GMKtec NucBox G3 Ultra

The GMKtec NucBox G3 Ultra is a small Windows desktop for office work, schoolwork, and media playback, sold in one configuration: an Intel Pentium Gold 7505, 16GB of LPDDR4, and a 512GB SSD. It shares its 4.5 x 4.2 x 1.7 inch footprint with the rest of GMKtec’s G3 family, which otherwise runs on Intel N-series and Core i3 chips. The 16GB of memory is soldered to the board and cannot be upgraded. In exchange, the Pentium gives a faster single core and a larger integrated GPU than the Intel N100 and N150 in similar boxes, at about the same multi-core speed.

Pros and Cons

GMKtec NucBox G3 Ultra Comparison Chart

	GMKtec NucBox G3 Ultra
Price	List Price: $460.00 Amazon Prices: Loading prices...
Version	16GB/512GB
Performance Rating	3.0
Operating System	Windows 11 Pro
Processor	Dual-core 2.00 Ghz (max 3.50 Ghz) Intel Pentium Gold 7505
GPU	Integrated Intel UHD Graphics
RAM	16 GB LPDDR4 (Soldered LPDDR4-3200, not upgradeable)
Internal Storage	512 GB M.2 SSD
Dimensions width x length x thickness	4.49 x 4.17 x 1.73 inches (114.05 x 105.92 x 43.94 mm)
Weight	0.62 lbs (0.28 kg)
WiFi	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.2
Ethernet	1 Ethernet port at 1 Gbps
HDMI	2 Full-Size HDMI Ports
DisplayPort	No DisplayPort
VGA	No VGA Ports
USB Ports	1 USB 2.0, 3 USB 3 3x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 (2 front, 1 rear), 1x USB 2.0 rear
Thunderbolt Ports	No
OCuLink	No
Internal SATA Ports	No SATA ports
Card Reader	No Card Reader
Headphone Jack	combo
Fanless	No
VESA Mount	Yes
In the Box	Main unit, power adapter, HDMI cable, VESA bracket with screws, manual
Expandability	RAM soldered at 16GB. Two M.2 2280 slots: PCIe 3.0 x4 to 8TB, SATA to 1TB.

Ports, storage, and networking

The G3 Ultra measures about 4.5 x 4.2 x 1.7 inches and weighs about 0.6 pounds, with a black case, a carbon-fiber pattern on the lid, and vent slots along both sides. The front holds the power button, a reset pinhole, and two USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports at 10Gbps. The rear holds two HDMI 2.0 ports, a third USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 port stacked over a USB 2.0 port, the Ethernet jack, a 3.5mm audio jack, the 12V barrel input, and a lock slot. GMKtec rates each HDMI port for 4K at 60Hz, so two 4K monitors work at full refresh. There is no USB-C port, so single-cable USB-C docks and monitors will not work with it.

Wired networking is a single gigabit port on a Realtek RTL8111H controller. The NucBox G3 and G3 Plus both have 2.5GbE, so the G3 Ultra is the slower choice for a small file server or a fast NAS link. Wireless is Wi-Fi 6 with Bluetooth 5.2, and GMKtec rates the Wi-Fi link at up to 600Mbps. The BIOS supports Wake-on-LAN, PXE boot, RTC wake, and automatic power-on after an outage, which helps if the box runs unattended.

The board has two M.2 2280 slots for storage: a PCIe 3.0 x4 slot rated for drives up to 8TB, and a SATA slot rated up to 1TB that does not accept PCIe drives. The included 512GB SSD fills one of them and may be SATA or NVMe depending on the batch, so check which slot is free before buying a second drive. Memory is 16GB of LPDDR4 at 3200MT/s, soldered to the board.

Performance and the age of the chip

The Intel Pentium Gold 7505 is an 11th-generation Tiger Lake laptop chip from late 2020, built on Intel’s 10nm SuperFin process. It has 2 cores and 4 threads, a 2.0GHz base clock, a 3.5GHz boost, and 4MB of cache. Its PassMark CPU score is about 5,170, close to the Intel N100 (about 5,310) and N150 (about 5,340), which have four cores each. Each Tiger Lake core is faster, which helps single-threaded tasks like web pages and office apps, while the N-series chips have more cores for work that spreads across threads.

The Pentium’s Intel UHD Graphics has 48 execution units clocked up to 1.25GHz, twice the 24 units in the N100 and N150, and it decodes AV1 video in hardware. GMKtec claims 2.4 times the GPU performance of the N100 and N150. The extra graphics help with 4K playback on two screens and light photo editing, and it handles only older and lighter games. GMKtec offers three power modes (Silent at 8W, Balanced at 10W, and Performance at 15W), cooled by a single fan and a copper heat pipe.

The G3 Ultra suits documents, spreadsheets, browsing, video calls, and streaming. The fixed 16GB rules out running many virtual machines or containers later.

Related models

The NucBox G3 Pro uses a case with the same footprint and a Core i3-10110U, and the GEEKOM Mini Air12 is also sold with a Pentium Gold 7505.

Who should buy the G3 Ultra

Buy the G3 Ultra for a quiet office or school desktop that drives two 4K monitors and needs no upgrades beyond storage. The faster single core and larger GPU make it a sensible alternative to an N150 box for everyday Windows work.

Look elsewhere if you want room to grow memory, a 2.5GbE port, or USB-C. The NucBox G3 Pro takes up to 64GB in two memory slots, and the G3 Plus has 2.5GbE and four 10Gbps USB-A ports. To compare these and other small PCs side by side, use Starry Hope’s Mini PC Comparison Chart.

Frequently Asked Questions