Strix Halo GMKtec EVO-X2, 64GB vs Mac mini M5 Pro, 48GB for local AI
Both hold 35 of the 51 current models here. 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 | 35 | 35 |
| 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 · The same models, not to the same length · 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
The same models, not to the same length
Every model on this list that fits one machine fits the other at 32k of context, so memory does not change what they run. What it changes is how far you can take the context on 4 of them. The Strix Halo GMKtec EVO-X2, 64GB has 48 GB usable against 36 GB, and spare memory is what the KV cache grows into as you keep more tokens.
| Model | Strix Halo GMKtec EVO-X2, 64GB | Mac mini M5 Pro, 48GB |
|---|---|---|
| Gemma 4 31B it20 GB of weights | 256k | 128k |
| Qwen3-Coder 30B-A3B19 GB of weights | 256k | 128k |
| Ministral 3 8B5.2 GB of weights | 256k | 128k |
| Hy-Memory 30B-A3B18 GB of weights | 256k | 128k |
Each figure is the longest context the calculator offers that the machine still holds that model at, and no model is taken past its own context limit. The other 47 models the calculator counts reach the same length on both machines, at every setting from 4k to 256k.
Run Gemma 4 31B it on the Strix Halo GMKtec EVO-X2, 64GB at 256k · or on the Mac mini M5 Pro, 48GB at 128k
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