Strix Halo GMKtec EVO-X2, 64GB vs Mac mini M5 Pro, 48GB for local AI
The GMKtec EVO-X2, 64GB holds 38 of the 55 current models here, and the Mac mini M5 Pro, 48GB holds 37. The GMKtec EVO-X2, 64GB costs $99 less. On Qwen3.8 27B, the strongest model both hold, the Mac mini M5 Pro, 48GB is about 1.2× faster: 12 tok/s against 10, both estimated from memory bandwidth. The Mac mini M5 Pro, 48GB pays for itself sooner, in 155 years against 168 years at 500k tokens a day.
| Strix Halo GMKtec EVO-X2, 64GB | Mac mini M5 Pro, 48GB | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2,200 | $2,299 |
| Memory | 64 GB | 48 GB |
| Usable by the GPU | 48 GB | 36 GB |
| Memory bandwidth | 256 GB/s | 307 GB/s |
| Power under load | 150 W | 140 Wstand-in |
| Models that fit | 38 | 37 |
| Best model it runs | Qwen3.8 27B | Qwen3.8 27B |
| Speed on that model | 10 tok/s estimated | 12 tok/s estimated |
| Pay-back on that model | Pays back in 168 years | Pays back in 155 years |
The 140 W beside the Mac mini M5 Pro, 48GB is a stand-in, not a figure for that machine: the data borrows it from the nearest hardware it does have, and the machine's own page names which and why. So the two figures above are not like for like, and the electricity in its pay-back here is priced from a borrowed number.
Run the numbers on the Strix Halo GMKtec EVO-X2, 64GB · or the Mac mini M5 Pro, 48GB
Jump to: The same money, two different machines · How much use it takes to pay back · What the extra memory buys · The assumptions behind both columns
The same money, two different machines
These two cost within $99 of each other: $2,200 for the GMKtec EVO-X2, 64GB and $2,299 for the Mac mini M5 Pro, 48GB. GMKtec makes one and Apple the other. Every other head-to-head on this site holds a piece of the hardware equal and asks what the price gap buys. This one holds the price, so the row that usually carries the answer is the row the two machines agree on, and everything under it is what the same money buys twice.
How much use it takes to pay back
Everything above is at 500k tokens a day. Pay-back moves with how much you actually run, so here are both machines on Qwen3.8 27B, the strongest model both hold, at the five levels of use the calculator names. The Mac mini M5 Pro, 48GB pays back sooner at every level of use, so this is not a choice that turns on how hard you work it.
| A day's use | Strix Halo GMKtec EVO-X2, 64GB | Mac mini M5 Pro, 48GB |
|---|---|---|
| 50ka few chats a day | 1,678 years | 1,549 years |
| 200klight assistant use | 420 years | 387 years |
| 1Ma moderate coding-assistant day | 84 years | 77 years |
| 4Mheavy coding with an agent | 21 years | 19 years |
| 20Magents running most of the day | 5.9 yearsits ceiling | 4.5 yearsits ceiling |
On Qwen3.8 27B neither machine can generate 20M tokens a day: the Strix Halo GMKtec EVO-X2, 64GB manages at most 14.3M and the Mac mini M5 Pro, 48GB at most 17.1M. Both figures on that row are for the most each can do.
Run the Strix Halo GMKtec EVO-X2, 64GB at 20M tokens a day · or the Mac mini M5 Pro, 48GB
What the extra memory buys
The Strix Halo GMKtec EVO-X2, 64GB holds 1 model the Mac mini M5 Pro, 48GB cannot at 32k of context. That is what the difference in memory actually buys.
| Model | Weights | Needs at 32k | On the Strix Halo GMKtec EVO-X2, 64GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ripple 65B Previewnot yet placed | 39 GB | 41 GB | 4.7 tok/s estimated |
The extra memory buys context as well. Of the 37 current models both machines hold at 32k, 4 run to a longer window on the Strix Halo GMKtec EVO-X2, 64GB: the weights are a fixed size and the KV cache is not, so what the weights leave spare is what a longer context grows into. Gemma 4 31B it reaches 256k there against 128k on the Mac mini M5 Pro, 48GB, each the longest window the calculator offers that the machine still holds it at.
The GMKtec EVO-X2, 64GB is also head to head with another computer: Framework Desktop, 64GB. With the same machine at another memory size: 128GB.
The Mac mini M5 Pro, 48GB is also head to head with another computer: MacBook Pro M5 (14-inch), 32GB. With the same machine at another memory size: 24GB · 64GB. With the machine it replaced: Mac mini M4 Pro, 48GB.
The assumptions behind both columns
Both columns use the same usage: 500k tokens a day at 15:1 input to output, 32k of context, $0.17 per kWh, and today's API prices held flat. Speeds marked estimated are worked out from memory bandwidth rather than measured, and pay-back scales with them. Change any of it in the calculator.
More head to head: everything the Strix Halo GMKtec EVO-X2, 64GB runs · everything the Mac mini M5 Pro, 48GB runs · every other match-up · the quickest pay-back at each level of use · every model against the frontier