GEEKOM A7, Review: a small beast with AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS

The GEEKOM A7 is the new compact mini PC of the GEEKOM brand that we present today in its analysis or review. A small computer with great design and power.

This new mini PC offers us the powerful AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS processor that has integrated a Radeon 780M GPU with RDNA3 technology. In its configuration includes 32 GB of RAM DDR5 5600 and a 2TB M.2 NVMe 2280 drive. This computer gives us the option to connect up to four monitors up to 8K and we have Wifi 6E connection in addition to Ethernet 2.5G. We have the Windows 11 Pro operating system and as we will see we have enough power to run any demanding app.

We perform our usual battery of review tests to see how this device behaves.

  • GEEKOM A7 mini PC can be purchased at Geekom or Amazon stores only for $832 with the coupon GA7SAVE2

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GEEKOM A7 details

GEEKOM A7 (32/500GB)
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS Zen4 8C-16H 4-5.2 GHz / 35-54 W TDP / 4 nm
GPU: AMD Radeon 780M / 12 cores / 2800 MHz
System: Windows 11 Pro 64bit
RAM: 2x 32GB DDR5 5600MHz max 64GB / 2x SODIMM
Storage: 2TB 1x M.2 2280 NVMe
Network: Wifi 6E + BT 5.2 (MTK MT9722) / 1x Ethernet 2.5G (RTL8125)
Ports: 3x USB-A 3.2 / 2x USB4 (PD+DP) / 1x USB-A 2.0 / 2x HDMI 2.1 / SD reader / Audio jack
Contents: Adapter DC 19V 6.32A (120 W) / HDMI cable / Manual
Materials and dimensions: Aluminum / Front LED / 112.4 x 112.4 x 37 mm / 450 gr.

Unboxing

This GEEKOM A7 mini computer comes in a fairly simple but well protected cardboard box. Inside we find the small protected computer with its contents, manual, HDMI cable and 19V 6.32A (120 W) charger.

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Description

The elegant GEEKOM A7 is presented with a very compact aluminum case, we have air inlet on the sides and outlet in the rear area. On the front we have a power button with LED, audio jack in / out and two USB-A 3.2 ports one of them PD.

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On the sides we have SD reader, in the rear area we find a USB-A 3.2 port, two USB4 (PD, video and data at 40 Gbps), two HDMI 2.1 and a 2.5G Ethernet port (RTL8125). For power supply we have an additional round DC port.

Inside this PC we find a Wifi 6E + Bluetooth 5.2 (Mediatek MT9722) network adapter with two internal antennas. We also have an Acer M.2 2280 NVMe 2TB SSD installed and for RAM we have two Crucial DDR5 5600 MHz SODIMM slots with 32 GB.

As cooling system we have a fairly large fan and copper pipes in contact with the processor integrated on the board. As we will see in our test the system is quite effective and we do not have a loud sound in all scenarios.

System and performance

Environment and user experience

We start the GEEKOM A7 mini PC and pressing the front power button, immediately the small internal LED lights up. With the operating system we have Windows 11 Pro activated, with its drivers installed correctly ready to work and just run Windows Update to keep it up to date. This mini PC as we found is very fast booting thanks to its NVMe PCIe 4×4 SSD. We can open a large number of browser tabs without slowing system performance. A valid computer for office, multimedia and to work with design apps at a very high level.

This mini PC has a BIOS with few options, we recommend NOT TOUCH IT if we do not know what we are doing, any function that may hang the system.

  • Support: GEEKOM has its own website and mail contact to send our queries.
  • BIOS: Access with ESC / BIOS AMI text / TPM 2.0 / Secure boot / WOL / Auto Power ON.
  • Other OS: Compatible with Ubuntu / SI compatible LibreELEC for PC.

Networks, Storage, RAM and Ports

In terms of network connectivity, this GEEKOM A7 PC includes a Wifi 6E + BT 5.2 wireless adapter (MTK MT9722) and two Ethernet 2.5GB ports (RTL8125). The results in speed are good and we have a correct range for the antennas mounted.

  • Network performance: Two internal Wifi antennas / Range 42 dBm / Link 5G 1201 Mbps / Bluetooth OK.

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We performed storage speed tests of the Acer 2TB M.2 NVMe disk installed and observed that it behaves normally according to the specifications. In our performance tests we have 32 GB of RAM DDR5 5600 MHz with Dual Channel configuration.

Processor, performance and thermal

The GEEKOM A7 is powered by the powerful AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS processor manufactured on 4nm. An APU with eight Zen 4 cores and sixteen threads that moves between 4 and 5.2 GHz. As for the graphics section we have a Radeon 780M GPU with 12 cores up to 2800 MHz. This chip has a scaled power consumption of 35/54 W TDP and the results are good in all scenarios. This mini PC works perfectly for heavy editing applications for video or Photoshop, multimedia playback with KODI or IPTV up to 8K, office use and demanding 3D games in 1080p quality.

As we checked in the performance tests, the GEEKOM A7 mini PC ranks the highest in performance compared to other mini PCs. The installed GPU Radeon 780M as we can see has an excellent performance. In Windows it is advisable if we need maximum power to always set the power system correctly with: Power plan > high performance.

This mini PC as we checked gives us excellent performance at thermal level the system keeps temperatures controlled with its fan at variable RPM and emits very little noise at idle, in games it is quite audible, it is possible to adjust it in the BIOS. This APU with its 4 nm is efficient and has a fairly low power consumption for its performance in all scenarios.

