This Modular Mini PC Rocks A Ryzen 7 8845HS And A Bunch Of Ports
We all love mini-PCs, don't we? The ability to slap down a little box that fits in the palm of your hand and enjoy modern desktop (or at least laptop) performance is quite compelling, after all. They have their limitations, though, first and foremost being performance, but also often in terms of external connectivity. That's what makes the Ninkear MBOX 8 Pro so interesting, as it can have tons of connectivity, if you want.
This micro machine is just 4" (10cm) square, and sports a Ryzen 7 8845HS processor. That's essentially the same thing as a Ryzen Z1 Extreme like you'd find in a typical gaming handheld; it's a "Hawk Point" chip with eight Zen 4 CPU cores and six RDNA 3 WGPs, as well as a 16 TOPS XDNA NPU. It's a perfectly potent processor for just about anything you want to do, even including playing intense 3D games like Zenless Zone Zero or GTA Online Enhanced (even with ray-tracing!).
The "catch" is that, by itself, the main module of the Ninkear MBOX 8 Pro has limited external connectivity: Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi 6, and a pair of 10-Gbps USB Type-C ports are all you get. For I/O, you'll either be using Bluetooth peripherals or a USB hub. That is, unless you're also using the optional base unit that attaches to the bottom of the MBOX 8 Pro magnetically and adds a whole pile of extra ports:
You get HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2, dual USB Type-A (5 Gbps) ports, dual USB Type-A 2.0 ports, 3.5mm audio, Gigabit Ethernet, and a 2.5-Gigabit Ethernet jack. Not only that, but the expansion base has room inside for an additional M.2 SSD, supporting PCIe 3.0 x4 (the same as the drive inside the top unit.) That's not far off the connectivity a proper DIY desktop, counting the two full-function Type-C ports up top.
Liliputing, who pointed out this machine to us, remarks that it's a bit like a regular mini-PC that's been chopped in half. They're not wrong, but there are some benefits to this configuration; you could pick up and take the primary unit with you for security reasons without disconnecting all of your devices. You could also bring just the primary unit with you (along with Bluetooth peripherals and a Type-C monitor) for an ultra-lightweight digital nomad lifestyle that still allows you full desktop connectivity at home.
The default configuration, which gets you 32GB of DDR5-6400 memory and a 1TB NVMe SSD as well as a copy of Windows 11 Pro, goes for $635 over at Banggood, which is the recommended option for American buyers. Folks in Europe can instead buy direct from Ninkear for $718 US—actually a lower price, as it includes both tax and free shipping for EU member states.
