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MagyarAcemagic F2A review: AI mini-PC gets Intel's Meteor Lake Core Ultra 7 155H processor along with 32 GB of DDR5 RAM and Wi-Fi 7
The F2A series is a new addition to Acemagic’s product range. The company has equipped these devices with Intel's brand-new Meteor Lake processors. You can choose between a Core Ultra 5 125H and a Core Ultra 7 155H, with the latter adding €100 (US$100) to the overall price tag. You’ll currently still need to fork out €1,099 (US$1,099) for the entry-level model. Our review unit is priced at €1,199 (US$1,199). Both models come with 32 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD. The Acemagic F2A is thus not a bargain, considering that the current batch of mini-PCs with similarly good specs can be had for much less than €1,000 (around US$1,084).
In this review, we’ll be taking a look at how well the Acemagic F2A stacks up against familiar competitors that we’ve already put through our gauntlet of tests. The overview table below gives you a list of devices featured in our comparison.
Comparison with possible competitors
Rating | Date | Model | Memory | Weight | Height |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 83.4 % | 04/2024 | Acemagic F2A Ultra 7 155H, Arc 8-Cores | 32768 MB | 768 g | 57 mm |
| 87.3 % | 11/2023 | Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX R7 7840HS, Radeon 780M | 32768 MB | 750 g | 52.3 mm |
| 82.8 % | 07/2023 | Minisforum Venus Series UM790 Pro R9 7940HS, Radeon 780M | 16384 MB | 666 g | 52.3 mm |
| 82.6 % | 03/2024 | Geekom A7 R9 7940HS, Radeon 780M | 32768 MB | 417 g | 38 mm |
| 82.8 % | 07/2023 | Geekom AS 6, R9 6900HX R9 6900HX, Radeon 680M | 32768 MB | 753 g | 58 mm |
| 83.1 % | 08/2023 | Intel NUC 13 Pro Desk Edition Kit i7-1360P, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 32768 MB | 558 g | 37 mm |
| 82 % | 06/2023 | ACEMagician Ace Magician AM08 Pro R9 6900HX, Radeon 680M | 32768 MB | 874 g | 188.5 mm |
| 78.8 % | 08/2023 | Khadas Mind i7-1360P, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 32768 MB | 438 g | 20 mm |
Detailed look at the Acemagic F2A with Intel Core Ultra 7 155H
Cases - A slightly larger plastic shell
The Acemagic F2A is one of the devices with the largest footprint in this comparison. In number terms, the product measures 14.6 cm (5.7 in) in both width and depth. With a height of 5.7 cm (2.2 in), the F2A is not a thin device as well. Acemagic has given the F2A a mostly plastic construction. Given the asking price, we had expected the company to use more premium materials on the mini-PC, like what Geekom has done with the A7. You'll find a coloured border and the company’s logo on the top to spice up the appearance, and grooves around the base to provide some texture.
The Acemagic F2A can be attached directly to a monitor using a VESA mount. Mounting hardware is included in the box.
Specifications - Solid standard, but no USB4
The Acemagic F2A only has basic standard I/Os and doesn’t offer what you would expect from a device in this price bracket. Four USB-A ports and one USB-C port are definitely more than enough for most users. That said, a modern device should have at least one or even two USB4 ports. Monitors can be connected to the mini-PC via the two HDMI outputs on the back.
The pre-installed operating system is included with the configuration. Due to recent cases of malware-infected devices, we closely examined the review unit but couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary with it. Those who want to play it safe should do a clean reinstall of the operating system.
Connectivity
Wireless connectivity is handled by an Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 network adapter in the Acemagic F2A. This module is able to operate in the 2.4, 5 and 6GHz bands and supports the latest Wi-Fi 7 standard. In our comparison, however, our review sample struggled to outperform the competitors in the 5GHz band. The Acemagic F2A only delivered good results when it's in the 6GHz band. Because we use the Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE11000 router for our Wi-Fi tests, we are still unable to provide any results for Wi-Fi 7. Once our test equipment is updated, we will do this test again and then give you the results.
Accessories
Not a whole lot is included with the F2A. Besides the mini-PC itself, you’ll find a 120-watt power adapter, a VESA mount adapter with installation hardware, and a HDMI cable.
