Mini PC’s have been a growing sensation among PC users for quite a while now. And why wouldn’t it? They let go of the hassle of weight and space constraints while delivering you uncompromised performance in a tiny form factor.
However, finding a reliable Mini PC can be quite troublesome as there are plenty of options available out there.
We have run an extensive test through the MINIX NGC-5 Mini PC. It is a super-compact PC with powerful specs integration and support for up to 3, 4K monitors at 60Hz display frequency.
Inside The Box
Inside the box, you’ll see the Mini PC itself wrapped in a white cover. Just beneath it, there is a user manual, 2 Wi-Fi antennas which look really sleek, a power cable, an HDMI cable, and the power brick. Apart from this, the box also includes some mounting accessories. Taking off the white cover, you’ll get to see the NGC-5 with subtle MINIX branding carved on top of it.
Design
Let’s take a moment to appreciate how compact and minimal this PC looks. It maintains a low profile design with 153mm of width, 43mm of height, and 153mm of depth. Regardless of being this compact, this mini PC is loaded with ports.
On the left panel, there is a Kensington lock, 2 Wi-Fi antennas followed by a reset pin-hole. On the right, there is the power button, headphone combo jack, a micro-SD slot, 2 USB 3.1, and an RS232 port. Finally, on the back, it has dual ethernet and USB 3.1 ports, a display port 1.2, HDMI 2.0, a USB Type-C, and a power jack.
Specs
Under the hood, this fun-sized PC is packing an 8th Gen i5 processor along with 8 Gigs of RAM and 256 Gigs of M.2 NVMe storage. And if you require more, MINIX NGC-5 can be upgraded with up to 32GB of RAM and 2TB of storage. Surprisingly, it also has an internal Nano SIM card slot for LTE connectivity. Along with the 4.10GHz i5-8279U CPU, you also get Iris Plus 655 Graphics for decent integrated GPU performance.
Performance
Talking about performance, don’t let the size fool you as this PC is capable of doing a lot. You can pair up to 3, 4K monitors with this PC via its HDMI, USB-C, and display port and enjoy a fluid refresh rate of up to 60Hz on all of them.
Moreover, we did a little bit of photo and video editing on it as well, and honestly, it did hold its ground really well as a capable Mini PC. Despite being plugged in with plenty of ports, it managed to keep itself at a reasonable temperature while keeping the noise down to a minimum.
Final Words
Choosing a mini PC that is both compact and enriched with performance can be a bit tricky and overwhelming. Even so, MINIX has combined portability and performance into a compact form factor with their NGC-5 Mini PC to give you the best of both. It has a capable enough processor, reasonable storage and system memory, as well as lots and lots of ports. All this in a Mini form factor without even hurting your wallet. Thus, the NGC-5 Mini PC is an ideal one for a small office, personal use, and for people who are suffering from space constraints.
