In the mini PC sector, machines equipped with independent graphics cards are an absolute rarity. Except for a few models represented by the NUC Viper Canyon, most products are directly modified from laptop motherboards, which makes them feel less complete. If you want to set up a high-performance mini host that can replace traditional desktop and laptop computers, the gaming PC series ACEMAGIC Star Core M1A will definitely not disappoint you.
The ACEMAGIC Star Core M1A is available with the 12th generation Intel Core i7-12700H or i9-12900H, and a mix of RTX 3060, 3070, or 3080 graphics cards. It not only provides a system without memory and hard drive but also comes standard with 32GB + 1TB + a genuine Windows 11 system, with prices ranging from 4799 to 6999 yuan.
In this issue, we will take a look at the “mid-range” version of the ACEMAGIC Star Core M1A, which costs no more than 5999 yuan, featuring the i9 and RTX 3070 graphics card, along with a 32GB + 1TB storage combination, to see if it can outperform other PCs in the same price range.
Cool Lighting Effects and Convenient Detachable Design
The packaging of the ACEMAGIC Star Core M1A uses a black box with an eye-catching orange connection part, along with a seal printed with the product’s jade photo, creating a striking black and orange color scheme.
Besides the main unit, the package also includes a large power adapter, an HDMI video cable, and a user manual.
This adapter has a power of up to 300W, which is even higher than that of the ACEMAGIC Star Core M1A host. The actual weight, including the power cord, reaches about 1.25kg. Fortunately, mini hosts do not need to consider portability; the adapter can be hidden away most of the time.
The dimensions of the ACEMAGIC Star Core M1A host are 166.7mm × 166.9mm × 160.9mm, approximately 4.5L. When equipped with dual memory and one SSD, the total weight is about 2.15kg, comparable to a 16-inch all-purpose laptop.
4.5L sounds considerable, but in reality, the ACEMAGIC Star Core M1A is not that large. Its nearly cubical shape features a lot of armored grooves on the surface, resembling a magic cube or a space capsule, giving it a strong sci-fi feel.
When placed next to a 10L ITX case, as well as drinks like JDB and Nongfu Spring, doesn’t it look much smaller than expected? The overall impression is that it is a delicate little powerhouse.
The biggest feature of the ACEMAGIC Star Core M1A is the knob on the front panel and the detachable side panel design, with numerous cooling holes and the eye-catching TANK 03 decorative text. First, let’s look at the side panels. There is a switch at the edge that can be toggled up and down; when in the unlock state, you can push it inward to remove the side panel.
Inside the left side panel, you can see two vertically installed laptop DDR5-4800 memory sticks, secured by clips on both sides. The standard memory sticks come from Kingston, consisting of two 16GB sticks in dual-channel mode, and the actual performance is shown in the image.
On the right side cover, there is a safety warning indicating that you should not change the graphics card driver and must use the official version, or it may become unstable.
Inside the right side panel, there are two M.2 hard drive slots and a Realtek 8852BE wireless network card. The standard 1TB SSD comes from Rayson, and although it is labeled as a PCIe 4.0 SSD, the actual read and write speeds are only 3000MB/s and 3500MB/s, which are comparable to 3.0 hard drive speeds.
If you need faster hard drive speeds or larger capacity, you can upgrade through the nearby M.2 slot. It has been tested that this position can accommodate SSDs like the Western Digital SN850X RGB, which has a heat sink surface and will not affect the side panel removal.
The front of the host is even more lively. The upper part features a knob with a wristwatch texture around the outer ring, which allows you to switch between silent mode, smart mode, and performance mode without restarting to enter BIOS settings. Different power modes correspond to different colors of backlight effects, accompanied by a satisfying click sound each time it is rotated to the correct position.
Below the front panel are the I/O ports, including 2 USB-A 3.2 ports, USB-C, an SD card reader, and an audio interface. The left USB-C port supports video output, allowing direct connection to portable screens while handling both signal transmission and power supply to the portable screen.
At the back of the host, there is also an audio port, a power socket, 4 USB-A 3.2 ports, 2 HDMI 2.0 ports, 2 2.5G network ports, DP 1.4, and a security lock hole.
The ACEMAGIC Star Core M1A provides a total of 4 video output interfaces at the front and back, which means it can achieve four-screen display, enhancing efficiency in content creation, stock trading, and other application scenarios.
However, there is still room for optimization in the product’s interface design. For example, although the front USB-C supports video output, the protruding cable can affect desktop tidiness. In fact, having one front USB-C port that can only transmit data, along with an additional one at the back that supports video, would be more reasonable. Additionally, when using wireless keyboard and mouse adapters, if a USB drive is plugged in next to the four USB ports at the back, the signal for the mouse and keyboard may occasionally be interfered with. It would be advisable to retain 1-2 USB 2.0 ports for connecting input devices.
The ACEMAGIC M1A has large air intake areas on both the top and bottom, while the exhaust vent is located at the back of the host, ensuring that it does not blow air directly at the user.
Powerful Performance That Matches Gaming Laptops
The design of the ACEMAGIC Star Core M1A is among the coolest mini hosts I have seen, and its hardware configuration is undoubtedly flagship-level.
The M1A I received is equipped with the 12th generation Intel Core i9-12900H, featuring 6 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores, totaling 14 cores and 20 threads, with a maximum turbo frequency of 5.0GHz, which is on par with the 13th generation Core i7-13700H specifications.