Maintenance
The Acemagic F2A is only sold as a preconfigured system. User-serviceability is thus limited only to cleaning and upgrading existing components. The bottom cover can be removed relatively easily after you undo the four screws. Unlike what we often see, the screws aren’t hidden beneath glued-on rubber feet, but instead the rubber feet themselves are the screws. As a result, the bottom cover can be taken off without any tools. To access the CPU fan, you’ll need to take the device apart further. The entire circuit board along with the cooling unit must be disassembled before you can get to the CPU fan. Nonetheless, you should proceed with caution to avoid damaging the delicate connection cables.
Performance - Intel Core Ultra 7 155H with 16 cores and 22 threads
The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H can consistently deliver a high level of performance and keep pace with AMD’s latest Ryzen 7 processors. The iGPU on the new Meteor Lake chips has been completely revamped. The Arc-based iGPU now offers considerably more performance than the timeworn Xe iGPUs. Owing to its specs, the Acemagic F2A is also good enough for much more power-intensive applications, such as photo and video editing. The 32 GB of DDR5 RAM and 1 TB SSD provide a good foundation for this.
Test conditions
We enabled the “Balanced” power profile on this laptop for all performance-related tests. The only exceptions here are the power usage and noise level measurements, which were conducted according to our test criteria.
Processor
The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H is part of the Meteor Lake H lineup and offers 16 cores with 22 threads. The SoC, which feature a chiplet design, also contains a separate neural processing unit (NPU) that can perform special AI computation. Intel has once again combined P- and E-cores, just like what we’ve seen in previous generations. The CPU falls just shy of beating the AMD Ryzen models. In particular, the difference in Performance Rating is very small. This means you won’t feel a noticeable difference when using the Intel Core Ultra 7 as opposed to the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H in the Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX.
In terms of power consumption, the Acemagic F2A allocates a maximum of 90 watts to the Intel Core Ultra 7. Under sustained load, at least 65 watts of power is available to the SoC. That said, we didn’t hit the 90-watt peak draw during our testing. The highest level we recorded was around 77 watts. The CPU used 63 watts of power on average, which is very close to the specified PL1. The power limits can be manually adjusted in the BIOS. But we don't recommended increasing the power usage further since the cooling unit is already pushed to its limit at the default settings, with temps hovering around 80°C (176°F).
For more information and benchmark results, you can refer to our CPU comparison table.
| Performance Rating - Percent | |
| Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX | |
| Minisforum Venus Series UM790 Pro | |
| Geekom A7 | |
| Acemagic F2A | |
| Khadas Mind | |
| ACEMagician Ace Magician AM08 Pro | |
| Geekom AS 6, R9 6900HX | |
| Geekom Mini IT12 | |
| Blender - v2.79 BMW27 CPU | |
| Khadas Mind | |
| Geekom Mini IT12 | |
| Geekom AS 6, R9 6900HX | |
| ACEMagician Ace Magician AM08 Pro | |
| Geekom A7 | |
| Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX | |
| Minisforum Venus Series UM790 Pro | |
| Acemagic F2A | |
| WinRAR - Result | |
| Acemagic F2A | |
| Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX | |
| Geekom A7 | |
| Minisforum Venus Series UM790 Pro | |
| Geekom AS 6, R9 6900HX | |
| ACEMagician Ace Magician AM08 Pro | |
| Geekom Mini IT12 | |
| Khadas Mind | |
| R Benchmark 2.5 - Overall mean | |
| ACEMagician Ace Magician AM08 Pro | |
| Geekom AS 6, R9 6900HX | |
| Geekom Mini IT12 | |
| Acemagic F2A | |
| Khadas Mind | |
| Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX | |
| Geekom A7 | |
| Minisforum Venus Series UM790 Pro | |
| LibreOffice - 20 Documents To PDF | |
| Geekom A7 | |
| Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX | |
| ACEMagician Ace Magician AM08 Pro | |
| Geekom Mini IT12 | |
| Geekom AS 6, R9 6900HX | |
| Minisforum Venus Series UM790 Pro | |
| Acemagic F2A | |
| Khadas Mind | |
| WebXPRT 3 - Overall | |
| Geekom A7 | |
| Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX | |
| Khadas Mind | |
| Minisforum Venus Series UM790 Pro | |
| Geekom Mini IT12 | |
| ACEMagician Ace Magician AM08 Pro | |
| Acemagic F2A | |
| Geekom AS 6, R9 6900HX | |
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total | |
| ACEMagician Ace Magician AM08 Pro | |
| Geekom AS 6, R9 6900HX | |
| Geekom Mini IT12 | |
| Acemagic F2A | |
| Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX | |
| Geekom A7 | |
| Khadas Mind | |
| Minisforum Venus Series UM790 Pro | |
* ... smaller is better
AIDA64: FP32 Ray-Trace | FPU Julia | CPU SHA3 | CPU Queen | FPU SinJulia | FPU Mandel | CPU AES | CPU ZLib | FP64 Ray-Trace | CPU PhotoWorxx
* ... smaller is better
Acemagic F2A vs. Cinebench R15 Multi loop
When running Cinebench R15 in a loop, our Acemagic F2A unit managed to achieve a good multi-core score and keep its performance relatively stable, thus earning it the top spot in our comparison.
