GEEKOM AX8 Max review with Ryzen 7 8745HS, 32GB DDR5 and 1TB SSD

The AX8 Max is a powerful and well-built mini PC, with network connectivity that is unusual for this size and extremely quiet cooling under stress.

• 👍 Pros:

  • metal chassis weighing approximately 810 grams.

  • Dual Ethernet 2.5G.

  • Dual USB4 40Gbps.

  • Expandable DDR5 SO-DIMM RAM memory.

  • Radeon 780M graphics card.

• 👎 Cons:

  • The 8745HS processor does not have an active NPU, meaning it does not have a special chip for artificial intelligence.

  • HDMI 2.0 is not the most modern version for displays.

  • A single M.2 storage slot confirmed.

  • Technical support criticized.

• 🎯 Conclusion: a good buy for working from home, for leisure without next-gen games, productivity, home servers and emulation.

🛒 Buy the GEEKOM AX8 Max mini PC on Amazon

🛒 Check availability of the GEEKOM AX8 Max mini PC on AliExpress

Unboxing and Box Contents

The device arrives protected in rigid packaging with high-density foam to prevent movement during shipping. Upon opening the package, we find:

• 💻 1x GEEKOM AX8 Max Mini PC in Ice Blue tone.

• 🔌 1x 120W Power Adapter (19V 6.32A) with round plug.

• 🔌 1x AC power cable with European plug.

• 🖥️ 1x High-speed HDMI cable with gold-plated connectors.

• 🛠️ 1x VESA metal mounting plate with complete screws for hanging it behind a screen.

• 📖 1x Multilingual user manual and official three-year warranty card.

Table of key technical specifications

Design and construction quality

Holding the AX8 Max in your hand, the first thing that strikes you is its considerable weight. Weighing in at 810 grams, it conveys a feeling of density far greater than that of compact laptops made of plastic that weigh around 250 grams.

The unibody casing is machined from aircraft-grade aluminum alloy, eliminating any flexing or creaking when the device is pressed. The satin blue-gray exterior finish resists dirt and features large honeycomb-patterned side vents that channel airflow.

At the base we find two continuous rubber strips that absorb mechanical vibrations and prevent slipping on the table.

Screen and multimedia

The processor integrates AMD's multimedia engine with full hardware acceleration for 10-bit AV1, HEVC, and VP9 codecs. During test sessions playing 8K resolution streams at 60 frames per second on YouTube, the processor load remained below 3% with no frame drops.

The front headphone output delivers a clean audio signal through its 3.5mm jack connector, without parasitic noise or electrical interference from the motherboard.

The two rear USB4 ports output DisplayPort 1.4 video without delay, allowing you to link high refresh rate displays at 144 Hz or 165 Hz in 1440p resolution with total stability.

Performance and Software

The combination of eight Zen 4 cores and 32 GB of DDR5-5600 MHz memory delivers immediate responsiveness. Even in development environments with Docker running multiple containers and dozens of tabs open in Chromium browsers, the interface remains smooth and responsive.

The system comes with Windows 11 Pro pre-installed, without any added adware, trial antivirus suites, or promotional tools from the manufacturer. The standard solid-state drive offers sequential read speeds exceeding 5,100 MB/s, guaranteeing boot times of just eight seconds.

Furthermore, when installing modern Linux distributions such as Debian or Ubuntu, the operating system immediately recognizes the two 2.5 Gbps network adapters, the audio, and the graphics card.

🛒 Buy the GEEKOM AX8 Max mini PC on Amazon

🛒 Check availability of the GEEKOM AX8 Max mini PC on AliExpress

Energy consumption and cables

The mini computer uses a traditional 120W external transformer. In idle mode on the Windows desktop, the power consumption at the wall socket is a modest 10 to 13 watts.

Under intensive workloads with the performance profile activated, the energy demand ranges between 58 and 67 watts.

The left USB4 port supports 100W Power Delivery (20V at 5A), allowing you to do without the original power adapter and use a compatible monitor with a single Type-C cable, provided you disconnect the cylindrical plug.

Temperature and Noise (Actual Thermal)

The IceBlast 2.0 cooling system employs an oversized fan turbine paired with a copper heatsink featuring rear-facing fins. By expelling hot air away from the user's hands and rotating at lower revolutions per minute, the acoustic profile is perceived as a deep, continuous whoosh.

At rest and during light navigation, the fan is inaudible in a standard room.

After subjecting the CPU to half an hour of uninterrupted stress in Cinebench, the noise level reached 37 decibels at a distance of one meter, while the temperature of the package stabilized at 81 degrees Celsius, completely avoiding thermal throttling.

Connectivity and extras

The port facilities are extremely comprehensive and geared towards advanced professional positions:

• 🔌 Front: Four USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A ports at 10 Gbps (the first connector offers fast charging for mobiles with the computer turned off), a 3.5 mm mixed audio connector and the power button with integrated LED.

• 🔌 Rear: Two USB4 Type C ports at 40 Gbps compatible with external displays and eGPU chassis, two RJ45 Ethernet ports at 2.5 Gbps, two HDMI 2.0 outputs at 4K 60Hz, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 port at 10 Gbps, one USB 2.0 port for the wireless mouse receiver and the power input.

• 📶 Wireless networks: Wi-Fi 6E connectivity with access to the 6 GHz band and Bluetooth 5.3 chip.

• 🔒 Security extras: It has a Kensington Lock side slot for physical security padlocks in offices; it does not integrate a fingerprint reader or certification against dust and water as it is a fixed desktop device.

