Origimagic C8 Mini PC (Ryzen 3 5400U): Full Review

The Origimagic C8 is a mini PC that stands out as a balanced solution for office environments, teleworking, and lightweight home servers, ideal for users who only want to use the PC for basic tasks.

Its combination of a Zen 3 processor, 2.5 GbE network port, and four 4K video outputs far surpasses mini PCs based on Intel N100 chips. However, sellers of this product include inflated performance figures in their advertising and use recycled reviews from marketplaces.

• Pros:

  • Four independent video outputs at 4K@60Hz (2x HDMI + 2x full USB-C).

  • High-speed 2.5 Gbps Ethernet wired connection (Realtek RTL8125G).

  • Outstanding efficiency and cool operation under sustained load (15W TDP).

  • Two DDR4 SODIMM slots and dual M.2 storage bays.

• Cons:

  • The secondary storage bay is limited to M.2 2242 SATA format (not NVMe), significantly reducing its transfer speed.

  • Modest integrated graphics for demanding modern games.

  • Inconsistencies in official advertising regarding the Wi-Fi standard (real Wi-Fi 5).

Quick conclusion: If you're looking for a compact computer for setting up multiple monitors or a quiet 24/7 local server for under €300 or $350, this is a solid alternative to traditional towers.

→ View Prices for the C8 Mini PC with Ryzen 3 5400U

Unboxing and box contents

The outer packaging is straightforward, consisting of a rigid cardboard box protected with high-density foam. Inside, we find:

• 📦 1x Origimagic C8 Mini PC.

• 🔌 1x DC power adapter (19V / 3.42A) with European plug.

• 🖥️ 1x 1 meter flat HDMI cable.

• 🛠️ 1x VESA metal support (75x75 / 100x100 mm) with all screws.

• 📖 1x Basic user manual with power-on instructions and BIOS setup.

The packaging does its job by adequately protecting the connectors and the front button during transport.

Key technical specifications

Design and construction quality

The Origimagic C8 features a square, dark slate-blue chassis made of reinforced polycarbonate. In hand, it feels compact and firm, with no play or annoying creaking when pressure is applied.

The top cover features a geometric ventilation grille alongside a textured strip with the brand's logo. The sides incorporate honeycomb perforations to optimize the intake of fresh air to the internal components.

At the base are four non-slip rubber feet that conceal the screws for accessing the interior and the holes for mounting the included VESA plate. At only 37 mm thick, it easily disappears behind any office monitor.

Screen and multimedia

Since it doesn't include an integrated panel, the C8's multimedia value lies in its ability to power up to four 4K displays at 60Hz simultaneously and independently. We connected two monitors via HDMI and two portable monitors via USB-C cables without experiencing any flickering or loss of sync.

The Zen 3 architecture's video decoding engine smoothly handles content in VP9 and H.265/HEVC codecs at 4K resolution on streaming platforms.

In terms of audio, the front-facing 3.5 mm jack offers a somewhat limited analog audio output with insufficient gain for high-impedance headphones. For a truly powerful sound, we recommend using the clean digital signal output via the HDMI or USB-C ports to connect to the monitor's built-in speakers or external receivers.

Performance and software

Under the hood, we find an AMD Ryzen 3 5400U chip. Although some online store listings try to mislead users by omitting the "3" to suggest it's a Ryzen 5, it's actually a 4-core, 8-thread CPU based on 7nm Zen 3 Cezanne cores.

The computer comes with a fully activated Windows 11 Pro, with no pre-installed adware ( bloatware ) or intrusive layers.

The flow in daily life is immediate:

• Handle heavy spreadsheets with macros without experiencing crashes.

• It keeps more than 30 tabs open in Chromium-based browsers while playing background video without frame drops.

• Runs lightweight graphic development and editing environments (Photoshop, Figma, Canva) with short response times.

The 512GB NVMe SSD delivers sequential read speeds of around 2,400 MB/s and sequential write speeds of 1,800 MB/s. This ensures system boot times of just 11 seconds and instant program loading.

→ View Prices for the C8 Mini PC with Ryzen 3 5400U

Energy consumption, temperature and noise

One of the biggest attractions of this processor is its low impact on the electricity bill:

• Standby power consumption: 5W - 8W.

• Navigation and regular office tasks: 12W - 16W.