System performance
The Acemagic F2A was able to keep up with its competitors in our system performance tests. The performance differentials are marginal and not noticeable in normal use. Overall, the system ran quickly and reliably during the test period.
* ... smaller is better
NPU performance
The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H boasts a neural processing unit, which is a separate section on the SoC capable of handling AI-related tasks with exceptional efficiency. We examined its performance more closely using the UL Procyon AI Inference Benchmark. Despite having the same SoC, the Acemagic F2A delivered a better result than the Acer Swift Go, but was clearly beaten by the desktop graphics cards. The Intel Arc 8 nonetheless still performed admirably in comparison with the Intel Arc desktop GPUs.
| UL Procyon AI Inference for Windows | |
| Overall Score Integer NPU | |
| Acemagic F2A | |
| Acer Swift Go 14 SFG14-72 | |
| Overall Score Integer GPU | |
| Acer Predator BiFrost Arc A770 OC, 16GB GDDR6 | |
| Acer Predator BiFrost Arc A750 OC | |
| Acemagic F2A | |
| Minisforum Neptune Series HN2673 | |
| Acer Swift Go 14 SFG14-72 | |
DPC latency
The Acemagic F2A was able to effortlessly handle keeping several tabs open in Microsoft Edge. But shortly after our 4K test video started playing, we noticed a significant jump in latency. The iGPU usage was nearly 60% during the process.
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| Acemagic F2A | |
| Geekom A7 | |
| Geekom AS 6, R9 6900HX | |
| ACEMagician Ace Magician AM08 Pro | |
| Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX | |
| Intel NUC 13 Pro Desk Edition Kit | |
| Minisforum Venus Series UM790 Pro | |
| Khadas Mind | |
* ... smaller is better
Mass storage
Inside the Acemagic F2A is an SSD made by Kingston. The drive delivered great results in both our testing and everyday use. However, heat turned out to be a problem, which ultimately caused performance to be unstable. Although the manufacturer has placed an active cooling system at the bottom of the device, performance drops were still inevitable under sustained load. The mini-PC can accommodate a total of two M.2 SSDs. That said, adding one more drive isn’t going to make the thermal issue any better because of the extra heat generated.
You can head over to our storage drive comparison table for more information and benchmark results.
* ... smaller is better
Sustained load Read: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
Graphics card
Called the Intel Arc 8, the iGPU in the Acemagic F2A is a successor to the ageing Iris Xe. As part of the Core Ultra 7 155H, the Intel Arc has eight Xe cores and stacks up well against the competition in 3DMark tests. In other synthetic tests, the Intel Arc 8 wasn’t always able to rival its AMD Radeon 780M counterparts. The iGPU did exceptionally well in Affinity Photo 2. Performance has overall been improved compared with Iris Xe models. This performance boost was also crucial for ensuring Intel iGPUs don’t get left behind by the competition from AMD.
