Ace Magician TK11-A0 review: Efficient mini PC with Thunderbolt 4 and additional useful features

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We already took a detailed look at the Minipc Union Ace Magician AMR5 recently and left with quite a positive impression. With the Ace Magician TK11-A0, Minipc Union offers an additional compact computer in its portfolio. However, as an office PC, the Ace Magician TK11-A0 targets a different user group than the Ace Magician AMR5, which is advertised as a small gaming PC.
The Minipc Union Ace Magician TK11-A0 uses an Intel Core i5-1135G7 with 16 GB of working memory and a 512-GB SSD as the storage solution. In terms of the graphics solution, users should be pleased to see an Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7, which is quite able to keep up with the performance of an AMD APU. At 560 Euros (~$562), the price of the Ace Magician TK11-A0 is at a similar level as that of comparably equipped other mini PCs. But our test unit is also able to score with an integrated speaker and a fingerprint sensor.
The mini PC comes in a small box together with a 65-Watt power supply and a Vesa mounting fixture, allowing you to mount the device on a monitor.
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Possible Competitors for Comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Best Price |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
09/2022 | Minipc Union Ace Magician TK11-A0 i5-1135G7, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 586 g | 53 mm | ||
01/2022 | Minisforum EliteMini HX90 R9 5900HX, Vega 8 | 60 mm | |||
01/2022 | Morefine S500+ R9 5900HX, Vega 8 | 697 g | 40 mm | ||
05/2022 | Minisforum EliteMini B550 R7 5700G, Vega 8 | 1.1 kg | 67 mm | ||
02/2022 | Minisforum EliteMini TH50 i5-11320H, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 763 g | 55.5 mm | ||
09/2022 | Minipc Union Ace Magician AMR5 R5 5600U, Vega 7 | 628 g | 72 mm | ||
08/2022 | Newsmay Neosmay S2-B560TPM i5-11400T, UHD Graphics 730 | 1.3 kg | 40 mm | ||
12/2021 | Minisforum HM90 R9 4900H, Vega 8 | 55.5 mm | |||
12/2021 | Beelink GTI 11 i5-1135G7, Iris Xe G7 80EUs | 638 g | 39 mm |
Minipc Union Ace Magician TK11-A0 in Detail
Case
Visually, the Ace Magician TK11-A0 is a classic mini PC with a footprint of only about 14 x 14 cm (~5.5 x 5.5 in). At the same time, the small PC has a height of 5 cm (~2 in), which is slightly higher than the competitors. The case is mainly made from plastic. The surfaces are relatively smooth, and all the edges are comfortably rounded. In terms of the color design, the manufacturer uses gray with a slight blue shimmer. The stability of the case is good, even though there is no aluminum. At 586 grams (~20.7 oz), the small computer is lighter than our comparison devices here in the test.
Equipment
The Ace Magician TK11-A0 is able to score with a good selection of external connection ports, which are distributed across the front and back. While a total number of 5 USB ports is good, there also shouldn't be any less, since two of them are already reserved for the mouse and keyboard most of the time. The Type-C port offers Thunderbolt support, expanding the spectrum of usable external devices immensely. Like the Ace Magician AMR5, the TK11-A0 is able to run 3 external monitors simultaneously. Unfortunately, there is no SD card reader here either.
Communication
Minipc Union uses an Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 WLAN module in the Ace Magician TK11-A0. Unfortunately, the full performance of the Wi-Fi module is not available, as our measurements show. With the transfer rates measured when sending and receiving, our test unit competes with the Minisforum EliteMini B550. We use our Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE11000 router for this test. As an alternative to the wireless connection, there also is an additional option for a network connection with an RJ45 port. Unfortunately, this only offers a maximum of 1 Gbit/s. Some of the competitors do a better job here, and the Minisforum EliteMini TH50 even offers two 2.5G ports.
Networking | |
iperf3 receive AXE11000 6GHz | |
Average of class Mini PC (390 - 1771, n=26, last 2 years) | |
Average Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 (390 - 1670, n=3) | |
Minipc Union Ace Magician AMR5 | |
Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
Minipc Union Ace Magician TK11-A0 | |
iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6GHz | |
Average of class Mini PC (722 - 1764, n=27, last 2 years) | |
Average Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 (745 - 1252, n=3) | |
Minipc Union Ace Magician AMR5 | |
Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
Minipc Union Ace Magician TK11-A0 | |
Minisforum EliteMini B550 |
Security
As a special feature, the Ace Magician TK11-A0 is equipped with a fingerprint scanner. The sensor from Mikroarray Technology is placed at the top of the case. It also supports Windows Hello, and after a brief setup, you can directly login using your finger. We encountered no problems in our test, and logging into the operating system works very fast using it.
