Fancy a desktop PC, however do not fancy the normal dominating laptop tower? A mini PC just like the Geekom A6 might be splendid. Sufficiently small to slot in a jacket pocket, but highly effective sufficient for severe picture enhancing, and with a greater port choice than a typical laptop computer, there’s lots to love right here. In contrast to some mini PCs which require you so as to add your individual RAM and exhausting drive – ‘barebones’ machines – the A6 is an entire, ready-to-use PC with Home windows 11 pre-installed. Simply add a monitor, keyboard and mouse and also you’re good to go.
SD card for scale. Sure, the A6 actually is that small! (Picture credit score: Future)
The A6 is one in every of Geekom’s extra accessibly-priced mini PCs, but it nonetheless packs a punch. At its coronary heart is an 8-core AMD Ryzen 6800H processor, teamed with a beneficiant 32GB of RAM. This explicit processor is not one in every of AMD’s latest because it dates from 2022. Consequently, it would not function the identical AI-processing options included with more moderen AMD CPUs. Naturally for a pc so small, there isn’t any separate graphics processor, with the central processor left to deal with graphical calls for. Storage is supplied by a quick NVMe 1TB SSD, with house for a further 2.5″ SATA drive.
(Picture credit score: Future)
Surprisingly for such a small machine, bodily connectivity is superb, eclipsing that of most fashionable laptops. You get 4 USB-A ports (two entrance, two rear), three of which run at USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps) pace. Two further USB-C ports are additionally supplied, with one operating on the newest and quickest USB4 normal (40 Gbps). You get not one however two HDMI sockets – helpful if you need a twin monitor set-up (a most of 4 screens can be utilized), plus there’s an ethernet port and a 3.5mm audio socket. One other welcome inclusion is the full-size SD card slot on the aspect. Wi-Fi 6E Bluetooth v5.2 handle wi-fi connectivity.
(Picture credit score: Future)
Geekom A6: Specs
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CPU
AMD Ryzen 7 6800H 3.2GHz (as much as 4.7GHz, 8 cores, 16 Threads)
Graphics
Radeon 680M (built-in)
RAM
32GB DDR5 (64GB max)
Storage
1TB M.2 NVMe 4.0 SSD
Ports
4x USB-A, 2x USB-C, 2x HDMI, 1x RJ45 ethernet, 3.5mm headphone/mic combo jack, SD card slot
Wi-fi
Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
Dimensions
112.4 x 112.4 x 37mm
Geekom A6: Design & Dealing with With its smooth, seamless matte-finish physique, the A6 has greater than a touch of Mac mini about it. The general really feel of the machine is one of top quality; the be part of between the aluminium shell and the black plastic part that surrounds the rear ports is flawless, as an illustration. If it wasn’t for the Geekom branding on the highest, this might simply be mistaken for an Apple product – the match and end is that good. Measuring a mere 112.4 x 112.4 x 37mm, the A6 is well sufficiently small to tuck out of sight, but it is not so small as to compromise port choice and cooling efficiency.
(Picture credit score: Future)
So as to make the A6 as small as it’s, the facility provide is a separate brick that is round half the quantity of the PC itself. Fortunately there’s sufficient cable linking the AC adapter to the PC that the facility brick will be hidden nicely away. Geekom additionally provides a VESA mounting plate with the A6. This can be utilized to connect the pc to the VESA bracket holes on the again of a monitor, so you’ll be able to create an all-in-one laptop+monitor. Nevertheless, this may solely be attainable in case your monitor’s stand is not already connected to the identical mounting holes. Alternatively, the bracket might be used to mount the A6 to the underside of your desk, hiding it out of view.
(Picture credit score: Future)
Efficient cooling is important when shrinking a PC to such a small dimension. Geekom’s ‘IceBlast’ cooling tech attracts in cool air by way of the perforated aspect panels of the case, then exhausts sizzling air by way of a big vent on the rear. It would not take lengthy throughout extra intensive duties for the fan to spin as much as an audible stage, however I by no means discovered the noise distracting – it is one in every of airflow, not a whining fan motor. I might additionally somewhat a pc prioritzed highly effective cooling over outright silence, as there’s considerably much less probability of the processor overheating and throttling again efficiency consequently.