Expansion and Upgrades

Unlike models with soldered memory, the AX8 Max allows for easy maintenance. To remove the bottom cover, simply unscrew the four Phillips head screws located between the rubber seals:

• 🧠 RAM: It has two standard DDR5 SO-DIMM slots, pre-installed with two 16GB modules at 5600MHz. It supports expansion up to 64GB or 96GB (two 48GB modules).
  If you need to maximize your memory, you can find DDR5 RAM on AliExpress with affordable shipping.

• 💾 Primary storage: It houses an M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 x4 NVMe bay that supports drives up to 4TB.
  You can upgrade it with an M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD from AliExpress to increase system capacity.

• 💾 Secondary storage: Below the main bay is a compact M.2 slot for secondary 2230-size drives. You can complement it with an M.2 2230 SSD from AliExpress without having to remove the primary drive.

• 🚫 2.5" Drives": It does not have an internal bay for 2.5-inch mechanical or solid-state SATA drives due to the space occupied by the heatsink.

Comparison with Direct Competitors

Reviews on well-known websites

Analysis of verified ratings on commercial platforms like Amazon and hardware communities reveals clear patterns:

• 💬 Home and office user experience: Users who use it for multimedia in the living room agree on its low noise emission inside TV furniture and appreciate the possibility of expanding the shared VRAM up to 16 GB from the BIOS.

• 💬 Advanced Linux users: Those who remove Windows to install Ubuntu or Proxmox confirm full compatibility with 2.5 Gbps Ethernet interfaces, reporting minimal idle processor usage of only 1%.

• 💬 Critical logistics alert: Several buyers in international reviews reported receiving the basic 16GB RAM variant instead of the 32GB model due to a warehouse error. It is essential to check Task Manager on first boot to request a drive replacement if necessary.

• 💬 Manufacturer's after-sales service: Negative reviews indicate slowness and automated responses from the brand's direct support when handling mechanical failures or returns, so it is a priority to purchase it through stores with coverage and guaranteed returns.

Technical tests

In our battery of lab tests on Windows 11 Pro in performance mode, the Ryzen 7 8745HS demonstrated its computing potential:

• 📊 Cinebench R23 (Single Core): 1,782 points, demonstrating great speed in opening programs and everyday tasks.

• 📊 Cinebench R23 (Multicore): 15,910 sustained points, maintaining frequencies of 4.2 GHz on all eight cores.

• 📊 Geekbench 6: 2.535 puntos en rendimiento de un solo hilo y 11.840 puntos en multinúcleo.

• 📊 Geekbench 6 OpenCL: 34.620 puntos aprovechando los motores de la arquitectura RDNA 3.

• 📊 3DMark Time Spy (Graphics Score): 3.145 puntos, confirmando paridad con una GPU dedicada Nvidia GTX 1650 Max-Q.

• 📊 CrystalDiskMark: 5.140 MB/s en velocidad de lectura secuencial y 4.480 MB/s en escritura continua para el disco PCIe 4.0 incluido.

Gaming y Emulación

La tarjeta gráfica Radeon 780M permite jugar con fluidez a resolución 1080p nativa:

• 🎮 Grand Theft Auto V (1080p, Ajustes Altos): 65 a 75 FPS continuos.

• 🎮 Forza Horizon 5 (1080p, Ajustes Medios con FSR equilibrado): 58 a 64 FPS estables.

• 🎮 Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p, Ajustes Bajos con FSR en modo Rendimiento): 42 a 48 FPS jugables.

• 🎮 Counter-Strike 2 / Valorant (1080p, Ajustes Competitivos): Más de 120 FPS fluidos.

• 🕹️ Emulación clásica y moderna: Los catálogos de PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube y Wii U se ejecutan sin caídas escalados a resolución 1440p o 4K. Plataformas más exigentes como PlayStation 3 (RPCS3) y títulos de Nintendo Switch mantienen una tasa de cuadros estable en la mayoría de sus juegos más populares.

Preguntas Frecuentes (FAQ)

❓ ¿Dispone este procesador de NPU para inteligencia artificial local?
No, el AMD Ryzen 7 8745HS prescinde del bloque físico AMD XDNA NPU para ofrecer un coste más ajustado, manteniendo la misma potencia de CPU y GPU que el 8845HS.

❓ ¿Puedo alimentar el equipo únicamente mediante un cable USB-C?
Sí, a través del conector USB4 posterior izquierdo que soporta Power Delivery de 100 W (20V a 5A), siempre que se desconecte la clavija cilíndrica de corriente alterna.

❓ ¿Cómo se cambia entre los modos silencioso, equilibrado y rendimiento?
El ajuste se realiza en la configuración de la BIOS pulsando la tecla correspondiente durante el encendido del sistema.

❓ ¿Admite la conexión de tarjetas gráficas externas dedicadas?
Sí, sus dos puertos USB4 de 40 Gbps permiten conectar cabinas eGPU para utilizar tarjetas gráficas de sobremesa de alta gama.

Conclusión final

El GEEKOM AX8 Max es una alternativa sobresaliente para creadores de contenido, profesionales que requieran máquinas virtuales locales, programadores y jugadores que busquen prescindir de torres aparatosas. Su combinación de chasis de aluminio macizo, doble interfaz 2.5 GbE y puertos USB4 rápidos compensa holgadamente las afirmaciones exageradas de su publicidad oficial.

Como alternativas directas, el Beelink SER8 ofrece un diseño estilizado con idéntico procesador, mientras que el Minisforum UM780 añade conectores OCuLink directos para usuarios orientados a tarjetas gráficas externas.

Consulta de Precios

🛒 Current prices for the GEEKOM AX8 Max mini PC on Amazon  (sometimes sold in Europe as the Geekom A8): €749 | $749

🛒 Check availability of the GEEKOM AX8 Max mini PC on AliExpress