I review mini PCs, and I’d jump on these 7 early Black Friday mini PC deals

GMKtec NucBox K3 Pro: was $609 now $409 @ Amazon
The GMKtec NucBox K3 Pro is a small but capable mini PC that comes with either a 12th gen Intel i5 or i7 processor. This high-end model has an Intel i7 processor, 24GB of DDR5 RAM, a 1TB SSD and comes with Windows 11 Pro pre-installed. You get two USB-A ports, a USB-C port and a headphone jack up front along with two HDMI ports, two USB-A ports and an Ethernet port around back. It can power up to 3 displays simultaneously and you can expand its storage to 2TB.

Apple Mac Mini M2: was $599 now $500 @ Amazon
The Apple Mac Mini M2 is the cheapest Mac you can get and right now, you can save $100 off the base model that comes with an M2 chip, 8GB of unified memory and a 256GB SSD. There aren't any ports on the front but around back, you get two Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports, a headphone jack and an Ethernet port. Keep in mind though, Apple is set to announce the new Mac Mini M4 any day now. However, this Mac sports an iconic design and it’s one of the last Macs Steve Jobs had a hand in.

Geekom AX8 Pro: was $749 now $599 @ Amazon
The Geekom AX8 Pro eschews your traditional black and grey cases for one that’s light blue and will certainly stand out on your desk. It's powered by an AMD Ryzen R7-8845HS chip and comes with 32GB of DDR5 RAM, a 1TB SSD and comes with Windows 11 Pro pre-installed. You also get integrated AMD Radeon 780M graphics and a good selection of ports including two USB-A ports and a headphone jack up front as well as two USB-C ports, two HDMI ports and an Ethernet port around back.

AceMagic F2A: was $749 now $600 @ Amazon
The AceMagic F2A was one of the first mini PCs to use Intel’s new Core Ultra processors for an AI boost. The gold trim around the top and the power button gives this mini PC a more elegant look and it has two built-in fans to keep everything running cool. In terms of ports, there are two USB-A ports, a USB-C port and a headphone jack on the front with two USB-A ports, two HDMI ports and an Ethernet port on the back. In my AceMagic F2A review, I praised the fact that this mini PC ships with Wi-Fi 7 on board.

Beelink SER8: was $749 now $629 @ Amazon
The Beelink SER8 is the closest Windows-powered mini PC to Apple’s Mac Mini thanks to its unibody metal case. It’s powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS processor just like the Geekom AX8 Pro and comes with 32GB of DDR5 RAM, a 1TB SSD and Windows 11 Pro pre-installed. On the front, you get a USB-A port, a USB-C port and a headphone jack and around back, there are three USB-A ports, a USB-C port, an HDMI port, a DisplayPort and an Etherent port. There’s also an extra M.2 SSD slot to expand its storage but you won’t be able to mount this mini PC behind a monitor since it lacks VESA holes.

Khadas Mind: was $800 now $650 @ Amazon
Not only is the Khadas Mind one of the smallest mini PCs you can get but you can add more ports or even an external desktop GPU with one of the company’s docks. It’s powered by an Intel Core i5 1340P processor and the base model comes with 16GB of DDR5 RAM and a 512GB SSD. However, there’s a spare M.2 slot on the bottom so you can add more storage. On the front, there’s just a power button but around back, you get two USB-C ports, two USB-A ports and an HDMI port. I went hands-on with the Khadas Mind recently, and one of my favorite things besides its size is the fact that it uses USB-C for power instead of a barrel jack.

Minisforum UM890 Pro: was $899 now $727 @ Amazon
The Minisforum UM890 Pro is a powerful mini PC with plenty of cooling. It’s powered by an AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS processor and comes with a whopping 64GB of DDR5 RAM and a 1TB SSD. On the front, you get two USB-A ports, a USB4 port and a headphone jack and around back, there are two USB-A ports, another USB 4 port, an HDMI port, two 2.5G Ethernet ports for multi-gig internet and even an OCulink port for connecting an external GPU. If you don’t mind a slightly taller mini PC and want one with a lot of power, the UM890 Pro could be a great choice.