GMKtec EVO-T1 Review: Intel’s Latest Mobile Processor Gives It a Serious Edge

Located in Shenzhen, the brand GMKtec is relatively unknown in Europe. Nevertheless, it has significant ambitions and its product range is expanding daily with options for every budget and use case.

From the tiny NucBox G5 (0.22 liter volume) to the powerful EOV-X2 (featuring AMD’s Ryzen AI Max+ 395 chip), there’s something for every taste. Following our review of the Geekom Mini IT15 and its Intel-signed Core Ultra 9 285H, we were eager to see how another machine using the same chip would perform. The chassis is larger (1.7 liters versus 0.6), but the specifications are much richer. Let’s see what this GMKtec EVO-T1 has to offer.

Specifications

The review was conducted with a product loaned by GMKtec.

Design: Slightly Larger, Much Better Conceived

Compared to other mini-PCs currently on the market, the EVO-T1 might seem a bit “bulky”. It is indeed larger, but it’s important to remember that it still only has a minimal volume of 1.7 liters. This is far from the size of traditional PCs, and finding a small spot for it on your desk—or any other furniture more to your liking—won’t be a challenge.

In reality, the largest dimension (length) of the GMKtec machine is just 154 millimeters. With a nearly square base, its width is 151 mm and its thickness is 73.6 mm. The weight is also not much of an issue, as we measured it—without cables and power supply—at just 908 grams. Naturally, the power supply is external and is considered separately, but we will discuss that in the accessories section.

Finishing up with the design, and the photos speak for themselves, it’s clear that GMKtec has not attempted to mimic other Chinese mini-PC manufacturers. The brand forges its own path with a unique design, partly necessitated by the heat generated by the powerful Intel Core Ultra 9 285H processor, which GMKtec wanted to accommodate optimally. This results in dual ventilation and a casing that gives a distinctive look to the unit. Its aesthetics might not appeal to everyone, but at Frandroid, we find it appealing.

Connectivity: Rich and Modern

With a slightly larger volume and dimensions, GMKtec has managed to offer richer connectivity options than usual, which is noticeable at all levels of the EVO-T1. On the front of the PC, there are no fewer than four USB ports: extremely convenient for always having all peripherals at hand or easily connecting a game controller/USB stick.

Three of these USB ports are Type-A and 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) while the fourth is a Type-C which is none other than a USB4 at 40 Gbps! Additionally, it is capable of Power Delivery to power another high-drain device and can also carry the display signal (DisplayPort). It doesn’t get much more complete than that! Also on the front, there is a 3.5 mm audio jack, a power button, and a Clear CMOS button. Handy.

On the back of the mini-PC, the options are even more comprehensive. Next to the power jack (no USB-C this time?!), the connectivity is impressive. There’s a second USB4 with the same features as on the front, two USB 2.0 ports, a 3.5 mm audio jack, an HDMI 2.1, and a DisplayPort. This is completed by not one, but two 2.5 GbE Ethernet ports and, topping it off, an OCuLink PCIe Gen 4 x4. This port allows for the connection of an external dedicated graphics card. It doesn’t get more complete than this!

Accessories: Bare Minimum

We are used to this with mini-PCs from almost all brands, and GMKtec is no exception to this “rule”: the box in which the machine is delivered is very small and the accessories are virtually non-existent. Admittedly, it’s better that manufacturers focus on the machine rather than getting lost in details that might not necessarily satisfy everyone.

Indeed, in addition to the EVO-T1, what we find is the inevitable power brick. Much more compact than the PC itself, it measures 80 millimeters in length, 70 in width, and 26 in thickness while weighing only 330 grams: not much considering the power it delivers, 148.2 watts according to what is written on it. For the rest, don’t be too demanding: a VESA mounting kit with a few necessary screws, an HDMI cable (1.8 m), and, of course, a power cable. We wouldn’t have minded a small network cable, for example.

Windows 11 Pre-installed… and That’s It

A functional mini-PC is great, but a machine equipped with an operating system is even better. In this regard, there’s nothing to worry about since, like the vast majority of mini-PC manufacturers tested on Frandroid, GMKtec ships its machines—thus the EVO-T1—with Windows 11 Professional edition pre-installed.

For the uninitiated, “pre-installed” means that at the first boot of the machine, Windows 11 starts with the installation completion screen: just a few steps to validate and where to enter a handful of essential information. All in all—if you haven’t connected the EVO-T1 to the network for the moment—it only takes a few minutes and you’re all set.

The machine from GMKtec is then fully functional, and only a few software applications like the Intel graphics drivers need to be updated. Of course, you’ll also need to proceed with various updates to Windows 11. However, the Windows desktop is almost completely empty, GMKtec not delivering any third-party software for, for example, office work or photo editing. The EVO-T1 is therefore delivered with Windows, the not always useful tools from Microsoft (we’re thinking of Outlook, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Solitaire, Sudoku, or Mahjong), and that’s it.

Finally, no, that’s not quite everything because, to emphasize the artificial intelligence orientation of its machine, GMKtec offers its own assistant, aptly named GMK AI Assistant. It is designed to leverage the “up to 99 TOPS” (CPU + GPU + NPU) touted by the brand.

So, How Does It Perform in Use?

The EVO-T1 is clearly a high-end product, as are all machines offered with this Core Ultra 9 285H. Although it is not as expensive as, for example, AMD’s Ryzen AI Max+ 395, the price is still quite variable, and GMKtec only officially announces prices in dollars. Let’s say that at the time of writing this, the EVO-T1 in its tested version is priced at 1399.99 euros.

