Smallest Mini PC: Best Ultra-Compact Picks (2026)

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A mini PC measuring 0.194 liters is smaller than a paperback, and it still boots a full x86 Windows 11 or Ubuntu install. The smallest mini PCs on the market are not the ones with the loudest marketing — they are the ones whose chassis dimensions, multiplied out, land under a third of a liter. Everything above that threshold buys something concrete: a second SO-DIMM slot, 2.5GbE, a full-size M.2 2280 bay, or a Radeon 780M.

Chassis volume is the honest sorting metric here, because the "mini PC" label currently covers everything from a 0.194 L fanless box to the ASUS NUC 14 Performance at 2.916 L — roughly 15 times the volume, sold under the same category name. Vendor "size classes" frequently misstate their own products: the GMKtec G3 and G3 Plus calculate to 0.514 L, not the sub-0.3 L figure that circulates in listings, and the Beelink EQ14 measures 0.619 L rather than sitting in a 0.3–0.6 L band.

Below, nine machines are ranked by measured volume, with the trade-offs each one forces spelled out: soldered versus replaceable memory, Quick Sync versus Radeon VCN media engines, 1GbE versus 2.5GbE, and independent wall-power and noise data where it exists. A separate section covers the boxes that look small in photos but measure over a liter, plus the single-board computers that get compared to mini PCs despite running on entirely different silicon.

This is written for homelab builders, Plex and Jellyfin operators, and anyone who needs a machine that fits behind a monitor, inside a network cabinet, or on a shelf where a 1 L desktop will not go — and who would rather know the real liters before ordering than discover them on a scale.

Quick Picks

• Smallest overall, and silent: MeLE Quieter 4C N150 — 0.194 L, fully fanless, roughly 7 W idle.
• Smallest with a real GPU: MINISFORUM Mercury EM780 — 0.275 L, Ryzen 7 7840U and Radeon 780M with AV1 encode.
• Smallest homelab node worth running Proxmox on: ASUS NUC 14 Pro Slim — 0.485 L, dual SO-DIMM, dual M.2, 2.5GbE, dual Thunderbolt 4.

What Actually Makes a Mini PC Small

Chassis volume is length × width × height of the enclosure, expressed in liters (mm³ ÷ 1,000,000). The external power brick is not part of that figure, though its mass is worth knowing: the EM780's supply adds 125.4 g to a 237.9 g machine, which matters if the build hangs off a VESA plate or travels in a bag. Rubber feet, Wi-Fi antennas and VESA brackets are likewise excluded, because vendor dimensions are quoted inconsistently around them.

Four specs determine whether a small chassis stays useful after the first month:

Memory topology. One or two replaceable SO-DIMM slots extend service life; soldered LPDDR5-6400 does not. The fastest sub-0.3 L machines all solder their RAM, which caps them at whatever capacity was ordered.

Cooling architecture. A fanless chassis transfers heat into the case itself — the MeLE Quieter 4C's shell reaches roughly 64.5 °C under combined CPU stress in independent testing. AirJet solid-state cooling removes the rotating fan but produces its own high-frequency acoustic signature, measured at 40.1 dBA worst case on the ZOTAC PI430AJ. Neither is automatically quieter than a well-tuned blower.

Network silicon. One 1GbE port rules out WAN/LAN separation without VLAN trunking on a managed switch. Dual 2.5GbE changes the machine from a client into infrastructure.

Media engine. Intel N100, N150 and N97 provide Quick Sync with H.264 and HEVC hardware encode plus decode, and AV1 decode only. AMD's Radeon 780M (VCN, RDNA3) adds AV1 hardware encode on top of H.264/HEVC/AV1 decode. Meteor Lake integrated Arc graphics also encode AV1. That single line decides whether a box is a media server or a client.

One framing rule applies throughout: processor base power is not wall consumption. An Intel N150 is rated at 6 W; complete N100/N150 mini PCs measure roughly 6–10 W idle and 15–30 W under load, and high-performance Ryzen systems idle near 5 W but pull 71–93 W under sustained load.

#1 MeLE Quieter 4C N150 — 0.194 L, Fanless and Silent

At 131 × 81 × 18.3 mm, the Quieter 4C is the smallest machine here by a clear margin, and the only one in the top three with no moving parts of any kind.

