Mini PCs have been one of the highlights of computer hardware over the past few years and products like the CTOne T8Pro selling for $99 at Amazon (was $129) exemplify this.
Shaped like a Mac Studio, this minuscule PC – it’s only 3.5 x 3.5 x 1.7in – has more ports than the Apple Mac Mini (nine in all) and costs less than $100 at Amazon with free shipping. Hurry up though as stocks are likely to be limited. Despite its price, it still comes with Windows 11 Pro (rather than Windows 11 Home) and a two-year warranty.
Best value-for-money PC deal – only $99
Is CTOne T8Pro worth buying?
Sure, it is no gaming PC or video editing workstation, as the Intel Celeron N5095 CPU that powers it is just good enough for casual browsing and light office work, for which it excels (pun intended). For an idea of how it will perform, see our review of the Geekom MiniAir 11 mini PC. 8GB of LPDDR4x RAM and 256GB user-replaceable M.2 2242 NVMe SSD (no slow eMMC here) are than enough for mainstream users (forget about AI PC levels of performance though).
Its diminutive form factor means that you can carry it around and its versatility has been highlighted by one Amazon customer who powered it using a DIY-made battery. After all, the CTOne T8Pro only needs 24W of power (12V, 2A) via a barrel-type connector. I liked that it has three (yes three) HDMI ports that can each drive a 4K monitor; equally surprising are the two GbE Ethernet LAN ports, something I’ve never seen on a PC that cheap.
That paves the way for home-built hardware firewalls, file storage servers, tiny NAS, multi-channel aggregation (internet bonding), portable VPN and much, much more. The inclusion of a mounting bracket – to secure it behind a monitor – and a HDMI cable should be commended.
There’s a few improvements I’d recommend though (although remember this is a sub-$100 computer). There’s no microSD card slot or USB Type-C connector and it can “only” do WiFi 5 wireless connectivity. Some customers have also mentioned that it has a plastic housing that is similar to “the plastic on a chid’s toy” but then again, corners have to be cut to reach that sort of price.
A note that CTOne seems to be a brand from the company behind the likes of Kamrui, Firebat, Chatreey, Ninkear, Acemagic and Acemagician and the T8 Pro launched back in November 2022.
Remember that Amazon also offer a 2- or 3-year desktop protection plan (via Asurion) for $16.99 and $23.99 respectively, which provide with extra piece of mind and include 24/7 support and protection from power surges.
