Mini PCs are surprisingly good even at low prices. Even with models under 150 euros, everyday home office work can still be done satisfactorily. When it comes to laptops that use the same mobile versions of the processors, it is difficult to find usable models for less than 400 euros.
The Gxmo N42, which is only available at Geekbuying, takes this to the extreme 89 Euro costs. With the code NNNDEN42 it’s another 5 euros less. This really makes it one of the extremely affordable mini PCs. Its features, including an Intel Celeron N4020C and 6 GB of main memory (RAM), are not great, but they are really good for the price. Honestly, where else can you get a quiet, reasonably modern and even quite stylish, full-fledged Windows computer for under 100 euros?
Regardless, the mini PC is a really exciting alternative to the similarly expensive and powerful Raspberry Pi computers. Like these, it is also passively cooled and therefore the cheapest fanless Mini PC in our test. In this test report we will clarify how convincing it is and who it is suitable for.
We received the test device from Geekbuying.
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Who is the Gxmo N42 suitable for?
The Gxmo N42 is particularly suitable for people who find a Raspberry too complicated but want to save money when purchasing it. As a fully-fledged Windows PC, the computer can also be used for the home office. The system is still sufficient as a simple computer for document work or for driving a television (guide). But depending on the performance requirements, the mini PC can also be sufficient for smart homes (guide) – but if you want to carry out complex, local AI calculations for your own surveillance cameras (best list), you need more power.
The system is particularly suitable for occasional users and students who already have a monitor – it doesn’t get any cheaper. However, you should avoid photo editing, gaming or multiple 4K streams in parallel. The RAM alone at 6 GB is too small for that.
What are the features of the Gxmo N42?
The Gxmo N42 uses a classic Intel Celeron processor – the Celeron N4020C. This is even used in mini PCs up to 180 euros, such as the CSL Tiny Box (test report). In terms of performance, with its two cores at a maximum of 2.8 GHz, it is at the very lowest level, but is still sufficient for office work. However, you can tell that it has been on the market for almost five years, because the newer Intel N100 achieves twice as high scores in the benchmark with the same power loss (TDP) of 6 watts – so the Celeron works with significantly lower efficiency.
In addition, 6 GB of LPDDR4-2400 RAM are used. Unfortunately, this cannot be upgraded due to the small size of the computer. It’s still sufficient for office work, but the mini PC is already at its limit in terms of storage. A modern system with Windows 11 should have at least 8 GB of RAM, more likely 16 GB of RAM, for long-term use. If you put that into perspective and look around the market, individual mini PCs with only 4 GB of RAM are still being sold for up to 300 euros – so 6 GB for 89 euros is, on the other hand, extremely good for the price.
When it comes to memory, the basic version only has 64 GB of eMMc memory, of which 11 GB is usable. On the one hand, there is also a larger version with 128 GB, and on the other hand, an M.2 2280 NVMe SSD (guide) of up to 1 TB can be installed. According to the price comparison, models with 128 GB, such as the Patriot P300 128GB, are available from just 15 euros. As expected, the eMMc memory does not write at high speeds, but it is certainly faster than an HDD. In the Crystaldiskmark memory benchmark, it writes at 157 MB/s and reads at 314 MB/s.
There is a surprising amount of connectivity here, with the two HDMI ports you can control two screens with 4K at 60 Hertz. USB-C would be great, but is not expected for the price. Wi-Fi 5 is also available, as is Bluetooth 4.2. Normally we would criticize the manufacturer because of the outdated standards, but at 84 euros we realize that savings have to be made somewhere.
What does the Gxmo N42 mini PC do?
The performance can be specifically recorded in the PCmark 10 benchmark, in which the Gxmo N42 achieved around 1545 points. The result is a little higher than with the CSL Tiny Box. In contrast to this, the Gxmo N42 is extremely easy to use and the user experience is surprisingly smooth. The 2 GB larger RAM is definitely helpful for this – that makes a big difference.