Specs

• Volume: 0.194 L; unit weight 203 g
• CPU: Intel Processor N150 (Twin Lake), 4C/4T, up to 3.6 GHz; N100 variants exist
• iGPU: Intel UHD, 24 execution units; Quick Sync H.264/HEVC encode+decode, AV1 hardware decode only
• Memory: configuration-dependent — DDR4-3200 SO-DIMM variants (MeLE validates up to 32 GB) and soldered LPDDR5-4800 SKUs both exist; Intel's own N150 documentation lists a 16 GB maximum
• Storage: 1× M.2 2280 accepting NVMe or SATA; microSD slot; no 2.5-inch bay
• Networking: 1× 1GbE, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.1
• Outputs: 2× HDMI plus full-function USB-C DisplayPort, three displays
• Cooling: fully passive, no fan; VESA bracket included
• Measured (Liliputing): ~7.3 W Windows idle, ~7.1 W Ubuntu idle, 12.5–12.8 W average sustained load, peaks around 16–18.5 W; CPU near 68 °C in combined stress, chassis surface ~64.5 °C

Pros

• No fan bearing, no dust intake, no acoustic signature at any load
• Idle draw around 7 W suits 24/7 Pi-hole, Home Assistant or a small Proxmox node
• Triple-display output in a chassis thinner than most external SSDs

Cons

• One 1GbE port and Wi-Fi 5 are dated for a 2026 network
• A single internal M.2 bay; redundancy requires external or network storage
• Session-dependent memory: a soldered-LPDDR5 SKU cannot be upgraded at all

Verdict: the correct answer when silence and footprint outrank throughput. Sustained performance is thermally capped by design, and the 1GbE port is the real bottleneck for anything touching a NAS.

Perfect for: always-on service nodes, Pi-hole, Home Assistant, dust-sensitive or noise-sensitive installations.

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#2 ZOTAC ZBOX pico PI430AJ — 0.208 L With a Replaceable SSD

ZOTAC's pico lands 0.014 L behind the MeLE, and it is arguably the smallest current branded x86 desktop with a user-replaceable full-length M.2 2280 drive.

Specs

• Volume: 114.8 × 76 × 23.8 mm → 0.208 L
• CPU: Intel Core i3-N300, 8 cores, Alder Lake-N
• iGPU: Intel UHD; Quick Sync H.264/HEVC encode+decode, AV1 hardware decode only
• Memory: 8 GB LPDDR5, soldered, non-upgradeable
• Storage: 1× tool-less M.2 slot accepting 2230/2242/2280 NVMe PCIe 3.0 ×4 or SATA, up to 4 TB per ZOTAC
• Networking: 1× 1GbE, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2
• Outputs: HDMI 2.0 + DisplayPort 1.4 + DisplayPort 1.4 over USB-C, three 4K60 displays
• Cooling: AirJet solid-state active cooling, no rotating fan; VESA bracket and screws included
• Measured (Notebookcheck): 11.3–15.2 W idle, ~23 W moderate load, ~28.5 W peak; 26.7–26.8 dBA idle, 29.4 dBA normal load, 40.1 dBA worst case with a high-frequency character; surface roughly 69.5 °C under load

Pros

• Eight cores and Quick Sync in a 0.208 L shell
• Tool-less access to a 2280 SSD, so storage can be replaced rather than rebuilt around
• Still listed in ZOTAC's current P-series catalogue

Cons

• 8 GB of soldered RAM is the binding constraint for VMs, well before the CPU runs out
• Idle draw of 11–15 W is measurably higher than the N100 boxes despite the smaller chassis
• AirJet noise is not zero — it is a different spectrum, not silence

Verdict: buy it as a compact desktop or a single-purpose appliance, not as a virtualization host. The 8 GB ceiling is permanent.

Perfect for: direct-play media clients, lightweight desktops, users who want a swappable SSD in the smallest possible shell.

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#3 MINISFORUM Mercury EM780 — 0.275 L of Ryzen 7 Power

The EM780 is the performance-per-liter outlier of the entire field: a Zen 4 Ryzen 7 7840U with Radeon 780M graphics in a 80 × 80 × 43 mm cube.

Specs

• Volume: 0.275 L nominal (80 × 80 × 43 mm); MINISFORUM measures 80.08 × 80.19 × 40.03 mm without feet (~0.257 L) and ~43.11 mm with feet
• Weight: 237.9 g unit plus 125.4 g power supply
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7840U, Zen 4, 8C/16T
• iGPU: Radeon 780M, RDNA3 VCN — H.264, HEVC and AV1 hardware encode; H.264/HEVC/VP9/AV1 decode
• Memory: 16 GB or 32 GB LPDDR5-6400, soldered, non-upgradeable
• Storage: 1× M.2 2230 PCIe 4.0, officially up to 2 TB
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 — no RJ45 port
• Outputs: HDMI 2.1 plus 2× USB4, triple display; 3× USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A and microSD
• Cooling: CPU blower plus a separate SSD cooling fan
• Measured (Notebookcheck): 10.2/10.9/12.2 W idle, 31.7 W average load with 55 W peak; 30.1–30.4 dBA idle, 32.2 dBA normal load, 37.9 dBA stress; CPU around 83.9 °C while holding roughly 28 W continuously

