GMK NucBox K13 prioritizes faster CPU performance over GPU performance

The recently released GMK NucBox K13 is notable for being extremely lightweight while still offering respectable performance with the Core Ultra 7 256V processor. When compared to other PCs with the exact same CPU, however, the GMK appears to perform slightly faster than expected when it comes to raw multi-thread performance at the cost of slightly slower integrated graphics performance.

The performance charts below compare the NucBox K13 with six other PCs in our database with the same Core Ultra 7 256V CPU. The GMK system would come out on top in most CPU-heavy tasks by just a few percentage points on average to suggest better-than-average Turbo Boost sustainability. At the most extreme level, the Dell 14 Plus can run up to 20 percent slower than our GMK after accounting for the heavier throttling on the Dell machine.

On the flip side of the coin, the NucBox K13 underperforms when it comes to integrated graphics performance. In this scenario, 3DMark benchmarks show the mini PC running up to 25 percent slower than the average PC with the same Arc 140V GPU. While still decent for casual games, the NucBox K13 may not be the best choice for running modern 3D titles locally.

Setting the mini PC to Balanced mode instead of Performance mode via BIOS may narrow the deficits above as Performance mode will sometimes reserve higher power limits for the CPU cores at the expense of a lower power limit for the iGPU. 

Check out our full review on the NucBox K13 for additional benchmarks and comparisons to other mini PCs.