Minisforum recently unveiled its upcoming line of products, showcasing the power of AMD’s next-generation Ryzen processors, including a highly anticipated new MoTD (Mobile on Desktop) and Mini PC, both powered by the impressive Ryzen 9 9955HX "Fire Range" CPU.
At the recent Japan IT Spring Week event, we got a firsthand look at Minisforum’s newest offerings incorporating AMD Ryzen technology. The spotlight was on their MoTD motherboards, sleek Mini PCs, and advanced NAS systems, all designed to push performance boundaries.
Let’s dive into the details of the Minisforum F1FGM MoTD motherboard. It’s the latest entry in their MoTD series, decked out with the cutting-edge Ryzen 9 9955HX processor. With its mATX design, the board is equipped with efficient heatsinks on the VRMs, M.2 slots, PCH, and features a stylish IO cover. As the successor to the BD770i and BD790i boards, which were built around Dragon Range "Ryzen 7000HX" processors, this new model elevates power with the Fire Range "Ryzen 9000HX" series.
So what can you expect from the AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX CPU? A beastly 16 cores and 32 threads powered by the Zen 5 architecture. It clocks up to 5.4 GHz and boasts a hefty 64 MB L3 cache. While it has a default power rating of 55W, this versatile "mobile" chip can crank up to 160W on this motherboard, delivering a robust desktop-like performance.
Customization is key with Minisforum, allowing for different CPU configurations, including an "X3D" option. A cooler is expertly mounted onto a vapor chamber baseplate to accommodate these mobile chips. Supporting it all is a 13-Phase powerful VRM, utilizing 60A SPS power stages.
In terms of memory, this motherboard caters to those needing substantial RAM, featuring four DDR5 DIMM slots in UDIMM style. You can load it up to 256 GB, enjoying top speeds soaring to 8000 MT/s. Its X870M chipset, despite being mobile grade, rivals the B850 series and offers an array of expansion options with two PCIe slots (5.0 x16 & 4.0 x16) and a trio of M.2 slots, one with Gen5x4 speed. This setup is complemented by two SATA III ports and cutting-edge connectivity options like USB4, high-speed 5GbE LAN, and Wi-Fi 7, complete with dual BIOS DEBUG LEDs.
On the Mini PC front, look forward to the Minisforum MS-A2, a compact powerhouse featuring the same Ryzen 9000HX "Fire Range" processors. It’s an evolution from the previous MS-A1 series, which sported Ryzen 8000G processors. These mini PCs don’t skimp on features, offering three M.2 slots (one configurable to U.2), a robust 10 GbE LAN through an SFP+ port, and a PCIe 4.0 x8 slot suitable for a low-profile card.
The MS-A2 Mini PC boasts an atypical motherboard, diverging from the MoTD’s design. It includes two SO-DIMM slots that handle up to 96 GB of RAM, clocking speeds of 5200 MT/s. Connectivity is generous, with ports like 2 USB 3.2 Gen Type-C, 2 USB 3.2 Gen 2, a USB 2.0, dual 10 GbE LAN, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.0, along with DisplayPort and HDMI outputs.
Rounding off the lineup is the Minisforum N5 PRO, a NAS system empowered by the Strix platform and packing an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 CPU. This variant features 12 cores, 24 threads, and leverages a Radeon 890M for its integrated GPU prowess. The unit accommodates up to five 3.5-inch bays, allowing for RAID configurations in a toolless setup, simplifying drive management.
Each drive bay supports up to a hefty 22 TB, alongside three PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots for expansive storage solutions and interfaces that include both 10 GbE and 5 GbE Ethernet ports. The system’s IO is rounded out with three USB 3.2 Gen1 ports, making it a versatile storage hub.
Minisforum has slated these innovative products for release in the coming months, so keep an eye out for more updates as they become available.
Information sourced from PCWatch #1, #2, #3.