Pros

• Desktop-class CPU and iGPU performance in under 0.3 L
• AV1 hardware encode makes it more media-modern than any N100/N150 box
• Two USB4 ports carry display, data and — with an adapter — Ethernet

Cons

• No built-in Ethernet at all; server duty requires a USB4/USB adapter
• Soldered LPDDR5-6400 means the RAM capacity is fixed at purchase
• The secondary SSD fan has drawn mixed owner reports on tone

Verdict: the fastest thing you can buy at 0.275 L. Order the 32 GB configuration, because it can never be changed later.

Perfect for: compute-dense desktops, transcoding with AV1 encode, portable workstations, users who accept an Ethernet dongle.

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#4 ACEMAGIC T8 Plus — 0.348 L With Dual Ethernet

The T8 Plus sits at the top of the sub-0.4 L band and is the smallest chassis here that offers two physical Ethernet ports.

Specs

• Volume: 89.4 × 89.4 × 43.5 mm → 0.348 L
• CPU: Intel N97, Alder Lake-N, 4C/4T
• iGPU: Intel UHD, 24 EU; H.264/HEVC encode+decode, AV1 decode only
• Memory: 16 GB LPDDR5-6400 onboard, non-upgradeable (earlier revisions of this model shipped 12 GB — the listing's memory line identifies which)
• Storage: 1× M.2 supporting PCIe 3.0 NVMe or SATA, up to 2 TB
• Networking: dual Ethernet — controller and link speed vary by SKU; Wi-Fi and Bluetooth fitted
• Cooling: active

Pros

• Dual NICs in a package that fits in a shirt pocket
• N97's 12 W power envelope keeps sustained clocks above the N100/N150 class
• Genuinely compact for a firewall-adjacent role

Cons

• Soldered RAM caps a virtualization workload early
• Exact Ethernet controller is SKU-dependent, which matters for BSD firewall support
• Less independent thermal and noise data available than for the top three

Verdict: a sensible small node for a firewall or a segmented network, provided the listing names the exact Ethernet silicon before purchase.

Perfect for: compact firewall and router builds, network-segmented lab nodes, desktop secondary systems.

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#5 Beelink MINI S13 — 0.457 L of Quiet Quick Sync

The MINI-S chassis has carried N100 (S12 Pro) and N150 (S13) silicon, and it remains one of the lowest-cost ways to get hardware transcoding into a small footprint.

Specs

• Volume: approximately 115 × 102 × 39 mm → ~0.457 L; unit weight under ~310 g, power supply around 140 g
• CPU: Intel N150 (S13); the S12 Pro uses the N100
• iGPU: Intel UHD, 24 EU; H.264/HEVC encode+decode, AV1 decode only
• Memory: one DDR4 SO-DIMM on the reference S12 Pro product (16 GB maximum); S13 memory layout varies by revision
• Storage: M.2 2280, NVMe or SATA depending on revision; current S13 chassis reports two M.2 positions
• Networking: 1GbE, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2 on common configurations
• Outputs: 2× HDMI at 4K60
• Cooling: active fan; VESA mounting supported
• Measured (Notebookcheck, S12 Pro): ~8.3/8.8/8.9 W idle, 20.1 W average load, 32.2 W maximum; independent S13 testing kept the CPU below roughly 75 °C with the fan described as practically inaudible at desk distance

Pros

• Quick Sync transcoding at a budget tier: several 4K H.264/HEVC streams are realistic when hardware acceleration is actually active
• Replaceable DDR4 SO-DIMM on the S12 Pro revision
• Low idle draw and low noise suit always-on duty

Cons

• Beelink reuses the MINI-S name across N95, N100 and N150 generations, and listings inherit the old naming — match the CPU line, not the model name
• Memory type and storage interface shift between revisions
• 1GbE only

Verdict: the value pick for a Plex or Jellyfin node. Most reported "4K buffering" problems on this chassis trace back to the media server not actually binding the Intel iGPU — verify hardware acceleration is active before blaming the N150.

Perfect for: budget media servers, first homelab nodes, light always-on containers.

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#6 GEEKOM A8 — 0.480 L With a Radeon 780M

The A8 fits a full 8-core Ryzen, replaceable DDR5 and 2.5GbE into less volume than some N100 boxes occupy.