Please visit our GPU comparison table for more information and benchmark results.
| Acemagic F2A, Intel Arc 8-Cores iGPU Ultra 7 155H | Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX, AMD Radeon 780M R7 7840HS | Minisforum Venus Series UM790 Pro, AMD Radeon 780M R9 7940HS | Geekom A7, AMD Radeon 780M R9 7940HS | Geekom AS 6, R9 6900HX, AMD Radeon 680M R9 6900HX | Intel NUC 13 Pro Desk Edition Kit, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs i7-1360P | ACEMagician Ace Magician AM08 Pro, AMD Radeon 680M R9 6900HX | Khadas Mind, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs i7-1360P | Average of class Mini PC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPECviewperf 12 | 365% | 636% | 374% | 1099% | -18% | 1184% | -25% | 196% | |
| 1900x1060 3ds Max (3dsmax-05) | 49.8 | 85 71% | 77.3 55% | 84.7 70% | 75.3 51% | 41 -18% | 87.4 76% | 37.8 -24% | 69.6 ? 40% |
| 1900x1060 Catia (catia-04) | 48.2 | 89.8 86% | 65.5 36% | 89 85% | 70.3 46% | 35.4 -27% | 77.3 60% | 39.4 -18% | 61.5 ? 28% |
| 1900x1060 Creo (creo-01) | 23.1 | 51.1 121% | 48.2 109% | 55.4 140% | 45.2 96% | 27.4 19% | 51.3 122% | 7.37 -68% | 34.2 ? 48% |
| 1900x1060 Energy (energy-01) | 0.91 | 20.1 2109% | 40.9 4395% | 20.7 2175% | 76.1 8263% | 0.32 -65% | 80.4 8735% | 0.46 -49% | 12.2 ? 1241% |
| 1900x1060 Maya (maya-04) | 54.9 | 73.4 34% | 60.8 11% | 69.7 27% | 58.3 6% | 39.2 -29% | 73.2 33% | 41.3 -25% | 60.4 ? 10% |
| 1900x1060 Medical (medical-01) | 16.9 | 61.7 265% | 65 285% | 60.5 258% | 44 160% | 11.5 -32% | 51.3 204% | 12 -29% | 25.5 ? 51% |
| 1900x1060 Showcase (showcase-01) | 18.2 | 30.1 65% | 28.1 54% | 30.3 66% | 30.1 65% | 17.7 -3% | 33.6 85% | 21.2 16% | 34.2 ? 88% |
| 1900x1060 Solidworks (sw-03) | 42.7 | 113 165% | 103 141% | 116 172% | 88.8 108% | 46 8% | 108 153% | 41.6 -3% | 68.5 ? 60% |
| SPECviewperf 13 | 149% | 108% | 140% | 90% | -10% | 112% | -8% | 77% | |
| 3ds Max (3dsmax-06) | 46.4 | 86.1 86% | 77.9 68% | 83.9 81% | 76.7 65% | 40.5 -13% | 87.6 89% | 39 -16% | 69.5 ? 50% |
| Catia (catia-05) | 71.6 | 132 84% | 94.4 32% | 130 82% | 105 47% | 49 -32% | 118 65% | 57.1 -20% | 89.9 ? 26% |
| Creo (creo-02) | 29.6 | 93.6 216% | 81.7 176% | 93.4 216% | 78.4 165% | 39.5 33% | 83.5 182% | 37.5 27% | 68.3 ? 131% |
| Energy (energy-02) | 5.69 | 25.8 353% | 21.9 285% | 23.8 318% | 13.9 144% | 4.32 -24% | 14.6 157% | 4.34 -24% | 16.9 ? 197% |
| Maya (maya-05) | 59.5 | 108 82% | 91.1 53% | 107 80% | 99 66% | 47.2 -21% | 109 83% | 46.3 -22% | 92.7 ? 56% |
| Medical (medical-02) | 29.7 | 79.8 169% | 53.2 79% | 77.6 161% | 44.9 51% | 15.2 -49% | 63.1 112% | 16 -46% | 32.2 ? 8% |
| Showcase (showcase-02) | 18.2 | 30 65% | 28.1 54% | 25.4 40% | 30.4 67% | 18.1 -1% | 33.6 85% | 21.4 18% | 33.8 ? 86% |
