Geekom AX8 Pro Review: an incredibly compact yet capable mini PC

Lengthy gone are the times when a excessive efficiency PC required a large beige case to sit down in your desk. This Geekom AX8 Professional exhibits that the longer term is small, or on this case, tiny – this mini PC is likely one of the smallest you should buy proper now, sufficiently small to slot in your hand at simply 4.3-inches extensive.

Whereas this top-end Geekom mini PC is small, it’s mighty in efficiency, with the AX8 Professional providing elements that make it an awesome choice for day by day use. It’s an all AMD affair – the eight-core AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS that powers it’s formidable, and whereas the built-in AMD Radeon 780M GPU received’t be competing with the very best gaming PCs on the market, it could actually nonetheless deal with some trendy video games at 1080p, as lengthy you select them fastidiously.

All the things in regards to the AX8 Professional feels excessive finish, from the field it shipped in to the all steel chassis to the spectacular efficiency. I may genuinely see myself utilizing it on a day-to-day foundation as a full alternative for my desktop PC, however it’s necessary to acknowledge its limitations: it is a day by day driver, all-use mini PC, and never one which’s constructed particularly for gaming.

With that in thoughts, I examined the Geekom AX8 Professional out for a number of days, seeing how properly it carried out typically use as each a piece and gaming PC.

Specs

The Geekom AX8 Professional isn’t probably the most highly effective mini PC you should buy, however it actually sits on the prime finish of the spectrum. We examined a mannequin with the eight-core, 16-thread AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS CPU, clocked at 4.0GHz with a lift clock pace as much as 5.2GHz and a thermal design energy (TDP) ranking of 45W.

Geekom additionally provides a much less highly effective model of the AX8 Professional with a Ryzen 7 8845HS – the distinction between them is negligible, with a small discount in base and increase clock speeds within the Ryzen 7 8845HS (3.8GHz and 5.1GHz respectively) in comparison with the Ryzen 9 8945HS.

Each variations ship with the built-in AMD Radeon 780M GPU, primarily based on the corporate’s RDNA 3 structure and housing 16 Compute Items. It handles customary 1080p gaming fairly properly in most, however not all, trendy video games. The AX8 Professional additionally comes with 32GB (2 x 16GB) of Essential DDR5 RAM operating at 5600MT/s, though you’ll be able to improve this to as much as 64GB in a future improve.

For storage, you’ll be able to select between both a 1TB and 2TB NVMe SSD, relying on the mannequin you select. In our assessment mannequin, this was an Acer branded 2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, providing loads of storage for an honest variety of video games and apps.

Options

There’s a great deal of connections on provide on the Geekom AX8 Professional. There’s WiFi 6E and Bluetooth help plus it features a 2.5G Ethernet port for wired connections, which is greater than a lot for dealing with excessive finish gaming, so long as your community setup is nice sufficient.

There’s loads of exterior I/O on provide, too. On the again, the AX8 Professional has two HDMI 2.0 ports for a number of shows, together with a number of USB ports. Considered one of these is a USB 4 gen 3 that gives a 3rd show output by way of DisplayPort over USB help. It will probably deal with resolutions as much as 8K at 30Hz and may be related to the DisplayPort sockets of regular displays through the use of an adapter or join on to these shows that embody a USB-C enter. There’s additionally one other Sort-C USB 3.2 port, together with two Sort-As, one USB 3.2 gen 2 and one other USB 2.0. You’ll additionally discover the two.5G Ethernet port and DC energy jack on the again.

On the entrance, there are two extra USB Sort-A ports (2 x USB 3.2 gen 2) and a 3.5mm headphone port. Whereas it isn’t technically a part of the PC itself, the Geekom AX8 Professional additionally ships with one actually helpful accent: a useful VESA mount that you could connect to it, permitting you to cover the PC totally by mounting it to your monitor or TV.

Geekom provides a 30-day returns interval and a three-year guarantee for all of its mini PCs, and the AX8 Professional isn’t any exception right here. Geekom doesn’t present a lot indication as to what’s coated and what isn’t, past a disclaimer over intentional misuse or “unauthorized” adjustments.

