- This is more of a mini SFF Workstation than a common Mini PC design in the 1st place, something like a Lenovo P3 Ultra
- This is the 1st Device in the market by any Vendor, to have USB 4.0 V2 80 Gbps.
- This machine supports Rack deployment like a Server where multiple PCs can be clustered together. It even supports Dual Cluster, capable of processing a 235 Billion Q4 Large Model, outputting 10.97 token/sec
- This even implements a reserved cascade power-on header, which can be used to turn on/off multiple units in a Cluster.
- Cooling is implemented using a Copper Base with 6 Heat pipes, dual fans and Phase-change materials
forum threadSuryasis posted Sep 26, 2025 12:50 PM
Item 1 of 5
Item 1 of 5
forum threadSuryasis posted Sep 26, 2025 12:50 PM
Minisforum MS-S1 MAX Workstation Pre Order: Ryzen AI 9 MAX 395, Radeon 8060s, 128GB LPDDR5X, 2TB Gen4 SSD, PCIe x16, 2x10Gbps Lan, USB4 V2 80Gbps, Win11P @ $2099
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Might be worth it for somebody?
Might be worth it for somebody?
Might be worth it for somebody?
Doesn't look like the Minisforum comes with an OS, so again similar to the Framework.
Not a terrible price, but no real reason to jump on this now unless you're really after this particular form factor, which is slightly smaller than the Framework.
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Or would no low-profile GPU really be worth it, and instead it would be better to get one of the many Thunderbolt 5 eGPU enclosures available now / coming soon to use with one of this system's USB4v2 ports?
To clarify, my thinking is that this system's APU will be great for a lot of gaming needs out of 1080p gaming out of the box, especially low-latency gaming like shooters, fighting games, and emulation, but that a beefier GPU down the line could help with more resource-intensive 1440p + 4K AAA titles (e.g. GTA VI eventually, VR games, etc.).
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Or would no low-profile GPU really be worth it, and instead it would be better to get one of the many Thunderbolt 5 eGPU enclosures available now / coming soon to use with one of this system's USB4v2 ports?
To clarify, my thinking is that this system's APU will be great for a lot of gaming needs out of 1080p gaming out of the box, especially low-latency gaming like shooters, fighting games, and emulation, but that a beefier GPU down the line could help with more resource-intensive 1440p + 4K AAA titles (e.g. GTA VI eventually, VR games, etc.).
Doesn't look like the Minisforum comes with an OS, so again similar to the Framework.
Not a terrible price, but no real reason to jump on this now unless you're really after this particular form factor, which is slightly smaller than the Framework.
It also has a PCIe x16 Slot (running at Gen 4x4 Speed) which you can use to expand its capabilities by adding additional storage using x16 to M.2 Cards.
And don't forget the Dual 10 Gbps Lan Ports.
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For gaming, what would be the best GPU to connect to the PCle x16 slot (@ 4x4 speed)?
Or would no low-profile GPU really be worth it, and instead it would be better to get one of the many Thunderbolt 5 eGPU enclosures available now / coming soon to use with one of this system's USB4v2 ports?
To clarify, my thinking is that this system's APU will be great for a lot of gaming needs out of 1080p gaming out of the box, especially low-latency gaming like shooters, fighting games, and emulation, but that a beefier GPU down the line could help with more resource-intensive 1440p + 4K AAA titles (e.g. GTA VI eventually, VR games, etc.).
There is a framework Ryzen AI 395+ MAX 128GB motherboard for $1699 but it looks like it is a 4x slot as well.. This Minisforum wont fit much of a GPU and plus it has 320W power supply - those are two limitting factors. The ryzen AI 395+ pulls 140W max it looks like - so youd have 180W. Looks like with that left over the best you could do is a 3060. I would think this stuff will get cheaper and cheaper soon.
Other use case is of adding more M.2 Storage to it using a PCIe X16 to Dual M.2 Adapter.
