With the arrival of Recalbox 10 and official support for Xbox emulation, it’s time to take a look at the mini PCs best suited for a smooth and quiet retrogaming experience. Among the recently tested machines, the Geekom A5 2025 Edition clearly stands out. Here’s why.

Sleek design and quality build

Right out of the box, the tone is set. The Geekom A5 comes in neat packaging with everything you need: HDMI 2.0 cable, power adapter, VESA mount, and a setup guide. The mini PC itself features a minimalist design, with a soft pink hue framed in chrome. Compact (12 x 12 cm), it feels solid thanks to its metal chassis and flawless finish.

Complete connectivity for all needs

This model includes a wide range of ports: two HDMI 2.0, four USB ports (including two USB-C), an SD card reader (non-bootable), a 2.5Gb RJ45 Ethernet port, and classic USB-A ports. Bonus: support for four simultaneous displays thanks to the USB-C ports — a rare feature in this price range!

For wireless, you get Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2, ensuring seamless connectivity with all your devices.

Solid performance under the hood

The Geekom A5 2025 runs on an AMD Ryzen 5 7430U, 6 cores / 12 threads, with 16 GB DDR4 RAM (expandable to 64 GB) and a 512 GB NVMe SSD. There's no dedicated graphics card, but the integrated Radeon Vega 7 GPU easily handles 4K video playback, office tasks, and even some recent games on low settings.

Its very quiet cooling system is a real advantage. Even under heavy load or during emulation sessions, the fan remains nearly silent.

A perfect fit for Recalbox

Testing Recalbox 10 on the Geekom A5 was a clear success. From the PSP to the Wii, including the PS2, GameCube, and even Xbox, performance is impressive. Games often run in 1080p at 60 FPS with smooth visuals. Special mention for the machine’s silence, even during Burnout 3 or Halo 2 sessions!

Installing Recalbox on a USB stick (without altering the original Windows OS) is easy via Raspberry Pi Imager, and lets you switch between systems at boot.

Verdict

Available for under €350, this mini PC offers great all-round value. Its price-performance ratio, silent operation, and emulation capabilities make it an ideal choice for retrogaming fans, but also a solid option for office or multimedia use.

Please note that we do not recommend purchasing a mini PC solely for Recalbox use.