GEEKOM A8, Review: AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS high-performance mini PC

New mini PC GEEKOM A8 that we will test in our analysis or review. A small computer with high power and great design.

The tiny PC with aluminum case offers us the powerful AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS processor that integrates a dedicated IA core and a Radeon 780M iGPU with RDNA3 technology. We also have 32 GB DDR5 5600 Mhz RAM expandable up to 64 GB and a 2 TB M.2 NVMe 2280 drive. It offers the option to connect four monitors up to 8K, Wifi 6E wireless connection, 2.5G Ethernet port and a USB4 with speeds up to 40 Gbps, as you can see quite complete in all aspects.

Let’s see how it performs in our test battery and see how this device behaves.

Details of the GEEKOM A8

Unboxing

This GEEKOM A8 comes in a simple but well protected cardboard box. Inside we find the computer with its contents, manual, extras and 120 W charger.

Description

This compact GEEKOM A8 features an aluminum unibody case design. We have air inlets on the sides and outlet on the back. On the front we have a power button, audio in/out jack, two USB-A 3.2 with speed up to 10 Gbps.

In the rear area we find a charging port, a USB-C 4 full up to 40 Gbps, a USB-A 2.0, a USB-A 3.2 (DP), two HDMI 2.1 video outputs and 2.5G Ethernet port.

Inside this PC we find a M2. 2232 Wifi BT network adapter with two internal antennas. We also have a 2TB Crucial M.2 2280 NVMe SSD installed. For RAM we have 32 GB Crucial RAM in 2 SODIMM DDR5 5600 MHz slots that support up to 64 GB.

As cooling system we have IceBlast 1.5 system quite efficient. As we will see in our test, the performance is quite good despite the closed case with few slots.

System and performance

Environment and user experience

We start the GEEKOM A8 by pressing the front power button, immediately the small internal LED lights up. We have the Windows 11 Pro operating system running, which as we can see moves quickly. This mini PC boots up in seconds thanks to its Acer 2TB NVMe drive.

• OS: Windows 11 Pro 64bit / Linux optional.
• Software: No preinstalled apps / Antivirus check = OK.
• BIOS: ESC access / BIOS AMI text / WOL / Auto Power ON.
• Tutorials: Control the micro PC with your Smartphone / Install Windows 11 / Migrate Windows to SSD

Network, Storage, RAM and Ports

In terms of network connectivity, the GEEKOM A8 PC includes a wireless adapter with Wifi 6E Bluetooth 5.2(MTK MT9722) and a 2.5G Ethernet port (Realtek). The SSD supports NVMe 4×16 up to 16 GT/s and for RAM we have two SODIMM up to 5600 MHz. The USB4 port works properly connecting an external GPU as we have tested.

• Wifi: Range 42 dBm / Link 5G 880 Mbps / Bluetooth OK.
• USB ports: 3x USB 3.2 10 Gbps / 1x USB4 40 Gpbs.

Processor, performance and thermals

The GEEKOM A8 mini PC offers us the powerful AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS processor manufactured on 4nm. An APU with eight Zen 4 cores and sixteen threads that moves between 3.8 and 5.2 GHz, it also has an AI core of 39 TOPS. We have a Radeon 780M GPU with 12 cores up to 2800 MHz. The whole has a staggered consumption of 15/54 W TDP. More than enough hardware to work with Photoshop or similar, multimedia with KODI or IPTV up to 8K, office automation and even with demanding 3D games in 1080p quality.

As we can see, the BIOS of this computer is quite limited and does not let us touch almost any aspect. We can activate different cooling modes, enable autostart and WOL.

Benchmarks

In our performance tests, the GEEKOM A8 with the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS performs excellently in all areas. This APU with its 4 nm is efficient and has a fairly low power consumption for its performance in all scenarios.

This little beast as we see gives us good thermal performance, the system keeps temperatures controlled with its fan at variable RPM and emits very little noise at idle. In games it is quite audible when accelerating, but it is not very annoying.

• Consumption: Off 1.2W / Idle 6W / Basic use 32W / Maximum 102W.
• Thermal: Idle 40ºC / Basic use 46ºC / Maximum 89ºC / CPU 4 GHz max / Performance up to 100%.
• Noise: 40 dBA Max / Variable RPM / NO Semi-passive.

Games

We performed several performance tests running games on the GEEKOM A8, the GPU we found integrated is the Radeon 780M with 12 cores up to 2.7 GHz. As we can see it is adequate for 1080p quality games, the system falls somewhat short in games with a lot of 3D load. In the section of emulators at most we stay in some titles up to Switch, PS3 and the like.

• Setting: Medium quality / 1080p resolution / No VSync / Play emulators with RetroArch.

You can play titles like LoL well, in games like Fornite we also have good performance in DX11 and reaches 76 fps in medium quality with FSR. Good figures to play popular titles like Call od Duy Warzone smoothly up to about 58 fps at low settings in 1080p.

Video and audio tests

Playback test

On the video playback side, the GEEKOM A8 features the integrated Radeon 780M GPU which has a VPU with hardware support for the modern AV1 video codec. This processor has native HDR support and is perfectly valid as a multimedia system for using KODI, IPTV or for use with the PLEX app.

• Video: 2x HDMI 2.1 1x USB 4 1x USB 3.2 / 8K@60 Max / HDR10.
• Audio: Up to 7.1 Jack stereo / Dolby DTS.
• Tutorials: Adjust monitor image quality / KODI add-ons / Auto refresh rate / Multichannel audio

Video and audio test results

• Max Bitrate: 350 Mbps
• HW = Hardware Acceleration / SW = No Hardware Acceleration

• Native: Supports the format directly on our AV receiver or similar / More info.
• Core: Only Dolby or DTS 5.1 core is played / More info.
• PCM: Only stereo downmixing from DD or DTS.

Streaming services

We tested the GEEKOM A8 using the most popular streaming services such as YouTube, Netflix, MAX, Movistar , Disney , Amazon Prime Video and DAZN with their native apps or using the compatible browser to watch content in 4K/8K quality.

• Performance: It has hardware acceleration for AV1 8K codec on YouTube.
• Tutorials: Install Addons in KODI in a simple way / LibreELEC for PC

Streaming Results

Conclusions and purchase link GEEKOM A8

Review

As we can see, the GEEKOM A8 is a very powerful device with a very elegant minimalist design. Its powerful AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS processor allows us to use any demanding application and the Radeon 780M GPU also allows us to run quite demanding games. The cooling system fulfills its function well and we can use it without perceiving much noise.

We must also highlight its connectivity options because we have a Wifi 6E wireless adapter and also a 2.5G Ethernet port. In terms of ports we are well served and highlights the USB4 connector option up to 40 Gbps that allows you to connect even an external GPU.

This GEEKOM A8 is undoubtedly a very powerful and compact mini PC. An ideal computer for those who want to occupy little space on the desk and have a high performance.

Where to buy

Score