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The MINISFORUM MS-A1 is a compact desktop computer that measures 189.5 x 186 x 48mm (7.46″ x 7.32″ x 1.89″), features a robust set of ports that includes USB4, OCuLink, and dual 2.5 Gb Ethernet connectors.
Unlike most smaller mini PCs, the MS-A1 also has an AMD A5 socket that allows you to bring your own processor or upgrade to a more powerful CPU in the future. But if that feels like too much trouble, you can also buy a system that comes with a CPU pre-installed. When the MS-A1 first launched earlier this year it was available either as a barebones computer or with an AMD Ryzen 7 8700G chip. Now the company is selling a version with a higher-performance Ryzen 9 9950X processor.
Both chips are desktop processors that are compatible with motherboards that support AMD’s AM5 chipset. But the Ryzen 7 8700G is a lower-power processor with decent integrated graphics, while the Ryzen 9 9950HX is a higher-performance chip with far more processing power, but less impressive graphics since it’s often paired with a discrete GPU.
| Ryzen 7 8700G | Ryzen 9 9950HX | |
| CPU | 8-cores / 16 threads Zen 4 4.2 GHz base / 5.1 GHz max freq 24MB total cache 65W TDP (default) |
16-cores / 32-threads Zen 5 4.3 GHz base / 5.7 GHz max freq 81MB total cache 170W TDP (default) 100W TDP (as configured in MS-A1) |
| GPU | AMD Radeon 780M 12 x RDNA 3 cores Up to 2.9 GHz |
AMD Radeon Graphics 2 RDNA 2 cores 2.2 GHz |
The MS-A1 is available as a barebones computer (without any memory, storage, or processor) for $259, or you can pay $919 or more for a model with a Ryzen 9 9950X processor. Theoretically it might be cheaper to purchase a barebones model and then buy that processor separately – it currently sells for around $599 or less. But there’s something to be said for the convenience of not having to install the processor yourself.
As for graphics, the integrated GPU is good enough to handle video playback and some hardware-accelerated graphics for web browsing and other apps. But if you want to do any gaming or graphics work, you’ll probably want a discrete GPU.
hile there’s no room inside the MS-A1 chassis for a discrete GPU, you can connect an external graphics dock thanks to the computer’s 64 Gbps OcuLink connector. Theoretically you could also use the USB4 port… but not with an AMD Ryzen 7000 or Ryzen 9000 series processor.
That’s because while this port functions as a 40 Gbps USB4 port when used with a Ryzen 8000 series processor, it tops out at USB 3.0 speeds when the system is configured with Ryzen 7000 or Ryzen 9000 series processors. The USB Type-C port does support DisplayPort Alt Mode no matter what processor you’re using though, so it can always be used as a video output.
Inside the computer there are four M.2 slots with support for PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs and two SODIMM slots for up to 96GB of total DDR5-5200 memory.
Ports include:
- x OCuLink (64 Gbps)
- 1 x DisplayPort 2.0
- 1 x HDMI 2.1
- 1 x USB4 Type-C (40 Gbps w/DisplayPort Alt Mode, 10 Gbps with Ryzen 7000/9000)
- 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A (10 Gbps)
- 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A (5 Gbps)
- 2 x USB 2.0 Type-A (480 Mbps)
- 1 x 3.5mm audio
- 2 x 2.5 GbE Ethernet(RTL8125BG)
- 1 x DC power input (19V/12.63A 240W)
via VideoCardz