Strong & Compact Productivity Performance

The Mini PC market is being flooded with new solutions every month and while everyone wants the latest specs, sourcing out those chips is becoming hard for manufacturers of these Mini PCs so the companies are now leveraging the available hardware and offering unique products to consumers.

We have seen with the AMD Ryzen APUs where the supply of the newer 7000/8000 APUs is so low that Mini PC makers still reuse the older Ryzen 5000/6000 APUs. Geekom has decided to select the Intel 12th Gen Alder Lake option for its more business-tuned Mini IT12 Mini PC, which comes in a total of three configurations and pricing that starts at the sub-$500 US range.

Today, we will be testing the Geekom Mini IT12 which is the latest in the company’s Mini PC arsenal powered by Intel CPUs, and see if it’s worth the price of

$549.00 US

.

Geekom Mini IT12 Mini PC – Specifications At A Glance

Geekom’s Mini IT12 Mini PC comes in Intel 12th Gen “Alder Lake” CPU flavors which feature a P & E-Core hybrid architecture. For this review, the sample that we got was equipped with the Intel Core i7-12650H CPU. Our unit was the fully decked out variant with two DDR4-3200 32 GB (16 GB x2) SO-DIMM memory modules and a 1 TB PCIe Gen 4.0 x4 M.2 drive.

Coming to the specifications, the Geekom IT12 Mini PC rocks the Intel Core i7-12650H “Alder Lake” CPU which features 10 cores in a 6 P-Core and 4 E-Core configuration, 16 threads, 24 MB of cache, and a boost clock of up to 4.70 GHz. The CPU has a TDP of 45W and a maximum turbo power rating of up to 115W. It also has a minimum assured power rating of 35W.

For the GPU, the Intel Core i7-12650H CPU packs a UHD iGPU which features 64 Execution units that are clocked at 1.40 GHz. This integrated graphics chip supports DX12.1, OpenGL 4.6, and OpenCL 3.0 & can run 4 displays at once with a maximum eDP resolution of 8K @ 60Hz or 4K @ 120Hz. The iGPU is a bit old for today’s standards as Intel and AMD offer much faster iGPUs as a part of their latest CPU lineups but it should get the job done for the vast majority of users who won’t be gaming on it and just need it for video playback.

Other specs for the Geekom Mini IT12 Mini PC include 32 GB DDR4-(Dual-Channel) memory operating at 3200 MT/s. This isn’t soldered and instead features a SO-DIMM design so users can completely upgrade it as they wish (supports up to 64 GB). Storage comes in the form of a single M.2 2280 SSD slot running at Gen 4.0 speeds. There’s also an onboard M.2 SATA SSD slot along with a 2.5″ SATA HDD slot.

I/O on the Geekom IT12 Mini PC, includes two USB4 (40 Gbps / DP) ports, three USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, a single USB 2.0 port, a 2.5 GbE LAN port, an SD card reader, a DC Jack, a power button, two HDMI 2.0b outputs, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The following are the main features of the Mini PC:

• 12th Gen Intel Core™
  
  i7-12650H
  
  or Core
  
  i5-12450H
  
• 
  
  Intel Iris Xe
  
  Graphics
  
  eligible
• Comprehensive port selection, including
  
  two USB4 ports
  
• Intel® Bluetooth® 5.2 and
  
  Wi-Fi 6E
  

Geekom Mini IT12 Mini PC – Unboxing & A Closer Look

The Geekom Mini IT12 Mini PC comes in a black cardboard package which has a simplistic look. Just for laughs, you can see the word “Mini” mentioned four times on the front.

The back of the box has some basic specifications which list the specific configuration for this model. We got the Core i7-12650H variant with 32 GB of memory and 1 TB storage capacities.

Within the box, you are first greeted with a nice “Thank You” card. Little things like these make for a fun unboxing experience.

Lifting the top box cover, you are welcomed by a soft foam internal in which the PC and its various accessories are kept safe and away from harm.

Before talking about the case itself, we have to mention the accessories that come with the IT12 Mini PC. It comes with a Power Adapter, a mounting bracket with screws, and a manual. It has a power adapter that is rated to deliver up to 19V, 6.32A of current, or up to 120W of power to the system.

With the IT12 Mini PC out of the package itself, you are met with another greeting on the plastic film around the PC.

So looking at the PC, you are met with a gorgeous and perfect square-shaped chassis that comes with a beautiful rose pink color scheme. The curved edges and the aluminum + shiny exterior have a very premium feel.

