ChatGPT calls this mini PC "a steal" while Gemini says it's "insane" value for money — Meet the $379 AMD Ryzen 7 8745HS powerhouse that AI is raving about

I am an avid bargain PC hunter. When I see a pre-built PC on sale, my first thought is usually: “Is it cheaper to buy this or build it myself?” So when I saw the Machenike Mini PC drop to $379 at Amazon (down from $399), I took it as a challenge.

I headed over to PCPartPicker to assemble a rig that could surpass the Machenike’s specs for the same price — or less. That spec sheet is a tough one to match: AMD Ryzen 7 8745HS (Passmark: ~29,000), 16GB DDR5, and a 512GB PCIe 3.0 SSD.

I thought it would be easy. I was wrong.

Note that this deal has been available for a few weeks and while its price went up by $30, it is still exceptional value for money and now, given that it is on sale at Amazon, you can easily ...