Gigabyte Metal Gear Plus ITX packs more power than traditional mini PCs

Thanks to AMD’s new Hawk Point and Phoenix line of mobile chips, you can now purchase very capable mini PCs. But even with all the power they bring, they still have a mobile processor, which is generally held back due to power draw and heat constraints. Well, that’s basically where the newly launched Gigabyte Metal Gear Plus ITX steps in.

Unlike traditional mini computers, Gigabyte’s new offering can be equipped with a desktop-class processor. To be precise, it’s available with the latest AMD Ryzen 8000G desktop APUs. Of course, the CNC aluminum chassis of the computer doesn’t make it the smallest mini PC on the market. But it’s still on the smaller side, having a capacity of 3 liters.

As for the motherboard, the new Gigabyte mini PC comes with an AORUS B650I ITX board. Given that it’s a desktop board, the computer gets support for full-sized DDR5 RAM. But the biggest advantage of this is that you get all the DIY aspects of a standard desktop PC.

That includes upgrading the processor, swapping the entire motherboard, and installing a better cooler. Another interesting thing about the mini PC is that it doesn’t pack a PSU inside.

Instead, Gigabyte has integrated AC to DC power converters, so the power supply is from an external source. This could be seen as a disadvantage, as most of the small mini PCs can be powered through their USB-C port. However, you need to consider that the Gigabyte mini PC hosts 65W desktop APUs, which require more power and can deliver much better performance than mobile chips.

On that note, the Gigabyte Metal Gear Plus ITX is available in China in three pre-built configurations. The first comes with a Ryzen 5 8500G, 16 GB of RAM, and 512 GB SSD. It currently costs CNY 4,499 (around $633). The second configuration has a Ryzen 5 8600G with the same RAM and storage as the base variant. Its current price in China is CNY 4,799 (around $678). The last config has a Ryzen 7 8700G, 16 GB RAM, and a 1 TB SSD, which currently costs CNY 5,899 (around $831).

There’s no word on global and pricing availability yet. However, it will definitely challenge powerful mini PCs such as the Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX (available on Amazon) when it lands in the international markets.