It wasn’t long ago that getting a mini PC meant trading performance for size. Shrinking things down to a machine that you could easily carry in a backpack or hide behind your TV meant settling for sluggish or outdated processors, and gaming performance that topped out at emulating retro games – if you were lucky. There are still plenty of those PCs out there, but as Intel and AMD have released new processors, the performance potential of these tiny systems has left the glass ceiling in shards.

The GMKtec EVO-X2 is exactly such a system. Compact enough to hold in the palm of your hand, this system packs seriously powerful hardware, including the AMD Ryzen 9 AI Max+ 395 processor and 64GB to 128GB of memory. It was designed for AI, but with its integrated Radeon 8060S GPU, it’s also a capable little mini gaming PC.

GMKTec EVO-X2 - Design and Features

Measuring in at only 7.6 x 7.3 x 3.03 inches (2.75L), the EVO-X2 is designed to disappear on your desk. It can slide behind most monitors or, as I did, hide underneath a riser shelf. The tiny design is part and parcel of what the EVO-X2, and the majority of manufacturer GMKtec’s product line, is all about. It’s a PC for people that don’t want the footprint of a full tower or laptop, be those the space-constrained people looking for a media PC to tuck behind their TV or projector screen, or those looking to easily transport their main system between different locations.

But the EVO-X2 breaks the mold in a few different ways. First off, you’ll find that it is ever so slightly larger than many other systems in this category. But its extra height allows for improved ventilation, which is definitely necessary considering its specs.

It’s still boxy, but GMKtec also made good use of that added height with the more stylish design of its case. Its top half is smaller with one corner removed to make way for a dedicated fan mode button. The top is also removable to add an extra full-size M.2 SSD if you need it.

Note that the unit I was sent for testing came with a 1TB SSD and 64GB of memory. Any unit shipped to customers will have a minimum of 2TB and 64GB but can be configured all the way to 4TB and 128GB.

While most mini PCs have lower performance processors only suited for basic productivity tasks, the EVO-X2 is better specced than many pre-built laptops. It’s even designed for easy storage upgrades, which isn’t always possible with ultra-compact form factors. Due to the design of the motherboard with its Ryzen 9 AI Max+ chipset, memory is non-upgradeable, so be sure to think into the future when considering how much memory you’ll need.

The star of the show is its Ryzen 9 processor. AMD’s Ryzen 9 AI Max 395+ is one the highest performance AI mobile processors available to consumers today. It’s a 16-core, 32-thread multitasking beast able to hit a top speed of 5.1 GHz – a key factor in how well it’s able to run games and applications. It has a dedicated neural processing unit (NPU) for accelerated AI tasks that’s able to reach 50 TOPS of performance on its own and brings the system to 126 TOPS overall.

More important for gaming is the integrated Radeon 8060S graphics that come with the AI Max 395+. For integrated graphics, it’s on the absolute cutting edge of performance. Built on the RDNA 3.5 architecture, it’s one of the first integrated GPUs that’s actually able to compete with full gaming laptops with dedicated GPUs – albeit, just not the latest.

It’s important to remember that this is still an integrated graphics chip. When I reviewed the Asus ROG Flow Z13, also using the same chip, it delivered in-game frame rates roughly in line with an Nvidia RTX 4050 to 4060. While that might not seem that impressive from a gaming laptop perspective, there is no dedicated GPU in this system, the one processor is handling everything. That means less weight, less power draw, and that the EVO-X2 can act as a dedicated gaming PC if you’re willing to play at 4060-level settings.

And since it’s also built on AMD’s latest graphics standards, it’s able to take advantage of its latest performance enhancers, like FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) and frame generation. Together with the native performance on offer, there is more gaming and graphic potential in this system than we’ve ever tested in a mini gaming PC. That’s exciting. And while it’s not the only system of its kind to offer this chip now, it is still one of very few that you could actually use as a gaming PC.

Its port selection is also generous. On the front, you have two 10 Gbps USB Type-A ports and a USB 4 Type-C for much higher speed transfers and connection bandwidth (GMKTec doesn’t disclose whether it’s 20 Gbps or 40 Gbps). There’s also a headphone jack, a full-size SD card reader, a Performance Mode button that increases the available wattage to the CPU, and the power button. Just above the power button is the aforementioned fan mode switch and a large vent that also shows the fan’s RGB.

