ONEXPLAYER M1 is a mini PC with Intel Core Ultra 9 185H, OCuLink, and USB4

The ONEXPLAYER line of handheld gaming PCs have been around since 2021. But parent company One Netbook has been selling other types of computers including mini-laptops and tablets for even longer.

Now the company is branching out with the introduction of a mini PC positioned as a compact gaming solution, although the upcoming ONEXPLAYER M1 could also be an option as a general purpose computer thanks to powerful set of features packed into a compact body.

The little computer basically stuffs the guts of a high-performance laptop into a small desktop chassis. It has a 45-watt Intel Core Ultra 9 185H “Meteor Lake” processor with 16 CPU cores (6 Performance + 8 Efficiency + 2 Low Power Efficiency), 22 threads, and Intel Arc integrated graphics. The company says there’s also support for a “turbo” mode that allows the chip to run at up to 60 watts.

Inside the case there’s an M.2 2280 slot with support for PCIe 4.0 x4 storage and a SODIMM slot with support for up to 32GB of DDR5-5600 memory. There’s also a wireless card with support for WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2.

Ports include:

• 1 x OCuLink
• 2 x USB4 Type-C
• 1 x USB 3.2 Type-A
• 1 x USB 2.0 Type-A
• 2 x HDMI
• 1 x DisplayPort
• 1 x Ethernet
• 1 x 3.5mm audio
• 1 x microSD card reader

OCuLink is a standard for external PCIe connections, allowing you to plug an external graphics dock with data transfer speeds as high as 64 Gbps, which should lead to better performance than you’d get from a USB4 connection (which tops out at 40 Gbps) .

And One Netbook is one of a handful of companies that offers an OCuLink graphics dock – the ONEXGPU is a small eGPU featuring an AMD Radeon 7600M XT GPU. It sells for $699 and looks… a lot like the ONEXPLAYER M1.

It seems like the company basically borrowed the design of its eGPU for its new mini PC. The easiest way to tell them apart at a glance is by looking at the way the ports are arranged (All of the display ports and the OCuLink port are on the long side of the ONEXGPU, but the ONEXPLAYER M1 has the OCuLink port and one of its HDMI ports on one of the shorter sides). But it’s interesting to note that the full-fledged computer is actually a bit lighter than the eGPU.

While the ONEXGPU graphics dock weighs 869 grams (1.9 pounds), the ONEXPLAYER M1 is 599 grams (1.3 pounds). That should make it pretty easy to carry from place to place, or to position behind a display or under a desk.

The ONEXPLAYER M1 is powered by a 100-watt USB Type-C power supply.

One Netbook hasn’t revealed how much its mini PC will cost or when it will be available worldwide. But the company has launched a preview page for an upcoming crowdfunding campaign, promising that early backers will be able to save as much as 40% off the retail price.

One odd thing about that crowdfunding campaign? The title describes the mini PC as the OneXPlayer M1, but the lead image shows a device with the word “ONEXSTATION” on it. So it’s possible that the company hasn’t settled on the final name for the little computer yet.

Meanwhile customers in Japan can already pre-order a ONEXPLAYER M1. Prices in that country start at 142,310 yen (about $900) for a model with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, and the company is offering a 10% discount off the price of a ONEXGPU graphics dock if you buy a bundle that includes both the mini PC and the eGPU.