GMKtec NucBox G3

Updated on June 20, 2026

The GMKtec NucBox G3 is a compact, affordable mini PC for everyday computing. Its Intel Alder Lake N100 (four cores, four threads, up to 3.4GHz) covers multitasking, web, and media, and it ships with Windows 11 Pro. The G3 takes DDR4 in a single SO-DIMM slot (16GB maximum) and a 256GB or 512GB M.2 NVMe SSD, with a second M.2 SATA slot, each up to 2TB. Connectivity is Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, a 2.5G Ethernet port, and dual HDMI at 4K 60Hz, which makes it a fit for office work or a home-entertainment box. GMKtec has since moved this slot to the N150-based G3 Plus successor.

Related Videos

GMKtec NucBox G3 Comparison Chart

	GMKtec NucBox G3	GMKtec NucBox G3	GMKtec NucBox G3
Price	List Price: $229.99 Amazon Prices: Check Price on Amazon	List Price: $179.99 Amazon Prices: Check Price on Amazon	List Price: $179.99 Amazon Prices: Check Price on Amazon
Version	8GB/512GB/Intel N100	8GB/256GB/Intel N100	8GB/256GB/Intel N100/Black
Performance Rating	4.3	4.3	4.3
Operating System	Windows 11 Pro	Windows 11 Pro	Windows 11 Pro
Processor	Quad-core 3.40 Ghz (max 3.40 Ghz) Intel Processor N100	Quad-core 3.40 Ghz (max 3.40 Ghz) Intel Processor N100	Quad-core 3.40 Ghz (max 3.40 Ghz) Intel Processor N100
GPU	Integrated Intel UHD Graphics	Integrated Intel UHD Graphics	Integrated Intel UHD Graphics
RAM	8 GB	8 GB	8 GB
Internal Storage	512 GB	256 GB	256 GB
Dimensions width x length x thickness	4.45 x 4.17 x 1.67 inches (113.03 x 105.92 x 42.42 mm)	4.45 x 4.17 x 1.67 inches (113.03 x 105.92 x 42.42 mm)	4.45 x 4.17 x 1.67 inches (113.03 x 105.92 x 42.42 mm)
Weight	unknown	unknown	unknown
WiFi	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.2	Bluetooth 5.2	Bluetooth 5.2
Ethernet	1 Ethernet port at 2.5 Gbps	1 Ethernet port at 2.5 Gbps	1 Ethernet port at 2.5 Gbps
HDMI	2 Full-Size HDMI Ports	2 Full-Size HDMI Ports	2 Full-Size HDMI Ports
DisplayPort	No DisplayPort	No DisplayPort	No DisplayPort
VGA	No VGA Ports	No VGA Ports	No VGA Ports
USB Ports	4 USB 3	4 USB 3	4 USB 3
Thunderbolt Ports	No	No	No
OCuLink	No	No	No
Internal SATA Ports	No SATA ports	No SATA ports	No SATA ports
Card Reader	No Card Reader	No Card Reader	No Card Reader
Headphone Jack	combo	combo	combo
Fanless	No	No	No
VESA Mount	Yes	Yes	Yes
In the Box	GMKtec Nucbox G3 Mini PC, Power Adapter, VESA Mount with Screws, HDMI Cable, User Manual	GMKtec Nucbox G3 Mini PC, Power Adapter, VESA Mount with Screws, HDMI Cable, User Manual	GMKtec Nucbox G3 Mini PC, Power Adapter, VESA Mount with Screws, HDMI Cable, User Manual
Expandability	RAM up to 16GB (single SO-DIMM slot), M.2 2280 NVMe SSD up to 2TB, M.2 2242 SATA up to 2TB	RAM up to 16GB (single SO-DIMM slot), M.2 2280 NVMe SSD up to 2TB, M.2 2242 SATA up to 2TB	RAM up to 16GB (single SO-DIMM slot), M.2 2280 NVMe SSD up to 2TB, M.2 2242 SATA up to 2TB

Detailed Features of the GMKtec NucBox G3

The NucBox G3 ships in a small plastic case (the base model is green), measuring 4.45 x 4.17 x 1.67 inches. Its I/O is generous for the size: four USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, two HDMI ports at 4K 60Hz, a combo headphone jack, a 2.5-gigabit Ethernet port, plus Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2. The active fan keeps it stable under load, which suits continuous use as a home server or media box.

The NucBox G3 provides straightforward upgrade paths for users requiring more power or storage. The top cover removes to access the single RAM slot and the SSD. GMKtec's spec sheet lists support for up to 32GB of DDR4, but reviewers who opened the unit found a single SO-DIMM slot that tops out at 16GB (the N100's official memory limit), and the M.2 NVMe SSD can be expanded to 2TB. Additionally, a second M.2 slot for a 2242 SATA SSD, also expandable up to 2TB, offers ample space for all your files and applications.

Reviewer Insights on the GMKtec NucBox G3

GMKtec ships a crowded lineup of similarly named boxes, so the notes below come only from coverage we confirmed was the Intel N100 NucBox G3, not the newer N150 G3 Plus, the N150 G2 Plus, or the larger NucBox G7. Read together, the reviews are consistent: a 6-watt-class Alder Lake-N machine that punches above its price for everyday desktop work, light gaming, and emulation while staying firmly entry-level on raw compute. For reference, PassMark's database puts the N100 at roughly 5,643 in multi-thread CPU Mark, which in 2026 lands it near the floor of the current mini PC stack; GMKtec has since moved this slot to the N150-based G3 Plus, the successor this page now points to.

