Minisforum AI X1 Pro Mini PC Packs Ryzen 9 AI HX 370 And Up To 96GB Of RAM
Minisforum is making quite the name for itself in the compact PC space, served primarily by an extensive (and ever-growing) range of mini PCs, but also tiny motherboards like its BD795i SE we wrote about earlier this week. Keeping the compact party going, Minisforum has released the AI X1 Pro, yet another promising mini PC that it showed off at the Consumer Electronics Show a couple of months ago.
The company pitches the AI X1 Pro as the "world's first Copilot-empowered AI mini PC," though it also has among its stable of NUC-sized systems a similarly configured Elitemini AI370 (on sale at Amazon for $925.90 when checking the $234 off coupon box), which is also billed as a Copilot PC.
Copilot angle aside, the A1 X1 Pro looks promising on paper. It packs an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 "Strix Point" processor (12C/24T, up to 5.1GHz, 24MB of L3 cache) that combines four Zen 5 cores with eight Zen 5c cores, as well as Radeon 890M graphics (16 cores, up to 2.9GHz). The chip also boasts an onboard NPU providing up to 50 TOPS for AI workloads, and up to 80 TOPS for the chip as a whole.
The baseline configuration pairs 32GB of RAM with 1TB of SSD storage, though buyers can also opt for 64GB of RAM with the same 1TB of SSD storage, or go hog wild with 96GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD. Pricing looks pretty decent too—Minisforum is offering some early bird discounts, with the 32GB/1TB config listed at $899 (down from $1,129), the 64TB/1TB for $979 (down from $1,229), and the 96GB/2TB for $1,089 (down from $1,369).
While the specs are similar to the Elitemini AI370, there are two notable differences that we can discern. One is that the A1 X1 Pro features an OCuLink port to connect an external graphics card. OCuLink, or optical-copper link, essentially extends a small form factor PC's PCI Express slot for a high-bandwidth, low-latency connection. There's still a performance hit compared to a card that slots directly into a PCIe slot, but it's a serviceable option to add considerable more graphics grunt if integrated graphics doesn't do it for you.
The second difference is the svelte design. It's actually bigger, measuring 195mm x 195mm x 47.mm (LxWxH) and weighing 1.5kg, but looks sleeker to our eyeballs.
Looking at the other I/O options, the front of the AI X1 Pro features a power button, two USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A ports, a USB4 port (Alt PD output 15W), a 3.5mm combo jack, a dedicated Copilot button, and two DMIC. Around back, users will find a clear CMOS button, a Kensington Lock, USB 2.0 Type-A and USB4 connectivity (one each), DisplayPort 2.0, HDMI 2.1, dual 2.5Gbps LAN ports, and a power supply port. There's also an SD card slot on the side and a fingerprint verification button on the top.
Those interesting can preorder the Minisforum AI X1 Pro direct from Minisforum now, with shipments expected by the end of the month.
