If you’re in the market for a compact yet powerful mini PC, the Ryzen 8000 series might just be what you’re looking for. Today, we’re diving into a hands-on review of a mini PC powered by AMD’s latest Ryzen 7 8845HS APU, part of the new Ryzen 8000 series. This mini PC promises to deliver impressive performance in a small form factor, but does it live up to the hype? Let’s find out.
What Makes the Ryzen 8000 Series Special?
The Ryzen 8000 series is AMD’s latest lineup of mobile APUs, built on the Zen 4 architecture. These chips are designed to offer a balance of CPU and GPU performance, making them ideal for compact systems like mini PCs. The Ryzen 7 8845HS in this mini PC comes with 8 cores and 16 threads, a base clock of 3.8 GHz, and a boost clock of up to 5.1 GHz. But the real star of the show is the Radeon 780M iGPU, based on AMD’s RDNA 3 architecture, which can clock up to 2700 MHz.
This combination of Zen 4 CPU cores and RDNA 3 graphics makes the Ryzen 8000 series a compelling option for gamers, content creators, and anyone looking for a powerful yet compact system.
Key Features of the Ryzen 8000 Mini PC
- Compact Design with a Cyberpunk Aesthetic:
This mini PC sports a sleek, modern design with RGB lighting that gives it a cyberpunk vibe. It’s available in both black and white versions, so you can choose the one that best fits your setup. - DDR5 Memory Support:
The mini PC supports up to 64GB of DDR5 RAM running at 5600 MHz. This ensures smooth performance, especially for memory-intensive tasks like gaming and video editing. - PCIe 4.0 SSD Support:
With support for PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs, this mini PC offers blazing-fast storage speeds. In our build, we used a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, which provides plenty of space for games, applications, and media. - Versatile Connectivity:
The mini PC comes with a range of ports, including USB 4 (which supports 40 Gbps speeds), HDMI, DisplayPort, 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet, and Wi-Fi 6. This makes it easy to connect to multiple displays, high-speed networks, and peripherals. - Power Efficiency:
Despite its powerful specs, the mini PC is surprisingly power-efficient. At idle, it draws just 10 watts, and even during gaming, it only consumes around 67 watts. This makes it an excellent choice for those who want a high-performance system without a hefty power bill.
Performance: How Does the Ryzen 8000 Mini PC Stack Up?
To test the performance of this mini PC, we ran it through a series of benchmarks and real-world gaming scenarios. Here’s how it performed:
Benchmarks:
- Geekbench 6: The Ryzen 7 8845HS scored 2,490 in single-core and 12,898 in multi-core tests, putting it in line with the Ryzen 7000 series.
- 3DMark Fire Strike: The Radeon 780M iGPU scored 7,562, which is impressive for an integrated GPU.
- Time Spy: The mini PC scored 3,178 in this DirectX 12 benchmark, showing that it can handle modern games with ease.
Gaming Performance:
- Helldivers 2: At 900p Medium settings with FSR Performance, the mini PC averaged 55 FPS. Dropping to Low settings boosted performance to over 60 FPS, but the visual quality took a hit.
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: At 1080p with recommended settings (including FSR), the mini PC averaged 123 FPS, making it a great option for competitive gaming.
- Borderlands 3: This game ran smoothly at 1080p, averaging 82 FPS once the shaders were fully cached.
- Cyberpunk 2077: At Low settings with FSR Performance, the mini PC averaged 69.5 FPS, which is impressive for such a demanding game on an iGPU.
4K Video Playback:
The Ryzen 8000 series APU handled 4K 60 HDR video playback with ease, making it a great choice for media enthusiasts who want a compact system for streaming and local media playback.
Should You Buy the Ryzen 8000 Mini PC?
The Ryzen 8000 mini PC is a versatile and powerful system that’s perfect for a wide range of users. Here’s who it’s best suited for:
- Gamers: If you’re looking for a compact system that can handle modern games at 1080p or even 900p, this mini PC is a great option. The Radeon 780M iGPU delivers impressive performance for an integrated GPU, especially when paired with FSR.
- Content Creators: With 8 cores and 16 threads, the Ryzen 7 8845HS can handle tasks like photo editing, 1080p video editing, and more. The PCIe 4.0 SSD ensures fast load times and smooth performance.
- Media Enthusiasts: The mini PC’s ability to handle 4K video playback and its compact design make it a great choice for a home theater PC or streaming device.
However, if you’re a hardcore gamer or need 4K gaming performance, you might want to consider a system with a dedicated GPU. While the Radeon 780M is impressive, it’s still an integrated GPU and has its limitations.
Final Verdict: Is the Ryzen 8000 Mini PC Worth It?
The Ryzen 8000 mini PC is a powerful and versatile system that offers excellent performance in a compact form factor. Whether you’re a gamer, content creator, or media enthusiast, this mini PC has something to offer. While it’s not a huge leap over the Ryzen 7000 series, it’s still a solid choice for anyone looking for a modern, power-efficient system.
If you’re in the market for a mini PC and want the latest technology, the Ryzen 8000 series is definitely worth considering. However, if you can find a Ryzen 7000 series mini PC at a significantly lower price, it might be a better value.
What do you think? Would you consider the Ryzen 8000 mini PC for your next build, or do you prefer a system with a dedicated GPU? Let us know in the comments below!
