News

Minisforum Launches Uranus Series with the B550 Pro

Minisforum has added a new product to its growing arsenal of mini PCs, this one being a followup to an existing design but a much needed and welcomed followup.  When the original B550 released, it looked like a normal mini PC but with a socketed design, meaning you could easily upgrade to a newer CPU.   Since AM4 socket hasn’t seen any APU’s release since the 5700G, this wasn’t particularly useful on the surface.  The B550 had a hidden secret however, which was an external PCIe 3.0 x16 connector as well as ATX PSU connectors, allowing it to be a modular …
ReviewsSystems

Minisforum HX90G Review – 5900HX and RX 6600M at under 4L

Today is the last Mini PC review I’ll be doing for awhile.  The good news is I think we’re ending on a high note, as the Minisforum Neptune Series HX90G delivers fantastic value for a PC.  Before we get too far into the review, I want to point out that there are 3 different CPU’s offered with this PC, all equipped with an 8GB RX6600M or RX6650M (virtually identical) GPU’s.  All 3 CPU’s use 8x Zen 3 cores with hyperthreading, but the clock speeds are different.  I’ve added a table below to highlight the differences in the 3 SKU’s.  I …
ReviewsSystems

Minisforum UM690 (6900HX) Review

Today the UM690 follows up on our previous reviews of Minisforum mini PCs.  Unlike the previous two reviews, we now have RDNA2 graphics and Zen 3+ CPU cores, which should offer a significant uptick in performance across the board.  As you may recall from the UM480 review, I was not particularly impressed with the chassis that Minisforum picked for that PC.  That chassis makes an appearance again today with the UM690, albeit with a more powerful 120W power supply.  Keeping in previous themes of comparing these mini PC’s with equivalent ITX APU builds, I will be benchmarking the UM690 against …
ReviewsSystems

Minisforum UM480 (4800U) Review

Recently we took a look at the HM90 mini PC, today we’re taking a look at a smaller, cheaper, and probably less powerful UM480 from Minisforum.  Minisforum released this last fall, but it was overshadowed by bigger news such as the UM690.  It shares the same design, but it is built to a much lower budget.  Despite this, it might be possible that it matches the HM90 we reviewed earlier, as it does have TDP limits unlocked in BIOS. SPECS & PORTS Like the HM90, the UM480 is using a 4000 series Ryzen mobile processor.  The chassis is smaller than …
ReviewsSystems

Minisforum HM90 (4900h) Review

Over the next few months I will be releasing a series of Mini PC reviews.  Today I’m starting with one that I’ve been sitting on for awhile, over a year in fact.  It is the Minisforum HM90, powered by a somewhat dated but still powerful Ryzen R9 4900H mobile APU.  Like most mini PC’s, this means you cannot upgrade the CPU, but you can upgrade the RAM, SSD, and WiFi card.  PC’s like the HM90 are quite a bit smaller than even the smallest ITX builds, and could easily be mistaken for something like a Thunderbolt dock.  While the HM90 …
News

ASRock Industrial Launches 4X4 BOX 7000/D5 Series with AMD Ryzen 7000U-Series APUs

ASRock Industrial announces the 4X4 BOX 7000/D5 Series Mini PCs powered by AMD Ryzen 7000U-Series APUs up to 8 Zen 3+ cores. Featuring maximum dual DDR5 4800 MHz memory up to 64 GB, the 4X4 BOX 7000/D5 Series bring about performance enhancement through unleashing higher standards of power, speed, and energy efficiency. Now poised with enriched IOs and expansions, the Series also provide quad-display outputs of up to 8K outstanding graphics with one HDMI 2.1, three DisplayPort 1.4a, and five USB ports, including two USB4 for versatile connectivity. Moreover, dual storages with one SATA 3.0, one M.2 Key M, plus …
Other

Apple Introduces New Mac mini with M2 Processors

Press Release: When an article is marked as such, it is posted verbatim from a Manufacturer’s text, and does not reflect the views or opinions of SFF.Network.  Apple today unveiled the new Mac mini, supercharged by M2 and the all-new M2 Pro. With the M2 chip, Mac mini is even more powerful, capable, and affordable with a new starting price of just $599. The new M2 Pro chip delivers pro-level performance to Mac mini for the first time, enabling users to run high-performance workflows that were previously unimaginable in such a compact design. Mac mini with M2 and M2 Pro …
News

MINISFORUM HX99G 6900HX + RX 6600M Mini PC Launched

Press Release: When an article is marked as such, it is posted verbatim from a Manufacturer’s text, and does not reflect the views or opinions of SFF.Network.  Minisforum introduced a new variant called HX99G in its Neptune portfolio today. It is an upgraded version of the first member, the HX90G (5900HX processor + RX6600M GPU), which was announced in May 2022 before going up for sale in September 2022. The Neptune HX99G looks practically identical to the HX90G. Measuring 205 x 203 x 69 mm (8.1″ x 8″ x 2.7″), both models feature 45 watts, 8-cores/16-threads graphics and the same …