Geekom A9 Max review: Power meets ports
The Geekom A9 Max is an incredibly fast mini PC that delivers excellent performance thanks to its AMD Ryzen AI 9 processor. This is paired with powerful components throughout, along with the ability to upgrade its RAM and storage down the line, all in a compact case that’s only slightly wider than the Mac mini M4.
At $1,199, the A9 Max is on the expensive side. However, this isn’t your typical mini PC, as you’re getting desktop-class power and practically all the ports you could need. In typical Geekom fashion, you have loads of rear ports with the ability to drive up to a quad-monitor setup. However, it was the four USB-A ports around front and the convenient SD card reader on the side that impressed me most.
Not only is the A9 Max powerful, it’s also very quiet. During the two months I spent using it as my daily driver, its internal fan never made more than a peep while the system stayed cool. This is likely due to the large heatsink under its motherboard, which did make opening its case up a bit more difficult than with the other Geekom mini PCs I’ve tested in the past.
My Geekom A9 Max review will help you decide if this is the best mini PC for your needs and whether or not it’s worth spending a bit more on a seriously fast yet compact machine.
Geekom A9 Max: Cheat Sheet
- What is it? A compact, silver mini PC that provides desktop-class power and loads of front and rear ports.
- Who is it for? Those who need a powerful mini PC with desktop-class performance to replace a larger system or their laptop.
- What does it cost? The A9 Max costs $1,199, though it’s currently discounted to $1,089 on the company’s website.
- What do we like? The powerful Ryzen AI 9 processor, its compact form factor, the ability to power it via USB-C, the highly generous rear and especially front port selection, and its excellent RAM and storage expandability.
- What don’t we like? The premium price tag, the more difficult-than-usual case opening process for upgrades, and the easily detached internal Wi-Fi antennas.
Geekom A9 Max: Specs
|
Price |
$1,199 |
|
CPU |
AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 |
|
GPU |
AMD Radeon 890M |
|
RAM |
32GB DDR5 (upgradeable to 128GB) |
|
Storage |
2TB (upgradeable to 4TB), 1 x M.2 2230 (upgradeable to 4TB) |
|
OS |
Windows 11 Pro |
|
Ports |
4 x USB-A, 1 x 3.5mm headphone jack (front), 1 x SD card reader, 1 x Kensington Lock (side), 2 x USB-A, 2 x HDMI 2.1, 2 x USB 4 (one with PD-in), 2 x 2.5G Ethernet |
|
Connectivity |
Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 |
|
Size |
5.31 x 5.20 x 1.85 inches |
|
Weight |
1.56 pounds |
Geekom A9 Max: The ups
The Geekom A9 Max certainly earns its name with plenty of power under the hood, loads of ports at the front and back and a solid upgrade path should you want to add even more memory and storage later on.
Sleek, silver and solid
At 5.31 x 5.20 x 1.85 inches, the A9 Max has a slightly larger footprint than the Mac mini M4 on your desk but is slightly shorter. Likewise, you get a VESA mount and screws in the box should you want to mount this mini PC behind your monitor. However, with all those handy front ports, I wouldn’t recommend it but more on that later.
On the front of the A9 Max, there are four high-speed USB-A ports — one of which is an always-on charging port — and a headphone jack along with the power button. On the left side, you get an SD card reader and on the right, there’s a Kensington Lock to secure this mini PC at your desk.
Around back, you get two more USB-A ports (one of which is high-speed, the other is USB 2.0), two HDMI 2.1 ports, two USB4 ports, dual 2.5 gigabit Ethernet ports and a barrel power connector. If you don’t plan on using the A9 Max with a quad-monitor setup, you can use one of the USB4 ports (the one marked PD-in) and a 100W or higher GaN charger instead of the external power supply, just like on the MSI Cubi NUC AI+ 2MG.
Four rubber feet on the underside of the A9 Max kept it firmly planted on my desk and I really like how its aluminum outer shell gives this mini PC a more premium look. However, if you want some color, there’s also a purple version available for the same price.
While the design and ports are excellent on the A9 Max, it’s the power under the hood that’s really the standout feature of this mini PC.
Mini but mighty
Geekom definitely didn’t skimp on the A9 Max’s components and this absolutely shows during my day-to-day usage. It’s powered by an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor, which is paired with 32GB of DDR5 memory and you also get plenty of storage thanks to the included 2TB M.2 SSD.
On the connectivity side, you’re getting Wi-Fi 7 support along with Bluetooth 5.4. I also really liked having not one but two 2.5 gigabit Ethernet ports which can come in handy if you want to connect the A9 Max to one of the best Wi-Fi routers via Ethernet and use the other port to transfer files to a NAS device.
| Header Cell – Column 0 |
Geekom A9 Max |
Geekom IT15 |
Geekom A6 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Geekbench 6.4 single-core |
2976 |
3080 |
2126 |
|
Geekbench 6.4 multi-core |
15140 |
15589 |
10547 |
|
25GB file copy test (MBps) |
15.34 |
19.62 |
1200 |
|
Handbrake (Mins:Secs) |
3:25 |
4:44 |
5:44 |
As you can see in the table above, the A9 Max also performed really well in our benchmark tests. While the Geekom IT15 was slightly ahead of it in Geekbench, the A9 Max pulled ahead when it came to moving large files and encoding video. Personally, I found the IT15 to be somewhat on the noisy side under load while the A9 Max never reached more than a slight hum during my real-world testing.
