The GMKtec NucBox has been growing in popularity amongst the VMware community as a modern AMD Ryzen-based alternative to the Intel/ASUS NUC, offering many of the same advantages while avoiding some of the drawbacks of Intel's Hybrid CPU architecture.
In preparation for my upcoming session at the inaugural VMUG Connect Conference in April, I have been experimenting with several modern hardware options, with the goal of deploying the full VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) solution for use within a lab environment, while still staying budget friendly!
I know several folks have had great success with the GMKtec NucBox K8 Plus and it just so happens, while browsing the GMKtec website, I noticed an additional NucBox has just been released called the K11.
While the differences between the K8 Plus and K11 is pretty minimal, I was interested in validating some new hardware add-ons, so getting the latest hardware would hopefully give me the best chance!
In collaboration with the VMware {Code} team, I was able to get hands on with the latest GMKtec NucBox K11!
Compute
The K11 comes with an AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS which provides 8 cores / 16 threads and since this this processor is based on the Zen 4 architecture, all CPU cores are uniform in nature, which means there are no additional workarounds that is required in booting and running ESXi!
For memory, the K11 officially supports up to 96GB using dual DDR5 SODIMM modules and this is where I wanted to push the hardware boundaries a bit ... since 64GB DDR5 SODIMM modules are now available! I am pleased to share that the K11 was successful in consuming 2 x 64GB DDR5 SODIMM memory modules, enabling a total of 128GB of usable memory, which is perfect for those interested in using this with ESXi and VCF! 😍
Network
The networking on the K11 includes dual Intel i226-V (2.5GbE), which are fully recognized by ESXi and is another welcome trend that I have been seeing with more and more modern AMD kits. The other added benefit with the dual networking interface is that you can use this as a Management or Workload Domain host with VCF, as two dual interfaces is currently a perquisite today.
Since there are no Thunderbolt ports, if you need additional networking, you can look at using the USB-based networking with the popular USB Network Native Driver for ESXi Fling, supporting over two dozen types of USB-based network adapters.
Storage
For storage, the K11 supports up to 2 x M.2 NVMe PCIe x4 Gen 4 (2280) which is typical for a 4x4 type form factor, but this does also means users must decide on which VMware storage combination they would like to use whether that is NVMe Tiering, vSAN OSA/ESA or standard VMFS. With that said, we can also get creative and just use one of the NVMe devices for a combined NVMe Tiering, ESXi OSData and VMFS datastore, which would then free up the additional NVMe for vSAN ESA 😁
Alternatively, if you really want a 3rd M.2 NVMe, you can remove the WiFi adapter but you will need to purchase an M.2 A+E adapter so that you can add either an M.2 2242 or 2230 NVMe device. I purchased this $8 M.2 A+E adapter and a Sabrant 512GB 2230 NVMe from Amazon and once installed, ESXi immediately saw the NVMe device without any issues. The only caveat with using the M.2 A+E adapter on the K11 is that the existing M.2 NVMe sits right on top and with the added height of both the adapter itself and the NVMe device, there is not much clearance between the two NVMe devices and could potentially lead to heating issues, you may want to add a thermal pad in between, but something to be aware of.
Note: You can also add a 3rd NVMe device to the GMKtec K8 Plus by replacing the Wifi adapter as shared by Tom Fojta.
Graphics
Unfortunately, passthrough of the iGPU (AMD Radeon 780M) was not successfully using either Windows 11 or the latest Ubuntu 24.10 release as the amdgpu driver fails to load, which can be observed in the dmesg output.
The K11 does include an OCuLink interface which is typically used to provide external GPU (eGPU) access, but this was not something I had tested as you will need to purchase OCuLink eGPU dock, so YMMV on whether ESXi will detect the external graphics card.
Security
The TPM on the K11 only supports the CRB protocol and not FIFO which is required to properly function with ESXi. While there is a mode to switch to a "discrete" TPM by going into the system BIOS under Advanced->AMD CBS->SOC Miscellaneous Control->Trusted Platform Module, it simply gets rid of the warning message in ESXi that a connection can not be established with the TPM.
Form Factor
The form factor of the K11 is still fairly compact but is slightly wider than most typical 4x4 system as you can see pictured above (Top to Bottom: GMKtec EVO-X1, ASUS NUC 14 Pro, Intel NUC 13 Pro Tall, ASUS PN64-E1 & GMKtec K11) with a measurement of 127 mm × 132 mm × 58 mm.
One noticeable difference between the K11 and K8 Plus, is the in your face RGB lighting from the fan on the top of the chassis, unlike the K8 Plus where it is a bit more reserved. While this is only the second time I have used a GMKtec system, it seems to be their signature brand with the use of RGB lighting, which may bother some if it is sitting right next to you. I know some have asked whether this can be disabled and as far as I know, it is not possible so just something to be aware of.
ESXi
The latest release of ESXi 8.0 Update 3d installs perfectly fine and as mentioned earlier, it also fully recognizes the complete 128GB (2x64GB DDR5 SODIMM) memory which is a huge bump in available memory for running various workloads including VCF! This is also before leveraging NVMe Tiering which get you close to half terabyte of memory for your workloads 😎
VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF)
Speaking of VCF, one way to deploy it is using VCF Holodeck but you can also deploy it on bare-metal. For those attending VMUG Connect in April, I will have a breakout that will dive deeper into how to deploy an optimized VCF stack using minimal hardware and showcasing various tips and tricks that you can use. I hope to see some of you there!
I have also put ESXi v8 on a GMKtec K11 with 96GB. Works very well.