GMKtec has added a new flagship to its EVO mini PC line, and the EVO-X3 has one feature that should make photographers and video editors sit up: OCuLink. Built around the same AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 as the rest of this new breed of AI mini PCs, the EVO-X3’s standout trick is a dedicated port for a full external graphics card — which turns a compact, desktop-class editing machine into one that can grow to rival a full tower for GPU-heavy work. You’ll find it on the official GMKtec EVO-X3 product page.
Start with the core, and it’s a familiar, capable package. The Ryzen AI Max+ 395 brings 16 Zen 5 cores and 32 threads up to 5.1GHz, paired with a Radeon 8060S integrated GPU (40 RDNA 3.5 compute units) that punches into mobile RTX 4060–4070 territory. On its own that’s more than enough for Lightroom Classic’s GPU-accelerated AI Denoise, Photoshop’s big-file and many-layer work, and comfortable timeline editing in Premiere Pro. But integrated graphics have a ceiling, and that’s exactly where the EVO-X3 differs from its peers.
The OCuLink port runs at PCIe 4.0 x4, giving a proper external GPU far more bandwidth than a USB4 or Thunderbolt connection can. For the most GPU-hungry creative apps, that’s transformative: DaVinci Resolve, which leans heavily on GPU power and VRAM for grading, noise reduction and effects, scales directly with whatever card you bolt on, and DxO PhotoLab’s superb DeepPRIME XD denoising — one of the most GPU-bound tasks in photography — gets faster the more graphics muscle you feed it. The appeal is buying once and upgrading later: run on the integrated GPU day to day, then attach a desktop RTX card via an OCuLink dock when a heavy Resolve export or 3D job demands it.
Memory and storage suit serious media work. The EVO-X3 carries 128GB of LPDDR5X-8000 on a wide bus — soldered rather than upgradable, the trade-off across this whole class, but fast, and with up to 96GB assignable as GPU memory. Storage runs to dual M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x4 slots for up to 16TB (8TB each), so the SSD is fully replaceable and there’s ample room for scratch disks and 4K/8K media, with 2TB and 4TB configurations offered.
Elsewhere there’s Wi-Fi 7, a USB4 Type-C port (40Gbps, 100W PD, DisplayPort out), USB-A up to 10Gbps, HDMI 2.1 and dual 8K display output for a multi-monitor edit suite, all cooled by a triple-heat-pipe, dual-fan system in an all-metal body. The one area it doesn’t lead is networking: it’s 2.5GbE rather than the 10GbE found on some rivals, so for editing straight off a NAS or archiving over a fast network it’s a step behind. On the AI side it delivers the class-standard 126 TOPS with a 50 TOPS NPU, plus GMKtec’s Claw one-click local-model deployment, so running large models locally or building your own AI tools is straightforward.
It’s worth being clear-eyed about the price: at nearly double the EVO-X2, you’re largely paying for that OCuLink expandability, the beefier cooling and the all-metal build rather than more core performance. But for a creative who wants a compact machine now and the option of desktop-GPU power later, the EVO-X3 is one of the more genuinely future-proof mini PCs out there.
GMKtec EVO-X3: Specifications
Processor: AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 (16 cores / 32 threads, up to 5.1GHz, 4nm, 126 TOPS total AI). Graphics: AMD Radeon 8060S (40 RDNA 3.5 CUs, up to 2900MHz). AI NPU: AMD XDNA 2, up to 50 TOPS; up to 96GB assignable as GPU memory; GMKtec Claw one-click deployment. Memory: 128GB LPDDR5X-8000 (onboard/soldered). Storage: dual M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x4 slots, up to 16TB (8TB x2); 2TB / 4TB options. GPU expansion: OCuLink (PCIe Gen4 x4) for an external GPU. Display: HDMI 2.1 + USB4 DisplayPort, dual 8K output. Connectivity: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, 2.5G Ethernet, USB4 Type-C (40Gbps, 100W PD), USB-A up to 10Gbps. Power modes: Silent 54W, Balanced 85W, Performance 120W, peak 140W. Cooling: triple heat-pipe, dual-fan. Build: all-metal, VESA mount included. OS: Windows 11 Pro.
GMKtec EVO-X3: Price and availability
The GMKtec EVO-X3 is available now direct from GMKtec, priced at £2,939.99 for the 128GB / 2TB configuration (a 128GB / 4TB option is also offered). Pricing and promotions vary — check the GMKtec store for current offers.
