I've taken a keen interest in mini PCs over the last year or so, and I've reviewed multiple tiny or compact computers in that time, mostly from companies like Geekom and Minisforum. And I love a lot of those computers, but the device that really kickstarted all of this was the Khadas Mind, which I first reviewed last year, and revisited earlier this year when the Mind Graphics add-on released.

And even all this time later, despite newer and more powerful models coming across my desk, the Khadas Mind remains my favorite mini PC of the bunch. It's still stuck with a 13th-gen Intel Core P-series processor, but I wouldn't trade it for any of the other mini PCs I've reviewed. Allow me to explain why.

It's absolutely tiny

Putting the "mini" in "mini PC"

Right off the bat, I have to say that Khadas really spoiled the whole idea of a mini PC for me. When I first reviewed the Khadas Mind, my immediate thought was to compare it to the Mac Mini, which is the quintessential mini commputer. And by all measures, the Mind was so much smaller that I was totally blown away by how much computer you can fit in such a tiny package.

But as this year came around and I started looking at more mini PCs, I realized that it wasn't just the Mac Mini. Every mini PC I've tested is bigger than the Khadas Mind by itself. This thing is so tiny you can slip it in a pocket, and since it's powered via USB-C, it's actually pretty easy to take a functional computer with you this way (of course, you'd need peripherals, but hey, it's a start). In fact, Khadas even recently announced a leather sleeve for the Mind so you can just take it with you in a more elegant fashion.

Sure, the Khadas Mind isn't swimming in ports, but I've set up my workspace in a way that actually works perfectly with it. With two USB4 ports, two USB Type-A ports, and one HDMI port, I mostly have everything I need. Most of the time, I'm using all the USB ports, but not the HDMI port, so I have my monitor, webcam, keyboard, and mouse all connected this way. It only becomes a problem when I want to use another USB device, like my camera for moving photos, or a headset for video calls. But that's also because I actively avoid using Bluetooth for my keyboard and mouse, even though they both support it. I could free up two USB ports easily, and this PC would have all the ports I need.

That being said, I do end up having the Mind Dock attached to the Khadas Mind almost all the time, just so I don't have to unplug any devices, and also because the Mind Dock adds a fingerprint reader for Windows Hello. This does make the Mind much wider than most mini PCs, but it's still very small, and the idea that I could just not use the Mind Dock and still be totally fine is what makes it so impressive.

With it being so tiny, you might think the Khadas Mind has no upgradability whatsoever, but surprisingly, while most components are soldered and there's no way to open the chassis, there is an M.2 2230 slot hidden behind a magnetic door at the bottom, so you can add more storage if you want.

The Mind Link ecosystem

I love this thing, even with all its flaws

The other thing that has me dols on the Khadas Mind is the Mind Link connector, not just for what it does now, but for its future promise, too. See, the Mind Dock I mentioned above isn't a USB dock. It connects to the Khadas Mind using a set of pin connectors that lives on the underside of the computer itself, called Mind Link. Simply slot the Mind onto the Dock, and you have a bunch of extra ports. These connectors can pass through power, data, and video, so the Dock has more video outputs, and you can also plug a power adapter into the Mind Dock rather than the Mind itself.

But the real potential comes with other peripherals, like the recently-released Mind Graphics. This is an external GPU, and while you can use it via USB4, it too supports the Mind Link connector. Much like the Mind Dock, you can just put the Mind unit onto the appropriate slot on the GPU, and you just gained a graphics card. It's not as seamless as the dock. Enabling the GPU does require a restart if the computer was on beforehand, and you also have to disconnect the device using a dedicated button since unplugging a graphics card could be problematic. But the fact that you can just switch out the thing you need, or have a GPU in one workstation and a dock at another and just move the PC easily between them is what makes this idea so cool.

Khadas is working on more on of this stuff, too. One that's been known since the very beginning but hasn't come to fruition yet is the Mind xPlay, a display that essentially turns the Khadas Mind into a Surface Pro-like device. It adds a screen, a battery, and a keyboard so you can use it like a Windows tablet on the go. There's also the Mind Studio, a 32-inch display that can be used in collaboration spaces, or the MInd Talk, a speakerphone-type device for conferencing rooms.

The built-in battery

It's meant to be portable

One last thing that I really like about the Khadas Mind conceptually (though I don't often make use of it) is that it has a built-in battery. This isn't meant to make it a PC you can use on battery power (though you have that option), but rather so the device can stay in sleep mode for a few hours.

The idea here is that this is a device you might use at work and at home, and this way, you never have to turn it off completely. Unplug it, it goes into sleep mode, and it keeps your apps open while you get home, where it's ready to use right where you left off.

For me, this has mostly been useful to save me from power outages, though. Sometimes power will go out in my house and everything dies, but the Khadas Mind can hold on to what I was doing while we work out the issue, which is a true lifesaver when you're working on a computer all day.

It's not perfect, though

I've had some issues

Now, while I do love this computer, I have to mention a few problems I've had with it in the past and currently. The biggest one right now has to do with the Mind Graphics add-on, which has given me a few issues. Most notably, despite adding some extra USB ports, I seem to always have problems when using them for audio. Whenever I plug in a headset on the Mind Graphics, I get a Windows message saying the USB controller doesn't have enough resources, and my headset just doesn't work. Weirdly enough, this doesn't seem to happen with other USB devices, and transferring photos from my camera is totally fine.

Another problem I've occasionally add with the Mind Graphics has to do with driver updates. Every time I update the graphics driver, I have to apply a specific patch for the GPU to fully function and restart the computer, and at least once now, I've had issues with the GPU being recognized after the reboot. I did figure it out eventually, but this concept would be a lot cooler if things were more seamless.

I also don't understand why I need to restart the computer to plug in the GPU. After all, USB-powered GPUs can be plugged in and used at any time without a restart, so to have this barrier when using the Mind Link connector seems a bit counter-intuitive. Hopefully a newer revision of the hardware can improve this, but it's hard to say.

The Khadas Mind is my go-to mini PC

Even with the problems I've had, I just love using the Khadas Mind so much. The design is so sleek and tiny, and it performs very well for something so small. I mostly use it with the Mind Dock, but when I need to edit photos, I switch it out for the Mind Graphics, so I can use the GPU for Photoshop's AI Denoise feature. The other day, I had some friends over who wanted to try VR gaming, so I was also able to do that using the Mind with the Mind Graphics add-on.

There is actually a newer model of the Khadas Mind (simply called the Mind 2) that I'm eager to check out, but haven't had the opportunity yet. Still, this original model I have now starts at just $650, and even though the CPU looks pretty tame after Intel released both Meteor Lake and Lunar Lake processors in less than a year, it still works really well for daily use. I'd recommend giving it a shot if you're looking for a new computer that's as small as possible and still has a lot of versatility. Things like the Mind Graphics or Mind Dock can be bought later if you need them.