Maintenance
Those who want to upgrade the Ace Magician TK11-A0 can easily access the SSD or RAM. The bottom of the case can be removed very easily. Those who also want to access the CPU cooling system will have to perform some additional removals, which looked quite daunting at first glance. However, this didn't turn out to be much of an obstacle in practice. The Ace Magician TK11-A0 can be equipped with two storage solutions, and the connection cables to install an additional storage drive in the 2.5-inch format are already preinstalled.
Performance
An Intel Core i5-1135G7 forms the computing unit of the Ace Magician TK11-A0. In our equipment version, the native quad-core SoC is accompanied by 16 GB of working memory, which is more than sufficient for everyday work. Simple office applications pose no problem for it, and the efficient SoC is also suitable for demanding tasks. If necessary, the working memory can be expanded up to 64 GB. On the other hand, the SoC is the same in all models and there is no other base for the Ace Magician TK11-A0.
Test Conditions
We ran all the performance tests with the Highest Performance power mode, in order to reflect the highest possible performance of the Ace Magician TK11-A0. Other power saving modes were only used for the measurements of the power consumption and speaker volume. You can find additional details on our test criteria here.
Processor
The Intel Core i5-1135G7 offers four native computing cores and is based on Intel's Tiger Lake architecture. At 20 watts, the consumption of the SoC is rather conservative, which is also reflected in the benchmarks. Even though it can also use up to 48 watts for brief time periods, this is not sufficient to beat the competitors in our comparison. The Ace Magician TK11-A0 is only able to surpass the Newsmay Neosmay S2-B560TPM in our competition.
You can find additional benchmarks on the processors here.
Cinebench R10 | |
Rendering Single CPUs 64Bit | |
Minisforum EliteMini HX90 | |
Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
Morefine S500+ | |
Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
Minipc Union Ace Magician AMR5 | |
Average Intel Core i5-1135G7 (10395 - 10515, n=2) | |
Minipc Union Ace Magician TK11-A0 | |
Minisforum HM90 | |
Newsmay Neosmay S2-B560TPM | |
Rendering Multiple CPUs 64Bit | |
Minisforum EliteMini HX90 | |
Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
Minisforum HM90 | |
Morefine S500+ | |
Minipc Union Ace Magician AMR5 | |
Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
Average Intel Core i5-1135G7 (24499 - 37000, n=2) | |
Newsmay Neosmay S2-B560TPM | |
Minipc Union Ace Magician TK11-A0 |
3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance Physics | |
Morefine S500+ | |
Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
Minisforum EliteMini HX90 | |
Minipc Union Ace Magician AMR5 | |
Minisforum HM90 | |
Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
Average Intel Core i5-1135G7 (6423 - 11623, n=58) | |
Minipc Union Ace Magician TK11-A0 | |
Newsmay Neosmay S2-B560TPM |
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 - 4k Preset | |
Minisforum EliteMini HX90 | |
Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
Morefine S500+ | |
Minisforum HM90 | |
Minipc Union Ace Magician AMR5 | |
Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
Average Intel Core i5-1135G7 (3.57 - 7.6, n=57) | |
Minipc Union Ace Magician TK11-A0 | |
Newsmay Neosmay S2-B560TPM |
3DMark | |
3840x2160 Fire Strike Ultra Physics | |
Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
Morefine S500+ | |
Minisforum EliteMini HX90 | |
Minisforum HM90 | |
Minipc Union Ace Magician AMR5 | |
Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
Average Intel Core i5-1135G7 (6277 - 13088, n=14) | |
Minipc Union Ace Magician TK11-A0 | |
1920x1080 Fire Strike Physics | |
Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
Minisforum EliteMini HX90 | |
Morefine S500+ | |
Minisforum HM90 | |
Minipc Union Ace Magician AMR5 | |
Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
Average Intel Core i5-1135G7 (1015 - 13480, n=61) | |
Newsmay Neosmay S2-B560TPM | |
Minipc Union Ace Magician TK11-A0 | |
2560x1440 Time Spy CPU | |
Morefine S500+ | |
Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
Minisforum EliteMini HX90 | |
Minisforum HM90 | |
Minipc Union Ace Magician AMR5 | |
Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
Average Intel Core i5-1135G7 (2664 - 5262, n=60) | |
Minipc Union Ace Magician TK11-A0 |
* ... 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
AIDA64 / CPU PhotoWorxx | |
Beelink GTI 11 | |
Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
Minipc Union Ace Magician TK11-A0 | |
Average of class Mini PC (4408 - 44347, n=58, last 2 years) | |
Morefine S500+ | |
Minisforum HM90 | |
Minipc Union Ace Magician AMR5 | |
Minisforum EliteMini HX90 | |
Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
Newsmay Neosmay S2-B560TPM |
Ace Magician TK11-A0 in the Cinebench-R15 Multi Loop
We get a first impression of the efficiency of the built-in cooling during the Cinebench-R15 constant loop test. After the first run, the performance drops by about 5%, which can be traced back to the higher Turbo clock speed in the beginning. However, continuing the test, the performance of the Intel Core i5-1135G7 remains very stable.