| Solidworks (sw-04) | 44.8 | 107 139% | 98.4 120% | 109 143% | 95 112% | 55.8 25% | 101 125% | 53.7 20% | 73.4 ? 64% |
| SPECviewperf 2020 | 238% | 167% | 232% | 214% | -23% | 204% | -20% | 148% | |
| 3840x2160 Medical (medical-03) | 5.05 | 12 138% | 7.51 49% | 11.1 120% | 8.59 70% | 2.66 -47% | 12.1 140% | 2.67 -47% | 6.94 ? 37% |
| 3840x2160 Energy (energy-03) | 4.61 | 15.4 234% | 11.2 143% | 14.1 206% | 16.9 267% | 3.03 -34% | 7.98 73% | 2.97 -36% | 10.5 ? 128% |
| 3840x2160 Creo (creo-03) | 17.9 | 31.4 75% | 26.1 46% | 31.4 75% | 28.9 61% | 15.1 -16% | 31 73% | 16.9 -6% | 29 ? 62% |
| 3840x2160 CATIA (catia-06) | 10 | 24.4 144% | 19.7 97% | 24.8 148% | 20.4 104% | 7.87 -21% | 21.3 113% | 8.82 -12% | 18.3 ? 83% |
| 3840x2160 3ds Max (3dsmax-07) | 12.9 | 21 63% | 14 9% | 20.9 62% | 17.5 36% | 9.81 -24% | 19.1 48% | 10.1 -22% | 20.8 ? 61% |
| 3840x2160 Siemens NX (snx-04) | 5.7 | 61.5 979% | 52.3 818% | 61.4 977% | 58.5 926% | 6.2 9% | 59.7 947% | 6.01 5% | 40.2 ? 605% |
| 3840x2160 Maya (maya-06) | 35.4 | 47.2 33% | 39 10% | 47 33% | 47.4 34% | 24.7 -30% | 47.5 34% | 27.8 -21% | 56.1 ? 58% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | 251% /
251% | 304% /
310% | 249% /
249% | 468% /
479% | -17% /
-17% | 500% /
513% | -18% /
-17% | 140% /
140% |
| 3DMark 05 Standard | 42967 points | |
| 3DMark 06 Standard Score | 36831 points | |
| 3DMark Vantage P Result | 38877 points | |
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 12151 points | |
| 3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score | 129020 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 34436 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 7031 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Extreme Score | 3611 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 3569 points | |
Help | ||
Gaming performance
Although the Core Ultra 7 155H sports a much improved iGPU, the SoC in the Acemagic F2A is unable to match the performance of competitors with an AMD Radeon 780M. One look at the comparison charts reveals that the Intel Arc 8 in our review unit is at best able to go up against an AMD Radeon 680M. This somewhat limits the mini-PC’s ability to run games, but is still acceptable. After all, the manufacturer isn’t marketing the device as a gaming machine. Performance has been significantly improved compared with Intel’s Iris iGPUs. Because Acemagic has decided to forgo USB4 on the F2A, we are unable to provide any performance comparison in conjunction with our external graphics cards.
Head on over our GPU gaming list for an extensive overview of how the iGPU’s performs in comparison with other graphics cards.
