T-Bao Mini PC MN58U review

T-Bao Mini PC MN58U: 30 second review

The T-bao MN58U Gaming Mini PC impresses with its compact size and ease of setup, making it a great choice for anyone looking at their first gaming PC and one that's highly portable. Equipped with an AMD Ryzen 7 5800U processor and AMD Radeon Graphics 8, it delivers moderate gaming performance, handling most games smoothly at a 1440p resolution. The 32GB DDR4 RAM ensures smooth multitasking and is more than enough for day-to-day use.

In benchmark tests, the MN58U showed promising results in 3DMark Wild Life, Fire Strike, and Time Spy, indicating its capability to handle graphics-intensive tasks and gaming. However, it fell short in some benchmarks compared to more powerful gaming PCs.

Despite not being a high-end gaming rig, the T-bao MN58U shines as one of the best mini PCs for excellent day-to-day use. Its compact design, and versatile interface configuration allow easy connections to various peripherals and displays, catering to everyday computing needs. The pre-installed Windows 11 Home operating system provides a familiar user experience, while the 1TB M.2 NVME SSD offers quick data transfers and fast software boot speeds.

While it performs well in gaming and regular tasks, power users may find it lacking in handling more demanding applications, such as high-resolution video editing, above 1080p, or 3D rendering. The cooling system, though efficient, can get a bit noisy under heavy loads, impacting the overall user experience.

In summary, the T-bao MN58U Gaming Mini PC lives up to its promise of being a compact and capable mini gaming PC. It's moderate gaming performance and day-to-day efficiency make it suitable for casual gamers and general users. For those seeking a space-saving desktop setup that can handle light to moderate gaming and regular tasks, the MN58U is a solid choice. However, higher-end gaming PCs would be more suitable for hardcore gamers or professionals requiring heavy computing power.

Price and Availablity

The T-bao MN58U Gaming Mini PC offers an attractive price point, currently available at $409.99 including delivery. Considering the powerful AMD Ryzen 7 5800U processor, AMD Radeon Graphics 8, and generous 32GB DDR4 RAM, this mini PC presents an attractive package at an affordable price.

However, it's essential to note that the listed price only covers the mini PC itself. Users must invest in additional peripherals such as a monitor, keyboard, and mouse to utilize the system fully. 

• Score: 4/5

Design

The T-bao MN58U Gaming Mini PC boasts a compact, space-saving design, measuring just 13.3 x 13.3 x 5cm. This small form factor allows for easy placement on any desk, making it ideal for users with limited space or those who like a clutter-free setup. 

For storage, the T-bao MN58U offers a 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD as standard, and there are a few different options available when you order; alongside this, there's enough space inside to fit in a larger 2.5-inch HDD.

When it comes to connectivity options, there is a good selection of USB and network ports covering the front and back of the machine.

The CPU and GPU power, combined with the fast network connections, including WiFi 6 and 2.5Gbps Ethernet support, ensure smooth and reliable performance for gaming, content creation, and everyday tasks. The Mini PC also supports wired and wireless keyboards and mice, adding flexibility and convenience for user input.

On portability, you can power the small machine through USB Type-C PD 100W with the power supply and adapter that comes with the machine. The actual quality of the build is middle of the road, with an aesthetically pleasing design and mid-quality plastic and finish. While it's solid enough, a little more care will be needed with it than some of the more hardy gaming machines, such as the Intel Nuc series. 

• Design: 3/5

Features

The T-bao MN58U Gaming Mini PC boasts impressive specifications for its small size with an AMD Ryzen 7 5800U processor, 8 cores, and a clock speed of up to 4.4GHz. This is paired with the AMD Radeon Graphics 8 to handle the gaming and other graphic tasks.

Inside is a decent amount of memory with 32GB of DDR4 RAM, storage is well balanced with 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD, with quoted speeds of up to 8GB/s for sequential reads, and then there's the option to add that 2.5-inch HDD if you want. 

