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ACEMAGIC F2A 125H SFF PC Review: Mid-Range Meteor Lake at 65W - Pros and Cons

 


ACEMAGIC F2A 125H SFF PC Review: Mid-Range Meteor Lake at 65W

ACEMAGIC has steadily been making waves in the mini-PC space, and the new F2A 125H SFF PC is one of its boldest entries yet. Built around Intel’s Core Ultra 5 125H from the Meteor Lake family, this small form factor (SFF) PC targets mainstream users who need a balance of performance, efficiency, and compact design. It’s not quite a powerhouse, but it’s capable—and surprisingly versatile for a system that sips just 65 watts at full load.


📦 Design & Build

The F2A is impressively compact, with a footprint that won’t take over your desk or entertainment center. It measures around 5.8 x 5.8 x 2 inches, making it slightly larger than a NUC but smaller than many SFF desktops. The all-plastic chassis has a minimalist look—no RGB, no flair—but it’s clean and inoffensive.

Despite its small size, the system includes dual fans (one for the CPU and one for overall airflow). However, the fan acoustics are a bit sharp under load, something to note if you're planning to work in a quiet room.


🧠 Performance: Meteor Lake in Action

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H is the star here. Built on Intel’s Meteor Lake architecture, this chip features a hybrid core layout with:

  • 4 Performance cores

  • 8 Efficiency cores

  • 2 Low-power E-cores

  • Intel Arc graphics with 7 Xe cores

This 14-core chip runs efficiently, scaling between a base TDP of 28W and peaking around 65W in real workloads. Performance lands firmly in the mid-range, with good results in both productivity and light creative workloads.

In Geekbench 6, typical scores hover around:

  • Single-core: ~2200

  • Multi-core: ~11,000

This puts it roughly in line with mid-tier mobile chips like the Ryzen 7 7840U, but with an edge in AI and graphics thanks to the new Arc architecture and NPU acceleration.


🎮 Graphics and Gaming

Intel’s Arc integrated graphics are a major step up from UHD and Iris Xe. You won’t be playing AAA titles at ultra settings, but esports games like Valorant, CS2, and League of Legends run smoothly at 1080p with medium-to-high settings.

Content creators will also appreciate the support for AV1 encoding/decoding and GPU acceleration in applications like DaVinci Resolve, Adobe Premiere, and even some AI tools using ONNX or DirectML.


🧩 Expandability and Ports

The F2A punches above its weight in I/O:

  • 2x HDMI 2.0

  • 1x USB-C (DP 1.4 + data)

  • 3x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A

  • 2x USB 2.0

  • 1x 2.5 GbE LAN

  • Wi-Fi 7 + Bluetooth 5.3

For storage, it ships with a 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD and 32GB of DDR5 RAM—both of which are user-upgradable. There's a second M.2 slot available if you want to expand.


🔊 Acoustics and Thermals

At idle, the system is whisper-quiet, but under load (e.g., Cinebench or gaming), the fans do ramp up and produce a noticeable whine. Temperatures remain in check, generally maxing out at around 80–85°C, with no signs of thermal throttling.


🧪 Software and Setup

The F2A ships with Windows 11 Home, and while it's usable out of the box, there’s some pre-installed software you might want to remove. A clean install is recommended for best performance and security.


✅ Verdict: Small PC, Solid Value

The ACEMAGIC F2A 125H is a surprisingly well-rounded mini-PC that leverages Intel’s new Meteor Lake platform to great effect. It's fast enough for daily tasks, media consumption, and even some light creative work or gaming—yet efficient and quiet enough to tuck away in any home or office setup.

For users seeking a mid-range, energy-efficient PC that doesn’t sacrifice too much power or connectivity, the F2A is a compelling choice—especially at a price point well under $600.


⭐ Pros:

  • Excellent CPU performance for the size and power draw

  • Great port selection with dual HDMI and USB-C DP

  • Upgradable RAM and storage

  • Modern features like Wi-Fi 7 and AV1 support

❗ Cons:

  • Noticeable fan noise under load

  • All-plastic build feels a little cheap

  • No Thunderbolt 4


Final Rating: 8/10 – “Mid-Range Muscle in a Mini Package”

Would you like a comparison with other mini-PCs like the Beelink SER6 or Intel NUC 13?

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