Minisforum has previously presented the MS-A1 with an AMD Ryzen 7 8700G APU only, or as a barebones unit lacking a CPU (currently priced at $255.99 on Amazon). To give some context, the Ryzen 7 8700G has eight Zen 4 cores that can achieve speeds of up to 5.1 GHz with a TDP of 65 W. Furthermore, this 16-thread APU also includes a Radeon 780M iGPU, which is the backbone for many well-liked modern gaming handheld devices.
New Upgrade with Ryzen 9
Even though Minisforum just launched the MS-A1 in July, they have already upgraded the device with the more powerful Ryzen 9 9950X. This means that the MS-A1 now features 16 Zen 5 cores that can boost up to 5.7 GHz. However, Minisforum has reduced the processor's TDP from 170 W to 100 W, likely to avoid thermal throttling issues.
Performance Insights
Despite this change, Minisforum claims that the Ryzen 9 9950X should provide nearly double the CPU performance compared to the Ryzen 7 8700G. On the flip side, the integrated Radeon 610M iGPU falls short when compared to the Radeon 780M found in the Ryzen 7 8700G. In summary, gaming on the latest MS-A1 will necessitate using its OCuLink port to connect to an external GPU.
Pricing and Configurations
At this time, Minisforum is selling the MS-A1 in two configurations, starting at $919 for a barebones model that does not include RAM, an SSD, or a Windows license. Alternatively, customers can purchase the mini-PC with 64 GB of RAM and a 2 TB SSD for $1,199, which does come with a Windows license. For further details, please visit Minisforum's official website.
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