Compact, reasonably high-performing, and often more energy-efficient, mini PCs increasingly offer a genuine alternative to bulky desktop setups.
Geekom, which is celebrating its 21st anniversary this year, has produced a number of such products, including the Geekom A7 mini PC which it revealed at CES 2024.
The company’s latest offering is the AX8 Pro mini PC which boasts an Intel NUC-inspired design, and comes with a choice of Intel and AMD processors. This dual-option approach opens the doors for users with varying performance needs and brand preferences.
Plenty of ports
The mini PC comes in two colors – white for Intel-based models and blue for AMD ones. On the Intel side, buyers can choose from Core i7 and Core i9 models. They come with up to 32GB DDR5 RAM running up to 5600MHz, and storage options up to 2TB NVMe 4.0. Graphic performance ranges from Intel UHD Graphics (12th or 13th Gen) to more potent Intel Iris Xe Graphics.
The AMD counterparts, such as the Ryzen 7 8845HS and Ryzen 9 8949HS models, offer up to 8 cores and 16 threads, running at clock speeds up to 5.2 GHz, accompanied by a Radeon 780M GPU with 12 RDNA3 Compute Units.
Both AMD and Intel models come equipped with two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, one USB4 port, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port, one USB 2.0 Type-A port, and two HDMI 2.0 ports. The USB4 port allows for enhanced performance through external GPU connections, although we’d like to have seen an OCuLink port for this purpose. There’s a 2.5G Ethernet port for wired networking and support for WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2.
The lineup starts from more budget-friendly models and goes up to the high-end Ryzen 9 8945HS model, priced at 5099 Chinese yuan or roughly $702. Geekom has launched the new AX8 Pro on JD.com.
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waynewilliams@onmail.com (Wayne Williams)
