AM06 Pro In-Depth Review

[dd_milkshake]

Foreword:
AMD has always occupied a spot in my enthusiasm for hardware. Dating back to 2017 when I got my hands on my first Ryzen 1800X system, then the 2600X, 3900X and later the 5950X and now the 7700X, from the problem-prone X470, to B450, then X570 and now B650 motherboards, I’ve used them all. Barring the first Gen Ryzen’s lower IPC, AMD has consistently bested Intel in all these years with their Ryzen products, especially the 5950X. I’ve never seen a CPU that can pack 16 cores, and still drawing much less power than the competitors 10 core “flagship”.

It definitely got me thinking, how good would it be, if AMD engineers are to take this Zen 3 architecture, then tuning it so it draws less than 30W, and still offer a performance that can rival older flagship level desktop chips? In this review, we will be taking a look at a mini PC from AceMagician that’s based on an AMD Ryzen 5 5600U.

AMD Ryzen 5 5600U
The AMD Ryzen 5 5600U is the lowest end 15W TDP chip that features the famed Zen 3 architecture. AMD claims up to 20% IPC improvement in Zen 2, while providing better power efficiency at doing so. With the codename “Cezanne”, although branded at an “U” series chip, this CPU isn’t something to be disregarded. It has six 7nm Zen 3 cores, 16MB of L3 cache, a based frequency at 2.3 GHz and can boost up to 4.2 GHz. Of course, being an AMD APU, it also includes an AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 with 7 CUs, and can run at 1.8 GHz.

AceMagician AM06 Pro
This is not AceMagician’s first attempt to bring the AMD Ryzen 5 5600U to its mini PC products. The first iteration was the AMR5, which is a more gaming-focused system with RGB lighting and Performance Selector. This time, AceMagician decided to take a different route, with a more modest look to appeal to the business/home server crowd.


The AM06 Pro features reasonably useful external I/O options. The front panel has one 3.5mm audio jack, two USB 3 ports, one USB 3 Type-C port, and a small microphone. In the back, they packed one USB-C power port, a Kensington lock mount, one 1 GbE LAN, one 2.5 GbE LAN, one HDMI port, one DP port, and two USB 2.0 ports. It also have a Realtek RTL8821 based M.2 module for WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities.

Performance Testing
Testing is done on Windows 11 Pro 21H2, build 22000.318, with latest AMD Radeon Software. Power plan is set to “Balanced”.

### CPU-Z Platform Validation

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### CPU-Z Benchmarks
With an ST score of 574.9 and an MT score of 3566, the Ryzen 5 5600U offers impressive performance, comparable to Intel's Core i9-10900K in single-threaded performance and on-par with the Ryzen 5 2600X in multi-threaded performance. This level of performance makes the AceMagician AM06 Pro a powerful and versatile mini PC, suitable for a variety of applications.

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### Geekbench Benchmarks
CPU Benchmarks can be viewed here:
[https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/672239]
With a single-core score of 1802 and a multi-core score of 6574 on Geekbench, the Ryzen 5 5600U delivers performance that is comparable to Intel's Core i5-11400H, which has a base frequency of 2.7 GHz and can boost up to 4.5 GHz with a TDP of 45W. This level of performance makes the AceMagician AM06 Pro an excellent choice for users who need a powerful yet compact mini PC.

GPU Benchmarks can be viewed here:
[https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/compute/243119]
The GPU score of the AceMagician AM06 Pro with its integrated AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 graphics is comparable to that of the AMD Radeon RX 550, which is impressive for a mini PC of this size. This level of graphics performance makes the AM06 Pro well-suited for a variety of applications, including light gaming and media consumption.

