Prebuilt Minisforum H31G (Socketed 1151 8th/9th Intel + 1050Ti) - $399

[LukeD]

I thought I'd create a quick post about this, as it seems to be an awesome little mini PC if anyone is out there shopping for a Nuc sized solution, only with much more GPU power and a replaceable CPU to suit your needs.
You can get a pre-built config with CPU, Mem and storage, but considering its socketed the base model with 1050ti GPU is $399 USD (BYO: CPU, Memory, Storage)

Specs:

Processor	Intel® 9th/8th Gen Desktop Processor (Max. TDP 65W)
Motherboard	Mini (Non-standard Edition) Form Factor MB (Based on H310 chipset)
GPU	NVIDIA Geforce GTX1050Ti 4GB
Memory Expansion	SODIMM Slots×2 DDR4 2666MHz
Storage Expansion	1 × M.2 2280 PCIe SSD Slot (Pcle 4X supported, up to 1TB) 1 × M.2 2242 SATA SSD Slot (SATA 3.0 6.0Gb/s, up to 1TB) 1 × 2.5 inch SATA HDD Slot (SATA 3.0 6.0Gb/s) 1 × TF Card Slot (up to128GB)
Wireless Connectivity	M.2 2230 WIFI Support (Intel® WIFI6 AX200，BT5.1 pre-install)
Ports	1* TF Card Slot 1* LINE IN 1 * MIC IN 1 * HP OUT 1 * Digital MIC 1 * Reset Hole 1 * Power Button 1 * Kensington Lock 1 * Power Input 1 * HDMI Port 1 * Mini DP 1 * LAN Port 2 * USB 3.1 (Gen 1)
Power	DC 19V/7.8A (adapter included)
Dimensions	154×153×62mm

LINK TO MINISFORUM STORE

I've ordered one myself and am planning on testing a bunch of CPU's inside it, as it seems to be able to handle up to 65W CPUs.
So I'll be testing the following CPU's once I have it, to find out where is the best price/performance combo for this little monster.
8700
9700F
9900
9900T

In the meantime here is a teardown :

and some existing Youtube Reviews:

 

[Bubba]

It would be epically epic on an epic scale If the 1050 Ti could be removed and replaced with a 1650/1660 Super/Ti.

Edit: In this image, it appears there is a discrete graphics card.

https://images.anandtech.com/doci/16119/h31g-cooling-final.png

This card appears to be incompatible but one can dream.

SK1660S | NVIDIA GTX1660SUPER MXM 3.1 Graphics Module | PERFECTRON

NVIDIA GeForce® GTX1660SUPER MXM 3.1 Graphic Module, supporting 4 Channel outputs, and 6GB GDDR6 High-Speed Memory

perfectron.com

 

[LukeD]

I'm sure in due time they will upgrade the configuration to 1660 ... just give it time.
They'll burn through their 1050ti chip stock and switch to 1660, and they'll make it a new model

 

[thewizzard1]

I checked this out myself, a while back - Mostly poured over YT and other sites for images of the 1050TI.

It's proprietary for sure, and uses a pair of flax-flex cables to pipe PCIe data and power. Not going to be user-replaceable, and while a higher-end graphics unit might come around, getting your hands on one will be very tough.

 

[LukeD]

So its using a flexible ribbon cable for PCIe and a fan like connector to deliver power.
While obtaining a replacement GPU will be impossible, they will more than likely keep the same design for the next generation system they make. Probably won't be till mid 2021.
When they do, I bet they will keep the same layout and change GPUs to 1660 or whatever the leftover chips from laptops are that year.
Also one of the upgrades im going to try and do is get a single larger blower fan to replace the two small blower fans.
The only thing ill have to figure out then is how to make sure CPU and GPU both get their cooling as they ramp up, as we can see in the picture the motherboard has 2 seperate headers.

 

[cleveland]

Seems like a unwise choice, since the parts are not replaceable and most of it sits in the "new standard hardware" area.

 

[thewizzard1]

@LukeD It looks like the shared CPU/GPU heatsink means you'll just have to take the PWM signal from the warmer device, likely the CPU.

 

[hanko panko]

I thought I'd create a quick post about this, as it seems to be an awesome little mini PC if anyone is out there shopping for a Nuc sized solution, only with much more GPU power and a replaceable CPU to suit your needs.
You can get a pre-built config with CPU, Mem and storage, but considering its socketed the base model with 1050ti GPU is $399 USD (BYO: CPU, Memory, Storage)

Specs:

