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best-mini-pc-2023-ace-magician-am08-pro

Andrew Lanxon/CNET

Specs as tested:

  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 6900HX
  • RAM: 32GB
  • SSD: 512GB

The bigger brother to the AMR5, the AM08 Pro comes with a slightly larger body size and somewhat beefed-up internal specs that include a higher-powered AMD chip. It’s little surprise then that it performed better on our benchmark tests and turned its hand to more-demanding tasks too. Elden Ring played well enough for more casual gamers on low settings, so those of you looking to enjoy lighter titles on Steam will be perfectly well catered for here. 

It also handled 4K video editing in Premiere, allowing me to scrub through the timeline with little delay and export the project in a reasonable 25 minutes. Photo editing in Lightroom CC was fine as well. It typically drew around 30 to 40 watts of power during web browsing and up to 70 watts during more demanding gaming and video exporting. 

While the smaller AMR5 is suited only for lightweight home office tasks, the AM08 Pro is a better option for students wanting a more well-rounded PC for tackling assignments during the day and enjoying some games in the evening. 

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best-mini-pc-2023-gmktec-nucbox-k1

Andrew Lanxon/CNET

Specs as tested:

  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 76800H
  • RAM: 16GB DDR5
  • SSD: 1TB SSD

Like the Geekom AS6, the Nucbox K1 is essentially just a small square that’s hardly exciting to look at. A silver-and-black color scheme adds a bit of interest though, and the plastic lid easily pops off to allow access to the internal components — no screwdriver needed. As the smallest of all models on this list, it’s exceptionally unobtrusive on your desk or mounted behind your monitor. 

It generally offered low performance on all our tests, from CPU benchmarks to gaming and video editing. It didn’t handle Elden Ring on any quality settings, but casual gamers wanting light titles like Dredge or Unpacking will find it sufficient. It edited images in Adobe Lightroom without much hassle, but it noticeably struggled with my 4K project in Premiere and exported the video in a little over 35 minutes — the slowest of all models on this list. 

Its power draw was around 45 watts during web browsing and around 60 watts during video exporting. Thankfully, its price means its humble performance for gaming or multimedia production is perfectly acceptable — it’s less than half the price of the Mac Mini, after all. Instead, this is a PC aimed more at office tasks, web browsing or even as a media hub to connect to your TV. 

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Time taken to export 4K video from Premiere

Apple Mac Mini 7:03Geekom AS6 16:17AceMagician AMR5 26:09AceMagician AM08 Pro 25:20GMKTec Nucbox K1 35:45
Note: Shorter bars equal better performance

Average power usage during web browsing

Apple Mac Mini 8Geekom AS6 50AceMagician AMR5 40AceMagician AM08 Pro 35GMKTec Nucbox K1 50
Note: Shorter bars equal better performance

How we test mini PCs

All items on this list have been tested by us, with our own fair hands. All manufacturer’s claims were put to the test to see if they lived up to their promise. 

Each model has undergone a suite of benchmark tests including multiple runs of Geekbench 6 and 3DMark Wild Life Extreme. We tested gaming using demanding titles like Elden Ring (via Steam) at various quality settings as well as less demanding games like Dredge. We tested the PCs while web browsing, playing YouTube videos and working in Google Docs. 

We edited high-resolution raw images in Adobe Lightroom CC and edited 4K videos in Premiere Pro. We noted the general responsiveness of each interface, and we timed how long it took to export our test video project in 4K. 

We also plugged each model in to the power outlet via a power meter, noting how much power each model used during different tasks, allowing us to comment on the efficiency of each machine. 

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