Design

The design of the Geekom AX8 Professional isn’t going to shock you – it’s small and it’s a sq.. The form is the least fascinating half about this construct, as a result of held inside its boxy chassis is a really cleverly-designed mini PC. The case is 4.6 x 4.37 x 1.51-inches in dimension, which is arguably one of many smallest mini PCs you should buy proper now.

The complete steel casing appears and feels premium to the contact, with a glowing silver impact that manages to raise it above only a steel field. On the edges, an aesthetically pleasing honeycomb design permits air to vent by means of, although this design isn’t echoed within the rear vents, which is a little bit of a disgrace.

Whereas the grills look nice for probably the most half, although, they’re additionally answerable for my greatest gripe with the Geekom AX8 Professional. This can be a small PC, and the followers do an awesome job of conserving the system cool, however the system is designed in such a manner that the sound of the air compelled out by means of the vents on the again is like that of a jet engine, if the system is working exhausting. It’s a commerce off you’ll have to just accept, nonetheless, given the extremely small dimension of this mini PC. Plus, beneath basic, lighter utilization, I couldn’t hear it a lot in any respect, however it was a unique story whereas I used to be gaming.

Returning to the case itself, the good factor in regards to the I/O on each the entrance and the again is that the ports themselves are very cleanly recessed again contained in the steel. It makes the ports really feel as stable because the case, with out stopping you from utilizing them. Flip the case over and the honeycomb vents proceed, overlaying your entire backside of the system, apart from the 2 lengthy rubber ft for the case to sit down on.

One factor to notice in regards to the AX8 Professional is that, regardless of the small dimension, it really feels fairly heavy, despite the fact that it’s only one.21lbs. That may not sound like a lot, however the compact nature of the AX8 Professional makes it a noticeable weight in your bag should you’re planning on transporting it anyplace. The steel casing makes it very sturdy, although, so it’ll stand as much as a good quantity of in-bag jostling.

Ought to you might want to open up the AX8 Professional for an improve or some tinkering, simply 4 screws maintain the underside in place – the highest then pulls straight off. Beneath, you’ll see the provided RAM and SSD, which in our check mannequin consists of 32GB (2 x 16GB) of Essential DDR5 RAM in SODIMM format and an Acer N7000 NVMe M.2 SSD. Whereas there aren’t any spare enlargement slots so as to add further reminiscence or storage, Geekom has made upgrading simple sufficient, due to the very accessible positioning of the modules themselves.

If you wish to use the provided VESA mount, you’ll must screw two mounting screws to the again of the AX8 Professional, which permit it to securely slot into the mount when it’s hooked up to a monitor or TV.

Benchmarks

The Geekom AX8 Professional would possibly help a 4K decision, however with a Radeon 780M, enjoying video games at 4K and even 1440p isn’t on the playing cards. For those who shift all the way down to 1080p, nonetheless, then gaming will get much more practical, though you’ll want to choose your video games fastidiously, as a result of as our benchmarks present, your mileage actually will range.

For example, Cyberpunk 2077 may be punishing even with the very best graphics playing cards, however particularly with a laptop-grade GPU just like the Radeon 780M. Even with low preset settings, the AX8 Professional solely managed 43fps on common. That did improve to nearer to the magic 60fps mark with AMD FSR switched on, however enabling FSR at 1080p comes with its personal drawbacks, because the low decision place to begin for the upscaling leads to a lot blurrier graphics.

Issues had been a lot better in F1 2024, nonetheless. Once more, utilizing low presets, the AX8 Professional managed to hit 73fps on common, with lows of solely 70fps. In comparison with Cyberpunk 2077, F1 2024 is a a lot much less graphically demanding recreation, making it a neater experience for the AMD Radeon 780M to deal with.

Lastly, Complete Struggle: Warhammer 3 scored 52fps on common, additionally utilizing a low graphics preset. That will surely be playable for probably the most half, however it once more demonstrates the restrictions of the GPU’s energy, and also you’ll must count on the odd stutter during times of excessive demand mid-game.

