Minisforum is expanding its Venus series micro PC lineup with two new AMD-powered models. They consist of the Ryzen 9 5900HX-powered EliteMini UM590 and the Ryzen 9 6900HX-powered EliteMini UM690, both of which include built-in Radeon graphics. The latter configuration is probably more fascinating, as only $50 separates the two configurations in barebones form.
Earlier this year, AMD introduced its Ryzen 6000 mobile CPUs at CES. These chips, often called Rembrandt, combine RDNA 2 graphics with Zen 3+ CPU cores. Until AMD brings Zen 4 to mobile, these are the fastest mobile CPUs available from the company.
The Ryzen 9 6900HX is an 8-core/16-thread CPU with a clock speed range of 3.3GHz (base) to 4.9GHz (max boost). It also has 16MB of L3 cache, 4MB of L2 cache, 512KB of L1 cache, and a default TDP of 45W.
In terms of graphics, the Ryzen 9 6900HX features an integrated Radeon 680M GPU with 12 graphics cores clocked at up to 2,400MHz. The Radeon 680M is powerful enough to reach 60 fps per second at 1080p in esports and less demanding titles. Still, in more graphically intensive games, you may need to reduce the quality of the displayed image to keep the framerate bearable (depending on the specific game and settings, of course).
You may choose between 16GB RAM + 512GB SSD, 32GB RAM + 512GB SSD, or 64GB RAM + 512GB SSD configurations when purchasing the UM590 or UM690 in barebones form. These small PCs have an M.2 connector (PCIe 3.0 for the UM590 and PCIe 4.0 for the UM690), a 2.5-inch SATA bay, and two SO-DIMM slots (DDR4 for the UM590 and DDR5 for the UM690).
Port availability varies somewhat but noticeably between the two variants. A 2.5Gbps LAN port, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, two USB 2.0 ports, a USB 3.2 Type-C port (which supports DisplayPort 1.4) in the rear and another in the front (for data only), two HDMI outputs, a clear CMOS button, one DMIC, and a 3.5mm combo jack are all included on the UM590.To increase the ante for the UM690, Minisforum adds a USB4 port, a 2.5Gbps LAN port, four USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port (data only), two HDMI outputs, a clear CMOS button, one DMIC, and a 3.5mm combo socket.
Pre-configured systems have a significantly higher price tag.. The price difference for the barebones versions is $50, while for the 16GB RAM configurations, it rises to $80, the 32GB RAM configurations to $110, and the 64GB configurations to $130.
This is not a joke on Minisforum’s side; rather, it illustrates how much more costly DDR5 memory is than DDR4. The good news is that things have been looking up recently. A $80 difference between the 16GB configurations sounds reasonable, especially since you’re also getting a better CPU, faster graphics, and a USB4 connection.
Also, keep in mind that these are pre-sale prices. If you’re interested, you can pre-order all eight combinations now, and they’ll arrive in mid-December.
Via Minisforum