GEEKOM A7 mini-PC Review : Premium Phoenix in a Compact 4x4 Package
by Ganesh T S on May 31, 2024 8:00 AM ESTSetup Notes and Platform Analysis
Our review sample of the GEEKOM A7 came with all necessary components pre-installed - including the OS. Prior to setting up the OS on first boot, we took some time to look into the BIOS interface. Unlike the GUI-based UEFI interface offered by tier-one vendors, the BIOS here is a vanilla one with keyboard-only navigation. There are plenty of configurable options, and the video below presents an overview of the features.
The BIOS allows limited tweaking of the cTDP with the FAN mode option in the main screen. Our evaluation was done in the default 'Normal Mode' which balances fan noise and performance.
The bus I/O diagram provides further context to the PCIe lane allocations from the Phoenix SoC.
Having evaluated the Beelink GTR7 with the Ryzen 7 7840HS earlier, we were a little bit disappointed to find that USB4 40 Gbps support was restricted to only one of the rear Type-C ports in the A7 instead of both. It is likely thermal concerns may have dictated this decision, as the GTR7 is a more bulky system (despite still falling under the SFF category).
In today's review, we compare the GEEKOM A7 and a host of other systems based on processors with TDPs ranging from 15W to 65W. The systems do not target the same market segments, but a few key aspects lie in common, making the comparisons relevant.
| Comparative PC Configurations | ||
| Aspect | GEEKOM A7 | |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS Zen 4 (Phoenix) 8C/16T, 4.0 - 5.2 GHz TSMC 4nm, 16MB L3, 35-54W Max / Target TDP : 54W / 35W |
AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS Zen 4 (Phoenix) 8C/16T, 4.0 - 5.2 GHz TSMC 4nm, 16MB L3, 35-54W Max / Target TDP : 54W / 35W |
| GPU | AMD Radeon 780M Graphics (RDNA3) - Integrated (12 CUs @ 2.8 GHz) |
AMD Radeon 780M Graphics (RDNA3) - Integrated (12 CUs @ 2.8 GHz) |
| RAM | Crucial CT16G56C46S5.M8G1 DDR5-5600 SODIMM 2x16 GB |
Crucial CT16G56C46S5.M8G1 DDR5-5600 SODIMM 2x16 GB |
| Storage | Acer SSD N5000 (2 TB; M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe;) (3D TLC NAND; Maxio MAP1602 DRAM-less Controller) |
Acer SSD N5000 (2 TB; M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe;) (3D TLC NAND; Maxio MAP1602 DRAM-less Controller) |
| Wi-Fi | 1x 2.5 GbE RJ-45 (Realtek RTL8125) MediaTek MT7922 Wi-Fi 6E (2x2 802.11ax - 1.8 Gbps) / Bluetooth 5.2 |
1x 2.5 GbE RJ-45 (Realtek RTL8125) MediaTek MT7922 Wi-Fi 6E (2x2 802.11ax - 1.8 Gbps) / Bluetooth 5.2 |
| Price (in USD, when built) | (Street Pricing on May 30th, 2024) US $799 (as configured, with OS) |
(Street Pricing on May 30th, 2024) US $799 (as configured, with OS) |
The next few sections will deal with comparative benchmarks for the above systems.
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t.s - Saturday, June 1, 2024 - link
True that, for Asrock. I have deskmini x300 that the S3 function for Zen 2 & 3, among other fixes, leaves out on purpose by them. Reply5080 - Sunday, June 2, 2024 - link
My experience with Asrock is much better than with many other motherboard brands. I have several mITX computers I built with Fatal1ty AB350 and B450 ITX/ac motherboards in 2017 and 2018 and they are still getting BIOS updates. The most recent one from end of Januray 2024 with AGESA 1.2.0.B. An earlier update also allowed me to get CPU upgrades to Ryzen 5600G and 5700X on these boards. Replykn00tcn - Sunday, June 2, 2024 - link
you're talking about full diy desktop, all the brands get updates especially for the new cpu models, with asus likely having the most agesa uodatesasrock's partial diy mini-pcs (case+nonstandard mobo+psu) do not have the same amount of updates Reply
haplo602 - Friday, May 31, 2024 - link
That is correct, long term BIOS support is the main problem with these "no-name" minipc brands. And they do not care even if you buy late in the product cycle, they almost never ship with anything but the initial release BIOS. Minisforum is about the only vendor that has at lease some BIOS updates ... ReplyJames5mith - Friday, May 31, 2024 - link
Except that the Minisforums BIOS seem to cause more problems than they fix. Take my UM970 Pro as an example. Every BIOS release has been worse than the last somehow. I'm getting pretty good at downgrading the BIOS on them at least. So new skill unlocked? Replykn00tcn - Sunday, June 2, 2024 - link
problems such as? Replysjkpublic@gmail.com - Sunday, June 2, 2024 - link
It may be they are late to the game. It may be you are right. It may be you have not found the right link to the BIOS update. I know minisforum does BIOS updates but it was rather hard to find. Replysjkpublic@gmail.com - Sunday, June 2, 2024 - link
Waiting for CAMM2. Reply