• Maximum continuous stress: 26W peak across the entire assembly.

In terms of power, the support for Power Delivery 3.0 allows the use of a single USB-C cable connected to a compatible monitor to transfer video, data and electrical current at the same time, eliminating the traditional desktop charger.

The cooling system features a vapor chamber combined with a copper heatsink and a turbine fan. In our continuous thermal stress tests over several hours:

• The maximum CPU temperature stabilizes at 72 °C, well away from the critical limit of 105 °C set by AMD.

• The sound level at a distance of 30 cm ranges from 19 dB at rest to 31 dB under high load. In a normal working environment, it is practically inaudible.

Connectivity and extras

The port layout is well thought out so as not to obstruct the workspace:

• Practical front panel: The two 10 Gbps USB-A ports make it easy to connect fast memory and temporary peripherals without having to search blindly behind the computer.

• Full rear panel: The two USB 2.0 ports are reserved for the wireless keyboard and mouse receiver, preventing saturation or interference on the high-speed buses.

• 2.5 GbE Network: The presence of the Realtek RTL8125G controller at 2.5 Gbps is a notable leap compared to traditional Gigabit, ideal if you have high-speed fiber optics or work with a NAS server on your local network.

For wireless connectivity, it offers Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0. Although some advertising images mistakenly mention Wi-Fi 6E, actual wireless speeds are around 450 Mbps on the 5 GHz band, stable and sufficient for video calls and high-definition streaming. It lacks a biometric fingerprint sensor and cellular connectivity.

Expansion and upgrades

Opening the Origimagic C8 is very simple by removing the four screws under the rubber feet:

1. RAM: It has two accessible DDR4 SODIMM slots, supporting up to 64GB in dual channel (2x32GB) at 3200MHz. If you plan to upgrade or switch to 32GB, you can purchase compatible modules at a good price through this link to DDR4 SODIMM memory on AliExpress.

2. Primary storage: The 512GB M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe 3.0 drive can be replaced with faster 1TB or 2TB models.

3. Secondary storage: Includes an additional M.2 2242 SATA bay that supports drives up to 2 TB. It's important to note that it must be a short form factor (2242) and use the SATA protocol. You can purchase a compatible secondary drive via this link to M.2 2242 SATA drives on AliExpress.

Comparison with direct competitors

Reviews on well-known websites 

Positive points reported by real users

• Superior to the Intel N100 in everyday use: Users agree that the 4 cores with 8 threads (SMT) under Zen 3 architecture eliminate the small stutters that the N100's E-core cores suffer when background tasks accumulate (antivirus, downloads, heavy spreadsheets and multiple tabs).

• Excellent thermal performance (15W actual): Unlike older models from the brand that used hot 35W chips (Ryzen 3550H), those using this 7nm chip confirm that the fan-assisted cooler operates very smoothly. Temperatures hover around 35-42°C at idle and rarely exceed 65-72°C under continuous use.

• Uncommon port versatility: It is one of the very few such cheap devices that offers 2.5 GbE networking combined with video outputs capable of supporting three or four 4K monitors.

• Single-cable power supply: Users with modern monitors with USB-C PD ports confirm that the device powers on and functions perfectly powered by the monitor itself, leaving the desktop clear of transformers.

Real criticisms and weaknesses pointed out by buyers

• The default fan curve in the BIOS: Hardware forums indicate that on some motherboards from these generic manufacturers, the fan profile comes factory-configured to be somewhat aggressive, resulting in small bursts of speed when the CPU enters turbo mode. The common solution used by users is to disable aggressive CPU Boost in the Windows power options or to smooth the fan curve in the BIOS to make it completely inaudible.

• Secondary brands of memory and SSDs: Upon opening the chassis, the NVMe SSD and RAM are usually from second-tier Chinese OEM manufacturers (such as Asgard, KingSpec, Netac, or the integrator's own brands). Although they meet the advertised speeds (PCIe 3.0), some users prefer to buy the basic version and replace the storage with Crucial or Samsung drives for greater durability.

• Limited secondary bay: It has been confirmed that the second M.2 slot is only compatible with 2242 SATA form factor. Several buyers have reported that attempting to connect a standard NVMe drive there results in a detection error.

