Minisforum Flexes World's Smallest And Expandable AM5 Mini PC With Zen 4 Firepower
Minisforum has become something of a master of the mini PC segment, among other product categories (see our Minisofurm V3 3-in-1 tablet review). It's latest mini PC model, the MS-A1 that broke cover about a month ago, has now been properly launched with some interesting claims—namely, that it's the world's smallest and most expandable AM5 platform mini PC—and an introductory discount.
If you're familiar with Minisforum and its product line, then you've likely see the Intel version of this mini PC, the MS-01, which features mobile Core processors up to a Core i9-13900H. The MS-A1 is a different animal, though, and not just because it's based on AMD hardware. A key differentiating factor is the deployment of socketed AMD chips.
This paves the way for user upgrades down the line. The MS-A1 comes standard with a Zen 4-based Ryzen 7 8700G, a desktop APU with an 8-core/16-thread configuration clocked at 4.2GHz (base) to 5.1GHz (max boost), 8MB of L2 cache, 16MB of L3 cache, and a configurable 45-65W TDP.
For graphics, it rocks a relatively potent Radeon 780M GPU with a dozen cores clocked at up to 2.9GHz. There's also a dedicated NPU with up to 16 TOPS of processing power, making this a solid little system for a variety of tasks, including lightweight AI work and some gaming.
The implication of the socketed AM5 design, however, is that there's an upgrade path to Zen 5 (Minisforum states it supports the Ryzen 9000 series with a BIOS update). Not without caveats, the lack of discrete graphics will limit the upgrade options (though there's an OCulink port for external graphics), as does the compact design with whatever cooling restraints exists. Still. it's an intriguing mini PC.
Outside of the socketed AM5 design, the MS-A1 comes with 32GB of DDR5 RAM (expandable to 96GB) and a 1TB solid state drive (SSD). There are four M.2 slots in all. Connectivity on the front I/O consists of two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, a USB 2.0 port, and a 3.5mm combo back. Around back, users will find HDMI (4K at 120Hz) and DisplayPort (4K at 144Hz) outputs, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, a USB Type-C port (data and DisplayPort), a USB 2.0 port, and two 2.5Gbps LAN ports.
Minisforum is selling the MS-A1 as configured for $729, which is marked down from its $909 MSRP. It's also selling a barebones setup without a CPU, RAM, storage, or OS license for $259 (down from $309 MSRP).
