GEEKOM A5 mini-PC Review: Affordable Cezanne Zen 3 at 35W
by Ganesh T S on December 8, 2023 9:15 AM ESTGPU Performance: Synthetic Benchmarks
The integrated GPU in Cezanne is weak compared to the ones in the Rembrandt (Zen 3+) and Phoenix (Zen 4) APUs. It was great for 2021, but is only passable for 2023. We first take look at the GPU's capabilities from AIDA64 and GPU-Z.
The RX Vega 8 iGPU is based on the Vega architecture. Since then, AMD has already shipped RDNA2 and RDNA3-based iGPUs in this segment. GPU performance evaluation typically involved gaming workloads, and for select PCs, GPU compute. We take a look at a few of them below.
GFXBench
The DirectX 12-based GFXBench tests from Kishonti are cross-platform, and available all the way down to smartphones. As such, they are not very taxing for discrete GPUs and modern integrated GPUs. We processed the offscreen versions of the 'Aztec Ruins' benchmark.
The results are largely along expected lines, ordered by iGPU generation. The Cezanne systems are bunched together towards the middle of the pack.
UL 3DMark
Four different workload sets were processed in 3DMark - Fire Strike, Time Spy, Night Raid, and Wild Life.
3DMark Fire Strike
The Fire Strike benchmark has three workloads. The base version is meant for high-performance gaming PCs. It uses DirectX 11 (feature level 11) to render frames at 1920 x 1080. The Extreme version targets 1440p gaming requirements, while the Ultra version targets 4K gaming system, and renders at 3840 x 2160.
UL 3DMark - Fire Strike Workloads | |||
The graphs above presents the overall score for the Fire Strike Extreme and Fire Strike Ultra benchmarks across all the systems that are being compared.
3DMark Time Spy
The Time Spy workload has two levels with different complexities. Both use DirectX 12 (feature level 11). However, the plain version targets high-performance gaming PCs with a 2560 x 1440 render resolution, while the Extreme version renders at 3840 x 2160 resolution.
UL 3DMark - Time Spy Workloads | |||
The graphs above present both numbers for all the systems that are being compared in this review.
3DMark Wild Life
The Wild Life workload was initially introduced as a cross-platform GPU benchmark in 2020. It renders at a 2560 x 1440 resolution using Vulkan 1.1 APIs on Windows. It is a relatively short-running test, reflective of mobile GPU usage. In mid-2021, UL released the Wild Life Extreme workload that was a more demanding version that renders at 3840 x 2160 and runs for a much longer duration reflective of typical desktop gaming usage.
UL 3DMark - Wild Life Workloads | |||
3DMark Night Raid
The Night Raid workload is a DirectX 12 benchmark test. It is less demanding than Time Spy, and is optimized for integrated graphics. The graph below presents the overall score in this workload for different system configurations.
The relative performance of the GEEKOM A5 across all of the 3DMark workloads is the same as what was observed in the GFXbench workloads. The comparison is between systems with integrated GPUs based on different architectures. As a result, the order is just based on the generation, rather than the minor differences in the iGPU clock rates and/or power budgets.
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t.s - Friday, December 15, 2023 - link
Yes. Inferior, yet pricier than AMD counterpart.sjkpublic@gmail.com - Saturday, December 9, 2023 - link
All I see here is outdated hardware. Gen3 and not Gen4 or better. No USB 4. Etc. Great unit if you are placing it in a Mall display.FWhitTrampoline - Sunday, December 10, 2023 - link
An ASRock X300 Desk Mini with an STX/AM4 MB and Ryzen 5700G can be had for a little over $320 and the X300 Desk Mini comes with 2, M.2 x4 PCIe link slots and space for 2 SATA internal SSDs. And one of the M.2 slots can be fitted with an M.2 to OCuLink adapter and there's plenty of Knockouts on the X300 Desk Mini's case to rout the OCuLink cable out of the case easily sans any need to open the case afterwards. So with Knockouts on the case for an optional OEM 2 USB port kit or other knockout some OCuLink port could be retrofitted is one gets creative!Reflex - Monday, December 11, 2023 - link
As an owner of a MiniITX board with a 5700G I regret to inform you that external PCIe lanes only run at x3 with that CPU, even for storage. So while on paper that X300 looks better than this mini box, in practice it's got the same limitation. The 5700G is overall not quite as powerful as this mini box at equivalent wattages, although thanks to being an ITX sysem I run mine at 65W which likely outperforms this box substantially.FWhitTrampoline - Tuesday, December 12, 2023 - link
The M.2 PCIe Lanes on processor side of the Board is listed as PCIe 3.0 X4 lanes while the M.2 on back side of the MB limited to what's listed so not according to ASrock's specifications page for the X300 Desk Mini:- 2 x SATA 6Gb 2.5-inch 7mm/9.5mm Hard Drive (RAID 0/1)
- 1 x Ultra M.2 (2280) PCIe Gen3 x4 SSD Slot
- 1 x Ultra M.2 (2280) Slot
- PCIe Gen3 x4 (Renoir, Picasso and Raven Ridge APU)
- PCIe Gen3 x2 (Athlon 2xxGE series APU)
t.s - Friday, December 15, 2023 - link
And what Gen3 that not enough for you that you have to use Gen4? As for USB4, I agree. And you can get it if you buy mini-pc with ryzen 6800u/h or 7735H.Schugy - Sunday, December 10, 2023 - link
That non-USB-C PSU brick must be a joke.lmcd - Monday, December 11, 2023 - link
Depending on your USB controller as part of the lone source of power is an anti-feature in my opinion. With laptops it's different because there's a battery, but USB-C desktop power is a "no thanks."meacupla - Monday, December 11, 2023 - link
It's a standard, and really cheap, 19V laptop power brick.Finding a cheap USB-C charger than can output >120W over a single port is a challenge, unfortunately. Most of them top out at 100W per port.
200W and 240W PD cables have been available for at least 6 months, but no such charger has shown up yet.
stephenbrooks - Monday, December 11, 2023 - link
The brick is nearly as large as the PC.