AYANEO AM03 Review: A Mini PC Designed to Be Seen

Balanced performance in a premium shell

The recently launched AYANEO AM03 marks a clear shift in the company’s retro mini PC lineup. Both of its predecessors, the AM01 and AM02, were clearly designed with a retro aesthetic, but the AM03 takes a more minimalist, grown-up approach. This is no longer a novelty mini PC, it’s a compact everyday machine that just happens to look great on a desk.

What’s in the box?

As it’s always the case with AYANEO products, the packaging is sleek and the contents are well-organized and secured. Inside the box you will find the mini PC itself, an HDMI cable, the power adapter, and a range of power cords for different regions, which is great if you’re planning to travel with this mini PC.

Specs and pricing

Under the hood, AYANEO backs the refined exterior with some decent (albeit slightly older) hardware. The AM03 is available in two versions, both with a 12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900H chip. You can opt for the barebones unit at $399 or a pre-built model with 16GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage for $499. The memory is expandable up to 64GB DDR4 and additional storage can be added via two M.2 SSD slots.

The Core i9 chipset with integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics supports hardware acceleration and multiple monitors, so the unit is perfectly suitable for everyday tasks and creative workloads, as well as some gaming. Just don’t expect it to run Cyberpunk 2077 at 60+ FPS on high settings.

In terms of ports and connectivity, you get three USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports, one USB-A 2.0, a USB-C port, a 3.5mm audio jack, dual 2.5Gb Ethernet ports, an HDMI 2.1 port and a DisplayPort 1.4 port for multi-display output (both supporting 4K at 120Hz), plus Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2.

Design and build quality

As we’ve come to expect from AYANEO, design is front and center on the AM03, with a clean chassis and subtle “Skyline” RGB ambient lighting. There are two colors available, the light Cyan Sky model and the dark Ink Shadow variant with orange accents, which I’ve got here for this review.

The front panel flips down to reveal additional ports, similar to the front cover on the AM02. This is a clever solution that keeps the main exterior clean while still giving you quick access to a few useful ports when needed. AYANEO uses a magnetic hinge here to keep the mechanism simple and the exterior clean. You can easily open the panel with one finger and flip it back up when you’re done using the ports.

Next to the power button, you’ll find a row of physical function keys for lighting control and customizable actions, as well as a volume toggle.

The Skyline RGB ambient lighting is subtle and tastefully done. The AYANEO logo at the top is also illuminated and the overall effect is more of a soft glow rather than an over-the-top gamer light strip. You can use the function key next to the power button to cycle through a few different colors and effects, or completely turn the lights off.

Around the back, you’ll find two USB-A ports, two external display ports (HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4), two 2.5Gb Ethernet ports and the power input.

This mini PC also comes with built-in dual-channel stereo speakers, which are positioned on either side of the case. This is a great addition, particularly in a compact, travel-friendly machine like this. These are not high-fidelity speakers by any means, but they sound just fine for media and background music.

Overall, the AYANEO AM03 is a great-looking device and the build quality is excellent. Everything feels tight, clean, well-aligned and considered.

Performance

In everyday use, the AM03 feels fast and responsive across the board. Multitasking, creative workloads and productivity tasks all run smoothly. Thermals are well-managed for a machine of this size and fan noise is not too bad under typical loads.

Can you game on the AYANEO AM03?

This is where you’ll need to temper your expectations. Gaming performance on the AM03 is competent but not mind-blowing, which aligns with how AYANEO is positioning the device. If you look at the product page on their website, the emphasis is clearly on design and versatility rather than raw performance.

The AM03’s TDP is limited to 45W, which on paper reduces peak multicore performance compared to the same Core i9-12900H running at 65W in a laptop, particularly in short benchmark bursts. But in practice, sustained performance often levels out once thermals and power limits come into play. In a compact mini PC like this, pushing 65W would require more aggressive cooling and likely make the fans louder. Capping the chip at 45W feels like a deliberate decision to prioritize stable, consistent clocks, manageable thermals and a quieter experience over high-TDP performance.

Bottom line: the AM03 won’t replace a dedicated gaming PC, but it’s great for emulation, indie titles and less-demanding modern games. During my testing, I enjoyed playing all sorts of games including Nine Sols, Silksong, the retro-inspired Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, Little Nightmares, 1000xRESIST, Fallout: New Vegas and even GTA V without any issues.

On the emulation side, the AM03 comfortably handled systems all the way up to the PS2, GameCube and Wii, with games running at full speed without breaking a sweat.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Excellent design and build quality.
• Practical front-facing ports behind a flip-down panel.
• Strong everyday performance.
• Good upgradability options.

Cons

• Gaming performance is somewhat limited by the 45W TDP cap in a 4 year old chip with integrated graphics.

Verdict

The AYANEO AM03 is not a powerhouse, but it’s the most mature mini PC the company has released so far. It moves away from novelty and into refinement as a well-designed, capable machine that feels right at home in any modern setup. If you’re looking for a versatile mini PC that balances performance and design, the AM03 is well worth checking out.

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The product featured in this article was provided by the manufacturer for testing purposes, however, the opinions expressed are entirely our own. All images © Inspiration Grid unless otherwise credited.