Geekom A8 – mini-PC with AMD Ryzen 9 or Ryzen 7 (computer review) – Notice Global Web

The Geekom A8 is a mini-PC with an AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS or Ryzen 7 8845HS. It is a petite powerhouse.

The Geekom A8 is not meet additional mini-PC. It boasts awesome specifications, including hold for up to 64GB DDR5 RAM, a 2TB PCIe Gen 4×4 SSD, and the alarming AMD Radeon 780M GPU.

What is a mini-PC, and who uses them?

GEEKOM Mini PCs are ultra-small (like a laptop without a concealment or keyboard) streaming full-fat Windows 11. It uses a 19V/6.32A/120W noesis brick. They are baritone maintenance, hit broad durability, a higher modify temperament (-25 to +55°/90% RH), baritone racket (40-55dB) and are VESA mountable.

The individual itemize is daylong – police, paramedics, military, wear nomads, hot-desk workstations, saucer of sale, agency haulage, and so such more. They substance plasticity in a diminutive modify factor.

You should be alive of the mini-PC info and not waffle to study it when using a laptop, desktop, or mini-tower PC.

Australian Review: GEEKOM A8 Mini PC

We ingest Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the collection leader) against whatever of the items below. We occasionally provide a Pass(able) judgement that is not as beatific as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ judgement to exhibit it is beatific but does not quite attain it to Exceed. You crapper utter on most images for an enlargement.

We are also tightening up on grading. From 2024 on, Pass, for example, effectuation gathering expectations for the toll bracket. We study a Pass evaluation to be 70+/100 with player points additional for class-leading and excellence.

Geekom A8 glasses as tested

• Ryzen 9 8945HS (option R 7 8845HS)
• Up to 64GB DDR5-5600 SODIMM (32GB tested)
• Up to 2TB PCIe 4.0 x4 (Acer N7000 2TB as tested)
• 2 x HDMI 2.0 18Gbps activity 4K@60Hz SDR, 8-bit/16.7m colours
• USB-C 4.0 40Gbps 5V/3A/15W activity Alt DP 1.4 (8K@30, SDR 8-bit, 16.7m colours)
• USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps activity Alt DP 1.4 (4K@30 SDR)
• 3 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 (10Gbps)
• USB-A 2.0 (480Mbps)
• RJ-45 Ethernet 2.5Gbps
• Wi-Fi 6E 6GHz and BNT 5.2.
• 3.5mm, 4-pole mic/2.0 utterer jack
• Full-size SD slot
• Windows 11 Pro
• 120W noesis brick (RNZ C-tick) and AU noesis plug

First Impression – Pass+

It is prefabricated from a dapper unclean silver, CNC metal sandblasted, anodised, aviation-grade metal alloy. It has mitt and correct honeycomb expose vents and a extractable base. You crapper change module (dual interval to 64GB), SSD (PCIe Gen 4 x 4 or early – azygos slot), and the Wi-Fi/BT card. Take tending removing the base—it is easy, but a Wi-Fi sensitiveness bespoken could fortuity if wrinkled handled.

Regarding wrinkled handling, it passes binary injure tests, such as vibration, high/low temperature, altitude, drop, and humidity. A newborn IceBlast 1.5 follower chilling grouping keeps the right temperature to <35° modify when the processor hits 90° baritone 100% load. It is relatively quiet, from most 40 dB (typical) to 55 dB baritone load.

Build calibre is superb, as is the three-year warranty with topical support. Size is 112.4 conservativist x 37mm broad x 450g (.47L). It crapper be VESA-mounted (plate supplied)

Power ingest – Pass+

• Idle: 5W
• Typical: 25-35W
• Full load: 95W

Over a period of tests, it averaged 27.2Wh – worthless noesis use.

Let’s countenance at the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS   and Ryzen 7 8845HS

Both are 4nm TSMC-made Hawk Point 8000 program 8-core/16-thread, 45W TDP, high-end laptop processors saint for the mini-PC format. They measure from 4-5.2 rate and 3.8-5.1 GHz, respectively.

Each has 20 PCIe lanes. USB-C 4.0 (40Gbps), USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps), and USB-A 2.0 (480Mbps).

The Radeon 780M 2800/2700MHz GPU crapper hold up to quaternary displays from 2 x HDMI 2.0 and USB-C 4.0 and 3.2 or ingest whatever USB 4.0, Thunderbolt 3, or 4 dock.

See flooded benchmarks for the Ryzen 9 8945HS and Ryzen 7 8845HS, and a side-by-side comparability here.

The motherboard is a newborn 12-layer shrinking occurrence (most are 6 or 8 layers) prefabricated doable by the 4nm SoC.

Video processing – Pass+

It has Ray Tracing and crapper element cypher H.264, H.265, and AV1 and rewrite them, as substantially as VP9, VC1, and MPEG2.

It supports 8K cypher and rewrite of 10-bit colouration and autochthonous HDR but does not hold Dolby Vision decoding. That affects its ingest as a media centre.

AI NPU

While they are not specifically AI processors same the newborn Ryzen AI 9 and 9HX (73/80 TOPS), they hit a removed NPU with a amount TOPs of 38/37, respectively. That is near to Microsoft’s advisable 40 TOPS for a originative AI PC.

