5 mini PCs that outperform the Mac Mini on price and features

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For more than 20 years, the Apple Mac mini has been one of the best value for money Macs in the range. Although it’s primarily a consumer-focused Mac, it’s also held up well against its mini PC competitors. It’s compact, powerful, and allows users to access the Apple software ecosystem without the premium price of a MacBook or iMac. More recent iterations have even incorporated Apple Silicon for better performance and efficiency.

But Apple hasn’t been able to keep up with demand and recently discontinued the base Mac mini model. Although it now includes better hardware, the price of the entry-level option has increased from $599 to $799. This represents a big price hike for many users, but you don’t need to pay this premium if you’re open to other options. Apple isn’t the only brand making compact desktops, and many other mini PCs also come with better specs, better prices, and a greater choice of hardware configurations.

If you’re considering purchasing a Mac mini, or just looking for the right compact desktop computing option for your needs, we’ve picked out a few mini PCs that compare favorably to Apple’s offering in one way or another. Some of them significantly reduce the Mac mini’s new starting price, others provide powerful hardware configurations that can outperform the base model’s options, and some of them even manage to do both.

GMKtec manufactures a number of different mini PC models. The GMKtec M6 Ultra is one of its mid-range options, with its cheapest configuration priced at $500. This version features an AMD Ryzen 5 7640HS processor clocked at 4.3 GHz with a turbo boost up to 5.0 GHz. It’s configurable with a number of different processors, with build prices up to $738. The base model also includes a 512 GB SSD.

Some of the M6 ​​Ultra’s specs surpass those offered by the entry-level Mac mini. For $799, Apple includes 16GB of RAM and a 512GB solid-state drive. For comparison, the M6 ​​Ultra offers twice the RAM at 32GB for a significantly lower price. With the versatility available among its hardware configuration options, the M6 ​​Ultra can be designed for a number of different uses ranging from everyday productivity to moderate gaming.

The GMKtec M6 Ultra runs Windows, so those who are deeply invested in the Apple ecosystem will have a hard time integrating this mini PC with their other devices. But this will be the case for all mini PCs without the Apple logo. Apple users ready to make the switch, or PC users looking for a small desktop, should find a lot of value in the M6 ​​Ultra, as its high-end versions are much cheaper than the Mac mini.

Acemagician is another computer brand that offers a full range of mini PC options. If you like the aesthetic style of Apple’s Mac mini computer, the Acemagician M1 is the model for you. The base model is priced at $439 and comes with an AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS processor with a base clock speed of 3.2 GHz and a turbo boost of up to 4.75 GHz. The processor also comes with an integrated Radeon 680M graphics card which should handle basic tasks well.

The base model Acemagician M1 is significantly cheaper than the base model Mac mini and it comes with 24GB of RAM, compared to 16GB for the Mac mini. They each come with a 512GB SSD, but you don’t need to increase the price significantly to start getting serious hardware upgrades with the Acemagician M1. An upgrade to 1TB of internal storage costs $489, and if you want to max out an M1 with 1TB of storage and 32GB of RAM, the price only jumps to $599.

Of course, lesser known brands like these won’t compare to Apple when it comes to user base. This may cause some hesitation when it comes to purchasing the Acemagician M1, but it has over 200 customer reviews on Amazon, and over 80% of them rate the mini PC favorably. Overall, Amazon customers give the M1 a 4.4 out of 5 stars.

The Asus NUC 13 Pro is a mini PC that can keep pace with the Mac mini and also offer some big brand recognition. ASUS is one of the most trusted laptop brands, and that reputation can extend to all of its PCs. The base model NUC 13 Pro costs $600 and comes with an Intel Core i5-13420H processor with a base clock speed of 2.1 GHz that reaches 4.6 GHz with turbo boost. The mini PC also includes two HDMI 2.1 ports and two Thunderbolt ports that allow for multi-monitor setups and the connection of SSDs and external hard drives. You also get Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 6E for high-speed networking.

As Apple removes the original base model Mac mini from the market, there’s a void for mini PC buyers who just need entry-level specs. The base model NUC 13 Pro comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage capacity, which matches the older base model Mac mini. For professional users, a number of mid-range configurations are available, and a maximum version with 64 GB of RAM and a 2 TB SSD costs $1,400.

The Asus NUC 13 Pro, however, is one of the more expensive mini PC options. Although its entry-level specs match those of the original Mac mini, its $600 price tag is higher than you’ll find among other mini PCs on the market. Plus, many other options even include more RAM and more SSD capacity. But the NUC 13 Pro offers a number of configurations and prices and has the backing of a widely recognized brand.

The Kamrui Pinova P2 is a mini PC with a somewhat industrial look, which might suggest that it is intended for high-end professional use. But it’s one of the most affordable mini PCs on the market, with its entry-level configuration priced at $329. This includes an AMD Ryzen 4300U processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD.

The AMD Ryzen 4300U won’t compete with the Apple M4 or M4 Pro chips the Mac mini is configured with, but the RAM and internal storage capacity match what you get with the $799 Mac mini. The Pinova P2 is also available in a number of different configurations, with the $660 model using an Intel Core i5 processor with a turbo clock speed of 4.5GHz.

Kamrui is another name that may not be recognized by the general public, but Amazon reviewers have many positive comments about the Pinova P2. It received 87% favorable reviews and an overall rating of 4.4 stars out of 5, and 76% of the reviews are 5-star reviews. The reliability and slowness of the Wi-Fi receiver are recurring issues among those who rate this mini PC unfavorably, although they are rare compared to its overall rating.

We mentioned previously that the GMKtec M6 Ultra offers good performance per dollar, but the GMKtec Nucbox G10 is a mini PC that puts affordability first. It’s only available in one configuration, consisting of a 2.1GHz AMD Ryzen 5 3500U processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB solid-state drive. That’ll be a lot of hardware for most casual users, and at $320, it’s less than half the price of Apple’s base Mac mini model.

The Nucbox G10 uses an integrated AMD Radeon Vega 8 GPU, which can handle connecting up to three external displays simultaneously. The Nucbox G10 can also handle basic video editing and even casual gaming. While others offer more complex hardware configurations and premium prices, this mini PC keeps everything simple.

But simplicity can often come with compromises, and the Nucbox G10 may not have the connectivity some users are looking for. It has two USB-C connections, but one of them cannot transfer data. There are two USB-A ports on the front of the machine, which may not be ideal for users who prefer an easy-access SD card slot or more USB-C ports.

We think the Apple Mac mini is a great device overall, but the mini PC market is competitive. There’s a lot of overlap between models, so we’ve looked for machines here that have a favorable case for what the Mac mini has to offer. This could be due to lower prices, more generous base configurations, or a combination of the two presenting solid value for users.

We also wanted to guarantee the greatest possible reliability in the mini PCs we selected. Since the mini PC market is home to many smaller computer brands, we turned to Amazon customer reviews and buyers’ hands-on experience to better evaluate each product.