Geekom Megamini G1 Hands On: The Smallest Liquid-Cooled Gaming Rig

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We’re not new to the world of mini gaming PCs, but none are as compact as Geekom’s Megamini G1. Calling this a tower would be overselling its size, as its near-handheld form factor is visually appealing and easy to move. Maker Geekom calls it the world's smallest liquid-cooled gaming PC, albeit with some caveats. A hard tubing liquid-cooling loop that works across the CPU and GPU is the central performance and visual draw; you can see it through windows on three sides of the system.

If you’re wondering how this size is possible, the CPU and GPU are mobile chips—specifically, a 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13900H processor and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU in the model we saw. The G1 is codeveloped by Tecno, a major Chinese phone maker. This product began on Kickstarter and will launch in November, having flown past its target goal by leaps and bounds. We received a model early and I spent some time poring over the system ahead of a full review—you can watch my rundown in the video above.

Design: Delivering Super-Small Style

The G1’s size and visual design go a long way toward making a positive first impression, but I must start with the size. This is a genuinely tiny gaming desktop, even by mini PC standards, measuring 10 by 5.9 by 5.9 inches (HWD). It’s small enough to lift in one hand but is (perhaps unsurprisingly) fairly dense at about 8.1 pounds.

We’re longtime fans of compact desktops like Falcon Northwest’s Tiki, but that system, while skinny, still has a larger desktop-like footprint. (The Tiki is an 11.6-liter chassis, while the G1 is just 5.74 liters.) The G1’s column-like design is reminiscent of the original Corsair One design but shrunk down even smaller. Of course, given that Geekom opted for laptop parts (more on this below), its downsizing success is not as much of a mystery.

It should be said that even with our caveats around the mobile CPU and GPU, you'll find some impressive engineering work here to make a potent tower this small. The main component that enables its design with these parts is an L-shaped radiator, drastically reducing its usual chassis size but still capable of dissipating up to 250W of system power. Dual fans—one 120mm by 120mm and the second 70mm by 70mm—move air through the top and out the back of the machine. A copper heat sink covers the CPU and GPU, helping sustain temperatures across long sessions.

Next, of course, is the liquid cooling loop. The pump has a maximum flow rate of 2 liters per minute, with a coolant capacity of 360ml, pushing coolant through the system and (crucially) over both the CPU and GPU. Geekom describes the system as whisper-quiet. While it kicked on fairly loudly for much of the time it was idling, it suddenly went much more silent. If the latter volume is representative of the usual noise level it’s perfectly acceptable, but the initial sound concerned me. I'm keen to see how it does under load during more prolonged testing and game sessions.

The pipes and metal headers look high-end, and the whole system feels well-made. The exterior is aluminum with only a bit of plastic, and the customizable RGB chassis and fan lighting (subjective takes on this type of lighting aside) add plenty of optional flair. Another neat inclusion is the small display at the top of the front face, which provides a handy system performance and temperature readout.

For a small PC, the G1’s connectivity options are substantial. The system has 15 total interfaces, starting with the four USB Type-A ports and headphone jack on the front. The right side holds just an SD card slot, with the other connections around the back. There, you’ll find two more USB Type-A ports, two USB Type-C ports, two HDMI ports, an Oculink (eGPU) connection, an Ethernet port, and the power jack. You won't find any discrete DisplayPort connections here, but the USB-C ports support DisplayPort; one is a full-function USB-C port, and one is a Thunderbolt port. The system also includes Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2.

Specs and Pricing: 13th Gen Core i9 and an RTX 4060, Laptop Style

First, the pricing: The prices are subject to change post-Kickstarter phase, and you'll find several options. Each of them has an "early bird" special for those who backed the project—we’ll run with those for now as the exact SKUs and list prices post-launch could change (but we’ll mention the current list price, too).

The Kickstarter backer pricing ranges from $1,499 ($1,699 MSRP) to $1,799 ($1,899 MSRP). The base model comes with an Intel Core i7-13620H, an RTX 4060, 32GB of RAM, and 1 TB of storage. All models use the RTX 4060, but our unit is upgraded with the Core i9 chip, coming in at $1,699 ($1,899 MSRP).

To start on the components, let’s hone in on using mobile parts. We think Geekcom could be more transparent on the Kickstarter page and product page about the GPU being a laptop chip rather than a full-size desktop card. These pages repeatedly list the spec as an RTX 4060, and some of the information we received even refers to it as a “graphics card.” Only one part of the documentation we read—and having the system in hand to see it ourselves—confirmed that it’s a laptop-style RTX 4060 graphics chip.

With the processor, it’s more obvious just from the spec listing; the “H” suffix in the Intel Core i9-13900H chip name denotes a mobile processor. We’ve tested this high-speed chip plenty on high-end gaming systems and content creation PCs, flaunting 14 cores and 20 threads. It’s arguably overkill for gaming alone, but you may want to do heavy multitasking or streaming on this desktop, too.

That RTX 4060 chip (120W TDP in this system) is more limited comparatively, though it is capable. We’ve seen many gaming laptops with an RTX 4060 GPU, and it’s undoubtedly a reliable 1080p 60fps performer. Such a chip is still limited in its power ceiling, but you can expect more with the additional chassis space and advanced liquid cooling. We don’t make a habit of benchmarking and reviewing systems that aren’t yet available, so check back for testing in our full review later this year when it's fully available.

I appreciate using an RTX 4060 to keep the price down; too many mini gaming PCs we see stack the system with the most potent parts possible, costing many thousands of dollars. That said, it’s the only GPU option in every model, so the G1 does have a definite ceiling and is ultimately equivalent to a high-end gaming laptop.

That may be OK for the price—it’s decent considering 32GB of memory and a 1TB SSD even in the base model—but remember, you’ll also need a monitor, keyboard, and mouse to function. The memory is SO-DIMM, another laptop convention, with a maximum of 64GB. The SSD maxes out at 4TB via two Gen 4 M.2 2280 NVMe SSDs.

A Worthy Compact Consideration

The Megamini G1 is an interesting tiny PC; while you'll find some caveats, it could be the type of system you’re looking for. The mobile CPU and GPU cap the power ceiling, but at the same time, this form factor likely wouldn’t be where you look for top-end power. If it could provide that, it would not only push thermodynamics to new heights but would cost far more than the roughly midrange configurations sold here.

Outside of those limitations, it’s a well-made gaming PC with attractive interior windows, unique cooling, and fun RGB chassis lighting. If you want a super-compact gaming PC or have a specific hobby or professional use case for something this small, the Megamini G1 looks promising and versatile without costing a fortune.