• Basic Wi-Fi card: Although the 2.5 Gbps wired connection is lightning fast, the built-in wireless adapter is usually a basic Realtek Wi-Fi 5 chip that offers modest speeds (300-450 Mbps) and doesn't take advantage of Wi-Fi 6 routers.

Technical tests and synthetic performance

To compare the graphs shown by the seller, we verified the chip's actual performance against its advertising claims:

• Cinebench R23:

  • Manufacturer's claim: 7,261 points in multi-core.

  • Actual performance as tested: ~4,150 points in Multi-Core and ~1,240 points in Single-Core. The figure on the advertising poster is fictitious (typical of 6 or 8-core processors like the 5600H). However, the actual score of over 4,100 points easily surpasses the ~2,300 points of the popular Intel N100 series.

• Geekbench 6:

  • Single-Core: 1,580 points.

  • Multi-Core: 4,890 points.

• CrystalDiskMark (512GB NVMe SSD):

  • Sequential read: 2.420 MB/s.

  • Sequential write speed: 1.810 MB/s.

• PCMark 10 (Overall Productivity):

  • Overall score of 4,620 points, demonstrating great fluency in office tasks, video calls and web browsing with multiple simultaneous tabs.

Gaming and emulation

This mini PC isn't designed as a cutting-edge gaming machine, but its AMD Radeon Vega 6 graphics card holds its own against basic Intel solutions:

• Light PC games and eSports (1080p on low quality):

  • League of Legends: 75 - 90 very stable FPS.

  • Valorant: 60 - 75 FPS.

  • CS:GO 2: 35 - 45 FPS (with drops in areas with a lot of smoke; better at 720p).

  • Rocket League: 55-60 FPS at 1080p with performance settings.

  • Genshin Impact: 35 - 42 stable FPS at 720p medium quality.

• Retro emulation:

  • Classic 8, 16 and 32 bit consoles (NES, SNES, Mega Drive, PS1): absolute fluidity at upscaled internal resolution.

  • Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast: Perfect 60 FPS with enhancement filters enabled.

  • PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube: Outstanding performance in PCSX2 and Dolphin at native x2 resolution (720p/1080p) in the vast majority of the catalog.

  • Nintendo Switch / PS3: Out of this CPU's comfortable range; some simple 2D indie games work, but 3D titles suffer severe frame rate drops.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Can I connect four displays at once?
Yes, it supports four independent displays running at 4K@60Hz using the 2 HDMI 2.0 ports and the 2 front/rear USB-C ports with DisplayPort support.

Can it be powered without a traditional wall charger?
Yes, thanks to Power Delivery 3.0 compatibility (up to 100W input), you can power and use it by connecting it to a monitor that supplies power via USB-C or with a compatible GaN charger.

Does it support external graphics cards (eGPUs)?
No. The USB-C ports operate under the USB 3.2 Gen2 standard at 10 Gbps. They do not offer PCIe tunneling like Thunderbolt or USB4 at 40 Gbps, so it is not possible to connect an eGPU.

Does it come with Windows activated?
Yes, it includes a Windows 11 Pro OEM digital key linked to the motherboard. It's also compatible with Linux distributions like Ubuntu and Debian, as well as Proxmox virtualization environments.

Final conclusion

The Origimagic C8 with Ryzen 3 5400U is a well-designed machine for users who need a versatile multi-monitor workstation, a local network microserver with 2.5 GbE, or a fast desktop computer for browsing and teleworking without taking up much space.

Although the manufacturer uses certain marketing exaggerations in its Cinebench posters and inherits opinions from older models, the actual components perform well, with good temperatures and low power consumption.

• Buy it if: You find it on sale for between €175 and €215, because for that money it blows away computers with Intel N95 or N100 in speed.

• Discard it if: Its cost exceeds €250. Above that threshold, it's much more cost-effective to upgrade to full 6 or 8-core processors like the Ryzen 5 5600H or the Ryzen 7 5700U.

Where to buy it and best alternatives

• 🛒 You can check the availability and offers of this computer on Amazon (it is not available in many countries):  C8 Mini PC with Ryzen 3 5400U.

• 🌐 This mini PC is not usually available on AliExpress. If you'd prefer to compare prices with other well-known compact options from the Asian market, check out the KAMRUI mini PC catalog on AliExpress.