Processor	Intel® 9th/8th Gen Desktop Processor (Max. TDP 65W)
Motherboard	Mini (Non-standard Edition) Form Factor MB (Based on H310 chipset)
GPU	NVIDIA Geforce GTX1050Ti 4GB
Memory Expansion	SODIMM Slots×2 DDR4 2666MHz
Storage Expansion	1 × M.2 2280 PCIe SSD Slot (Pcle 4X supported, up to 1TB) 1 × M.2 2242 SATA SSD Slot (SATA 3.0 6.0Gb/s, up to 1TB) 1 × 2.5 inch SATA HDD Slot (SATA 3.0 6.0Gb/s) 1 × TF Card Slot (up to128GB)
Wireless Connectivity	M.2 2230 WIFI Support (Intel® WIFI6 AX200，BT5.1 pre-install)
Ports	1* TF Card Slot 1* LINE IN 1 * MIC IN 1 * HP OUT 1 * Digital MIC 1 * Reset Hole 1 * Power Button 1 * Kensington Lock 1 * Power Input 1 * HDMI Port 1 * Mini DP 1 * LAN Port 2 * USB 3.1 (Gen 1)
Power	DC 19V/7.8A (adapter included)
Dimensions	154×153×62mm

LINK TO MINISFORUM STORE

I've ordered one myself and am planning on testing a bunch of CPU's inside it, as it seems to be able to handle up to 65W CPUs.
So I'll be testing the following CPU's once I have it, to find out where is the best price/performance combo for this little monster.
8700
9700F
9900
9900T

In the meantime here is a teardown :

and some existing Youtube Reviews:

 

[hanko panko]

@LukeD Have you already received your H31G?

 

[LukeD]

@hanko panko No not yet. I believe it will be a long wait. Their website currently says new orders will ship Jan 2021

 

[hanko panko]

Same here... they told me that shipping will start in Jan....

Plenty of time to think about the components needed for my barebone unit! I am a cloud based software developer and need processing power and memory to deal with webshop data and play some games incidentally

• CPU: i7-9700F
• RAM: 2 x 16 GB, Corsair DDR4 SODIMM 2666 MHz
• SSD: 1TB, Samsung Evo plus - M.2 (2280) format with a PCIe Gen 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.3 interface

What do you think of that?

 

[Instran0]

It would be epically epic on an epic scale If the 1050 Ti could be removed and replaced with a 1650

this has a GTX 1650 - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001253078037.html?spm=2114.12010612.8148356.48.45eb6ef8akdNMg

 

[LukeD]

this has a GTX 1650 - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001253078037.html?spm=2114.12010612.8148356.48.45eb6ef8akdNMg

Yeah but that's too big. If I was going that big, I'd just get a ZOTAC EN72070 (which has 6c/12t and up to RTX 2070)

H31G is slightly bigger than a NUC

 

[LukeD]

• CPU: i7-9700F
• RAM: 2 x 16 GB, Corsair DDR4 SODIMM 2666 MHz
• SSD: 1TB, Samsung Evo plus - M.2 (2280) format with a PCIe Gen 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.3 interface

What do you think of that?

Yeah that's a solid setup and a pretty good CPU choice. I picked up the 9700F for 199$USD from Microcenter last weekend. But I'm also testing other CPU's. I'm waiting for my 9900T (retail chip) which I ordered from HP in a cheap ProDesk 400 unit ...but here's a preview of the data I've collected so far:

I tested this on an Asrock z390 ITX Phantom Gaming + 3080 FE + 32GB CL16 3200MHz

 

[gazpl]

if money is not an issue, HP 805 g6 can be configured with a 1660ti ( select base model with GPU, cpu option is limited to 35w)
https://store.hp.com/us/en/Configur...Id=&catEntryId=3074457345619801826&quantity=1

 

[LukeD]

@gazpl All the HP options with discrete graphics are coming up to over $1600.
If that was the case then the ZOTAC is definitely a better option with 6c/12t CPU and RTX 2070 for $1400:

ZOTAC MAGNUS EN72070V Mini Desktop Computer

Buy ZOTAC MAGNUS EN72070V Mini Desktop Computer featuring 2.6 GHz Intel Core i7-9750H Six-Core, 2 x 2400/2666 MHz DDR4 SO-DIMM Slot, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 GPU (8GB GDDR6), 1 x SATA III 2.5" Bay | 1 x M.2 Slot, SDXC Media Card Reader, Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) | Bluetooth 5.0, HDMI | USB Type-C | USB...

www.bhphotovideo.com

But once again the H31G is a compelling option for a $399 box with BYO CPU and Memory

 

[hanko panko]

Minisforum does have a forum of their own and a thread for the H31G was only just started, although I had to push them for it: Link

In their store, I see that they sold 250 H31Gs and although that does not seem much, I hope that we can share experiences here or there...

 

[LukeD]

Awesome. Yep, hopefully between the two forums people share their experiences and mods

 

[at10ti0n]

Seems like LTT has covered this device as well:

 

[ligh7]

Yeah that's a solid setup and a pretty good CPU choice. I picked up the 9700F for 199$USD from Microcenter last weekend. But I'm also testing other CPU's. I'm waiting for my 9900T (retail chip) which I ordered from HP in a cheap ProDesk 400 unit ...but here's a preview of the data I've collected so far:

I tested this on an Asrock z390 ITX Phantom Gaming + 3080 FE + 32GB CL16 3200MHz

Thank you so much. Looking forward to your result on 9900 man. Considering using 9900(T) on H31G as well. They are almost the same price at my place. For me a issue is the PSU is only 150w. And I thought btw either way we can make a 9900 to 9900T in XTU by reducing the max power no?