A new Tom's Hardware Geekom A9 Max 2026 review says the compact Windows mini PC gets the CPU part mostly right, then kneecaps its integrated Radeon 890M graphics with a single stick of memory.
Geekom built the A9 Max 2026 around AMD's Ryzen AI 9 HX 470, a 12-core, 24-thread mobile processor with four Zen 5 cores, eight Zen 5c cores and boost clocks up to 5.2 GHz. The tested configuration pairs it with 32GB of DDR5-5600 memory, a 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD and Windows 11 Pro. Tom's Hardware listed the configured price at $1,599, with an Amazon limited-time deal bringing it to $1,439 at the time of testing.
The machine is a familiar NUC-style box rather than a design moonshot: anodized silver metal, a black plastic rear panel, and a footprint of about 135 x 132 x 46.9mm. Tom's Hardware measured the system at 705g without the external power supply or included VESA mount. Geekom says the chassis uses a metal shell, inner metal frame and UV coating, and claims it can withstand up to 200kg of pressure.
What does the Geekom A9 Max 2026 include?
The port selection is the kind of thing mini PC buyers actually care about, and Geekom did not cheap out there. Tom's Hardware counted four front USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports, one with fast charging, plus a 3.5mm audio jack and power button.
- Two USB4 ports with 40Gbps support, DisplayPort Alt Mode and eGPU readiness
- Two HDMI 2.1 ports
- Two 2.5GbE LAN ports
- Five USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports and one USB-A 2.0 port in total
- SD 4.0 card reader, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 and Kensington lock slot
Inside, Tom's Hardware found two SODIMM slots and two M.2 storage slots. The main M.2 2280 slot held a Kingston-branded 2TB drive, while another M.2 2230 slot is available for storage expansion. The Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 card also sits on an M.2 2230 module.
Geekom told Tom's Hardware it ships one 32GB memory module to make future upgrades less wasteful. A buyer can add another 32GB stick later for 64GB dual-channel memory instead of replacing two 16GB modules. That is tidy upgrade logic. It is also the reason the GPU trips over its own shoelaces.
Is the Geekom A9 Max 2026 good for gaming?
Tom's Hardware found that the A9 Max 2026 performs well in CPU-heavy work, including a 4,667-point multi-core result in Cinebench 2026, roughly in line with Beelink's SER10 MAX using the same processor. The 2TB SSD also posted CrystalDiskMark read and write speeds of up to 6,139 MB/s and 5,499 MB/s.
Graphics results were weaker. The Radeon 890M uses system memory, so running DDR5 in single-channel mode cuts available bandwidth. Tom's Hardware said the A9 Max 2026 landed last in its 3DMark Solar Bay comparison set and managed 26 FPS on average in Shadow of the Tomb Raider. By comparison, the Beelink SER10 MAX, with the same Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 but dual-channel RAM, reached 54 FPS in the same High preset test.
Cyberpunk 2077 was playable only with expectations brought back to earth. Tom's Hardware reported 17 FPS at High settings and 29 FPS using the Steam Deck preset. In Far Cry 5, the reviewer settled on 1080p Medium, where the built-in benchmark showed just above 30 FPS on average and a 26 FPS minimum.
How hot and loud does it get?
Power use was low for the performance class. Tom's Hardware measured about 7W at idle in Windows 11 and roughly 79W under its heaviest combined loads. Reported CPU temperatures were about 34C at idle and 79C under stress.
The cooling system, which Geekom calls IceBlast 3.0, kept temperatures under control but was not silent under load. Tom's Hardware measured roughly 29 to 30dB at idle and about 41dB while stressing the CPU and GPU together. The reviewer noted fan tuning requires BIOS changes because Geekom does not ship adjustment software.
The A9 Max 2026 ships with clean Windows 11 Pro and a three-year warranty, according to Tom's Hardware. Geekom says the system supports Windows 11 and Linux, though only the tested prebuilt configuration was available at the time of the review.
This story draws on original reporting from Tom's Hardware.