| The Witcher 3 | |
| 1024x768 Low Graphics & Postprocessing | |
| Geekom A7 | |
| Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX | |
| Minisforum Venus Series UM790 Pro | |
| ACEMagician Ace Magician AM08 Pro | |
| Acemagic F2A | |
| Geekom AS 6, R9 6900HX | |
| Intel NUC 13 Pro Desk Edition Kit | |
| Khadas Mind | |
| 1920x1080 High Graphics & Postprocessing (Nvidia HairWorks Off) | |
| Geekom A7 | |
| Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX | |
| Acemagic F2A | |
| Minisforum Venus Series UM790 Pro | |
| ACEMagician Ace Magician AM08 Pro | |
| Geekom AS 6, R9 6900HX | |
| Intel NUC 13 Pro Desk Edition Kit | |
| Khadas Mind | |
| GTA V | |
| 1024x768 Lowest Settings possible | |
| Geekom A7 | |
| Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX | |
| Acemagic F2A | |
| Minisforum Venus Series UM790 Pro | |
| ACEMagician Ace Magician AM08 Pro | |
| Geekom AS 6, R9 6900HX | |
| Intel NUC 13 Pro Desk Edition Kit | |
| Khadas Mind | |
| 1920x1080 High/On (Advanced Graphics Off) AA:2xMSAA + FX AF:8x | |
| Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX | |
| Geekom A7 | |
| Minisforum Venus Series UM790 Pro | |
| ACEMagician Ace Magician AM08 Pro | |
| Geekom AS 6, R9 6900HX | |
| Acemagic F2A | |
| Khadas Mind | |
| Intel NUC 13 Pro Desk Edition Kit | |
| F1 2021 | |
| 1280x720 Ultra Low Preset | |
| Geekom A7 | |
| Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX | |
| ACEMagician Ace Magician AM08 Pro | |
| Geekom AS 6, R9 6900HX | |
| Acemagic F2A | |
| 1920x1080 High Preset AA:T AF:16x | |
| Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX | |
| Geekom A7 | |
| ACEMagician Ace Magician AM08 Pro | |
| Geekom AS 6, R9 6900HX | |
| Acemagic F2A | |
Witcher 3 FPS chart
| low | med. | high | ultra | |
| GTA V (2015) | 161 | 148 | 31.3 | 12.7 |
| The Witcher 3 (2015) | 126 | 78 | 44.8 | 24.6 |
| Dota 2 Reborn (2015) | 103.2 | 82.95 | 77.3 | 71.1 |
| Final Fantasy XV Benchmark (2018) | 63.3 | 34.8 | 24.4 | |
| X-Plane 11.11 (2018) | 63.1 | 42 | 35 | |
| Far Cry 5 (2018) | 69 | 40 | 37 | 35 |
| Strange Brigade (2018) | 147.3 | 61.9 | 53.3 | 43.8 |
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018) | 131.4 | 62.5 | 49.5 | 48.2 |
| Far Cry New Dawn (2019) | 65 | 39 | 37 | 35 |
| Metro Exodus (2019) | 52.2 | 33.9 | 25 | 19.7 |
| Total War: Three Kingdoms (2019) | 130 | 59 | 46 | 33 |
| Borderlands 3 (2019) | 68.5 | 38.5 | 27.7 | 22.6 |
| Horizon Zero Dawn (2020) | 58 | 35 | 30 | 27 |
| F1 2021 (2021) | 145.9 | 80.4 | 63.2 | 28.8 |
| Far Cry 6 (2021) | 61.9 | 37.7 | 32.1 | 27.2 |
| God of War (2022) | 27 | 24 | 18.3 | 12.9 |
| GRID Legends (2022) | 67.7 | 51.8 | 41.7 | 36.6 |
| Tiny Tina's Wonderlands (2022) | 50.4 | 40.6 | 29.1 | 24.1 |
| F1 22 (2022) | 76.3 | 70.8 | 55 | 14.9 |
| Atomic Heart (2023) | 45.7 | 35.4 | 24.6 | 18.7 |
| F1 23 (2023) | 71.5 | 65.1 | 46.1 | 13.5 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 2.0 Phantom Liberty (2023) | 29.5 | 24.8 | 20.4 | 18.4 |
| Total War Pharaoh (2023) | 82.7 | 62.5 | 53.6 | 40.6 |
| Prince of Persia The Lost Crown (2024) | 183.9 | 128.6 | 120.9 | |
| Last Epoch (2024) | 45.8 | 39.1 | 33.9 | 27.6 |
Emissions - The biggest problem with the Acemagic F2A
Noise emissions
Noise is one of the biggest complaints we have with the Acemagic F2A. The device is relatively quiet at idle, staying under 26 dB(A) in our testing. But the fan spins up quite a bit under load. We measured a peak noise level of 49 dB(A), and it didn’t get much quieter either over time at 47.8 dB(A). We also observed constant and audible adjustment of the fan speed under average load. The fan speed occasionally remained at a high level even after a full load scenario was over. This was also a problem that couldn’t be resolved by restarting the PC. It only went away after the power supply was unplugged. We can’t rule out the possibility that this is an issue with our review unit. We have informed the company about it, but have yet to receive a reply. Unfortunately, the BIOS doesn't offer any option to let users manually customise the fan curve. Acemagic could certainly remedy the situation with a BIOS update.
