GMKtec G10 is our favorite budget mini PC, packing Ryzen 5 power, 16GB RAM, expandable storage, and triple-display support, and it's a huge 28% off right now

GMKtec NucBox G10
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

We rated the GMKtec G10 the best mini PC for those on a budget and Amazon has slashed the price from $379.99 to just $275.49, making it an even better deal.

That's a saving of $104.50, or around 28%, on a complete mini PC with 16GB of dual-channel DDR4 memory and a 256GB SSD, meaning it's ready to use rather than being a barebones system that requires you to populate it with your own memory and storage.

The G10 can drive three displays via HDMI, DisplayPort and USB-C, and 2.5GbE Ethernet gives you much faster wired networking than the Gigabit connection commonly found on inexpensive PCs.

GMKtec G10 Mini PC
Save $104.50
GMKtec G10 Mini PC: was $379.99 now $275.49 at Amazon

The GMKtec G10 combines a 4-core, 8-thread Ryzen 5 3500U with Radeon Vega 8 graphics, 16GB dual-channel DDR4 and a 256GB SSD. Connectivity includes Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.0 and 2.5GbE Ethernet.

Why we recommend it

The G10 gets the basics right without stripping away useful features to hit a low price. There's also considerable scope for upgrading it later. It has two M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 slots with support for up to 16TB of SSD storage, so its relatively small 256GB drive doesn't have to remain a limitation. The memory can also be expanded to 64GB.

We said "You can find a lot of cheap Windows 11 mini PCs these days, but the GMKtec G10 was a stand-out in our tests. In our review, we said, "at the asking price, this is a terrific little system that can easily be upgraded to handle larger tasks with more memory and storage."

We also added, "Sure, it's not going to win any awards for speed. And it's hardly a work-horse — you'd struggle to edit 4K videos, play games, or run complex software. But if your goal is to find a budget mini PC that can tackle light duties, like browsing, streaming, and office work without breaking the bank, the G10 proved to be a superb machine."

For more top-tested machines, see our guide to the best mini PCs.

Price context & historical value

The GMKtec G10 usually sells for $379.99 in this configuration, but Amazon has reduced it to $275.49. That knocks $104.50 off the price, equivalent to a discount of around 28%.

That isn't the cheapest we've seen it, though. The price dropped to $252 at the very start of July this year for a very short — blink-and-you'll-miss-it — period.

At under $280, you're still getting the complete system with 16GB RAM and an SSD included, so it's still worth buying if you're looking for an inexpensive ready-to-use mini PC rather than a barebones machine.

Looking to save? We've selected the best mini PC deals this week.

Should you buy it?

Buy the GMKtec G10 if...

You want an inexpensive, compact PC for office work, studying, web browsing, streaming and general home computing and we picked the G10 as our best budget mini PC for good reason.

Support for three 4K displays gives you plenty of desktop space for spreadsheets, browser windows, video calls and other productivity tasks.

Skip the GMKtec G10 if...

You need a machine for heavy creative workloads. Radeon Vega 8 integrated graphics can handle casual and lighter tasks, but this isn't a substitute for a PC with a discrete graphics card.

The Ryzen 5 3500U is also an older processor, and the 256GB SSD isn't particularly generous. Neither is necessarily a problem at this price, but there are considerably faster mini PCs available if you're willing to spend a little more.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

The biggest compromise is age rather than basic functionality. AMD's Ryzen 5 3500U is a 4-core, 8-thread processor that dates from an earlier Ryzen generation, so don't mistake its Ryzen 5 branding for the performance you'd get from a more recent Ryzen 5 chip.

Wi-Fi 5 is similarly behind the latest wireless standards, and 256GB can disappear quickly once you've installed your applications and personal files. Thankfully, the latter is much easier to address thanks to the G10's storage expansion options.

Wayne Williams
Editor

Wayne Williams is a freelancer writing news for TechRadar Pro. He has been writing about computers, technology, and the web for 30 years. In that time he wrote for most of the UK’s PC magazines, and launched, edited and published a number of them too.

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