Its easy to upgrade and deploy and has enough ports for virtually any use model.
If only GMKtec had installed a PCIe 4.0 NVMe drive.
GMKtec NucBox K2: 30-second review
Arriving with GMKtecs NucBox M2 is the K2.
It provides anAMD-powered alternative to theIntel-powered M2 with similar styling and size of enclosure.
Getting inside the K2 is easy, and installing the memory and NVMe drive can be accomplished in seconds.
As a NUC, two critical aspects of the K2 make it worth serious consideration.
Those are the underlying AMD Ryzen platform and the fantastic port selection.
With the Ryzen 7 silicon comes a selection of ports that the Intel-based M2 cant match.
Using these ports effectively, the K2 can do most jobs except those that require discrete GPU power.
For the asking price, the K2 delivers a small but punchy system with relatively few vices.
This machine is offered as barebones, without memory or storage.
Or with 16GB of DDR5 and 1TB for $449, or 32GB and 1TB for $479.
Overall, what GMKtec is asking for the K2 seems a reasonable price.
In the K2, the lid can be pulled off, with no tools required to gain entry.
Blue is used for the USB 3.2 Gen 2 jot down-A ports, and black for USB 2.0.
On the M2, these were all blue, irrespective of jot down.
The top rung of the Rembrandt-R cored mobile chips that first appeared in January of 2023.
It uses a TPD between 25W and 54W, fabricated by TSMC using its 6nm FinFET process.
For those wondering, the 680M outperforms the Intel Iris Xe by at least 30% in most benchmarks.
The only slight disappointment here is that the M.2 slot was installed with a PCIe 3.0 specification NVMe.
Thats not a huge surprise, as these are effectively brothers from different mothers.
However, it takes the Intel Core i7-1360P with twelve cores to match it on multi-threaded tasks.
Critically, this NUC has the port selection for maximum flexibility and connectivity, almost bar none.
Its performance is more than enough for most office applications and tasks, and it is highly affordable.
Should you buy a GMKtec NucBox K2?
Unless you should probably add PCIe cards, this can do almost anything a desktop PC can do.
Easy to upgrade, this is one of the most flexible NUC systems around.
There is no barebones option and comes with Crucial branded memory but an OEM NVMe drive.
Not for the economically challenged.
