Excellent hardware with minor support issues
After a very long search for a mini PC that could serve as my daily driver, development machine, gaming system, and homelab server, I decided to go with the GMKtec NucBox K8 Plus, mainly because I had heard many positive things about the brand, and it also includes an OCuLink port that I plan to use in the future. My first experience with support was not ideal, though. I initially tried ordering from the international store since it was slightly cheaper and included the 8-in-1 adapter bundle. However, I was later informed that, because I am based in Europe, I should order from the European store instead. The communication was very brief and somewhat unclear. Support eventually offered me a €20 discount, but it could not be combined with the registration coupon, so the actual savings ended up being only around €10 compared to the full price. They should really display a warning about this on the website, and in my opinion the bundled gifts should be similar between both stores. I almost cancelled the order and considered another brand, but ultimately decided the K8 Plus still looked like the best option for my needs. In the end, I am glad I kept the order. Shipping was very fast and the package arrived three days earlier than expected. I chose the barebone version because reviews on the bundled RAM and SSD were mixed, so I installed my own 64GB RAM kit and 2TB SSD. The K8 Plus comes with an AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS and Radeon 780M iGPU, and performance so far has been excellent. I installed Kubuntu immediately since Linux compatibility was one of my main priorities. Everything was detected successfully out of the box, including networking, dual monitors, and hardware acceleration. The only issue I encountered was during the installation process on Ubuntu, Kubuntu, and Fedora while using a 144Hz monitor, where the display showed graphical errors. Using a 60Hz monitor during installation solved the issue, and after setup I reduced the refresh rate to 120Hz on my displays, which has been completely stable since then. This appears to be more related to Linux/high-refresh-rate compatibility than to the K8 Plus itself, although I cannot say for certain. I am currently running around 15 containers on it and plan to expand the homelab further. The system feels extremely responsive both as a workstation and server, and the Ryzen 7 8845HS handles multitasking without any noticeable slowdown. Thermals and noise levels have also been impressive. At idle, the fan is completely silent and temperatures usually sit between 30°C and 50°C. Under load, temperatures range between 40°C and 70°C, while the fan remains barely audible except in a very quiet room at night. So far, the K8 Plus has exceeded my expectations, especially considering its size and power efficiency. If long-term reliability holds up, it will fully replace my old desktop tower and become the core of my homelab setup.