Beelink GK Mini PC is only $199 USD, comes with just the right amount of power and expandability for a basic 1080p HTPC setup

Mini PCs can range from just a couple hundred dollars to over a grand and many of them don't even have discrete graphics. If you're looking for a mini PC for home theater purposes, you might be inclined to invest in a higher-end model despite the fact that cheaper options will work just as well for the majority of users.

The Beelink GK Mini is currently on Amazon for just under $200 USD to be one of the most inexpensive mini PCs available. It comes fully configured with RAM, storage, and even Windows 10 Pro Edition unlike the many barebone options that require additional investment from the end user. Its Celeron J4125 CPU isn't the fastest, but it's still comfortably above an Intel Atom to be more than enough for 1080p video streaming and light multitasking.

Another important feature of the Beelink is its empty 2.5-inch SATA III bay for adding more storage. The primary 128 GB M.2 drive will fill up fast if users like to store media files locally.

The Amazon product page heavily advertises 4K60 video playback on the GK Mini. In our experience, however, 4K60 playback is imperfect with a few dropped frames per minute and this becomes much more noticeable if running background activity or other tasks simultaneously. If 4K playback is your long term target, then an older generation Core i3-powered Intel NUC8 would be the safer bet.

There are additional drawbacks to the GK Mini as a consequence of its low price. See our full review to learn more about the ins and outs of the Beelink PC.