Good review - Last Summer I bought the NUC 12th Gen i5 1240 - and added a slim 2TB SSD drive in the base - very happy with it and most of the time it runs silently.
thanks for the review... I was looking at this little machine, but... for almost the same price you can get the Beelink SER8 with more power than the i7 and better graphics than the basic intel chip
I prefer the Geekom IT 13 i7 version. Less power draw and nearly identical performance as the i9 version. I recommend it to friends looking for a home setup that don't game or game on a console. If they want to light game (1080p), either Beelink SER7 or Geekom AS6/AS7.
Mini PC designers need to get out of the mindset of replacing NUC/Mac Mini and focus on designing a chassis that actually works in a mini PC form factor. Minisforum made the UM790 a bigger box to cope with the more powerful PC and that gave them room for a better cooler, and the Aoostar went the whole hog and put a 90mm fan in their God range. Much as I like Geekom stuff, they were always going to struggle getting anything faster than an i5 to work in this chassis. It's nice to have internal 2.5" space, but it would be better to use the 7mm to add a bit more copper and airspace. Everyone raves about having a USB4 socket, so why does anyone need internal storage anyway?
Of course, there's only so much you can do with a PC the size of a hampsters litter box, but as time goes, PC techhead enthusiasts are gonna start wimpering at the world of small portable devices replacing their tall towers. Cause when it comes to showing off ur kit, size is all that matters to them.
I'm surprised by the performance of both models, in that I've gotten the impression (given the large number of Geekom models) that they were trying up up their game, but these strike me as lousy performers for the money. The lack of good cooling (both for the CPU and RAM/SSD) seems out of place given the pricing on these as other makers have started to at least add a secondary fan for the RAM/SSD. I don't think I'd buy either, but if the price difference were all but very small I'd go for the i7 as I just don't see any benefit to the i9. I do think they deserve credit for using the AX211 chip.
I won the i9 version of the IT13 from a reviewer. And the fans seemed to ramp up frequently so I checked the thermal paste and it was all dried up and VERY hard. Cleaned the factory paste off and replaced it with MX-4 and it now runs a good bit quieter. So I wonder if you did the same and re-tested your IT13's how different they'd be and if they'd hit the scores that Geekom advertises with a fresh application of good paste?...
@@RobtechHello Robtech. Thank you for your comment. This is the worst performing PC I have ever had. I would not want a replacement. I'm in the process of restoring it back to factory settings which is taking all day so far. Give it an instruction and it can take 20minutes for the PC to action it (instruction) I have no idea what is wrong with it. It's going back to Amazon tomorrow.
I was ready to comment on the mini PC, but you just mentioned something which for me is even more important. The game Tekken, has its speed locked to the framerate? So the developers of the game have learned nothing in the last 40 years? Even in the 80s when it was common, there were games which didn't do that and thankfully more and more games over the DECADES have learned not to lock the game speed to the framerate (or the CPU speed). Now the developers of Tekken say "hold my beer" and send it back to the stone age. Nice! lol What a joke. As for the rest, disappointed for the temps. How hard is it to have the mini PCs a bit thicker for better cooling?
I'd love to see graph comparisons for the gaming portion too. It's interesting to me that the 7735 seems to do better than the 6900HX in gaming/virtualization, even though they are running the same iGPU and memory. Love to see some deep-dive comparisons (like the Minisforum UM690 (non-"S" variant) - which had zero cooling for memory/NVME, but allowed memory clocks to be set to 5600MT and actually use it. - compare the UM690 with the back panel open, to say, a 780 XTX with the same memory?)
You very briefly mentioned connecting an external graphics card to this unit. Would you please expand on how to do that, please? Thanks you! Also, what do I do with all my existing 2-3TB SATA drives? I need to connect them; or at the very least transfer the data from them onto a VERY large hard drive. How do I do this? (Me? I'm not gaming at all; but my Photo-specific software is REQUIRING graphics Card memory for AI in order to even run! I do Wedding Photography -- and I handle LOADS & LOADS of data!!) Can this unit work for me; or do I need to upgrade my desktop towers at ~$1500/each X 3?