  • Power consumption: Off 0.9W / Idle 6W / Basic usage 32W / Max 82W.
  • Thermal: Idle 33ºC / Basic usage 43ºC / Maximum 89ºC / CPU 4 GHz max / Performance up to 100%.
  • Gaming performance: Fornite 67ºC / CPU 3.4 GHz on average.
  • Noise: 48dBA Max / Variable RPM / NO Semi-passive.
  • Fans: YES can be adjusted in BIOS, 3 profiles.

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Games

We performed performance test running games on the GEEKOM A7, the results as we checked are good of this type of integrated GPU in the Ryzen Gen7. The integrated GPU Radeon 780M with 12 cores up to 2.8 GHz. As we can see, it is suitable for fairly demanding games at 1080p quality , as the system falls somewhat short in games with a high 3D load. In the emulators section at most we stay in some titles up to Switch, PS3 and the like.

  • Setting: Medium quality / 1080p resolution / No VSync / Play emulators with RetoArch.
  • In models with integrated Intel HD GPU in low and 720p resolution.

It is possible to play titles like LoL without problems, in more demanding games like Fornite we also have good performance in DX11 and reaches 90 fps in medium quality with FSR and if we put it on low we can reach more. This is undoubtedly one of the best options now on the market for Gaming on mini PC.

Video and audio tests

Playback test

For the video playback, the VPU of the AMD Radeon 780M GPU has a VPU capable of hardware decoding for HEVC and VP9 codecs and modern AV1. This processor has support for 10bit color and native HDR support by default (not Dolby Vision) and the ability to output up to 8K@60fps resolutions. This hardware is perfectly valid as a multimedia system to use KODI, IPTV or to use it with the PLEX app for example.

Video test

Format Result
h.264 / 1080p / 4K OK
h.264 / 1080p / 10bit (anime) OK (SW)
h.265 / 1080p OK
h.265 / 1080p / 10bit (anime) OK (SW)
h.265 / 4K@60fps OK
VP9 P2 / 4K@60fps OK
VP9 P2 / 8K@60fps Low Frameskip (SW)
AV1 / 4K@60fps OK
AV1 / 8K@60fps Low Frameskip (SW)
Max. Bitrate 300 Mbps = 37,5 MB/s
  • The maximum bitrate depends on the port used to connect to or your SAMBA Network config.
  • SW = does not have hardware acceleration and may have some frameskip in very heavy files.
Support Format
Native Dolby 5.1 – HD 7.1 – Plus  / DTS 5.1 – Master Audio
Core Dolby HD – Atmos / DTS HR – X
PCM All
  • Native – Supports the format directly in our AV receiver or similar / More info.
  • Core – Only the 5.1 core of the format is played so we go to the Dolby or DTS base system / More info.
  • PCM – Only stereo downmixing from DD or DTS.

Streaming services

We ran a series of tests with the GEEKOM A7 micro PC with the most popular streaming services we pass some test for Youtube, Netflix, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video and others with their native apps or using the most compatible browser. You can consult our guides where we explain in detail all the best known streaming services, how to configure them and what requirements are necessary to see content in FullHD up to 4K HDR quality.

Streaming service Video / Audio
Youtube 8K (4320p) / 5.1
Netflix 4K (2160p) / 5.1 / Netflix guide for PC
HBO MAX FullHD (1080) / 5.1 / HBO MAX guide for PC
Disney+ FullHD (1080) / 5.1 / Disney+ guide for PC
Prime Video FullHD (1080) / 5.1 / Prime Video guide for PC
Apple TV+ FullHD (1080) / 5.1 / Apple TV+ Guide
DAZN HD (720p) / Stereo
IPTV FullHD (1080i) / Stereo

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Conclusions and buy links for GEEKOM A7

Opinion

As we have seen the GEEKOM A7 mini PC is undoubtedly one of the best mini PCs of the moment. Thanks to the powerful AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS processor that integrates a Radeon 780M GPU we can use it for any task and quite demanding games. It also allows four 4K video outputs and one 8K with HDR support. This microcomputer may not have VESA support, but it looks perfect on any table.

The GEEKOM A7 will give us a great computing power that makes it suitable even for any heavy task without loss of performance thanks to its quiet cooling system. Inside we have a 2TB Acer M.2 2280 NVMe SSD, other drives can be connected through its USB4 ports up to 40 Gbps. In addition we have two SODIMM DDR4 5600 MHz slots that allow easy expansion.

This computer is completed with a Wifi 6E + Bluetooth 5.2 adapter with good performance and a 2.5G Ethernet adapter. This allows us to efficiently transfer any heavy file over our home network, it also allows us to support

As we can see the GEEKOM A7 presents us with a powerful and elegant mini PC. This computer will be enough for any demanding work and also for games or emulators to some extent.

Where to buy

  • GEEKOM A7 mini PC can be purchased at Geekom or Amazon stores only for $832 with the coupon GA7SAVE2

Score

PROS
  • High performance
  • Multiple ports
  • Two USB 4 40Gbps
  • Four monitors and 8K support
  • Wifi 6E and Ethernet 2.5G
  • Excellent design and thermals
CONS
  • No VESA support
Performance – 90%0%
GPU – 85%0%
Ports – 80%0%
Thermals – 85%0%
Price – 75%0%
Score – 87%0%

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