The NPU has up to 16 TOPS, message harmonious AI apps crapper ingest it instead of the GPU. However, whatever apps currently crapper ingest it (most ingest the GPU).

Microsoft is ensuring that its 365 apps, CoPilot, Bing, and more hold AI. AMD is also working to alter more AI apps to its devices.

Our verify is that there are no must-have, dolphin apps yet. AI is not rattling for now. It is pleasant to undergo it crapper do ‘something’, but forthcoming processors module be more coercive and hold more AI bounds computing.

DaVinci Resolve uses a intermixture of CPU/GPU and round for recording rendering. Click to enlarge.

Sound processing – no speakers

It has an HDA 6-channel codec—no amp. It natively decodes PCM to 5.1, Dolby Digital (all variants) to 5.1, and downmixed to 2.0. Again, it is not for media edifice use.

Gaming – we do not effort for games

Geekom A8 Tests

Geekbench

This dramatically demonstrates the noesis levels. While prizewinning action gives slightly higher results, it is exclusive minimally meliorate than Balanced.

PC Mark – Pass+

Best Power Efficiency

Balanced

Power

Pass evaluation (Power Mode)

Cinebench (Balanced Mode)

SSD

The Acer N7000 ‘Shadow Knight’ 2TB PCIe Gen4x4 has a 12nm MAP1602-I someone from MaxioTech. Theoretically, it supports 7400/6500MBps sequential read/write and 1000K IOPS haphazard read/write. The intend uses a single-sided 232-layer QLC NAND winkle prefabricated by China’s YMTC. The SSD has no DRAM store and uses the grouping RAM as an HMB (Host Memory Buffer) device. This is a 100% Chinese-developed and prefabricated SSD.

AS SSD

This is accessible as it gives a reason to study with others.

ATTO

Tests whether the SSD store fills likewise alacritous – this is DRAM-less and confident of super enter transfers.

Crystal Disk

This is the peak read/write.

CPDT

This is the uninterrupted read/write.

USB Data designate rates – Pass+

• USB-C 4.0 (40Gbps/5000MBps) – Read/Write speed: 2,205/813 MBps (limited by the outside SSD speed)
• USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps/1250MBps) – Read/Write speed: 965/954 MBps (excellent and again restricted by the outside SSD)
• USB-A 2.0 (480 Mbps/60MBps half-duplex) – Read/Write speed: 43/35 MB/s (excellent)

Wi-Fi/BT 5.3/Ethernet – Pass+

Wi-Fi 6E connects at the peak pace of 2402/2402Mbps on the 6GHz steer of our TP-Link Deco BE85 Wi-Fi 7 BE22000 tri-band tangle router.

 Bluetooth is 5.3 with the accepted SBC codec.

Support/maintenance – Pass+

GEEKOM module hit a flooded downloads tender with the stylish Windows Drivers, Windows 11 Pro ISO, and a User Guide.

Remove the glued-on foam feet and vanish the humble plate’s quaternary retentive screws. Be certain with the LAN sensitiveness cable. Remove additional metal bag to admittance the RAM or SSD.

CyberShack’s analyse – Geekom A8 – mini-PC with POP (plenty of power)

Excellent results—either in the crowning results or near to them. Fast mainframe performance, module and SSD attain a Brobdingnagian disagreement when employed on duty documents, recording editing, and app weight times. I am hunting nervy to whatever AI apps to wager meet how such disagreement it makes.

Yet again, Geekom redefines how such noesis you crapper study into a mini-PC.

• High action for multitasking and Full HD gaming.
• Energy efficiency for baritone noesis ingest with beatific energy management.
• Good connectivity – USB-C 4.0 does most things Thunderbolt 4 does
• Compact for diminutive spaces.
• Silent activeness eliminate for load.

Geekom A8 judgement 84/100

2024 Ratings ingest a transfer evaluation of 70/100 to earmark shack to move excellence and class-leading. Earlier reviews utilised 80/100 so cypher 10 points from them for commonsensible parity.

• Features: 85 – decorous treatment opportunities and everything a laptop has eliminate a concealment and keyboard. It has a USB 4.0 instead of Thunderbolt 4, institute on Intel devices. For the most part, it module action similarly.
• Value: 80 – represents beatific continuance – more so if you intend it on special.
• Performance: 90 is superior for a ambulatory processor and does not enrich as it is mains powered. Just advert that it has threesome action modes.
• Ease of Use: 85 – Plug and Play. A three-year warranty is excellent.
• Design: 80 – Nice newborn organisation but absent whatever expandability.

Geekom A8 – mini-PC with AMD Ryzen 9 or Ryzen 7

$1299/$1499 Ryzen 7 or 9 – wager CyberShack readers discounts

Pros

• Sleek metal case
• DDR5-5600 rate Dual Channel SODIMM to 64GB
• CPU includes sacred AI NPU (no ingest yet)
• Up to 2TB PCIe Gen 4×4 – fast
• Windows 11 Pro today has AI and CoPilot

Cons

• USB 4.0 (instead of Thunderbolt 4)
• No SSD expansion
• No Dolby Vision/Atmos rewrite support