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 25.4 / 25.7 / 25.7 dB(A) |
| Load |
| 47.8 / 49 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Earthworks M23R (15 cm distance) environment noise: 24.9 dB(A) | ||
| Acemagic F2A Ultra 7 155H, Arc 8-Cores | Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX R7 7840HS, Radeon 780M | Minisforum Venus Series UM790 Pro R9 7940HS, Radeon 780M | Geekom A7 R9 7940HS, Radeon 780M | Geekom AS 6, R9 6900HX R9 6900HX, Radeon 680M | Intel NUC 13 Pro Desk Edition Kit i7-1360P, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | ACEMagician Ace Magician AM08 Pro R9 6900HX, Radeon 680M | Khadas Mind i7-1360P, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noise | 6% | -1% | -10% | -12% | -1% | -14% | -16% | |
| off / environment * | 24.9 | 24.8 -0% | 29.7 -19% | 25.4 -2% | 30 -20% | 25.2 -1% | 30 -20% | 25.2 -1% |
| Idle Minimum * | 25.4 | 28.5 -12% | 31.7 -25% | 33.3 -31% | 33.2 -31% | 28.1 -11% | 31.3 -23% | 34.4 -35% |
| Idle Average * | 25.7 | 28.5 -11% | 31.7 -23% | 33.6 -31% | 33.6 -31% | 28.2 -10% | 31.3 -22% | 34.4 -34% |
| Idle Maximum * | 25.7 | 28.7 -12% | 31.7 -23% | 33.7 -31% | 33.6 -31% | 28.3 -10% | 31.4 -22% | 34.5 -34% |
| Load Average * | 47.8 | 32.4 32% | 32.8 31% | 43.3 9% | 36.8 23% | 42 12% | 47.6 -0% | 44.7 6% |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 45.23 | 32.7 28% | 32.8 27% | 43.2 4% | 49 -8% | |||
| Load Maximum * | 49 | 39.6 19% | 35.2 28% | 43.3 12% | 39.8 19% | 42.1 14% | 47.8 2% | 50.4 -3% |
* ... smaller is better
Temperature
The Acemagic F2A doesn’t have any issues with heat. Chassis temperatures were very low both at idle and under load. That said, HWiNFO reported thermal throttling during the stress test, though it only lasted a short while as soon as Turbo could be used. The SoC ran at an average of 63 watts over a prolonged period. We already had a taste of the relatively stable performance when we looping Cinebench R15. Because the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H can’t take advantage of the higher boost of up to 90 watts for a long time, there wasn’t any noticeable performance loss under sustained load. We measured a peak power draw of 76 watts, which the SoC reached in the stress test.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 31.5 °C / 89 F, compared to the average of 35.3 °C / 96 F, ranging from 26 to 69.5 °C for the class Mini PC.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 32.2 °C / 90 F, compared to the average of 36.6 °C / 98 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 29.9 °C / 86 F, compared to the device average of 32 °C / 90 F.
Power consumption
Mini-PCs are generally very economical in terms of power requirements. Similarly, the Acemagic F2A doesn’t slip up in this department. The device consumed roughly 9 to 14 watts at idle in our testing. We did see a peak power draw of up to 110 watts, but not over a long period. So you shouldn’t put too much weight on this max value. Average power consumption came down to a reasonable 55 watts under load. This means the Acemagic F2A uses less power than its AMD-based rivals, but is more power-hungry than the Intel NUC 13 Pro with a Core i7-1360P. The power supply can deliver up to 120 watts and had no problem providing the PC with enough juice. It is also a standard power adapter (19V and 6.3A) that doesn’t use any proprietary connectors.
