Minisforum, a maker of mini PCs, has begun accepting preorders for its EliteMini HX90, a tiny system constructed round one in every of AMD’s present technology Zen 3 processors. It is not going to problem the newest Beast Canyon NUC from Intel, a much bigger and modular PC that may match a full-length discrete graphics card, however it’s an attention-grabbing merchandise nonetheless.
A part of the attraction is that mini PCs primarily based on AMD {hardware} are comparatively few and much between. I wrote about simply two of them final yr—ASRock’s 4X4 Box systems powered by AMD’s Ryzen 4000U sequence APUs, and an identical product line from Asus, the Mini PC PN50.
The EliteMini HX90 faucets AMD’s newest CPU structure within the type of the Ryzen 9 5900HX. That’s an overclockable 8-core/16-thread chip with a 3.3GHz base clock, 4.6GHz max enhance clock, and 16MB of L3 cache. This is among the quickest cellular APUs in AMD’s product catalog, the identical as discovered within the extremely praised Razer Blade 14, which Dave James known as “essentially the most fascinating gaming laptop computer” he is ever reviewed.
Because it applies particularly to gaming, the massive caveat with the EliteMini HX90 is that it leans solely on built-in graphics. The 5900HX wields onboard graphics primarily based on Vega with eight graphics cores clocked at 2.1GHz.
A discrete GPU would supply much more firepower for gaming and graphics. For much less demanding video games, although, it is actually serviceable. It is even in a position to hit the 60 frames per second mark in sure titles. In keeping with Minisforum’s personal benchmark knowledge, it averages 60 fps in Apex Legends, 77 fps in Counter-Strike: International Offensive, and 68 fps in Want For Velocity Scorching Pursuit, to throw out just a few examples.
Extra demanding video games will tax the built-in graphics, although. For instance, Far Cry 5 (which is free to play this weekend, by the way in which) is claimed to common 36 fps on the EliteMini HX90, whereas The Witcher 3 solely musters 30 fps. It is not talked about what graphics high quality settings Minisforum used, solely that these have been obtained at 1920×1080.
As an all-around workhorse, the EliteMini HX90 appears extra intriguing to me. It encompasses a pair of SO-DIMM slots supporting as much as 64GB of DDR4 reminiscence, a few 2.5-inch SATA 6Gbps ports, and an M.2 socket to put in a speedy SSD.
Wi-fi connectivity choices encompass Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1. On the wired aspect, it presents up a pair of HDMI outputs, two DisplayPort outputs, two line-out jacks, a 2.5Gbps LAN port, 5 USB 3.0 ports (Gen 1), and a USB-C port. There’s additionally a button to clear the CMOS.
That is all packed in and round a gorgeous (from the press images) carbon fiber chassis measuring 195 x 190 x 60 millimeters (7.68 x 7.48 x 2.36 inches) with a VESA mount to slap it on the again of your monitor or on the wall. Cooling chores are dealt with by a “premium liquid steel compound” on the CPU, with a single fan blowing air.
Early chicken pricing begins at $649 for a barebones config (add RAM, SSD, and an OS). The following step up is a $799 setup that comes with 16GB of RAM and a 256GB put in. An $829 config doubles the storage to 512GB, whereas the $909 possibility comes with 32GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. All of these costs replicate $100 reductions for preordering—Minisforum says all configs will ship in September.