Geekom A6: Efficiency Regardless of the A6 being the newborn of Geekom’s AMD-equipped mini PC vary, I discovered it carried out fairly nicely normally use. 32GB of RAM is a wholesome quantity for picture enhancing, which means the A6 was simply in a position to work with high-resolution RAW photos in Photoshop . To essentially put this to the take a look at, I loaded an enormous 1.4GB, 852-megapixel stitched panorama TIFF file, but the A6 had no bother letting me zoom and pan easily. To up the ante slightly extra, I tried to enlarge the picture vertically by round 500 pixels utilizing Generative Develop. This took 1 minute 15 seconds. For reference, my private tower PC geared up with a 6-core AMD Ryzen 5 5600G took 1 minute 23 seconds. Nevertheless, an 8-core Intel Core Extremely 7 258V – a a lot newer but nonetheless energy-efficient processor that is constructed for AI workflows – managed the identical process in 45 seconds.
(Picture credit score: Future)
(Picture credit score: Future)
(Picture credit score: Future)
I additionally ran a number of efficiency benchmarks on the A6: Geekbench and Cinebench to evaluate processing pace, and Crystal Disk Mark for measuring SSD pace. A Cinebench rating of 695 is completely acceptable given the age and mid-range place of the Ryzen 7 6800H CPU. Likewise, the Geekbench result’s cheap contemplating the A6’s value level, although the single-core rating is barely disappointing relative to extra fashionable energy-efficient CPUs. Outright SSD pace is excellent; sufficient to not bottleneck any transfers from quick reminiscence playing cards or exterior SSDs. I additionally examined the pace of the one USB4 Sort-C port utilizing a quick CFexpress 4.0 Sort B card, and achieved comparable learn/write speeds to different USB4 PCs I’ve beforehand used.
Geekom A6: Verdict
I am very impressed by the Geekom A6. It copes nicely with most picture enhancing workflows, helped by having an above-average quantity of RAM, and there is sufficient storage for loads of high-res uncooked photos. Gaming efficiency is rarely going to be a spotlight, however that is not what the A6 is designed for. I additionally admire the superb collection of ports, and that one of many Sort-C sockets is USB4, so you’ll be able to max out the newest exterior SSDs and quickest CFexpress playing cards. Construct high quality can also be top quality, which you would not essentially anticipate on the value level.
Criticisms? The processor is slightly dated and never the quickest at coping with some AI duties, however I really feel that is a suitable compromise to maintain the price of the A6 accessible. The Geekom A6 at present retails for $449/£500, which could appear considerably expensive when you think about you might get a laptop computer for a similar cash, but it might even have a display screen, keyboard and trackpad. Nevertheless on the planet of mini PCs, the A6 is pretty priced for its specification and its premium construct/styling.
If you happen to’re after a particularly compact PC that’ll nonetheless deal with high-res picture enhancing, the Geekom A6 gives wonderful worth with only a few compromises. Remember to take a look at our information to the finest screens for photograph enhancing to search out out which monitor can be finest to make use of alongside the Geekom A6.
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Options
There isn’t any devoted GPU, and a entrance USB-C port can be good, however you’ll be able to’t have all of it at this value.
★★★★☆
Design
Some mini PCs are plasticky and really feel low cost. Not this one. The smooth aluminium casing appears to be like and feels premium.
★★★★★
Efficiency
The 8-core processor is as much as the job, however it’s not the newest technology and is not optimised for AI duties.
★★★★☆
Worth
You will get mini PCs with comparable specs for much less, however they will not have the smooth styling and premium construct of the A6.
★★★★★
You desire a tiny but succesful desktop PC
You do not need to compromise on construct or styling
You need an excellent vary of ports
You are a gamer
You need the newest AI-processing efficiency