The top is fully enclosed while the sides of the chassis have vents to push hot air out of the unit that is dissipated by the cooling solution.

The front I/O on the Geekom IT12 Mini PC comes with two USB 3.2 Type-A ports, a microphone jack, and a Power On/Off button.

The back I/O of the Geekom IT12 Mini PC comes with a 2.5GbE Ethernet LAN port, two HDMI 2.0b outputs, 1 USB 2.0 & 1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, two USB4 Type-C ports, and two HDMI 2.0b ports. There’s along the DC in the power delivery port on the back.

The sides of the chassis come with an SD card reader which is quite an unusual place to have it but given the compact nature of this case, it looks like Geekom was only left with this place to place it.

There’s also a Kenngiston lock on the other side of the chassis which also features a mesh design to vent out hot air.

Our test unit came with 32 GB of DDR4-3200 memory and 1 TB of SSD. This is the maximum config you can get from Geekom but still leaves room for expansion with up to 64 GB memory support & up to 4 TB M.2 capacities.

The interiors of the Mini PC can be accessed by removing four screws at the bottom.

Geeokom is using Longsys DRAM modules which are rated at 1.2V while the SSD is from Lexar in its standard M.2 2280 form factor and Gen4x4 design.

The top of the chassis has an M.2 thermal pad which connects to a small aluminum heatsink. It should also cover the M.2 SATA SSD which can be attached to the free slot. The chassis can also mount a 2.5″ HDD. For cooling, you get a standard blower fan with a couple of heatpipes on the other side which attach over the CPU and VRM.

The Geekom IT12 Mini PC measures 117x112x49mm (W/L/H) and weighs 0.5kg.  You also get a VESA bracket along with four screws to mount it behind a monitor with ease.

Geekom Mini IT12 Mini PC – CPU System Performance

For performance testing, we used the standard 54W power profile for the AMD Ryzen 7 5800H APU when testing the Geekom A5 Mini PC.

Beelink SER7 Mini PC – 1080P GPU Gaming Performance

For gaming, we tested a couple of the latest and most played esports titles along with a mix of AAA titles at 1080p resolution. The performance was measured between the AMD Radeon 780, Radeon 680M, AMD

Vega

8, Vega 7, Vega 6, and Intel Iris Xe-LP integrated graphics.

Geekom Mini IT12 Mini PC – Thermals & Power Consumption

Following are the power and thermal numbers of the Geekom A5 Mini PC using its standard 54W power profile.

As for thermals, the Geekom IT12 Mini PC peaked at around 75C with the standard 45W profile. The fan was noticeable under full load such as multi-threaded oriented tasks while gaming didn’t produce that high noise.

Conclusion – Small Form Factor Productivity

There’s a large number of users who want a compact PC solution for their productivity & business needs with a decent amount of CPU horsepower and a GPU that handles the most basic tasks. The Geekom Mini IT12 Mini PC is a great solution for this kind of users. The Intel Core i7-12650H is a very good CPU with 10 cores and 16 threads, and the cooling solution on the Mini IT12 provides great cooling in such a congested space. There are great internal upgradability options with DRAM that can be expanded to 64 GB and M.2 storage that can be expanded in M.2 PCIe, M.2 SATA, and a 2.5″ HDD option. The small PC can get a bit loud and noticeable when running multi-threaded work-loads but besides that, it doesn’t get too much bothersome.

The GPU isn’t the strongest part of the Geekom IT12 Mini PC but it gets the job done by providing a handful of 4K displays and you can also run some basic eSports titles though for higher-end needs, the company does offer more powerful Mini PCs with Meteor Lake and Ryzen 7040/8040 options.

The exterior comes with a very premium blue tint that looks great. There are a good amount of USB ports with the latest USB4 and HDMI 2.0b options. There’s also WiFI 6E & BT 5.2 connectivity, an essential in today’s day and age. The 2.5 GbE LAN port is great too but we hope to see more modern features such as 5 GbE and WIFI 7 solutions in the upcoming designs from Geekom. The Mini IT12 is a very balanced system which you can currently grab for as low as $409 US. I’d prefer it to anyone who is looking to save some space off his/her desk without compromising on the overall productivity performance, this is the way to go!

Grab the Geekom IT12 Mini PC for $30 US Off Using the code “WFIT126OFF.

You can also grab the Geekom IT12 Mini PC for $30 US Off Using the code “wccftech30” on the official webpage here.