Review 2025: Should You Choose an AI Mini-PC?

Over the past few years, the ‘AI era’ has arrived in earnest in the PC industry with the introduction of a number of CPUs and GPUs specializing in AI processing: the latest processors from Intel and AMD with built-in NPUs (Neural Processing Units) have become widespread, and Microsoft has also launched a new category of ‘AI PCs’. A new category of ‘AI PCs’ has also been launched by Microsoft.

In response to this trend, AI-compatible models have emerged one after another from the mini-PC industry, where compactness is an attractive feature. The compact yet high-performance AI mini-PC is particularly eye-catching.

However, many people may have questions like.

• What is the actual performance of the AI mini-PC?
• Can a mini-PC be used for gaming?

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This article provides an easy-to-understand explanation of how mini-PCs work, their performance, the various scenarios where AI mini-PCs can be used, and 'gaming performance'.

What is a Mini-PC?

Mini-PCs generally have a very compact design with a body size of less than one liter and can be installed in a space-saving manner. Mini-PCs are very attractive because they can be placed behind the monitor, bookshelves and other places where you want to keep your desk area tidy, making it easy to use in any location. They are also lightweight, around 600 g, making them easy to carry and ideal for use on business trips or in various locations at home.

In addition, this product has excellent energy-saving performance, with very low power consumption, around 18W even at maximum load, leading to savings on electricity bills and reduced heat generation. It also reduces installation costs and maintenance burdens, and has the performance needed for daily work. The latest processor also delivers powerful performance for comfortable 4K video viewing, video conferencing, and light creative work.

Features and Attractions of the AI Mini-PC

• Equipped with NPU (Neural Processing Unit): a dedicated AI computing unit that enables high-speed and power-efficient processing of photo correction, transcription and translation. This allows even complex AI processing to be carried out smoothly, creating an efficient working environment.
• Local AI processing support: AI functions can be used without an internet connection, which is a special privacy protection feature. The ability to use AI functions without relying on an internet connection is a major advantage.
• Models are also available with Copilot+ function support: the AI assistant Copilot makes document creation, application operation assistance and search assistance more efficient and reduces the burden on users.
• Compact yet high-performance: The latest AI-enabled Snapdragon and Ryzen CPUs are used to deliver sufficient performance for AI processing despite their small body. Space-saving yet powerful: the compact size of these devices is an attractive feature.
• Ideal for creative use: supports a wide range of creative tasks such as image creation (Cocreator) and video editing (DaVinci Resolve, CapCut), and has the performance to meet the needs of professionals.

AI Mini-PC is a next-generation PC that can realize full-scale AI applications while saving space.

Usage Scenarios For AI Mini-PC

AI mini-PCs (e.g. GEEKOM mini-PCs) are not limited to AI tools; in fact, their CPU and GPU performance can greatly expand their use cases. Below are the recommended specifications for each intended use.

• Office work and study use: If you mainly use it for document creation, web conferencing, and spreadsheets, an Intel Core i5 or Ryzen 5 class CPU should be sufficient. An internal GPU is fine for graphics, 8-16 GB of memory and 256 GB or more of SSD storage are recommended.
• Gaming: For comfortable 3D gaming, a Core i7 or Ryzen 7 CPU or higher and a GeForce RTX 4070 GPU or higher are ideal; 16 GB or more of memory and an HDD alongside a 1 TB SSD would be comfortable.
• Video editing and 3D production: for serious creative work, a high-performance CPU in the Core i9 or Ryzen 9 class is required. A graphics card in the RTX 4080-5090 class, 32 GB of memory or more, and a large-capacity NVMe SSD + HDD storage configuration are recommended.
• Programming: For development purposes, a Ryzen 5 or Core i5 CPU or higher, around 16GB of memory, and 512GB or more of SSD storage are recommended. Graphics performance depends on the application, but if you’re doing AI development, consider a dedicated GPU.

Are Mini-PCs Good For Gaming?

CPU and GPU performance are essential for comfortable gaming, and the AI mini-PCs currently on the market are fully capable of meeting basic gaming requirements. Despite their compact size, these PCs have strong processing power and can play many popular game titles without stress.

In fact, the AI Mini-PC can comfortably play popular online games like Fortnite , Minecraft , League of Legends, and Genshin Impact , as well as heavyweight titles like The Elden Ring and Cyberpunk 2077 if the settings are adjusted. An even smoother gaming experience can be expected by utilizing cloud gaming services and AI-based frame completion.

If high-performance GPUs like the latest GeForce RTX 50 series from NVIDIA can be combined with mini-PCs in the future, we can expect a better and more comfortable gaming experience. As this progresses, gaming mini-PCs will become a more attractive option for gaming enthusiasts.