30-second assessment
Having just lately skilled what Acemagic can obtain utilizing the brand new Intel Core Ultra 5 125H in its F2A Mini PC, the F1A is a retrograde step on the processor entrance.
While the Intel Core i9-12900H CPU has fourteen cores and twenty threads, it makes use of the earlier Iris Xe GPU and DDR4 reminiscence, not the ARC GPU and DDR5.
Considering that the Core Ultra 5 within the F2A is on the backside of that sequence, and the i9 could be very close to the highest of its era, the i9 struggles to ship equal efficiency ranges.
To compensate for these limitations, Acemagic positioned the F1A in a bigger case, which gives loads of room for an elaborate cooling resolution. But, the additional area is not used as anticipated, because it solely has a single pre-installed M.2 2280 NVMe slot. Many machines, even these in smaller enclosures, include two, and some even three.
However, the place this machine is underwhelming is using the out there PCIe lanes, contemplating that the Intel Core i9-12900H CPU has twenty-eight of those.
On the entrance are two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A and one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port. On the rear are two extra USB 3.2 Gen 2, however that also solely provides as much as a most of a few PCIe Lanes. The single M.2 slot is a PCIe 4.0 Gen 4, leaving not less than 20 PCIe lanes unused, even when an entire PCIe lane is allotted to the LAN port.
Overall, this is not an important instance of exploiting a chip just like the Intel Core i9-12900H CPU, and the asking value is manner too excessive to characterize good worth for cash.
Acemagic F1A: Price and availability
- How a lot does it value? From $700
- When is it out? Available quickly
- Where are you able to get it? Directly from Acemagic and Amazon
Unusually for a Mini PC, Acemagic presents solely a single SKU of the F1A, although it’s out there in three colors.
Sakura Pink seems to be the 2024 twist on Rose Gold, the Emerald Green has a mint chocolate wrapper vibe, and fortunately, we obtained the third choice of Graphite Black.
At the time of writing, direct from Acemagic, these machines aren’t the identical color, with the Black costing $769, the Green one other $10, and the Pink is bizarrely $799.
The one {hardware} specification is for 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, however the packaging hints that Acemagic would possibly promote machines with much less RAM and various storage ought to the demand exist.
As a part of a Memorial Day promotion, a 33% off promotional code is at the moment out there, considerably lowering the fee. However, we don’t know how lengthy that can final.
Alternatively, all three colors could be purchased from Amazon.com for $699, and an extra $100 low cost voucher is accessible.
If we assume that the {hardware} will finally return to MSRP, this does not seem like an important deal, particularly since some manufacturers are promoting Core Ultra machines for lower than that determine.
But beneath $600, this could be a a lot better deal for many who do not intend to improve the machine additional down the road.
Acemagic F1A: Specs
| Item | Spec |
|---|---|
| CPU: | Intel Core i9-12900H (14 cores, 20 Threads) |
| GPU: | Intel Iris Xe (96EU) |
| RAM: | 32GB DDR4-3200 (16GB x 2) expandable to 64GB) |
| Storage: | 1TB M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4 |
| Expansion: | N/A |
| Ports: | 4x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C, 1x HDMI 2.0b, 1x common audio jack |
| Networking: | 1x 2.5GbE LAN, WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.2 |
| OS: | Windows 11 Pro (pre-installed) |
| Base Power: | 45W |
| PSU: | 19V 6.3A 119.7W |
| Dimensions: | 148 x 148 x 56 (mm) |
Acemagic F1A: Design
- Metal skinned plastic
- Easy inner entry
- A disappointing port choice
To give many laptops a extra luxurious really feel, using a plastic shell bonded to skinny aluminium pores and skin has grow to be a standard function. This approach offers cell machines the impression of metallic building with out the related weight penalties.
The F1A is among the first mini-PCs we have seen with any such building, and it gives a pleasant tactile expertise whereas leaving the {hardware} remarkably gentle.
It’s not as sturdy as a strong aluminium chassis of a millimetre or extra thick, and huge components of the F1A are totally plastic. Still, it leaves a optimistic impression on the client.
