, I needed to replace a HTPC (Home Theater PC) and decided to get one for myself. All it needs to do is run a browser (and VPN) to watch stuff on my 4K projector. It works really well, but the mouse is a bit sluggish when trying to start and stop shows that I am streaming. I do not know if it is the machine or the fact that I'm running it in 4K vs 1080P. I didn't have this issue with the other machine when I tested it under the same tasks but at the lower resolution. Over all it seems to be a decent machine for a HTPC but I am thinking I might move this to a television and get a more powerful one for the projector since I use the projector much more often for PC Streaming. I would say, go for it if you are not pushing high resolutions, but if you are you might want to explore more power. That said, once the show is selected everything works great and the picture is awesome. It has not buffered even once or stuttered in any way.UPDATE: So, turns out it was my HDMI cable. I had the same mouse issue with a more powerful machine on the same projector setup. I switched to a newer higher capability HDMI cable and now my mouse is working much better. I hooked this PC up to a TV, with a better cable and it is now working well in 4K on that TV. So, this appear to be a pretty good budget PC for a HTPC solution.