If you're on the lookout for a mini PC, the chances are you're prioritizing a compact build and affordability over power. While mini PCs can punch well above their weight at times (like the Apple Mac Mini), desktop PCs and workstations still win out when it comes to which machine boasts the biggest performance credentials. In the world of Windows mini PCs around the $500 mark or under, value for money reigns – and it's about finding the most functional machine to suit your likely entry-level needs.

Acemagic's catalogue of mini PCs ranges from the sublime (in the form of the Matrix Mini M1) to the underwhelming (courtesy of the Kron Mini K1). Taking lessons from the failures of the latter is the Chinese firm's newest budget-friendly mini PC, the Kron Mini K5.

Before you ask, we don't understand the naming convention either, but consider this to be the K1's spiritual successor. We have much higher hopes for the newer model given it comes packaged with a new Intel Wildcat Lake entry-level processor, as opposed to one that's several years old upon release. Despite launching in 2025, the K1 featured the then-three-year-old Intel Core i5-12600H CPU, for reference. With fresh hardware and a cool blue chassis, can this $400 (after discounts) mini PC make a case to be the best entry-level machine of its kind out there?

This mini PC takes a subtle left turn from the familiar design language of its predecessors, manifesting as a couple of tweaks alongside a knockout color choice that gives the machine some extra character. Although its compact dimensions remain the same as the Kron Mini K1 (128 x 128 x 41.3mm) and even the Matrix Mini M1, the Kron Mini K5 feels modern; the cool, breezy exterior complements the fact that its components are fresh.

You can also find this design language in the etched lateral metallic strip lining the top of the machine, matching the tone of the metallic blue used on top, which contrasts excellently with the matted and dustier iteration on the rest of the body. This is enough to add something different to a neat but overly familiar design. Otherwise, the power button has changed – spelling out 'POWER' instead of the power symbol we're familiar with. Thankfully, the LED backlighting remains. You may well not care about all this if you simply want to mount the device onto the back of your monitor – with the tools to do so provided in the box – but leaving the Kron Mini K5 out on your desk is no bad thing and gives you something easy on the eye to add to your workplace aesthetic.

The selection of ports available is identical to the Kron Mini K1, with the front hosting the only USB-C port (3.2 Gen 2) alongside two USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The rear features four USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.0, a 2.5GbE Ethernet port, and DC input. There's also room for a Kensington Lock Slot (as well as a lock switch at the top of the rear), but sadly no SD Card reader, which you may often find on the side of machines like this. Your wireless standards, meanwhile, are Bluetooth 5.2 and Wi-Fi 6, both of which aren't the newest out there.

Acemagic Kron Mini K5 review: Specs and performance

The Intel Core Ultra 5 320 Wildcat Lake processor fitted into the Kron Mini K5 is a six-core entry-level chip geared for energy-efficient budget laptops and mini PCs. Two performance cores (for more demanding workloads) have a 1.5GHz base clock speed (and 4.6GHz turbo), while four efficiency cores (for more background and everyday tasks) offer a 1.3GHz base clock speed (and 3.4GHz turbo).

The chip also integrates around 16TOPS of AI performance, which isn't much – but enough for Windows 11's simple AI features like real-time background blurring on a video call, live noise cancellation, as well as real-time translation or transcription. It also comes with an Intel Xe Graphics chip, 16GB LPDDR5 RAM, and a 512GB SSD.

Performance testing with Geekbench 6 produced a single-core result of 2,427 and a multi-core score of 7,655. The former is largely in line with expectations and means that it can handle all simple, single-core background tasks as well as you would need. The latter result also met our expectations – performing much better than the Intel Core i5-12600H in the Kron Mini K1 (5,508) as well as the Intel Core Ultra 5 125U in the Acer Revo RB-102 (6,869), which actually costs a little more.

Graphics performance too was very good; it clocked a score of 12,658 in the OpenCL test, beating both the Acer (11,029) and the Kron Mini K1 (9,630). Last year's Matrix Mini M1, however, did beat it with 13,514. The Intel Xe Graphics chip won't come anywhere near the Intel Arc Graphics chips, but should be enough for basic photo editing and graphic design.

Unfortunately, if you're hoping to transfer data at speed – SSD reads of 1,775MB/s and writes of 1,689MB/s are certainly on the lower end and well below average.

Acemagic Kron Mini K5 review: Is it worth it?

We enjoyed plenty about the Kron Mini K5 mini PC, including its fresh and sharp design and metallic blue double-hue chassis – not to mention the fact that the components powering it are as new as you can get. This might sound like an obvious point, but plenty of mini PCs out there in the budget category are retrofitted with chips that are several years old at the time of release, so to find one available for roughly $400 with a new Intel chipset and enough AI power for basic on-device processing is excellent. You'll also benefit from a healthy amount of graphics power at this price point.

There are some misgivings, such as the wireless standards being a little behind the times, as well as a port selection that lacks more than one USB-C connection and no SD Card reader. The SSD could also have done with a bit more speed. But it's certainly enough to get by for the majority of office workers – and it won't break the bank.