GMKtec EVO-X1 mini PC review: New boxy design with Oculink and Ryzen AI 9

While the new EVO-X1 gives off excellent first impressions, a bit of digging or use uncovers some rough patches. The loud fans under load, questionable RGB LEDs, and power state bugs when turned off or in sleep mode all suggest that the model could have benefited from more fine-tuning before launch.

Look beyond the annoyances or bugs and the EVO-X1 is still an attractive and powerful mini PC for home, office, or professional purposes. Its main selling point is the integrated Oculink port meaning that buyers will want to exploit this feature to really make the most out of the model. Otherwise, other mini PCs like the Beelink SER9 come with similar AMD Zen 5 processor options but with removable RAM for a little less money.

The EVO-X1 as reviewed is now on sale at Amazon for $900. Alternatively, users can purchased directly from the manufacturer starting at $920.

The EVO-X1 is the latest generation mini PC from GMKtec. it represents a departure from the traditional NucBox series with its brand new chassis design, RGB LEDs, and Oculink support.

Our test unit comes equipped with the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, integrated Radeon 890M graphics, 32 GB of LPDDR5-7500 soldered RAM, and 1 TB NVMe SSD for approximately $920. Other SKUs may come with a larger SSD, but the CPU and RAM are fixed across all options at the moment.

Alternatives to the EVO-X1 include other high-performance mini PCs like the Beelink SER9, Asus NUC 14 Pro+, or BOSGAME M2.

More GMK reviews:

• NucBox M7 Pro
• NucBox K9
• NucBox M6
• NucBox M5

The new case design helps to visually distinguish the EVO-X1 from competitors. Its sharp boxy look and metal outer chassis feel more professional than the largely plastic NucBox series. Size and weight are also smaller and lighter than expected due in part to the soldered RAM.

The RGB LEDs are a mixed bag, however, as they conflict with the otherwise professional appearance. We can find no BIOS settings or application to toggle the LEDs, either. They even remain lit when the unit is powered off or when in Sleep mode.

The most notable feature of the EVO-X1 is its Oculink port. Unlike USB4, Oculink supports eGPUs with higher bandwidth and direct PCIe connections for specific applications. The system is compatible with the recently released GMK AD-GP1 Oculink eGPU.

An Intel AX200 comes standard for Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 support. The model does not ship with Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7 support which is a bit disappointing considering the relatively high price.

GMK does not share any sustainability measures taken during the manufacturing process. The packaging itself is mostly cardboard with some foam protection.

We set Windows to Performance mode prior to running the benchmarks below.

The Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 is one AMD's fastest AI HX-series processors available beating out the competing Core Ultra 9 185H by a decent 15 percent margin. The Core i9-14900HX is even faster still, but it lacks an integrated NPU. The year-over-year leap over the outgoing Ryzen 7 8845HS is also decent at around 20 to 25 percent.