Lenovo Thinkcentre M75q Tiny vs GMKTec K8 Plus

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Last Updated on December 16, 2024 EST by Jordan

Introduction

I found myself defending Lenovo ThinkCentre against some of the mini-pcs that are going for absolutely insanely low prices on Ali-Express and sometimes on Amazon. So I thought I would provide my take on the situation, granted it will be biased towards Lenovo.

This is a Draft

I’m starting this as a draft and will update it as frequently as I can, so there are some areas that might be missing information.

Intel (M70q) versus AMD (M75q)

The M7x family has two options for processors, Intel which is the M70q and AMD (M75q) For the most part, they’re the same generation to generation. Except for the following.

  • Intel has Intel Quick Sync which is supported by Plex and as such more performant when transcoding media.
  • AMD

Lenovo Thinkcentre M75q Tiny

There are multiple generations of the M75q Tiny I will eventually start listing the differences below. Some things to know.

  • The

M75q Tiny Gen2

Specifications

  • AMD Ryzen™ 7 PRO 5750GE
    • 2021
    • Zen 3 (Cezanne)
    • AMD4
  • DDR4-3200MHz RAM, with configurations up to 16GB ?

Manuals

M75q Tiny Gen 5 (2024)

Specifications

  • Processors
    • AMD Ryzen™ 3 8300GE/PRO 8300GE
    • AMD Ryzen™ 5 8500GE/PRO 8500GE/PRO 8600GE
    • AMD Ryzen™ 7 PRO 8700GE.
  • Memory
    • DDR5-5200MHz RAM
  • Graphics
    • The following is what is shown in the specifications PDF document for all Ryzen systems.
      • 3840×2160@60Hz(HDMI®),
      • 3840×2160@60Hz(DP),
      • 1920×1200@60Hz(VGA),
      • 3840×2160@60Hz(USB-C® with DP function)

Manuals

Pros – M75q Tiny

  • 1 Year on-site warranty.
    • Onsite Support
    • Parts and Labor
    • Basic Phone Support for hardware issues
    • Repairs done at your location
    • Extend for 2 years @ $54/CAD

Cons – M75q Tiny

  • No 2.5Gbe, 10Gbe, or 10G SFP+
  • Limited USB4 connectivity.

Reviews of the M75q Tiny

Some Comments from Users

#1 – Fan Noise and Display Resolution

Fired up the i5 14-400T version this evening. I’ll say it’s waaaay quieter than the i7 was, and just a little more fan noise than the 4350GE. Thanks to who provided their comments on the i5 in the other thread.

Can also confirm that 4k/60 hz is max on the HDMI. Won’t drive my OLED to 120 hz, but for desktop use I don’t care. Displayport is doing 144hz on 1440p for my 2nd monitor no problem as well. Would recommend at the ~$610+tax price….I’ll be keeping it and moving the older tiny to a TV as a HTPC.

#2 – Fan Noise

Just received my units.

As a previous poster had said, fan noise is significant if you leave it in default setting. However, I put fan profile in balanced mode and turned off AMD cpu performance boost (cpb).

It’s the cpb that causes the system to spin up loud even at low loads as it tries to overclock for best performance.

IF you don’t need to squeeze out the last 10% of performance, this will be fine for the office worker / desk space.

I got this as low cost server/test machine. I do wish it had an internal sata drive though as that would have allowed me to throw in even more cheap storage.

As it is, there are 2 x nvme slots.

GMKtec K8 Plus

Bios

The bios that comes with the GMKtec is from AMI (American Megatrends International) which is great. It looks to be the AMI Aptio product

https://www.ami.com/aptio/

You can see examples of the bios from other GMKtec products, but I haven’t found a specific Youtube video of the GMKTec K8 Plus

Cons – GMKtec K8 Plus

  • If purchased through AliExpress
    • Shipping takes longer.
    • Has to clear customs, which could include duty charges.
  • Possible Dead on Arrival (See Reviews Section)
    • Have to request a refund via AliExpress and plead your case as well as ship back the device.
    • No idea if there is an RMA.

Reviews of the GMKtec K8 Plus

Corrections

Please correct anything wrong in this article by commenting on it. I will 100% update this article to correct any mistakes or missing information, including anything that might be miss-leading. I will ask for proof, so please make sure you provide ample evidence for changes even to be considered. For example, a link to something, not just “Hey, you’re wrong, it’s actually x, y and z.” Granted, I might even accept a comment because it’s blatantly logical and might even add in a warning.

References


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