Best mini PC in 2023
The best mini PCs are more powerful than you can possibly imagine
- Quick list
- 1. Best overall
- 2. Best on a budget
- 3. Best for offices
- 4. Best barebones
- 5. Best for creators
- 6. Best performance
- 7. Best for flexibility
- 8. Best Intel mini PC
- 9. Best for beginners
- 10. Best for basics
- 11. Best for conferencing
- 12. Best workstation
- 13, Best for ports
- 14. Best for editing
- 15. Best for gaming
- 16. Best tower
- 17. Best mobile CPU
- 18. Best for storage
- FAQs
- How to choose
- How we test
The quick list
1. Best overall
2. Best on a budget
3. Best for offices
4. Best barebones
5. Best for creators
6. Best for performance
7. Best for flexibility
8. Best Intel mini PC
9. Best for beginners
10. Best for basics
11. Best for conferencing
12. Best workstation
13. Best for ports
14. Best for editing
15. Best for gaming
16. Best tower
17. Best mobile chip
18. Best for storage
FAQs
How to choose
How we test
Don't let the size of the best mini PCs fool you - they may be small, but they're packed full of power, giving you the flexibility to work when, where, and how you want.
A lot of people use mini PCs for streaming videos, light gaming, coding, or office tasks - from to conferencing and data storage. Sometimes known as a NUC or thin client, they're a discreet choice compared desktop computers and laptops. Better still, they’re configurable, versatile, and often more affordable, too. The most powerful mini PC is capable of everything from gentle online browsing to gaming and video editing.
To find out, our team of expert reviewers have hand-tested the best mini PCs. As part of this process, we’ve detailed specs, connectivity, and compared overall performance between devices. We’ve included Windows and Mac systems, and everything from the best mini PC for gaming to the cheapest mini PC that still packs a punch.
Quick list
Aside from that big performance boost, the Mac mini is compact, relatively affordable compared to those other Macs, and perfect if you or your business have already bought into the Apple ecosystem.
Hovering at around $200 USD in a number of RAM configurations, and following Intel's NUC specifications, we found the U59 to be an excellent mini PC, whether it's your first, or you're just hunting for a deal.
The AS 6 might only be a plastic build and have quite a noisy fan, but it's still of the best value ways to get a machine that's kitted out with USB 4.0 and two Gen 4 2280 M.2 NVMe slots (leaving enough space for a 2.5 inch SATA drive) in this form factor.
Almost certainly overpowered for the price, this tiny NUC is a rare bargain that only falls short to a CPU bottleneck with the default RAM configuration of a single 16GB module - and addressing this - should you need to - will bump up the price quite a bit.
The Mac Studio is built for creatives across the board - and having tested it out, we can confidently say it's a performance powerhouse for designing and editing content and other creative output.
The SE6 Pro 7735HS might not have as catchy a name as the Mac Studio, but, with an AMD Ryzen 7000 CPU and SKUs now offering up to 32GB of RAM, maybe it's time to realise that branding isn't everything. And at least you'll be able to upgrade this one.
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Small as well as powerful (featuring the staggering Intel Core i7-13700H and up to 32GB of RAM), the Venus NPB7 also manages to be effortlessly configurable, with a barebones configuration available, and the innards being accessible without a screwdriver,
Intel have since killed off its own NUC range, but even though you shouldn't expect a refresh anytime soon, the NUC 13 Pro is still a blistering powerhouse, with up to 12 GPU threads, 64GB of RAM. Gen 4 NVME and Thunderbolt 4 in a range of (admittedly barebones) SKUs. Grab it while you can.
Though since succeeded by the AS 6, Geekom's AS 5 is a brilliant starter kit. It only has one SKU, and the DDR4 RAM bandwidth can bottleneck performance. But it does feature 32GB of RAM out of the box, dual M.2 slots and lots of USB ports.
With its colorful gaming vibes, the Acemagic AD08 is a lovely looking mini PC with a monster Intel processor (and an AMD version also available). However, with its lacklustre GPU you'll find it doesn't quite measure up for tasks needing heavy multi-threading or serious graphical performance.
The GMKtec NucBox M2 is a prime example of a good quality mini PC that won't break the bank. Housed in an attractive metal case, its size makes it perfect for conferencing rooms, and it can be monitor-mounted for using office applications.
The Khadas Mind is a Kickstarter-founded portable workstation for those that need a lot of power in small form-factor. It boasts the same processor platform found in the NUC 13 Pro, so performance is good for a machine with a mobile CPU and integrated GPU.
The GMKtec NucBox K2 has probably the best port selection of any mini PC we've tested, so if you want flexibility, have a lot of different devices, or just like to be prepared, it's a great choice. We found it mostly silent and especially powerful.
If you're into video editing, we found the Minisforum UM790 Pro more than capable of handling the job. It's a fantastic performer - and packing an AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS CPU and AMD Radeon 780M GPU, it excels at graphically intense work.
Few mini PCs can run triple-A games, but for lighter gaming, the Acemagician AM08 Pro is specifically designed for the task. We ran multiple benchmarks on this AMD Ryzen 9-powered machine excelled at multitasking and graphically intensive applications like video editing.
You don't often see a mini PC shaped like a small desktop tower. That does mean it's bigger than most, with the space used for extra cooling, leading to almost silent running. An Intel 13th-generation processor gives it a performance edge.
What sets the Geekom Mini IT13 apart from other mini PCs is its Intel Core i9-13900H - one of the most powerful mobile chips out there. As specifications go, this is an excellent unit, but not without drawbacks.
Storage isn't an issue with the T-Bao MiniPC + NAS R3, which boasts a dual-HDD NAS drive to increase storage in minutes without any tools (we know, we tried it). Suitable for offices and home office set-ups.