System Performance
The fact that the SoC is about two years old becomes noticeable in the benchmarks. The Core i5-1135G7 is unable keep up with the more modern hexa or octa-core processors. However, these results don't reflect the subjective performance impression of the Ace Magician TK11-A0, since that is much better than you would think. The system is ready for use quickly, and while working, there are hardly any latencies that might make you feel like you are working on a slow system.
PCMark 10 Score | 4521 points | |
Help |
AIDA64 / Memory Copy | |
Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
Average of class Mini PC (6481 - 70620, n=58, last 2 years) | |
Morefine S500+ | |
Beelink GTI 11 | |
Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
Minisforum EliteMini HX90 | |
Average Intel Core i5-1135G7 (17443 - 63889, n=45) | |
Minipc Union Ace Magician TK11-A0 | |
Minipc Union Ace Magician AMR5 | |
Minisforum HM90 | |
Newsmay Neosmay S2-B560TPM |
AIDA64 / Memory Read | |
Beelink GTI 11 | |
Morefine S500+ | |
Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
Minisforum EliteMini HX90 | |
Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
Average of class Mini PC (6914 - 65856, n=58, last 2 years) | |
Average Intel Core i5-1135G7 (19716 - 63705, n=45) | |
Minipc Union Ace Magician TK11-A0 | |
Minipc Union Ace Magician AMR5 | |
Minisforum HM90 | |
Newsmay Neosmay S2-B560TPM |
AIDA64 / Memory Write | |
Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
Beelink GTI 11 | |
Average of class Mini PC (6862 - 87358, n=58, last 2 years) | |
Morefine S500+ | |
Average Intel Core i5-1135G7 (18722 - 66778, n=45) | |
Minipc Union Ace Magician TK11-A0 | |
Minipc Union Ace Magician AMR5 | |
Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
Minisforum HM90 | |
Minisforum EliteMini HX90 | |
Newsmay Neosmay S2-B560TPM |
AIDA64 / Memory Latency | |
Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
Minipc Union Ace Magician AMR5 | |
Minisforum HM90 | |
Average of class Mini PC (55.3 - 146, n=58, last 2 years) | |
Minisforum EliteMini HX90 | |
Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
Morefine S500+ | |
Average Intel Core i5-1135G7 (68.3 - 107, n=51) | |
Newsmay Neosmay S2-B560TPM | |
Minipc Union Ace Magician TK11-A0 | |
Beelink GTI 11 |
* ... smaller is better
DPC Latencies
At no time are there any latency problems with the Ace Magician TK11-A0. Whether you open several browser tabs, play 4K YouTube videos, or under load with Prime95, there are never any increased latencies. When playing our 4K test video, the iGPU of the Intel Core i5-1135G7 is loaded to about 20%.
* ... smaller is better
Storage Solution
Minipc Union equips the Ace Magician TK11-A0 with a 512-GB SSD. We already saw the same model from Future Path, which uses the PCIe connection, in the Ace Magician AMR5. Overall, we see the same advantages and disadvantages here. The passive cooling is insufficient to ensure stable values also under constant load. At 512 GB, the model is sufficiently large for regular office use. However, those who need more storage space can easily install a second SSD without much effort. However, you have to be aware of the form factor, since the bottom of the case only allows installing a 2.5-inch model.
You can find additional comparisons and benchmarks in our comparison chart.