| Off / Standby | 0.9 / 7.9 Watt |
| Idle | 9.1 / 10.3 / 14.4 Watt |
| Load |
54.9 / 110.4 Watt |
   
| |
| Acemagic F2A Ultra 7 155H, Arc 8-Cores | Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX R7 7840HS, Radeon 780M | Minisforum Venus Series UM790 Pro R9 7940HS, Radeon 780M | Geekom A7 R9 7940HS, Radeon 780M | Geekom AS 6, R9 6900HX R9 6900HX, Radeon 680M | Intel NUC 13 Pro Desk Edition Kit i7-1360P, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | ACEMagician Ace Magician AM08 Pro R9 6900HX, Radeon 680M | Khadas Mind i7-1360P, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | Average Intel Arc 8-Cores iGPU | Average of class Mini PC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | 1% | 20% | 30% | 14% | 16% | -1% | 17% | 22% | 0% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 9.1 | 8.5 7% | 4.6 49% | 3.8 58% | 6.8 25% | 7 23% | 9.6 -5% | 7.8 14% | 4.81 ? 47% | 9.81 ? -8% |
| Idle Average * | 10.3 | 10.5 -2% | 6 42% | 4.8 53% | 9.4 9% | 9.2 11% | 9.9 4% | 10.9 -6% | 8.07 ? 22% | 11.7 ? -14% |
| Idle Maximum * | 14.4 | 12.9 10% | 10.6 26% | 6.5 55% | 13.7 5% | 11.8 18% | 11.8 18% | 11.8 18% | 12.3 ? 15% | 14.8 ? -3% |
| Load Average * | 54.9 | 67.2 -22% | 72.5 -32% | 71.9 -31% | 45.3 17% | 45 18% | 77.5 -41% | 39.2 29% | 52.5 ? 4% | 52.6 ? 4% |
| Load Maximum * | 110.4 | 97.2 12% | 94.6 14% | 94.7 14% | 94.8 14% | 97.2 12% | 89.8 19% | 76.4 31% | 84.4 ? 24% | 86.8 ? 21% |
* ... smaller is better
Power consumption with external monitor
Pros
Cons
Verdict - Good performance, but not a great overall package.
At first glance, the Acemagic F2A offers everything that you might want from a good office computer. The device is based on Intel’s latest Meteor Lake processors and thus benefits noticeably from the improved iGPU performance. In our testing, the Acemagic F2A managed to consistently deliver a high level of performance without feeling sluggish to use. The manufacturer is offering a great package together with 32 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD. We do, however, really have to criticise its pricing: at €1,199 (US$1,199), the Acemagic F2A is much more expensive than many similar devices.
The I/O options should also be improved to make the mini-PC more well-rounded. The device isn’t necessarily future-proof without USB4 support. Moreover, this prevents the use of some external accessories, which could have made the F2A even more versatile. The inclusion of Wi-Fi 7 is certainly not a bad idea and a good reason to buy the mini-PC, though as we’ve seen in our testing, transfer speeds are still superb with the older Wi-Fi 6 standard. The existing Wi-Fi module can also be replaced later on. Unfortunately, USB4 or Thunderbolt support can’t be added to the computer.
The Acemagic F2A is an adequate package thanks to the Intel Meteor Lake processor and good 3D performance. Though you’ll need to dig deep into your pockets and sadly still get just a basic set of I/Os in return.
The Acemagic F2A is fairly unassuming looking, but we had expected better with regard to material choice. At least the build quality of our review unit is impeccable. Clever details such as the rubber feet with integrated screws are great and user-friendly when you need to access the internal components. Unfortunately, the Acemagic F2A isn’t completely compelling when it comes to heat and noise. The poor CPU fan control is distracting and downright annoying in everyday use. Right now, we can only hope that the company takes care of this issue and improves the situation with a BIOS update.
Due to its current pricing, the Acemagic F2A is going to have a tough time beating out other devices. Both Geekom (A7) and Minisforum (UM780 XTX) have significantly cheaper devices in their lineup and offer a better selection of ports on top of that.
Price and availaibility
You can order the Acemagic F2A directly from the company's online shop. Our review configuration carries an RRP of US$1,199, and a lower-spec model with an Intel Core Ultra 5 125H costs US$100 less. At the time of this review, Acemagic is offering a substantial US$400 discount on both models on their website. The Core Ultra 5 and 7 models are also available for US$799 and US$899 respectively on Amazon after when you use a coupon.
Acemagic F2A
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04/04/2024 v7
Sebastian Bade
Transparency
The present review sample was given to the author by the manufacturer free of charge for the purposes of review. There was no third-party influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review.