### Heaven Benchmarks
#### DX11, 720p, Low

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#### DX11, 720p, Medium (Basic)

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### Furmark

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### Cinebench R23
MT: 8246
ST: 1369

Once again, the Ryzen 5 5600U's performance is impressive, with a single-core score of 1369 that is comparable to Intel's non-K Core i9-10900 and a multi-core score of 8246, which is less than 10% behind a Threadripper 1900X, all while consuming only 22W of power. This level of performance demonstrates the efficiency of the Ryzen 5 5600U and makes the AceMagician AM06 Pro a compelling option for users looking for a powerful yet energy-efficient mini PC.

### Crystal Disk Mark
In our Crystal Disk Mark test, the SSD on the AceMagician AM06 Pro performed as expected for a lower-end PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD. While it may not be the fastest SSD on the market, it is still more than capable of handling everyday tasks and basic gaming needs.

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### Thermals and Power
It's worth noting that the AceMagician AM06 Pro does not have a beefy thermal solution. The blower-based cooler features only one heat-pipe and does not have any openings around it to draw in cool air. While the case does have some cut-outs along the checker-boarded pattern on the bottom, in our experience, they did not appear to promote much airflow, as they are quite far away from the cooler. As a result, users should expect the system to run hotter than some other mini PCs on the market. It's worth keeping this in mind when considering the AM06 Pro for your needs, and potentially be thermal limited if you plan to push the system to its limits.

During our testing, we observed that during Geekbench benchmarking, the CPU on the AceMagician AM06 Pro can reach temperatures upwards of 80C while the ambient temperature is about 23C. Once the temperature gets above 85C, the fan will spin at a much higher rate, indicating that a very passive fan curve was used. This resulted in the fan becoming much louder, with a high pitched noise that may not be pleasing to some users. It's worth noting that this is a trade-off for the system's compact size and low noise during light usage.

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In Cinebench R23 MT testing, we started at 52C, which is the idle temperature of the system. The CPU again topped 93C during the test. From our chart, we can see that the fan curve used is very passive, as it took only about 50 seconds to drop the temperature from 92C to 70C. However, it took almost 10 minutes to drop the temperature from 70C back to 52C. This indicates that while the system's cooling solution is set to a very passive fan curve.

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Despite the challenges posed by the system's passive cooling solution, there are some silver linings to be had. During our Cinebench R23 MT testing, we observed no thermal throttling, indicating that the system's cooling solution is still effective at preventing the CPU from reaching temperatures that could cause performance degradation. Additionally, we observed that the CPU package power first spiked to 25W, then held steadily at about 22W, indicating that the system is able to sustain high levels of performance for extended periods of time. After finishing the test, at idle, the system pulls about 4W, indicating that it is also capable of operating efficiently when not under heavy loads. These results demonstrate that while the system's cooling solution may not be the most powerful, it is still capable of delivering reliable and sustained performance under heavy workloads, despite having a high CPU temperature.

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When all cores are active, it can hold a frequency of 3.27 GHz, while occasionally boosting two of the cores to 4.25 GHz. That’s 50 MHz better than AMD Spec at 4.2 GHz flat.

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Conclusion
The AceMagician AM06 Pro with Ryzen 5 5600U is a powerful mini PC that offers impressive performance in a compact form factor. Equipped with the latest Zen 3 architecture, the Ryzen 5 5600U offers up to 20% IPC improvement over its predecessor while maintaining power efficiency. The AM06 Pro is well-designed, with useful external I/O options and ample room for upgrades, making it a versatile option for both business and home server use.

In terms of performance, the Ryzen 5 5600U is comparable to Intel's Core i9-10900K in single-threaded performance and on-par with the Ryzen 5 2600X in multi-threaded performance. Its GPU score is about the same as the RX 550, which is impressive for a mini PC. However, the system's thermal management could be improved as the blower-based cooler can get quite loud under heavy load and the passive fan curve can lead to higher temperatures.

Overall, the AceMagician AM06 Pro with Ryzen 5 5600U is a powerful and versatile mini PC that offers impressive performance for its size. It is well-designed and offers ample room for upgrades, making it a great option for both business and home server use.