The graphics unit clearly lacks steam, which is illustrated by the 3Dmark TimeSpy benchmark. The entire system only achieves 130 points, of which 594 points are due to the CPU and 115 points to the iGPU. For comparison: A mini PC with Intel N100, like the T-Bao T8 Plus (test report), achieves a total of 371 points, of which 323 points are attributed to the iGPU and 2454 points to the CPU. Not to mention when you look at mini PCs around 300 euros with AMD Ryzen like the Ouvis AMR5 (test report), some of which achieve well over 1000 graphics points in this very benchmark.
Mini PC Gxmo N42 – photo series
Mini PC Gxmo N42 – photo series
The mini PC can also be compared with a Raspberry Pi using the cross-platform benchmark Geekbench. With 385 points in the single core and 660 points in the multi-core, it is slightly above a Raspberry Pi 4, which achieves 283 points and 596 points. But it looks old compared to a Raspberry Pi 5, which achieves more than twice as much. A crucial difference compared to single-board computers is the processor architecture, which is based on ARM there and x86 here. With the latter, the program selection is significantly larger; office tools in particular are often only available for x86. This creates flexibility – at the price of poorer efficiency.
If the performance under Windows 11 is too low, you can get some relief with a lightweight Linux. Due to their low resource consumption, classic lightweight derivatives such as Lubuntu, Xubuntu or Tiny Core Linux are suitable here. You can also use Chrome OS Flex as a system resource-saving system – a modified form of the operating system preinstalled on Chromebooks (guide). The download works via the Chromebook Recovery Extension Tool, as the colleagues at Heise Download explain.
How loud is the Gxmo N42?
For the low price of 84 euros, we were very surprised that the Gxmo N42 comes with passive cooling. While cooling is usually a very intensively advertised topic, even for air-cooled computers, Gxmo almost keeps the N42’s noiselessness to itself. So at the beginning we kept listening to the case and couldn’t believe our ears that we couldn’t hear anything. Passive cooling is much more complex to implement and silent mini PCs are therefore usually significantly more expensive than their equally equipped, air-cooled counterparts.
The cooler works well without any noise, and the housing temperature, measured with the Pixel 8 Pro’s thermometer (test report), never exceeded 60 degrees Celsius. Thanks to the fabric cover, you can touch the case at any time without getting your fingers too hot. Overall a good solution – well done!
What else did we notice?
The workmanship of the Gxmo N42 is far better than expected. Sure, the black plastic won’t get you out of the oven, but it feels surprisingly good for 84 euros. What’s even more amazing is that Gxmo even uses a fabric cover on the top – it looks chic and really looks good. If such a setup is possible for 84 euros, we want this on all mini PCs in the future.
The case is also noticeably thin at 106 × 106 × 25 millimeters. The weight is just 208 grams. The case can be opened using four screws on the bottom, giving you easy access to the easily accessible CMOS battery and the slot for an M.2 NVMe SSD.
How much does the Gxmo N42 cost?
At Geekbuying you can get the Gxmo N42 for 89 euros. With the code NNNDEN42 the price drops 84 Euro.
What alternatives are there?
The T-Bao T8 Plus (test report), which does a lot right, is significantly more powerful for a little extra charge. You can currently get it on Aliexpress under the name Firebat T8 Plus for 141 euros (Select variant N100 8GB 256 GB).
The Ouvis AMR5 (test report) is significantly more powerful, but still quite affordable compared to similarly equipped models. With the code NNNDEOVR57 the cost is 295 Euro.
Conclusion
The Gxmo N42 amazed us: we wouldn’t have thought it possible to get a mini PC that was actually usable for 84 euros. This test proved us wrong, the N42 sets a clear price exclamation mark – and shows other manufacturers that things can be done better. More than 4 GB of RAM is possible even for less than 100 euros, so you shouldn’t be fobbed off with it if you pay more than 200 euros.
The workmanship is also surprisingly good, with the fabric-covered top adding a nice visual detail that we wouldn’t have expected either. Overall, a surprisingly good overall package that is aimed at those who are looking for a more flexible alternative to the Raspberry Pi or who just need a computer for occasional document work. It probably won’t get any cheaper than this – you can definitely get this full-fledged computer with Windows 11 for under 100 euros.
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