At the recent “Japan IT Spring Week,” Minisforum took the stage to unveil its upcoming line of products powered by AMD’s latest Ryzen CPUs. Among the showcased innovations are the MoTD (Mobile on Desktop) motherboards, compact Mini PCs, and advanced NAS systems, each designed to meet a variety of computing needs.
Let’s start with the Minisforum “F1FGM,” a stellar addition to their MoTD series. Sporting a sleek mATX design, this motherboard is engineered for desktop enthusiasts ready to embrace the newest Ryzen 9 9955HX “Fire Range” CPUs. It’s packed with cutting-edge features, including expansive heatsinks covering the VRMs, M.2 slots, PCH, and even an IO cover, ensuring optimal performance. As the worthy successor to the BD770i and BD790i series, this board steps up with the new Fire Range series, which ushers in the potent Ryzen 9000HX processors.
Designed to thrill, the MoTD is configurable with the flagship Ryzen 9 9955HX CPU. Picture this: 16 cores, 32 threads, and running on the Zen 5 core architecture. It can crank up to 5.4 GHz and comes equipped with a hefty 64 MB L3 cache. While its default 55W TDP is already impressive, the platform allows you to push it to a whopping 160W, delivering a premium desktop experience.
Intriguingly, Minisforum has accounted for various CPU options, including an “X3D” variant. Given the mobile nature of these CPUs, cooling is paramount, and this setup effectively mounts a cooler onto a vapor chamber baseplate for peak thermal management. Its power foundation is a robust 13-phase Duet rail structure with 60A SPS power stages.
Not to be overshadowed, the motherboard posts vibrant specifications, boasting four DDR5 DIMM slots in standard UDIMM design, supporting a giddy 256 GB and impressive speeds reaching 8000. The chipset employed, the X870M, is a mobile-grade component but rivals those of the B850 series. Expandability is unhindered with two PCIe slots — one 5.0 x16 and one 4.0 x16 — alongside three M.2 slots, including a lightning-fast Gen5x4. The connectivity suite includes USB4, dual 5GbE LAN, WIFI7, and BIOS DEBUG LEDs.
In the realm of compact powerhouses, the MS-A2 Mini PC builds on the MS-A1 legacy but with fire-breathing Ryzen 9000HX “Fire Range” CPUs. It offers robust IO choices, finely balancing performance in a smaller form factor. Users will enjoy three M.2 slots, one serving a versatile U.2 function, 10 GbE LAN via an SFP+ port, and a PCIe 4.0 x8 slot for low-profile expansions.
Different from its MoTD cousin, this Mini PC embraces two SO-DIMM slots, accommodating up to 96 GB of memory with speeds hitting 5200 MT/s. Its connectivity spans 2 USB 3.2 Gen Type-C, 2 USB 3.2 Gen 2, alongside HDMI and DP outputs, heightened by modern offerings like dual 10 GbE LAN ports, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.0.
Meanwhile, the adventure into NAS solutions brings us the N5 PRO, powered by the Strix-enhanced Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 CPU. With 12 cores and 24 threads, it integrates a robust Radeon 890M iGPU. Storage is handled with finesse, providing five 3.5-inch drive bays for abundant, easily manageable RAID configurations. Users can kit it out with up to 48 GB DDR5 SO-DIMMs and a PCIe 4.0 x4 slot for augmented video solutions.
Each drive bay accommodates up to 22 TB, courtesy of three PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots with varying Gen4 speeds. It’s arm-in-arm with 10 GbE and 5 GbE Ethernet ports, ensuring rapid data transfer, while three USB 3.2 Gen1 ports round out its connectivity prowess.
Stay tuned, as Minisforum is gearing up to release these pioneering solutions in the months ahead. Keep your eyes peeled for more updates and get ready to elevate your computing experience with Minisforum’s cutting-edge technology!
Sources: PCWatch #1, #2, #3
