MINISFORUM MS-A1 is the latest Mini-PC announced by the Chinese specialist. Small and solvent, its hardware base is responsible for a AMD AM5 socket with the possibility of using multiple Ryzen processors, while the port excels in connectivity OCuLink use external graphics cards.

A few months ago, the manufacturer opened the MS line with the compact A1, which used Intel processors and was promoted to the “Mini WorkStation” class. Slightly larger than usual for mini-PCs, the brand has taken advantage of the extra space in connectivity and expansion options. The MINISFORUM MS-01 is announced in the same line, but its approach is different thanks to the OCuLink port and to our taste with more potential.

While the MS-01 uses a notebook-grade Intel Core H-series processor that is soldered to the motherboard, the MS-A1 has AMD AM5 socket which supports AMD processors like Ryzen 5 7600, Ryzen 5 8600G, Ryzen 7 8700G up to 65 watts TDP. Depending on the architecture of the selected processor (“Raphael”, “Phoenix”, “Phoenix 2”…), this will be the general capacity of the device.

All versions can equip up to 96 GB of RAM in two DDR5 SODIMM slots and enormous storage capacity thanks four M.2 2280 connectors for PCIe SSD connection. It has two 2.5 GbE Ethernet LANs and supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 wireless standards.

Very complete in connectivity, as you will see in the following list, starting with the OCuLink port, a standard that is gaining popularity in the gaming community because allows connection of external graphics intended for computers such as notebooks or these Mini-PCs.

• 1x OCuLink (63Gbps)
• 1 x USB Type C (40Gbps full function)
• 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A (10 Gb/s)
• 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type A (5 Gbps)
• 1 x USB 2.0 type A (480 Mbps)
• 1x HDMI 2.1
• 1x DisplayPort 2.0
• 1 x 3.5mm audio
• 2 x 2.5 GbE Ethernet

The MINISFORUM MS-A1 supports Windows 11 and Linux operating systems and will be sold in pre-configured versions as well as a cheaper barebone format where the user provides memory or storage. No price provided but must be less than 399 dollars which costs the basic MS-01 (version with Intel).