The artificial benchmark exams had been a bit of extra fascinating, nonetheless. The CPU scored 953 factors in Cinebench R24, throughout a multi-threaded check, and 108 factors within the single-threaded check, exhibiting constant efficiency all through.

Efficiency throughout 3DMark’s Time Spy exams, nonetheless, starkly highlights the 2 sides to this mini PC. Specifically, the big hole between the Time Spy CPU and GPU scores, scoring 11,433 for the CPU and a pair of,986 for the GPU, exhibits simply how large the gulf in efficiency is when the AX8 Professional is performing CPU-heavy and GPU-heavy duties.

Value

A top quality construct and highly effective elements come at a premium, and sadly, the Geekom AX8 Professional isn’t hitting our greatest funds gaming PC shortlist any time quickly. This Geekom PC is firmly within the top-end of the mini PC market, regardless of which choice you select, with MSRPs starting from $749 to $899, relying on the specs.

In distinction, loads of mini PCs on the decrease finish of the market can be found within the $300-400 vary, however crucially these aren’t 1080p gaming-capable. When you may spend quite a bit much less on a mini PC just like the Blackview MP200, it’s not going to be getting you affordable 1080p gaming just like the AX8 Professional.

In the meantime, bigger gaming PCs provide significantly extra energy for a similar value, with simpler improve choices too. Nonetheless, even $899 remains to be fairly a good funds for a full-size gaming PC, so we’re not speaking a couple of monstrous machine in a position to recreation at 4K.

As for different moveable gaming comparisons, trendy gaming handhelds just like the Steam Deck or Asus ROG Ally, provide higher gaming efficiency and even higher portability, however are far much less suited to extra basic PC utilization than the AX8 Professional.

For those who’re excited about selecting up a Geekom AX8 Professional, you’ll be able to reap the benefits of Geekom’s Black Friday deal. Proper now, the 1TB model of the AX8 Professional has a 16% low cost, bringing the worth down to only $599, whereas the 2TB model has an even bigger 20% saving, costing simply $759.

You may seize both mannequin from the Geekom website utilizing this hyperlink right here. For those who’re primarily based within the UK, you need to use this hyperlink to buy the AX8 Professional immediately from the Geekom UK web site as an alternative.

Amazon prospects can even seize the identical reductions for every AX8 Professional mannequin within the US. You may seize the 1TB model through the use of this hyperlink or the 2TB model utilizing this hyperlink as an alternative. Be fast, although, because the provide ends on December 2, 2024.

Verdict

The great thing about the Geekom AX8 Professional is in its design. With out query, Geekom has actually triumphed right here in condensing a really highly effective all-rounder PC right into a case that’s simply inches extensive. Whereas the loud cooling followers beneath heavy hundreds is a commerce off, it’s a good one, because the AX8 Professional is a high-performance, high-grade mini PC that’s moveable sufficient to take anyplace you go. It feels strong, surviving a number of journeys in my backpack with out a single scratch.

The AX8 Professional isn’t essentially a prime finish gaming PC, however our benchmarks present it could actually nearly maintain its personal, so long as you’re completely happy sticking with 1080p at low settings with the odd body charge drop. Finally, it is a jack-of-all-trades mini PC first and a gaming machine second, aimed extra on the informal gamer.

Nonetheless, it’s necessary to say the worth. With an MSRP of between $749 and $899, relying on the storage and CPU choices you select, the Geekom AX8 Professional doesn’t provide the very best cost-to-performance ratio for gaming that yow will discover. It’s neither as highly effective as a full-size gaming PC of the identical value nor as moveable and handy as a gaming handheld that’s cheaper.

All in all, although, the Geekom AX8 Professional is an honest selection should you’re an informal gamer in search of a mini PC that may do all of it. It received’t enchantment should you’re on a funds, however should you can afford it, the AX8 Professional gives you loads of energy for nearly something you wish to do, all in a PC that you could slot in your pocket.

Try our greatest mini gaming PC information subsequent, the place you’ll be able to assessment our collection of among the greatest pre-built small kind issue PCs that you could presently purchase.