One factor that Acemagic are usually good at delivering is a machine the place inner entry is easy.
On this machine, the 4 toes unscrew are solely finger-tight, and you might be contained in the portion of the system the place you’ll be able to entry the inner reminiscence and storage. Acemagic additionally used an inline connector for the fan linked to the underside, permitting it to be simply indifferent and reconnected.
That’s good, and you’ll simply entry the SoDIMM DDR4 reminiscence modules and the M.2 Slot. However, the advertising and marketing supplies on the Acemagic web site declare that there are two M.2 slots and even embrace {a photograph} of them.
This is massively deceptive for the reason that F1A solely has a single slot, or not less than within the {hardware} despatched to reviewers.
Maybe in some unspecified time in the future within the design cycle, it might have had two slots, however primarily based on the {hardware} we have examined, it has just one, and that is an ungainly omission.
Having just one storage slot makes upgrading the module in that slot more difficult, as you’ll require an M.2 USB caddy.
As we’ll focus on within the options, this {hardware} has a bountiful quantity of PCIe lanes, however most go totally unused.
While there are 4 USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, the one USB-C port is barely Gen 1 spec, and there aren’t any USB 4.0 or Thunderbolt ports on it. There additionally is not an SD card slot, and just one 2.5GbE LAN port is included.
Therefore, the promoting level of this machine is the ability of the processor, however in different respects, it does not present any extra I/O than a finances NUC.
Acemagic F1A: Features
- Intel Core i9-12900H
- Unused bandwidth
- Iris Xe has dated
The headline act within the F1A is the Intel Core i9-12900H, an Alder Lake-H design that first appeared in early 2022. It’s a 12th-generation design, which makes it two rungs behind the newest Core Ultra choices. With the exception of the unlocked 12900HK, that is the top-level CPU from this sequence with a base clock of two.5GHz and a Turbo enhance of as much as 5GHz.
The cores on this chip are six P-cores and eight E-cores, with the P-cores having hyperthreading to ship twenty threads from fourteen cores.
The two issues holding again this design have been the quantity of Smart cache, 24MB, and the variety of efficiency cores. Intel launched the 12950HX about 5 months after this chip with 30MB of Smart cache and eight P-Cores for much more processing energy. However, the trade-off from the 12900H was its Irix Xe with 96 Execution Units, whereas the 12950HX and 12900HX solely had a UHD Graphics GPU with 32 EUs.
On paper, it is a highly effective platform, and with 28 PCIe lanes, there’s loads of bandwidth potential to supply, enabling the capability to attach bandwidth-heavy performance like 10GbE LAN ports and Thunderbolt.
Having all these lanes is good. But on this design, these largely go unused. Acemagic did not embrace a second M.2 NVMe slot, and it has no USB 4.0 or Thunderbolt ports.
Given what number of machine designs we have coated have been undermined by the shortage of PCIe lanes that the i9-12900H has inherently, it is most disappointing that they are not made extra of right here.
It additionally have to be talked about that the Iris Xe, whereas nice when this chip was launched, does not evaluate effectively with the Radeon 780 on the newest AMD Ryzen chips or the ARC Graphics GPU that Intel is now utilizing.
A think about why it does not compete extra is that on this period of Intel cell chips, they used DDR4 reminiscence, not DDR5, which is at the moment the reminiscence mannequin of alternative. With DDR5, reminiscence fetches from the CPU are speed-enhanced by being dual-channel in a single stick. With an built-in GPU that makes use of shared major reminiscence, DDR5 also can velocity up GPU operations.
The DDR4 used right here impacts the CPU and GPU with much less bandwidth and a decrease degree of efficiency total.
