Fabric or Wood-Grain Finishes Define the 2026 Asus V500 Mini Tower
Asus is giving its V500 Mini Tower a comprehensive overhaul for 2026, moving away from last year’s boldly styled Intel-based design. The new iteration introduces a choice of two front-panel aesthetics: a light gray fabric finish or a wood-grain effect panel, although authentic wood is not used in the construction.
A Shift to AMD Zen 4 Inside
Under the hood, the system now draws its power from AMD’s mobile processor lineup. Configuration options include the AMD Ryzen 5 220 and the more potent AMD Ryzen 7 260. Selecting the top-tier processor provides eight Zen 4 cores capable of boosting up to 5.1 GHz, paired with an integrated AMD Radeon 780M graphics solution. While this fast integrated GPU capably handles older and less demanding titles, the V500 remains a far cry from a dedicated gaming desktop. The motherboard does offer a PCIe 4.0 x16 slot, meaning a discrete graphics card could technically be installed, though such an upgrade would also necessitate replacing the stock 180-watt power supply.
Compact, Quiet Operation and Connectivity
Because Asus employs a laptop-class processor with a 45-watt thermal design power, the mini tower is engineered for notably silent operation. The mobile DNA extends to the memory configuration: the system houses two DDR5 SO-DIMM slots, meaning it uses laptop-style RAM rather than conventional desktop DIMMs. For front-panel connectivity, Asus has fitted two USB-A ports, one USB-C port, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. Around the back, users will find three additional USB-A ports, HDMI 2.1b, DisplayPort 1.4, and a Gigabit Ethernet jack. Storage expansion is possible post-purchase thanks to a secondary M.2 slot.
The Asus V500 Mini Tower (VM501MH) is expected to launch soon in two main configurations. A model with the Ryzen 5 220, 16 GB of RAM, and a 512 GB SSD will be priced at €599 (roughly $680), while stepping up to the Ryzen 7 260 with the same memory and storage brings the cost to €649 (approximately $740). Official US pricing has not yet been confirmed by the company.
Sources: www.asus.com, www.asus.com