AMR5 - Compact Mini Gaming PC

If you are looking for a powerful gaming PC, but don't want a bulky tower next to yours Desk usually faces a problem, because most models are quite bulky. The solution could be a brand new gaming PC from China, which goes by the name of AMR5 and is not only pleasantly compact, but also offers a lot of power. Here you can find out what the device, which is also impressive in terms of looks, has to offer its buyer.

Design

Mini PCs are usually small and square, so you can put them on your desk comfortably and to save space. However, the AMR5 Gaming Mini PC obviously wants to stand out from its competition and is taking a completely different approach: It resembles a classic gaming PC tower that has been reduced to a minimum, so it is also set up like a classic tower. Thanks to a height of just 16 cm, this is no problem at all on the desk, especially since the device is not too heavy at around 600 g.

The fact that the PC hardly weighs anything is due to the fact that the Housing is made entirely of plastic, but you don't see that on the PC. In any case, it is a real eye-catcher from a purely visual point of view, as there are triangular notches on both sides that shine in multicolored colors. It just looks pretty cool, especially during late night gaming sessions. In addition, the on/off switch is also illuminated, depending on the selected setting in one of three different colors - more on that in a moment. All in all, the AMR5 Gaming PC is a real highlight, at least on an optical level, that you can proudly seduce your gaming friends with.

The fact that the right side of the case is held magnetically and can therefore be removed very easily is also pleasing. In this way, the memory hidden behind it as well as the DDR RAM can be easily replaced if you need higher performance in both areas.

Facilities

The AMR5 Gaming PC is equipped with a variety of common interfaces on both the front and the back. There are three USB ports on board, which fortunately are all contemporary 3.0 versions - so fast data transfers from connected data carriers are not a problem. One of the ports is also a Type-C port , which supports 10 Gbps+ as data port and 4K with 60 Hz as display port.

Together with a built-in display port and a HDMI 2.0 connection, it is theoretically possible to connect up to three monitors to the small PC - if this is desired. Of course, it's a bit of a shame that no current HDMI 2.1 port was installed here, which would allow significantly faster data transfers. Fortunately, Bluetooth version 5.2 is also on board, so that it is possible to connect a wide variety of end devices to the PC without any problems. For example, you can connect a Bluetooth mouse or pair the PC with a Bluetooth sound box or a Bluetooth speaker system.

The existing connection options are rounded off by a Gigabit Ethernet connection for a smooth LAN connection, a DC port and an audio in & output. Of course, a WLAN module is also installed, so that you can surf the World Wide Web with the mini PC without a cable connection.

Gaming fans, who also like to take photos from time to time, may be annoyed that there is no built-in slot for memory cards in the PC. If one is desired, one would have to purchase an external device for connecting memory cards, which is then connected via one of the existing USB ports.

Performance

The AMR5 is a mini PC, but has a lot of power inside. The manufacturer has installed a powerful AMD Ryzen 5 5600U processor with six Zen 3 cores. You usually find one like this processors in mobile devices that do not necessarily require excessive cooling - since the same also applies to the AMR5, whose housing is also extremely compact, a good choice has been made here.

Newer games in particular now come with huge amounts of data, so that they take up a few gigabytes immediately after installation. A disk with 1 TB or more would have been the much more contemporary choice here - but the memory can of course also be retrofitted at any time if desired.

What is really interesting is the fact that the AMR5 Gaming Mini PC can be used in three different modes and can therefore be perfectly adapted to the optimal requirements. There is the silent mode, which is primarily intended for use in quiet surroundings or at night.

The fan noise is not louder than a pleasant 38 dB and the PC's performance is throttled to 10 to 15 watts. The auto mode acts as a classic average mode and achieves an output of between 15 and 20 watts. And if you need a lot of power, you simply opt for the alternative performance mode, which has 20 to 25 watts to offer.

In the area of ​​the built-in RAM memory, on the other hand, there could have been a small upgrade, but at least the 16 GB DDR4 version clocks at 2.666 MHz. As already mentioned, the random access memory can of course be increased if necessary, so this is not really a problem. On the other hand, it is somewhat surprising that the manufacturer only installed a 512 GB SSD hard drive in its mini PC.

The colors of the on/off switch mentioned at the beginning are used again here: To set the desired mode, simply turn the said switch to the appropriate position. In silent mode it shines in blue, in auto mode it lights up green and in performance mode you can look forward to a red illuminated switch.

Finally, let's take a look at the graphics card, which is an AMD Radeon RX Vega 7. All in all, it does a very good job, even if there is still room for improvement when looking at the top. Now, of course, you always have to consider that you are buying a mini PC here, which is also comparatively inexpensive to buy. The graphics card quickly reaches its limits, especially with the latest games in 4K resolution, so that particularly demanding gamers should perhaps consider buying a more powerful computer. However, if games are mainly played in 720p or 1080p, the Radeon RX Vega 7 is quite well prepared for this task.

background noise

As already mentioned, the AMR5 Gaming MINI PC has three different modes. If you decide on the silent mode, the device can hardly be heard during operation, and it is even whisper-quiet when it is used very little. However, this changes abruptly when you select one of the other two modes: Depending on the setting of the rotary control, the PC can increase the volume to up to 50 dB, which is then no longer quite as quiet.

Such a background noise can of course be annoying, especially when playing games, since you can no longer concentrate 100% on the game. On the other hand, it is positive to mention that the PC hardly gets warm even at maximum performance, since the built-in fan dissipates the heat from the back of the device to the outside. Here the AMR5 Gaming PC delivers significantly better results than many of its competitors.

And finally ...

Unlike most mini PCs, the AMR5 Gaming MINI PC does not come in a square case, but in the form of a shrunken standard tower. Nevertheless, thanks to its small size of only 16 cm and a pleasantly light weight of around 600 g, it can be placed on the desk without any problems, where it even acts as a real eye-catcher thanks to its RGB-illuminated sides. 

In terms of equipment, the mini PC is also convincing, offering several USB ports and an HDMI 2.0 port, among other things, WLAN, LAN and Bluetooth. The built-in AMD Ryzen 5 5600U processor performs in combination with 16 GB RAM All in all good work, while the AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 graphics card used reaches its limits, especially in demanding games. The installed hard drive is also a bit small at just 512 GB, which is quickly noticeable when installing many current games. On the other hand, the three individually adjustable work modes with different power levels and the almost imperceptible heat development of the device score points.

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