Minisforum MS-S1 Max Mini PC Packs A Ryzen AI Max+ 395 And Built-In PSU
Minisforum S1 Max Specifications
- CPU: Ryzen AI Max+ 395, with 16 Zen 5 cores and 32 threads, rated for 3.0~5.1 GHz.
- GPU: Radeon 8060S Graphics, with 40 RDNA 3.5 Compute Units rated at up to 2.9 GHz.
- RAM: Up to 128GB LPDDR5X RAM at 8000 MT/s.
- Storage: Dual M.2 slots; one offers PCIe 4.0 x4, and the other only offers a single lane, capping performance to 2GB/second.
- Front I/O: USB-A 10Gbps, 2× USB4 (40Gbps) ports, 3.5mm audio jack, dual built-in directional microphones.
- Rear I/O: HDMI 2.1 FRL port, 2× USB 2.0 ports, 2× USB4 V2 (80Gbps) ports, USB-A 20Gbps port, 10 Gigabit LAN port.
Of the listed specifications, the obvious highlight is the Ryzen AI Max+ 395, which boasts a fully-outfitted Zen 5 CPU and a shockingly beefy iGPU. For reference, the market-leading Radeon 780M iGPU used in devices like the ROG Ally X or the Lenovo Legion Go S only has 12 RDNA 3.5 Compute Units (CUs). Our benchmarks put the Radeon 8060S's 40 RDNA 3.5 CUs in the same punching class as the mobile GeForce RTX 4070. That should make this mini PC perfectly adequate for playing modern games at 1440p, especially with the use of upscaling or intelligent graphics settings adjustments. The raw power of the CPU also means that, should you choose to utilize an external GPU dock alongside this PC, you're unlikely to encounter severe bottlenecks—though you will still need another power supply, at which point the practicality of the Mini-PC setup becomes a little questionable.
Overall, the Minisforum S1 Max looks to be another respectable showing from Minisforum, making the best of AMD's latest APUs. The focus on cooling performance and the addition of features like a "built-in AI noise-cancelling mic" are also nice to have, though benchmarking is needed to verify claims of a "top-tier thermal solution". Sadly, pricing and release date details are not yet available, but the full product page does offer a future $200 launch day discount to customers who sign up for email updates. Knowing how high these are usually priced—the Framework Desktop with similar specifications starts at $2,000—you'll probably need that discount.
Image Credit: Minisforum
Overall, the Minisforum S1 Max looks to be another respectable showing from Minisforum, making the best of AMD's latest APUs. The focus on cooling performance and the addition of features like a "built-in AI noise-cancelling mic" are also nice to have, though benchmarking is needed to verify claims of a "top-tier thermal solution". Sadly, pricing and release date details are not yet available, but the full product page does offer a future $200 launch day discount to customers who sign up for email updates. Knowing how high these are usually priced—the Framework Desktop with similar specifications starts at $2,000—you'll probably need that discount.