Specs

• Volume: 112.3 × 112.3 × 38.1 mm → 0.480 L
• CPU: Ryzen 7 8745HS on the current SKU; earlier A8 versions used the 8845HS or 8945HS
• iGPU: Radeon 780M; H.264/HEVC/AV1 hardware encode and decode
• Memory: 2× DDR5 SO-DIMM, up to 64 GB on the current SKU
• Storage: 1× M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 ×4, up to 4 TB; no 2.5-inch bay
• Networking: 2.5GbE, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
• Outputs: 2× HDMI plus USB-C/USB4 video
• Cooling: active; VESA mount included
• Measured: an independently tested A8 8945HS idled at roughly 3.2/4.9/6.8 W, averaged ~71 W under load with a ~93 W peak, and measured 24.5–24.7 dBA idle against 48–49 dBA under heavy load; current 8745HS testing lands near 25 dBA idle and 47–48 dBA loaded

Pros

• Nearly full HS-class Ryzen performance at 0.480 L
• Replaceable DDR5 in dual channel — the configuration Radeon 780M needs for memory bandwidth
• AV1 encode plus 2.5GbE plus USB4

Cons

• Load noise near 48 dBA is not appliance-grade
• Single M.2 slot; no internal redundancy
• Idle-to-load spread of well over 80 W makes PSU and thermals relevant

Verdict: the highest capability density below half a liter. It behaves like a small desktop, not a silent appliance — plan placement accordingly.

Perfect for: compact Proxmox and VM hosts, media servers needing AV1 output, users who want replaceable RAM in a sub-0.5 L shell.

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#7 ASUS NUC 14 Pro Slim — 0.485 L With Thunderbolt 4

The slim NUC 14 Pro is the most heavily equipped machine in the sub-0.5 L class: two memory slots, two M.2 slots, 2.5GbE, dual Thunderbolt 4 and a documented firmware lifecycle.

Specs

• Volume: 117 × 112 × 37 mm → 0.485 L; unit weight around 500 g
• CPU: Core Ultra 5 125H / 135H or Core Ultra 7 155H depending on kit, Meteor Lake
• iGPU: Intel Arc — requires two populated SO-DIMMs to reach its intended configuration; H.264/HEVC/AV1 encode and decode
• Memory: 2× DDR5-5600 SO-DIMM, official maximum 48 GB on the cited configuration
• Storage: M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 ×4 up to 4 TB plus M.2 2242 PCIe 4.0 ×4 up to 2 TB; the slim chassis has no 2.5-inch bay
• Networking: 1× Intel I226 2.5GbE, Wi-Fi 6E AX211, Bluetooth 5.3
• Outputs: 2× HDMI 2.1 plus 2× Thunderbolt 4 / DisplayPort
• Cooling: active blower; VESA bracket included
• Measured (Notebookcheck): 5.1/6.4/14.7 W idle, 55.5 W average load and 103.3 W peak; 26–26.2 dBA idle, 42.4 dBA average load, 47.8 dBA maximum; the CPU exceeded 100 °C under stress and sustained power settled toward ~50 W from a 64 W short-term target, with the chassis top near 55.1 °C

Pros

• Best homelab/workstation compromise under 0.5 L: dual SO-DIMM, dual NVMe, 2.5GbE, dual Thunderbolt 4
• Arc media engine adds AV1 hardware encode
• ASUS publishes product-specific software and security support end dates, which single-brand import boxes generally do not

Cons

• Sustained CPU load pushes thermals past 100 °C and noise toward 48 dBA
• Genuine Arc graphics performance requires two memory modules — a single stick cripples it
• Sold as a kit, so RAM, storage and OS are separate purchases

Verdict: the strongest "real computer" at 0.485 L, and the only one here with an enterprise-grade support trail. Its weakness is sustained load behavior, not expansion.

Perfect for: Proxmox nodes needing passthrough and Thunderbolt, business-adjacent deployments, homelab hosts with a light-to-moderate continuous load.

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#8 GMKtec NucBox G3 Plus — 0.514 L With 2.5GbE and Replaceable RAM

The G3 chassis is larger than its size class suggests, but it spends that volume on the two things tiny boxes usually give up: a replaceable SO-DIMM and 2.5GbE.