Need a Thunderbolt enclosure (eGPU) which connects via USB4/Thunderbolt4 connection. You'd need more storage to be able to make the transfer. Too much of a hassle here. Other minis come with dual M.2 slots and it that case sounds like you'd need something like a 4TB SSD in each to cover all the data. Other options are to create a NAS and connect to it or put the drives in 3.5" USB enclosures and use up USB ports.
Who says I use Linux? I started using Windows when 3.1 came out. Am I supposed to accept every bad decision that Microsoft makes without ever complaining about it?
@@Robtech , mate, for Microsoft itself that wasn't a BAD decisions. Integrated telemetry marketing at the heart of your OS! Google can only dream! 🙂 Same for me about first Windows. After MS-DOS, of course. (⌐■_■)
Lack of bandwidth usually. Anyway, all minis should come with at least one USB 2 port as no mouse and keyboard use USB 3, so it's pointless and adds to cost.
Cool, thank you very much for your work. It seems to me that it would be very cool if you launched some kind of website that would maintain up-to-date information with comparison graphs
Good review - Last Summer I bought the NUC 12th Gen i5 1240 - and added a slim 2TB SSD drive in the base - very happy with it and most of the time it runs silently.
thanks for the review... I was looking at this little machine, but... for almost the same price you can get the Beelink SER8 with more power than the i7 and better graphics than the basic intel chip
I prefer the Geekom IT 13 i7 version. Less power draw and nearly identical performance as the i9 version. I recommend it to friends looking for a home setup that don't game or game on a console.
If they want to light game (1080p), either Beelink SER7 or Geekom AS6/AS7.
Some other reviewers found poor thermal paste. When improved a lot better power / watt performance
Mini PC designers need to get out of the mindset of replacing NUC/Mac Mini and focus on designing a chassis that actually works in a mini PC form factor. Minisforum made the UM790 a bigger box to cope with the more powerful PC and that gave them room for a better cooler, and the Aoostar went the whole hog and put a 90mm fan in their God range.
Much as I like Geekom stuff, they were always going to struggle getting anything faster than an i5 to work in this chassis. It's nice to have internal 2.5" space, but it would be better to use the 7mm to add a bit more copper and airspace. Everyone raves about having a USB4 socket, so why does anyone need internal storage anyway?
Of course, there's only so much you can do with a PC the size of a hampsters litter box, but as time goes, PC techhead enthusiasts are gonna start wimpering at the world of small portable devices replacing their tall towers. Cause when it comes to showing off ur kit, size is all that matters to them.
A comparison for Virtualisation would be nice. Because the 20 Threads on the i9 are way better for Virtualisation than the 16 Threads on the i7
Both the 13700H and 13900H in this review have the same number of cores and threads.
Thanks I just bought the i7 one and waiting for delivery.
I'm surprised by the performance of both models, in that I've gotten the impression (given the large number of Geekom models) that they were trying up up their game, but these strike me as lousy performers for the money. The lack of good cooling (both for the CPU and RAM/SSD) seems out of place given the pricing on these as other makers have started to at least add a secondary fan for the RAM/SSD. I don't think I'd buy either, but if the price difference were all but very small I'd go for the i7 as I just don't see any benefit to the i9. I do think they deserve credit for using the AX211 chip.
I won the i9 version of the IT13 from a reviewer. And the fans seemed to ramp up frequently so I checked the thermal paste and it was all dried up and VERY hard. Cleaned the factory paste off and replaced it with MX-4 and it now runs a good bit quieter.
So I wonder if you did the same and re-tested your IT13's how different they'd be and if they'd hit the scores that Geekom advertises with a fresh application of good paste?...
Cool, I especially like your local login trick!
My IT i9 failed within days after constantly crashing . I'm now stuck with a PC that wont boot up at all. AVOID.
Get a replacement. That's what warranties are for
@@RobtechHello Robtech. Thank you for your comment. This is the worst performing PC I have ever had. I would not want a replacement. I'm in the process of restoring it back to factory settings which is taking all day so far. Give it an instruction and it can take 20minutes for the PC to action it (instruction) I have no idea what is wrong with it. It's going back to Amazon tomorrow.