Connectivity options are well catered for with two rear USB 2.0 ports, one HDMI port, one DP port, one LAN port, and one 2.5G LAN port. The front houses two USB 3.0 ports, one USB Type-C port, and a 3.5mm audio jack, enabling simple connection to various peripherals and displays.

When it comes to networking, there's WiFi 6 and 2.5Gbps Ethernet support; the T-bao MN58U is well suited to a fast and reliable network connection ready for online gaming and content streaming. The Mini PC also supports wired and wireless keyboards and mice, providing additional convenience.

The T-bao MN58U's compact size of 13.3 x 13.3 x 5cm makes it a great space-saving option, but equally, it's easy to stash away in a bag if you want to take it with you. 

• Features: 4/5

Performance

The T-bao MN58U Gaming Mini PC is mixed when it comes to performance, offering decent enough processing power, graphics capabilities, and storage speeds. Through various computing tasks and benchmark tests, it proved to be a versatile machine for day-to-day use, and as long as you lower the graphics of your games to 1440p, the gameplay is mostly smooth.

In 3DMark Wild Life, the T-bao MN58U achieved an impressive graphics score of 6856, indicating that most games will run smoothly at 1440p resolution. Similarly, in Fire Strike, the graphics score reached 3526, showcasing its gaming potential at a higher resolution. While running Time Spy, the graphics score of 1138 highlighted the mini PC's capacity to handle demanding graphics-intensive tasks easily.

Ultimately, this breaks down to is that with most games, as long as you can reduce the resolution to 1440p and occasionally reduce some atmospheric effects, you can happily play most games on the system. I played CREW 2, Portal 2, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and Red Dead Redemption II through this test.

The CPU performance, tested in Cinebench R23, delivered promising results with a multi-core score of 4016 and a single-core score of 1321. The GeekBench 5 test further confirmed its efficiency, achieving a multi-core score of 7146 and a single-core score of 1867.

Storage performance proved fast, as shown in the CrystalDiskMark benchmark, with a read speed of 1857.81MB/s and a write speed of 691MB/s, ensuring quick data access and snappy software boot times.

In the real-world test and putting both the CPU and storage to the test, I edited the machine's 1080p and 4K video. The 1080p shot in Log3 from a Canon R5 C was edited without issue; a few small glitches on Premiere Pro, but otherwise a smooth experience. Editing 4K was equally easy until the application of effects, and then the system slowed down, and a proxy workflow would be better suited. However, the small machine could get through short edits of up to five minutes without too much issue. 

The PCMark 10 test, with a score of 5741, showcased the T-bao MN58U's proficiency in office-related tasks, demonstrating its suitability for productivity-focused workloads.

I tried Word and Excel, and they worked without issue; this small machine has enough power to rip through all your admin needs.

The final test for the small T-bao MN58U's performance was the Windows Experience Index, receiving a decent score of 8.1.

Should you buy a T-bao MN58U Gaming Mini PC

Ultimately, the decision to invest depends on your priorities. If you want a decent all-rounder cheaply, then the T-bao MN58U is an excellent choice. While the overall design and connectivity are good, the build quality and materials could be improved, so if you need a machine you can transport, this might not be the best option. However, this small machine excels when it comes to affordability, day-to-day tasks, and a machine that will enable you to play games, edit videos, and get on with a bit of work. 

Value: Considering the AMD CPU and Graphics this machine is exceptional value. 4 / 5
Design: Aesthetically great, but the quality of the build, materials and noise from the fans lets it down 3 / 5
Features: Plenty of connectivity options and the ability to add an HDD give you the ability to customise 4 / 5
Performance: The small box struggles with games over 1440p and 4K video, but other tasks are fast 3 / 5
Total: Considering the price and what you can do with the small machine it's impress, if only the build quality was better 4 / 5

Why you should buy

Don't buy it if