Acemagic F1A: Performance
| Mini PC | Header Cell – Column 1 | Acemagic F1A | Acemagic F2A | GMKtec K8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | Row 0 – Cell 1 | Intel Core i9-12900H | Intel Core Ultra 5 125H | AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS |
| RAM | Row 1 – Cell 1 | 32GB DDR4 (2x16GB) | 32GB DDR5 (2x16GB) | 32GB DDR5 (2x16GB) |
| Storage | Row 2 – Cell 1 | 1TB Rayson RS1D0TSSD710 | 1TB KINGSTON OM8SEP41024Q-A0 | 1TB NVMe |
| Graphics | Row 3 – Cell 1 | Iris Xe Graphics (EU96) | Intel Arc Graphics | Radeon 780M |
| 3DMark | WildLife | 12610 | 18072 | 16149 |
| Row 5 – Cell 0 | FireStrike | 4944 | 6856 | 7664 |
| Row 6 – Cell 0 | TimeSpy | 1759 | 3424 | 3102 |
| CineBench23 | Single | 1830 | 1651 | 1764 |
| Row 8 – Cell 0 | Multi | 12494 | 14474 | 15691 |
| Row 9 – Cell 0 | Ratio | 6.83 | 8.77 | 8.9 |
| GeekBench | Single | 1768 | 1655 | 1957 |
| Row 11 – Cell 0 | Multi | 9657 | 10442 | 11864 |
| Row 12 – Cell 0 | OpenCL | 17365 | 27553 | 34563 |
| Row 13 – Cell 0 | Vulkan | 17157 | 23474 | 30270 |
| CrystalDisk | Read MB/s | 4786 | 3792 | 5105 |
| Row 15 – Cell 0 | Write MB/s | 4505 | 1627 | 4390 |
| PCMark 10 | Office | 6031 | 6771 | 7396 |
| WEI | Row 17 – Cell 1 | 8.3 | 8.1 | 8.2 |
Our decisions for comparability within the testing have been the Acemagic F2A, with its Ultra Core 5 CPU, and the GMKtec K8 and its AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS.
The one spot of solar for the F1A to delight in is the single-core processing energy of the
Core i9-12900H, which is healthier in CineBench and GeekBench than both of the opposite choices.
However, not one of the multi-core outcomes are pretty much as good, and issues get ugly as soon as the graphics scores begin to present how badly the Iris Xe with DDR4 compares to the Radeon 780M when used with DDR5 or the ARC Graphics GPU with DDR5.
What elevates WEI (Windows Experience Index) and PCMark 10 outcomes is that Acemagic used an honest NVMe drive that was considerably higher than the one it put within the F2A.
What’s most sobering about these outcomes is that the GMKtec K8 is a less expensive machine, at round $650 for the 32GB+1TB spec.
It additionally must be talked about that the K8 has twin 2.5GbE LAN ports, twin M.2 2280 slots and USB 4.0 ports, making it a way more versatile resolution.
Overall, except you might be in search of single-thread efficiency, this platform has been outclassed for a while.
Acemagic F1A: Verdict
Based on what deal Intel may need supplied on these processors, Acemagic undoubtedly thought that transforming a earlier i9 design would possibly shift a lot of these.
However, within the PC trade, the 2 and a half years since this chip was launched have seen important developments, and this platform suffers compared to extra fashionable chips as a result of it does not use DDR5 and has an older built-in GPU.
Features that may have made the distinction would have been a full I/O suite, however Acemagic did not add USB 4.0, Thunderbolt, or perhaps a second M.2 slot.
If you could have a single-threaded use case and need a Core i9, this machine is an choice, but it surely lacks the potential to be simply repurposed for different duties.
The F2A is a a lot better machine from Acemagic, however the price of the F2A and F1A is simply too excessive to be critically thought of in such an aggressive market section.
Should I purchase a Acemagic F1A?
| Value | Expensive for tech that’s 30 months previous | 3/5 |
| Design | Easy entry, however not a lot inside. | 3/5 |
| Features | Plenty of USB 3.2 Gen 2, however no Thunderbolt, and just one M.2 slot. | 3/5 |
| Performance | Fast at single duties, however overtaken on multi-core exams and GPU efficiency | 3.5/5 |
| Overalls | Expensive and lacks USB 4.0 or Thunderbolt, and it isn’t value what Acemagic thinks. | 3.5/5 |