Or would no low-profile GPU really be worth it, and instead it would be better to get one of the many Thunderbolt 5 eGPU enclosures available now / coming soon to use with one of this system's USB4v2 ports?
To clarify, my thinking is that this system's APU will be great for a lot of gaming needs out of 1080p gaming out of the box, especially low-latency gaming like shooters, fighting games, and emulation, but that a beefier GPU down the line could help with more resource-intensive 1440p + 4K AAA titles (e.g. GTA VI eventually, VR games, etc.).
If gaming is the priority then you can do much better than this for less. The whole appeal is the large amount of super fast ram that can be assigned to the GPU for LLM. If you just want to game you can get a 5080 set up with 2k that blows this out of the water.
For gaming, what would be the best GPU to connect to the PCle x16 slot (@ 4x4 speed)?
Or would no low-profile GPU really be worth it, and instead it would be better to get one of the many Thunderbolt 5 eGPU enclosures available now / coming soon to use with one of this system's USB4v2 ports?
To clarify, my thinking is that this system's APU will be great for a lot of gaming needs out of 1080p gaming out of the box, especially low-latency gaming like shooters, fighting games, and emulation, but that a beefier GPU down the line could help with more resource-intensive 1440p + 4K AAA titles (e.g. GTA VI eventually, VR games, etc.).
If gaming is the priority then you can do much better than this for less. The whole appeal is the large amount of super fast ram that can be assigned to the GPU for LLM. If you just want to game you can get a 5080 set up with 2k that blows this out of the water.
The whole point of this system is AI/ML workloads, which not only limited to large parameter LLM models but also training them for your custom implementations. I have seen only a few YouTubers have shown those potentials.
What distinguish this model compared to other Mini/SFF PCs like Framework Desktop, Beelink GTR9 Pro or GMKTEC EVO X2 is the fact that Minisforum has built this machine as a mini AI/ML workstation in mind with enough high end ports to extend its performance.
Dual 10G Ethernet, USB4 V2 80 Gbps port, internal X16 Slot, capability of running it in a Rack as Server, connecting multiple of these machines etc. are some of those features.
Closest competitor is a Framework desktop. A Max+ 128GB configured Framework is $1999. Now this Minisforum also has a 2TB SSD (approx $100 value).
Doesn't look like the Minisforum comes with an OS, so again similar to the Framework.
Not a terrible price, but no real reason to jump on this now unless you're really after this particular form factor, which is slightly smaller than the Framework.
It has way better specification and thermal performance than Framework Desktop. And it comes with Windows 11 Pro by the way. This is literally the 1st desktop to come with a USB4 V2 80 Gbps port which is equivalent to a Thunderbolt 5 port and you can use a TB5 dock or ghub with it, enabling to extend it by adding external GPU or other faster accessories without bottlenecking it.
It also has a PCIe x16 Slot (running at Gen 4x4 Speed) which you can use to expand its capabilities by adding additional storage using x16 to M.2 Cards.
And don't forget the Dual 10 Gbps Lan Ports.
Not doubting there are some advantages over the Framework, but depending on your use case the expansion port situation of the Framework could prove more valuable than the PCIe x16 slot, etc.
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Regarding the advantages over Framework Desktop, I have already mentioned those, like USB V2, 10 Gbps Lan, internal X16 Slot, capability of Rack mount, controlling multiple of these devices with a single Switch (Check the Wiki section) and those can be extremely useful if you actually use this for what AMD intended it to be, a Mini Server AI/ML workstation.
An d Framework Desktop's Interchangeable ports may be a cool idea for a Thin & Light laptop with limited port selection, but meaningless to a desktop which already offers pathora of ports. You tell me what would be use cases for those in a Desktop which will serve any meaningful purpose for the intended use cases. This already have pathora and versatile and far more advanced ports than Framework Desktop, including all their interchangeable modules.
Remember one thing, nobody is buying these Strix HALO based PCs for just normal desktop use or playing games as for that there are far cheaper and superior options available at that price range. It targets a specific audience and for them, those ports are extremely useful.
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