Specs

• Volume: 114 × 106 × 42.5 mm → 0.514 L
• CPU: Intel N150, Twin Lake, 4C/4T
• iGPU: Intel UHD, 24 EU; H.264/HEVC encode+decode, AV1 decode only
• Memory: 1× DDR4 SO-DIMM, up to 32 GB
• Storage: M.2 2280 PCIe plus a second M.2 2242 SATA slot
• Networking: 1× Intel I226-V 2.5GbE, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2
• Outputs: 2× HDMI at 4K60; 4× USB 3.2 Gen 1
• Cooling: active; VESA supported
• Measured: an independent review recorded roughly 35 dBA at 30 cm under load with idle effectively inaudible

Pros

• Replaceable DDR4 in a 0.5 L box — most sub-0.4 L systems solder it
• Intel I226-V 2.5GbE rather than a Realtek controller
• Two M.2 interfaces, one of them SATA-capable for cheap secondary storage

Cons

• A single SO-DIMM slot remains a VM ceiling
• One 2.5GbE port is not enough for WAN/LAN separation without VLAN trunking
• Only AV1 decode, no AV1 encode

Verdict: the sensible middle: N150 power draw and Quick Sync, with enough serviceability to stay useful for years.

Perfect for: budget Plex/Jellyfin servers, small container hosts, secondary network storage.

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#9 GMKtec NucBox G9 — 0.569 L With Four M.2 Slots

No other machine under 0.6 L matches the G9's storage topology: four M.2 2280 PCIe slots plus dual 2.5GbE, in 0.569 L.

Specs

• Volume: 146.6 × 100.25 × 38.75 mm → 0.569 L
• CPU: Intel N150
• iGPU: Intel UHD, 24 EU; H.264/HEVC encode+decode, AV1 decode only
• Memory: 12 GB onboard DDR5/LPDDR5-family, effectively non-upgradeable
• Storage: 4× M.2 2280 PCIe slots; eMMC on common SKUs
• Networking: dual Intel-class 2.5GbE, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2
• Outputs: 2× HDMI 4K60 plus USB-C display output
• Cooling: multi-fan low-profile arrangement; VESA available

Pros

• Four SSD positions and dual 2.5GbE for under 0.6 L — nothing else in that volume comes close
• Low-power N150 platform keeps idle draw in the appliance range
• Genuinely small for a multi-drive storage node

Cons

• 12 GB of soldered memory is a hard ceiling for ZFS, VM density and container stacks
• N150's four cores limit anything beyond light services
• Not a NAS in the conventional sense — no hot-swap bays or 3.5-inch support

Verdict: the storage-per-liter champion, paired with the most frustrating memory spec in this lineup. Excellent as a service and file node, poor as a hypervisor.

Perfect for: compact always-on storage nodes, download and media stacks, secondary backups.

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Mini PCs That Are Bigger Than They Look

Several machines routinely listed among the smallest measure well past the point where "ultra-compact" stops being accurate.

That last figure is worth sitting with: the NUC 14 Performance is roughly fifteen times the volume of the MeLE Quieter 4C, and both are sold as mini PCs.

The 1 L business class is a separate purchasing category rather than a size winner — HP's Mini chassis at about 1.053 L, Dell's OptiPlex 7020 Micro at 1.166 L and Lenovo's ThinkCentre Tiny at around 1.195 L. Off-lease units from those families bring mature firmware, standard SO-DIMM slots, documented BIOS histories and repairability that no 0.3 L import box matches. When a homelab cluster needs three nodes and physical volume is not the constraint, they are frequently the better buy.

Comparison Table

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

The ultra-compact field splits cleanly at roughly 0.3 L. Below it, three machines define the limit of what current silicon allows: the 0.194 L MeLE Quieter 4C trades performance and networking for total silence, the 0.208 L ZOTAC PI430AJ adds eight cores and a replaceable 2280 SSD but permanently fixes memory at 8 GB, and the 0.275 L MINISFORUM EM780 delivers the most compute per liter of anything here — including AV1 hardware encode — at the cost of Ethernet and upgradable memory.

Above 0.45 L, the compromises change character. The GEEKOM A8 and ASUS NUC 14 Pro Slim both fit replaceable dual-channel memory, 2.5GbE and two storage interfaces under half a liter, and the GMKtec G9 crams four M.2 slots into 0.569 L. Each of those gains is paid for in liters: the EQ14's excellent 23.5 dBA idle noise costs 0.619 L, and a 1 L business Tiny buys repairability and firmware maturity that no palm-size box offers.

The practical rule is simple. If the machine's job is silence, a fixed appliance role or fitting behind a display, buy as small as possible and accept soldered memory and 1GbE. If the job is virtualization, storage or anything that will grow, buy the smallest chassis that still has a SO-DIMM slot, 2.5GbE and a second M.2 position — which lands at roughly 0.48 to 0.57 L, and is worth every extra deciliter.

→ Check the current price of the MeLE Quieter 4C on Amazon