Around the back, there are three more USB Type-A ports (two USB 2.0 at 5 Gbps and the third USB 3.2 Gen2 10 Gbps), a second USB4, a second 3.5mm audio jack, and a 2.5G gigabit ethernet port. Video connectivity is also located on the back panel with full-size ports for HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4, and the USB 4 port can also support video input. The system’s power brick also connects back here.

The EVO-X2 comes ready to use out of the box. There’s a full Windows 11 installation activated for use and a lack of bloatware. It’s almost a completely stock Windows install except for GMKTec’s AI suite which provides direct access to several downloadable LLMs (large language models) and AI tools. You don’t need to use this, however, and system TDP is controlled with the Performance Mode button, the Windows Power presets, and whatever options you configure yourself through the BIOS or supporting software.

Performance

The EVO-X2 is the most powerful, high-performance mini-PC I’ve personally tested and, by virtue of there not being many that feature the same chip and GMKtec’s unique improvements, it’s one of the best available today. I used it for both work and gaming, swapping out my employer-provided laptop and my usual gaming laptop (until the release of Battlefield 6, anyway).

When it comes to productivity, the EVO-X2 is overkill. The hardware far exceeds most PCs designed for work and there isn’t much it can’t do. Its massive memory capacity and fast processor make everything from the Microsoft Office suite to running Chrome with a few dozen tabs open and the Microsoft Office suite completely reasonable.

Blending together my day job with writing, I often find myself needing to create short photo and video projects using tools like Adobe Photoshop and Premiere Pro, as well as online tools like Photoshop’s online version, Photopea, and Canva. Like many work provided PCs, the systems provided to me just can’t handle all of these tasks. While downloading on that system is out of the question anyway, even running the web version of Photoshop drags the system to a crawl. Multitasking is out of the question.

With the EVO-X2, I was able to render a 1440p video in the background while working on a long Google Doc, bouncing to a multi-tab Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, and barely noticed more than the fan ramping up. While it can get noisy, it's still quieter than your average gaming laptop capable of similar performance.

When it comes to gaming, the EVO-X2 is a mini-PC powerhouse. Performance still approximates an RTX 4060 laptop GPU and, while close to the Asus ROG Flow Z13 I reviewed with the same processor, did manage to stretch its legs a bit more.

In the chart above, you can see that even with everything running at max settings, all of the games tested were playable at 1080p. While I wouldn’t advise dropping the resolution below 1080p on anything but a small portable monitor with this system, you could easily dial back some settings to push every game in this line-up to near or above 60 FPS.

Because the system is using AMD’s latest graphics technologies, you’ll also be able to use frame generation to close the gap further. Developers have to support this, but an increasing number of games do. Between balancing frame-gen and adjusting settings, I was able to keep games like Borderlands 4 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 running smoothly above 60 FPS at high settings and looking great. Just be aware that enabling frame generation on games where you’re not already getting around 40 fps can lead to problems.

That doesn’t mean the system will run everything and, no, it definitely isn’t going to compete with much higher than an RTX 4060. Battlefield 6, for example, just wouldn’t run well without dropping everything to its lowest settings. This is still an integrated graphics chip, even if an impressively capable one.

The system is ostensibly designed for AI use and running local models, which isn’t something I generally do. That said, a couple of my favorite AI dictation applications, SuperWhisper and SpeechPulse, offer support for local models, so I took each for a spin. The challenge here is that it obfuscates what the LLM is actually doing and any true metrics on its processing speed behind each program’s UI. But, the processing time and reliability were both excellent with local models, so it clearly didn’t struggle with GPT 4.1 while I also researched and worked in the background.

Christopher Coke has been a regular contributor to IGN since 2019 and has been covering games and technology since 2013. He has covered tech ranging from gaming controllers to graphics cards, gaming chairs and gaming monitors, headphones, IEMs, and more for sites such as MMORPG.com, Tom’s Hardware, Popular Science, USA Today’s Reviewed, and Popular Mechanics. Find Chris on Twitter @gamebynight.