GPD MicroPC 2 compact laptop gets faster variant with 8-core Alder Lake-N CPU

Six years after its predecessor, the GPD MicroPC 2 finally arrived on Indiegogo a few months ago. The handheld computer was previously available with a single configuration, but it appears that a new variant featuring a noticeably more powerful processor will also be sold alongside.

The GPD MicroPC 2 handheld sports a 7-inch FHD display with a refresh rate of 60 Hz along with touch support. The Intel N250 takes care of the computing needs, paired with 16 GB of LPDDR5-4800 memory. With four cores and four threads, the N250 is far from a heavyweight champion, but should be adequate for lightweight office tasks and casual usage. A single M.2 2280 slot is also present.

Of course, the new variant sports a more powerful chip, but not by a huge margin. To be specific, the Intel i3 N300 inside the pricier MicroPC 2 sports a roughly 30% faster multi-core performance thanks to its octa-core setup. Integrated graphics, however, is still rather disappointing - the Intel UHD iGPU with 32 EUs is barely adequate for the lightest of PC games.

The port selection continues to be the same, consisting of dual USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, dual USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, HDMI 2.1, micro SD 3.0, 2.5G Ethernet, and an audio jack as well. Of course, being a laptop, a 27.5 Wh battery is equipped, rated for up to 8 hours of light usage according to GPD. Thankfully, there is active cooling, which is certainly a welcome feature. The 180° hinge allows the MicroPC 2 laptop to be used as a tablet as well. A side-mounted power button with a built-in fingerprint scanner allows for safer biometric authentication.

The lower-end GPD MicroPC 2 with the Intel N250 with 16 GB memory and 512 GB storage commands a price tag of $495, whereas the new i3-N300-powered variant costs $558 for the same amount of memory and storage. Of course, there are plenty of risks associated with backing a crowdfunding campaign, which our readers are certainly encouraged to be mindful of. As of right now, GPD states an approximate shipping timeline of September 2025.