[piratefish0815]

Hi!

Thank you for your review. It was really helpful to me as I am looking into the AM06 Pro as a machine to build a homelab / tinker with.

I was wondering if you could answer me two questions about it:

1. What manufacturer and model are the builtin 1Gbit and 2.5Gbit NICs?
2. Is there an option to enable AMD-V (AMDs virtualization support) in the BIOS/UEFI?

I am looking for an energy efficient and low cost MiniPC to install vmWare vSphere 8 onto and trying to figure out if this one meets the requirements for that.

Thank you in advance.

- piratefish

[Gabe]

dd_milkshake,

Nice review! I'm contemplating getting one of these. I like my AMR5, but I think having the same basic components in a more conventional mini-pc layout might be a better fit for me as a go-to Windows PC (my normal PC is an M1 Mac Mini). If I do get one, I'll likely replace the thermal compound with Arctic MX-6 in order to bring the temps down a little. I did the same with MX-5 in my AMR5, and it did help a bit. Not a lot, but every degree helps when it comes to CPUs and heat.

I've been using my GK3 Pro as my go-to Windows PC, as it sits neatly on top of my M1 Mac Mini, so it's easy to change over a couple of cables. I would use the AMR5 for this, but my cat is clumsy, and he's more likely to tip that thing over, so the shorter, wider, conventional layout is better. The AM06 Pro will also allow me to play the few PC games that I have, like I can with the AMR5. I had bought upgrades for my AMR5, as in a faster NVMe drive and 32GB of RAM, but I'd likely swap those with the AM06 Pro.

And who couldn't use a tenth mini PC, right?

[Bigtom1948]

I like the AO06 pretty well but after trying everything customer support suggested about high temps and shutdowns I returned the unit for replacement as the fan NEVER came on except for the initial boot up test. Because I liked it so much, I didn't ask for a refund but just the replacement. I hope the next unit's fan controller is better.

Yeah, I didn't suspect that AO06 5700U may be a passively cooled Mini PC. If it is so why have a fan attached to the mobo's 5700 SOC? I had high temp problems and unrequested shutdowns as a result of the thermal overload wo/any adjustment in power settings. I couldn't find a fan controller in the bios and customer suopprt had me replace the thermal paste. I did that but noted that the paste already installed was adequate and was not degraded in any manner. I was surprised that the fan wasn't attached in any way to the case. Reinstalling it to the mobo was a major pain in the you know where! needless to say, changing the thermal paste made no difference at all but it was worth a try.

I also asked if there was a bios setting for the automatic restart after an AC power interruption. They did not know of any. The reason I want it is because I want an unattended Plex server on my network and I have fairly frequent power outages in my area. Well after searching through the wonky AMI bios I found the setting. I will share it below for those that are interested

The Process:

1.) Select restart in Windows 11 Start Menu
2.) Hit delete key while computer is rebooting. NOTE keyboard must be plugged into a rear USB port.
3.) When BIOS opens select ADVANCED tab using keyboard (Mouse will not work)
4.) Scroll down to AMD CBS and hit enter
5.) Scroll down to FCH Common Options and hit enter
6.) Move selection from Reserved to Always On using arrow keys and hit enter
7.) Select Save and Exit Function key and hit YES
8.) PC will boot on to Windows 11

You can test this fix by unplugging the USB C Power plug, wait a few seconds and then reinstall the plug into the USB C port. The PC will start automatically.
The PC will not automatically restart if shut down within windows or a hard shutdown is done by pressing the power switch until it shuts down.
Your PC when off will start normally when the start button is pressed

[aminK]

I love this Mini PC, I bought it 6 month ago.

I upgraded the RAM to 40 GB and also 2TB SSD + 512GB Sata SSD and since I am a IT engineer I used it as a server that run big scenario in EVE-NG and ESXi.

I always pray this company and the admin of this forum because they gave me this power full Mini PC