Fortunately, for this price, we can count on a particularly robust machine with, first of all, this Core Ultra 9 285H, the most powerful mobile chip in Intel’s catalog. It features 16 cores with a maximum turbo frequency of 5.4 GHz. 24 MB of cache is present, and a graphics solution, Intel ARC 140T with 8 Xe cores at 2.35 GHz, rounds things out. Better still, all this with a TDP of only 45 watts! And, to make good measure, GMKtec pairs a fine configuration with this processor which can rely on 64 GB of DDR5-5600 in two 32 GB sticks each (for dual-channel). The SSD maybe fits a bit more “in the rank”, but it is still a Crucial P3 Plus, in PCIe Gen 4 x4, with a capacity of 1 TB.

We also appreciate that GMKtec has thought about the scalability of its configuration. Of course, it will not be possible to replace the processor, which is soldered to the motherboard. However, the two 32 GB SO-DIMM DDR5-5600 sticks can be replaced with 48 GB or even 64 GB for a maximum of 128 GB, ideal for artificial intelligence work. On the storage side, it’s even better since there are three M.2 slots for 2280 NVMe PCIe Gen 4 SSDs, for a maximum of 24 TB if you opt for 8 TB models each. Exorbitant, but feasible.

We just mentioned it, the CoreUltra 9 285H has a distinct advantage over many processors: it includes a powerful graphics solution called Intel ARC 140T. A graphics solution that should allow the machine to have great versatility and, to verify this, we start our tests with 3DMark and our three scenes of choice: on Fire Strike, we talk about 8767 points, on Time Spy Extreme, about 1857 points, and on Steel Nomad about 853 points. Not only is this performance impressive—for an integrated graphics solution—but it’s also better than on the Geekom Mini IT15, which has the same processor.

Such performance levels give confidence to launch some games and while it will not be possible to play in 4K, for example, whether it’s Forza Horizon 5 or Shadow of the Tomb Raider, it’s quite correct: at 1280 x 720 points minimum details we are respectively at 107 and 99 frames per second. Moving to Full HD (1920 x 1080) maximum details this time, it’s only about 30 and 39 fps. Between the two, there is therefore plenty of room to enjoy a perfectly playable experience while being pleasing to the eye.

You can well imagine that after such values on demanding games like Forza Horizon 5 and Shadow of the Tomb Raider, our tests on independent productions will not pose the slightest problem: Unpacking and Horizon Chase Turbo indeed run perfectly, even when we activate the four-player split-screen mode on the latter. No, without replacing a real graphics card, the Intel ARC 140T is a very nice solution that will also allow you to get into emulation without fear, even on a Nintendo Wii for example.

If video gaming is a good way to assess the power of a machine, we were also keen to submit the EVO-T1 to other tests. To evaluate the CPU, we thus used Cinebench 2024, a 3D rendering software. Nothing to complain about here and with 1042 points in multi-thread or 128 points in single-thread, the performances are excellent. Note that in multi-thread, the EVO-T1 again does noticeably better than the Geekom Mini IT15, despite having the same processor.

We continue with PCMark, a measurement software that has the good taste to reproduce numerous scenarios ranging from classic office work, to multimedia tasks including video conferencing or rendering tasks. Again, not only does the EVO-T1 score well with balanced performances, but it also manages to outperform the Geekom Mini IT15. We particularly appreciate the 11747 points on the Digital Content Creation test—with more than 20000 points on photo editing—usually unfavourable to mini-PCs.

As always, we conclude the performance evaluation with a measure related to the storage system. During our various tests, we did not notice any particular problem with the SSD, which, by the way, is a well-known Crucial model, the P3 Plus. CrystalDiskMark confirms this good impression with throughput rates perfectly in line with what one would expect from a PCIe Gen 4 x4 SSD: 5101 MB/s and 4592 MB/s respectively in sequential read and write as well as 73 MB/s and 234 MB/s in random read and write.

Consumption and Heat

Powerful components in a machine with reduced dimensions, it doesn’t take a genius to realize that there might be a heating issue. We had perfectly noticed this with the Mini IT15 from Geekom which, being noticeably smaller than the EVO-T1, could not cool the Core Ultra 9 285H satisfactorily, which tended to throttle under any slightly heavy workload.

To be perfectly honest, GMKtec does not prevent the Intel processor from reaching the 100°C threshold… occasionally. However, compared to the machine from Geekom, the EVO-T1 reserves these extreme cases for very rare situations. In general, the processor is about 10°C cooler than on the Mini IT15 and the heat from other components is also significantly lower. No secret, to achieve such a result, GMKtec relies on a larger cooling system that benefits from the more generous internal dimensions of the machine: a large 92-millimeter diameter fan for bringing in fresh air and a smaller blower for extraction, with the necessary heat pipes associated with a substantial copper heat sink.

A recipe that is anything but magical, but which therefore allows GMKtec to better cool the racehorse signed by Intel. More importantly, this allows keeping the noise levels much lower than on the majority of mini-PCs that have passed through our hands and, except for major loads, the ventilation remains very light, barely audible at a distance of one meter. Impeccable.

Price and Availability

We have already mentioned it, the selling price of the EVO-T1 clearly does not place it among the “budget” mini-PCs. It is a high-end model that offers top-notch performances, good functional richness, and… it pays off. The model we tested with its Core Ultra 9 285H, 64 GB of RAM, and 1 TB SSD is traded for roughly 1400 euros. An investment, no doubt.

Furthermore, it is possible to further increase the bill by opting for a version with a 2 TB SSD, but no variant is there to reduce the bill by opting, for example, for a Core Ultra 5 235H processor, but who knows, that might come.

GMKtec only distributes a so-called “barebone” version whose description is not very clear. Finally, note that the product is indeed available on the GMKtec website, but also from several retailers in the Hexagon.