I used the A9 Max as my daily driver at a dual-monitor setup for two months and I was seriously impressed with its performance. As a Chrome power user with dozens of tabs open at a time, it never once slowed down and it was just as speedy when editing photos in GIMP.
Although I didn’t have a chance to test its gaming performance, in our lab, it hit 72 fps in Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm at 1080p and 37 fps at 4K. With a machine this powerful, you could easily play plenty of modern titles at 1080p with the settings turned up and it will likely handle older titles with ease.
I primarily used the A9 Max for work and one thing really stood out for me when doing so as it made my workflow a lot simpler.
Ports at your fingertips
On most mini PCs, you typically get two USB-A ports, a headphone jack, and maybe a USB-C port up front which is more than enough for most people. However, when you have a USB-C port with video out on the front, you typically don’t have one at the rear. Since Geekom usually gives you not one but two USB4 ports around back, the company decided to go all out on USB-A ports on the front, and this is one of my favorite things about the A9 Max.
As I switch between computers quite often, I like to use the 2.4 GHz USB dongles that come with most wireless keyboards and trackball mice. This lets me quickly change computers without having to pair all of my peripherals over Bluetooth. With the A9 Max, I can have my USB adapters plugged in up front and still have two USB-A ports left over for plugging in flash drives or even charging my phone or tablet.
Another useful feature that you’ll often find on practically every Geekom mini PC is the full-size SD card reader on the left side. This is very convenient for me as it allows me to quickly download photos from my camera like the ones in this review.
Given that you can absolutely game on the A9 Max, theoretically, you could set it up in your living room and connect four wired controllers for a modern-day, N64-like experience. This is absolutely something I want to try when I get time — maybe over the holidays.
Geekom A9 Max: The downs
The A9 Max definitely delivers when it comes to ports, power and upgradeability. However, opening it up and accessing its internals wasn’t as easy on some of the other mini PCs I reviewed. Plus, you’ll need to be very careful with the cables for the Wi-Fi antennas when doing so.
Upgrading can be tricky
Just like with the Geekom A6 I reviewed, opening up the A9 Max starts with flipping it over and removing its rubber feet. This time around though, the glue used to attach them to the bottom of the case was quite strong and I needed to use a pry tool to remove them. Fortunately, I had one on hand from installing one of the best dash cams in my car.
One thing that I do like about Geekom’s rubber feet though is that they slot in on either side. This means that if the adhesive does wear off, you’ll still be able to reattach them on the bottom of the A9 Max. With the feet off, I then used a screwdriver to remove four screws to access the A9 Max’s internals. This is normally all you have to do but Geekom did things a bit differently with this mini PC to keep it cool.
You see, underneath the bottom of its case, there’s a large metal heatsink you also have to remove before getting access to its internals. Removing it meant unscrewing four screws on the A9 Max’s corners and two on either side of the heatsink.
Now here is where things went slightly awry for me. Do you see the two wires taped down on the backside of the heatsink? Well, those are for the A9 Max’s 3D spatial antennas. They’re designed to help boost the device’s Wi-Fi signal and they were definitely an improvement over the ones on the IT15 before I opened the case up. The problem is that they become detached quite easily, which I didn’t realize until after I put the A9 Max back together.
With that done, I was able to access the A9 Max’s motherboard where you can swap out the included M.2 SSD for something larger or add a smaller M.2 2230 SSD if you want to have dual drives inside this mini PC. Likewise, you can also swap out the memory and add more RAM too.
The slightly more difficult disassembly process is by no means a deal breaker. However, if you are going to open the A9 Max up, I’d recommend taking your time and being extra careful when removing the heatsink. That way, you won’t have to reattach those two Wi-Fi antennas which can be quite tedious to do.
Geekom A9 Max: Verdict
The Geekom A9 Max is one of the most impressive mini PCs I’ve tested yet. From its sleek aluminum case to its powerful internals and conveniently placed front and rear ports, there isn’t anything I’d change about its design. The A9 Max also holds up well under both heavy and light workloads and it served me quite well as my daily driver during the time I spent with this mini PC.
You also have plenty of upgrade opportunities here from adding a second SSD to swapping out the included one and adding more memory. While the 3D spatial antennas that connect to its Wi-Fi card could be a bit more snug when it comes to their connection, you just have to be careful and take your time when removing the A9 Max’s heatsink.
The A9 Max delivers and then some, which is why I’d easily recommend this mini PC to anyone looking to downsize from a desktop or those who don’t want to plug in their laptop to a dock when using it at their desk in a more permanent setup.
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