mini PC with Intel Meteor Lake processor on board. What is this device?
A new miniature PC has gone on sale, and it is quite productive — you can choose a model with a processor from Intel Core Ultra 5 125H to Core Ultra 7 155H. The device supports two displays simultaneously. It also received a modern wireless module with Wi-Fi 7 and a 2.5 GbE interface. Details are under the cut.
What kind of device is this?
The mini PC is small, but still larger than many of its “brothers”. Its dimensions are 148 × 120 × 39 mm. The front panel contains:
1×USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2×1 (10 Gbit/s) port;
2 × USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 1 × 1 (5 Gbit/s) ports;
1×3.5mm audio jack;
1 × power button.
On the back panel the developers placed:
1×UEFI/BIOS reset hole;
2 × USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 1 × 1 (5 Gbit/s) ports;
2×HDMI-2.0 ports;
1 × 2.5 Gb Ethernet port (Realtek RTL8125);
1 × Power connector.
It is worth noting that this device has two slots for DDR5 RAM and two for a solid-state NVMe drive. The fact that the memory is not soldered to the board, and there are two SO-DIMMs at once, opens up the possibility of an upgrade – if desired, the device can be improved, made more productive. The maximum amount of supported RAM is 32 GB.
The processor is soldered to the board – a common solution for most laptops and mini-PCs. So, unfortunately, the chip cannot be updated – you can only choose and buy a model with a more powerful processor.
In terms of graphics, the benchmark results show a significant improvement over the previous generation Intel Core i9-13900H processor. This can be attributed to the switch to integrated Intel ARC graphics.
System performance has also improved under all-core load, most likely because the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor (up to 4.8 GHz with Intel Turbo Boost technology, 24 MB L3 cache, 16 cores, 22 threads) has two more physical cores than the Core i9-13900H.
Overall, the mini PC is quite productive, so it is equipped with an active cooling system. It is quiet and will not distract you from work or games. The maximum processor temperature is 82 °C, the minimum is 50 °C. In the latter case, there were no tasks, the system was idle.
The company supplies the device in two versions:
Intel® Core™ Ultra 5 125H processor, 32GB RAM, 1TB drive for $699;
Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 155H processor, 32GB RAM, 1TB disk for $799.
It is worth noting that this is the company's first device with an Intel® Meteor Lake processor. Accordingly, the graphics here are Intel® Arc™ plus NPU.
What about games?
The device was tested using the built-in benchmark in Shadow of the Tomb Raider (SOTTR). The resolution was set to “high”, in which case the FPS was about 35. If you lower the graphics requirements and set a low resolution, this figure increases to 46.
Enabling XeSS in combination with high graphics quality in the settings increases the FPS to 39. Setting XeSS to “Performance” improved the average to 47. Finally, lowering the graphics setting to “Low” while keeping XeSS, increases the FPS to 56.
In other words, the F2A model give a chance play some AAA games at 1080p. But Intel's ARC integrated graphics don't yet offer the same level of performance as AMD's latest Radeon graphics.
By the way, many parameters in the BIOS settings are modifiable, so if the user is confident in his abilities, the device can be overclocked. Here, of course, it is better not to overdo it, so that the device works normally.
What's the bottom line?
It is safe to say that the ACEMAGIC F2A model is universal. It can be useful for a developer, a gamer, and an ordinary user who works only with office applications. Another positive point is support for the new Wi-Fi 7 wireless communication standard, but, unfortunately, there is not much network equipment compatible with it now.
A disadvantage for some potential buyers may be the lack of USB4 ports, which is somewhat surprising, because the model was released in 2024. Another problem is that, unfortunately, there is no way to connect an eGPU to the mini PC, it is simply not provided. This means that if the model does not pull a certain game, nothing can be done – an external system will not be able to help.
The design of the mini PC is quite ordinary, nothing outstanding. Unfortunately, the manufacturer does not offer for sale a basic model, where there is no RAM and storage devices, which could reduce the price. But with such capabilities and performance, this device will find its buyer.