This product can be configured with RTX 3060, 3070, and 3080 graphics cards. The one I received is the mid-range version, featuring the i9-12900H and RTX 3070 graphics card, which can be considered a dream combination for a flagship gaming laptop in 2022. The question remains whether they can still compete in 2024. This is also what everyone is most concerned about.
Before running benchmarks, let’s first take a look at the ACEMAGIC Star Core M1A’s power consumption, temperature control, and noise performance.
At a room temperature of 29 degrees, in performance mode, running the AIDA 64 FPU stress test, the M1A processor’s initial peak power consumption can reach 65W, but it quickly drops and stabilizes at a straight line of 45W, with a peak CPU temperature of 91 degrees, stabilizing at 78 degrees, indicating that there is still a considerable margin.
Running the FurMark stress test on the RTX 3070 graphics card, the power consumption can maintain a steady 100W, with a GPU core temperature of 82 degrees.
During dual-stress testing, the CPU and GPU can maintain power levels of 45W + 100W, resulting in a total power release of 145W. At this point, the GPU temperature remains unchanged, while the CPU temperature slightly increases to around 83 degrees.
During the dual-stress test, the noise level at the power strip reached 52 decibels, while the noise level on the user side was around 44 decibels, which is still an acceptable performance, better than most gaming laptops with similar configurations.
During dual-stress testing, the total power consumption detected on the power strip exceeded 265W, stabilizing around 230W. Initially, I thought the standard 300W was a bit excessive, but based on actual testing, it makes sense.
In the other two power modes, I also conducted simple tests. The GPU maintained a steady 100W during both single and dual-stress tests.
Switching to smart mode (similar to balanced mode), during dual-stress testing, the CPU’s peak power consumption was 45W, stabilizing at 35W (the same single-stress data), with a temperature of 73 degrees. The noise level at the host side was 41 decibels, while the user side was 37 decibels, making it nearly silent.
In silent mode, during dual-stress testing, the CPU’s peak power consumption was 35W, stabilizing at 25W (the same single-stress data), with a temperature of 63 degrees.
By the way, in standby mode after entering the system, the total power consumption of the host will remain around 30W, which is considerably higher than that of mini hosts with integrated graphics. However, potential users of this level of mini host are unlikely to care about standby power consumption.
Below is the benchmark section that everyone enjoys. In the Lu Master test, the ACEMAGIC Star Core M1A scored an impressive 1.58 million, surpassing 88% of computer users nationwide.
In the PCMark 10 and CrossMark tests, this product scored 7567 and 1834, respectively.
Compared to other common mobile processors in mini hosts, the ACEMAGIC Star Core M1A processor, with a peak power release of 65W, still has the strongest single-core performance among common competitors.
However, its multi-core performance is affected by the 45W sustained power release, only narrowly surpassing the 13th generation Core i7-13620H and falling short of the 60W i5-13500H and 54W Core Ultra 5 and Ryzen 7 7840HS.
From the previous stress test, it can be seen that the ACEMAGIC Star Core M1A’s CPU temperature still has a considerable margin, and theoretically, it should not have a problem sustaining a pressure of 65W. It remains to be seen whether the official will provide an optimized BIOS update for players who need it.
In the 3D performance and gaming test section, I compared the ACEMAGIC Star Core M1A with the latest gaming laptops, the Mechanical Revolution Yilong 15 Pro, which is equipped with a Ryzen 7 8845H processor (single-stress at 80W), a 32GB + 1TB storage combination, and a fully powered RTX 4060 graphics card, with dual-stress power consumption around 170W (50W + 120W).
In the 3DMark benchmark tests, the total scores of both products were quite close, with the Yilong 15 Pro having a slight advantage due to its updated processor and graphics card, as well as higher power release.
In the AAA game tests, the ACEMAGIC Star Core M1A and Yilong 15 Pro each had their strengths, with the M1A showing a clear advantage in Crisis Island: New Dawn, while the Yilong 15 Pro completely outperformed its rival in Horizon Zero Dawn. The performance in other game tests was relatively close, indicating that they are essentially in the same league.
From the comparative data, the 3D and gaming performance of the ACEMAGIC Star Core M1A can be considered to have over 90% of the capabilities of the Yilong 15 Pro, a mainstream gaming laptop in 2024. For a mini host priced at 5999 yuan, I personally think this performance is quite acceptable. If you still feel unsatisfied, there are higher configuration models available with the RTX 3080 graphics card, which further increases the graphics card power consumption to 115W, ensuring a gaming experience that can surpass RTX 4060 and 4070 gaming laptops.
A New Toy for Gamers
Although independent graphics mini hosts are very niche products, the existence of such products is justified. Some gamers prefer not to deal with the bulkiness of traditional desktops and do not need the mobility of laptops; they just want a compact powerhouse that can be placed on their desk without taking up too much space while delivering performance comparable to mainstream PCs.
The ACEMAGIC Star Core M1A series can meet almost all the potential needs of these gamers. It boasts a sci-fi-inspired design, cool lighting effects, a knob for switching power modes, and a convenient detachable design that facilitates upgrades. With a rich combination of hardware configurations and prices starting at 4799 yuan (i7 + 4070), it offers better value than comparable products, making it a highly recommended option.
Of course, this machine also has room for optimization. In addition to the interface layout mentioned earlier and improving processor power release, I hope the manufacturer can add a handle (or hand strap) design to the top cover or edges, as it currently requires two hands to move, which can sometimes be inconvenient.
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