ETA Prime ran a hands-on review on a bare-bones unit he fitted with a single 8GB DDR4-3200 stick and a 512GB PCIe 3.0 SSD, framing the G3 as a near-$99-with-coupons rival to a Raspberry Pi 5. Watching power in CPU-Z, he measured the N100 pulling about 12 watts on the CPU alone, with all four cores holding 2.9GHz, two cores reaching 3.1GHz, and a single core hitting the rated 3.4GHz; once he loaded the integrated graphics, total package draw rose to roughly 16.5 watts with the GPU clock sitting around 748MHz. A 4K60 stream dropped a single frame on load-in and then played cleanly. On the gaming side he logged 60fps in the Windows Store build of Minecraft at 1080p with default settings, full-speed Source-engine titles, and original Skyrim averaging about 54fps at 900p but a steady 60fps once dropped to 720p low. Emulation was the standout: PPSSPP ran Chains of Olympus at 2x resolution and 60fps, while Dolphin (F-Zero GX) and PCSX2 (God of War II) held 60fps at native resolution, where he noted the GPU sat near 30% load and under 9 watts. He concluded, "Overall, I'm actually impressed with this N100 powered mini PC, given the form factor and especially the price for the bare bones unit."

TechMishka (also published as Tech4All) reviewed the G3 as the cheapest current-architecture mini PC he had tested, starting at $179 and dipping under $100 with the right coupon. His coverage leaned qualitative rather than instrumented: he described idle draw only by analogy, "about the same as two LED light bulbs at home," and published no wattage, fan-noise, or frame-rate figures. The one comparative benchmark he gave was Cinebench single-core, where he said the N100 reaches roughly 75% of an Intel Core i7-7700 in single-core and about half its multi-core ceiling. He flagged the Lexar TLC (not QLC) SSD as a pleasant surprise at the price, called Counter-Strike 2 playable at 1080p, and listed the missing 2.5-inch SATA bay and absent USB-C as the only real drawbacks. His verdict: "For $150, that's a no-brainer."

EVO Tech framed the G3 as a home-server replacement and was the one reviewer to publish wall-power figures: he measured about 8 watts at idle and 25 watts at 100% load from the wall, noting the machine would "essentially be running at idle most of the time." He pegged real-world speed at "about Skylake i5 levels of performance" and called it "multiple times more powerful than even a Raspberry Pi 5," planning an Ubuntu Server, Docker, and Portainer stack running Jellyfin and Home Assistant. He also ran it as a Linux desktop on Ubuntu and MX Linux, recommending the Intel hardware-acceleration drivers for smooth playback. His headline reason for choosing it over the older G1: "One of the key selling features for it, at least for me, in comparison to the G1 is the inclusion of a 2.5 gigabit Ethernet port."

Complete Technology Solutions' John approached the G3 as a budget retro-gaming box, and his review is impressions-driven rather than benchmarked, with no wattage, temperature, or frame-rate readouts. He confirmed the quad-core N100, the 3.4GHz ceiling, the single 8GB stick, the active fan, and the M.2 2280 NVMe Gen 3 boot slot, which at first refused to boot his older SATA clone until he re-imaged onto an NVMe drive. He judged the quad-core G3 a clear step up from the dual-core AMD mini PCs he had been using for emulation: Xbox-era Jet Set Radio Future ran with "no chopping no tearing," and Wii U Mario Kart 8, which stalled on his AMD unit, ran "perfectly" here. Pricing it around $130 ready-to-go or under $150 self-built, he called it "a serious machine for a little bit of money."

Alastair Jennings of TechRadar ran the most complete benchmark set and scored the G3 four out of five (December 2023). His N100 sample returned Geekbench scores of 933 single-core and 2303 multi-core, a PCMark of 2711, and CrystalDiskMark speeds of 1763 MB/s read and 1692 MB/s write. Graphics tests confirmed the ceiling: 1080 in 3DMark Fire Strike and 373 in Time Spy, with Jennings noting that "Games like Red Dead Redemption II and Cyberpunk require more than this machine can provide on the graphics front." He weighed the unit at 0.79 lb (361g) and praised the dual-HDMI 4K60 output and tidy upgrade access, concluding, "The GMKtec NucBox G3 Mini PC is a great choice if you're looking for a budget-friendly, compact computer."

Across all five, the picture holds up more than two years after the N100's debut: the NucBox G3 is an efficient, genuinely upgradeable desktop and home-server box for light workloads, not a gaming or creative machine. Buyers who want more headroom from the same chassis can step up to the N150-based successor, while the G3 itself stays a sensible pick wherever low idle power and a 2.5G Ethernet port matter more than raw compute.

Conclusion

The GMKtec NucBox G3 is a sensible pick for an affordable, compact, low-power machine for office work, web, light multimedia, and home-server duty, where its 2.5G Ethernet and low idle draw earn their keep. It streams 4K smoothly and runs older or light games, and the bloat-free Windows 11 Pro plus a second M.2 slot (up to 2TB) add to the value. Adding a larger SSD extends its life, though the single RAM slot caps memory at 16GB.

It is the wrong machine for modern gaming, creative work, or anyone who wants dual-channel RAM or stronger graphics. Intel's newer Panther Lake NUCs with Arc B390 show how far integrated graphics have moved since the N100, and buyers who want more headroom in the same chassis can step up to the N150 G3 Plus successor. To compare other options, see Starry Hope's Mini PC Comparison Tool.

Frequently Asked Questions