Sounds like faulty memory or storage.
@@RobtechHello again Robtech, I have now sent the PC back. I have also let Geekcom know of the issue.
I was ready to comment on the mini PC, but you just mentioned something which for me is even more important.
The game Tekken, has its speed locked to the framerate? So the developers of the game have learned nothing in the last 40 years? Even in the 80s when it was common, there were games which didn't do that and thankfully more and more games over the DECADES have learned not to lock the game speed to the framerate (or the CPU speed). Now the developers of Tekken say "hold my beer" and send it back to the stone age. Nice! lol What a joke.
As for the rest, disappointed for the temps. How hard is it to have the mini PCs a bit thicker for better cooling?
I'd love to see graph comparisons for the gaming portion too. It's interesting to me that the 7735 seems to do better than the 6900HX in gaming/virtualization, even though they are running the same iGPU and memory. Love to see some deep-dive comparisons (like the Minisforum UM690 (non-"S" variant) - which had zero cooling for memory/NVME, but allowed memory clocks to be set to 5600MT and actually use it. - compare the UM690 with the back panel open, to say, a 780 XTX with the same memory?)
Ok absolutely must know. Is this worth buying for editing videos? I use capcut and so 1080p and would do 4k if it handles it.
Bros if its not AMD with their superior APUs, i dont know what u r doing with a mini pc smh
You very briefly mentioned connecting an external graphics card to this unit. Would you please expand on how to do that, please? Thanks you!
Also, what do I do with all my existing 2-3TB SATA drives? I need to connect them; or at the very least transfer the data from them onto a VERY large hard drive. How do I do this? (Me? I'm not gaming at all; but my Photo-specific software is REQUIRING graphics Card memory for AI in order to even run! I do Wedding Photography -- and I handle LOADS & LOADS of data!!) Can this unit work for me; or do I need to upgrade my desktop towers at ~$1500/each X 3?
Need a Thunderbolt enclosure (eGPU) which connects via USB4/Thunderbolt4 connection.
You'd need more storage to be able to make the transfer. Too much of a hassle here. Other minis come with dual M.2 slots and it that case sounds like you'd need something like a 4TB SSD in each to cover all the data. Other options are to create a NAS and connect to it or put the drives in 3.5" USB enclosures and use up USB ports.
On 3:55 ... "Fucking Microfost!" -- clear true!
so why does he use it... just another linux hypocrite.
Who says I use Linux? I started using Windows when 3.1 came out. Am I supposed to accept every bad decision that Microsoft makes without ever complaining about it?
@@Robtech , mate, for Microsoft itself that wasn't a BAD decisions. Integrated telemetry marketing at the heart of your OS! Google can only dream! 🙂
Same for me about first Windows. After MS-DOS, of course. (⌐■_■)
@@a.akacic Dude, if I used Linux, I wouldn't care about Microsoft at all!
If you’re making a computer with USB4 and USB3 why waste an IO slot on a USB2 port, is there any technical or cost reason to justify USB2 over USB3?
Lack of bandwidth usually. Anyway, all minis should come with at least one USB 2 port as no mouse and keyboard use USB 3, so it's pointless and adds to cost.
Finally, I find SD card slot. So, this PC deserve a serious consideration.
I don't know if it's worth buying it.
Cool, thank you very much for your work.
It seems to me that it would be very cool if you launched some kind of website that would maintain up-to-date information with comparison graphs
It's something I'll look into. I'd need someone to code the website for me.
Forza horizon 720p - 4 fps..,, Intel graphics 🤣😂
Yep 🥲
Is it good for creative industry - animation, photoshop, video editing etc
05:25
Is the i9 reliable for ps3 and switch emulation?
You'd get better results with a Ryzen 7940HS mini
I think that the i9 can only be redeemed by undervolting. It may just be a better binned CPU. Otherwise, what a failed product
Unfortunately these processors are locked and apps like Intel's XTU no longer allow undervolting...
@@Robtech really? That's ridiculous. Just Intel things I guess.
Yeah, it ended around the 10th gen mobile chips if I remember correctly.
Thanks and nice t-shirt!