GEEKOM Mini PC AE8 - with AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS Processor (8 Cores/16 Threads, up to 5.2 GHz), DDR5 32GB+1TB SSD, AMD Radeon™ 780M(12 Cores), Mini PC Windows 11/Wi-Fi 6E/Bluetooth 5.2/HDMI,Micro PC

This tiny unit replaces my 10 year old midi-tower desktop as it was time for an upgrade / downgrade: an upgrade on performance and a downgrade on size. Although a very expensive powerhouse when built (I7, 20GB RAM, etc.) it was starting to be outperformed by newer mid-range units, it couldn't upgrade to W11 and it was just too bulky, too loud and too power consuming.Choosing a new computer and making sure you get the right one is a big deal - so I did quite a lot of research into processors, RAM, speeds, etc. to make sure I'd get a unit more powerful than my old one but still just as versatile without having to spend a fortune on it.I do most of my work in web design and photo editing so I need a machine that can perform in this area quickly and efficiently. This one absolutely does the job. It's remarkable for its tiny size. Although it's "only" an I5-8259U processor it's still somewhat more powerful than my old I7-3820, and thanks to bus speeds, RAM, etc. generally having improved quite a bit over time, this machine is much faster overall.I looked at quite a few of the models currently available and was initially considering some of the fanless ones but they don't seem to have the power required, at least not if you're on a budget. I eventually concluded that this one was the best one suited to my needs; it's quite powerful, very quick, very small, very quiet and it's expandable and have plenty of connectivity.I upgraded to 32GB RAM right away as one can never have too much RAM and then chucked one of my existing SSD drives inside as well. My remaining drives are mostly for backup purposes, so I prefer using them on docking stations or via USB/SATA connectors as I don't want them plugged in all the time anyway.The initial upgrade was very simple compared to a normal desktop; simply remove the bottom lid, place the RAM in the slot, stick the SSD under the lid and put the lid back on .. et voilá, you're good to go. And go it does. This unit literally boots (from off) to the login screen of W11 in 15 seconds - much faster than my old machine which would take about a minute to get there on W10. It loads Photoshop fully in a few seconds and starts Brave, Chrome, Firefox, Edge and any other browser I use in about a second or two. It's a nippy little thing!One of the most noticeable improvements so far is the much increased transfer speed between disks, thanks to USB 3. It takes virtually no time moving chunks of large photos between disks and also opening RAW files in Photoshop and Bridge happens infinitely quicker now, which is great when you do your editing "on the fly" for web design. It's very quick also when loading (and logging in and out of) various websites, the overall network connection / loading speed is great when you use browsers a lot.Changing from one version of Windows to another is always going to take some getting used to, mostly because of changes to the general interface and things looking slightly different. Moving from W10 to W11 is not a dramatic change though and I quite like it.I am staying away from tying the unit to Microsoft accounts and use local accounts instead. MS is keen to make you use their cloud but it's easy to set up the unit with local accounts and bypass all of that, just as it was on W10, so that's really nice and much more familiar to me to work that way. There's no bloatware on the machine either, it's a clean OS apart from the MS stuff that was also found in W10 and the majority of this is easily uninstalled or disabled if you like to optimize your Windows experience a bit. Overall setting up Windows is very easy on this unit - just do as prompted on first boot and you're literally up and running in a few minutes. You can then tailor it to your liking afterwards.As for the loudness, you can hear the fan going as the unit boots up but it settles down again quickly and becomes almost unnoticeable, even in quiet surroundings. It does come back on again when load increases like with any desktop or laptop but it's far from intrusive and I'm very happy with that as it was one of my bugbears and why I was considering a fanless unit to begin with. My old machine had a big CPU cooler fan and it was rather loud even when idle, so this is a massive improvement in terms of noise level and it's actually a lot quieter than I even dared hope for in spite of it having a fan - and it's great to be able to have it on top of my desk rather than having the big bulky tower underneath it.I have had this unit for 5 days now and I'm really impressed with it so far. It does everything I want it to do, quickly and without any lag and it's overall a big step up in power and general performance from my old desktop - and at the same time it consumes much less electricity. It feels very solid and sturdy and not 'plasticky' like many other small units seem to be, the metal casing definitely gives it a good quality feel and it's very well built while at the same time easy to upgrade in spite of being tiny. It's built with branded components which gives you confidence in terms of both performance and longevity.Additionally, customer service has proven to be very good already - as I was unsure about which stick of RAM would match the one it came with I contacted GEEKOM support via email with the question on the evening of getting the machine. I had a reply the next morning and went and got one of the Kingston sticks they advised and it works as expected with no problems at all - so, with quick, efficient and hassle-free support to go along, I must say that choosing this unit has proven to be an overall very positive experience.If you're looking to upgrade from an older computer and want performance and a small form factor without spending a fortune, this unit is probably the best within its range and I'm happy to recommend it. Very good value for money!

Very quick device, works with Debian linux with no issues.I've had the AE8 unit for 11 months, and it has worked flawlessly. Until last week when i noticed that it was powered off, and wouldn't turn back on.After checking the power supply voltage was still 19V , and doing some other remedial checks to try and get the device to power on, I then contacted Geekom support and they have replaced the unit in under 7 days. Support communications with me was pretty good and I was very happy that replaced the device quickly.

Been using this mini pc for just over a week and as i say Small and mighty, the The GEEKOM IT8 surprised me, comes with the Intel i5 procesor and 512GB SSD 16GB ram, yep in this little unit.What do i think?GEEKOM did a great job to produce a tiny workstation PC that delivers great value for money in a very small form factor; it comes with Windows 11 Pro out of the box with plenty of ports and can drive a up to 4 monitors, powerful enough for your office requirements and portable enough to slip in your pocket when you are out and about.There is also a metal mounting bracket so you can fix the IT8 onto the bracket on the wall or mount to the back of a tv a thoughtful, useful feature.

The product works well for most of my computational applications. Initially, I was a bit challenged with some technical issues. The support team was very responsive and helpful. I finally got it up running for FreeBSD. A bit thumb for the support team. For some over demanding tasks, the system stuggles a bit to handle. Overall it is new and nice experience.

I bought this mini pc in august and have been very pleased with it, unfortunately, it developed a fault in December and that’s where the pleasure ends. I sent an email to Geekompc support on January 1st and got an out-of-office reply saying someone would get back to me on the 3rd, no one did. I have sent two further emails and a message on the webpage with no response. The webpage has a chat option but the chat icon to click on does not exist. The ‘official UK store’ is in Pakistan with no email or phone number and only a postal address in the UK. I don’t know if I will ever get support but if you want one of these beware. Maybe better to get something from a UK supplier.UPDATEI did get a reply on the 11th of January and the support I needed, but you may have to persevere as you may get an out of office reply and have to wait.FURTHER UPDATEI find Geekom support are improving and communication is very good at the moment, thank you Shirley.As this mini pc is excellent value, has a specification equal to the competition and hasn't missed a beat since I have had it, I am upgrading my review to 4 stars. The problem I had was with the power adapter and not the IT8.