- Minisforum still has no release date for its long-promised M2 Pro mini PC
- Cheaper M2 mini PC sacrifices flagship graphics power for a lower entry price
- A small, 520-gram desktop computer now runs local AI models without relying entirely on cloud processing.
At CES 2026, Minisforum unveiled the M2 Pro mini PC, a device that promises to be a flagship device for high-end users, powered by an Intel Core Ultra X9 388H processor coupled with a discrete-class Intel Arc B390 integrated graphics card.
However, five months after launch, the promised M2 Pro has yet to ship, much to the disappointment of potential buyers.
Instead, Minisforum has now released a standard M2 version for budget-conscious buyers.
Minisforum released an entry-level M2 mini PC
This mini PC packs an Intel Core Ultra 7 356H Panther Lake chip, a 16-thread processor running at 45 watts, which doesn’t have the raw power of the M2 Pro’s Ultra X9 388H, but it’s still a competent processor that costs a lot less.
The Minisforum M2 measures 130 x 127 x 50mm, meaning it can fit in your palm, and includes a 120W power adapter.
It weighs just 520 grams and supports a VESA mount, which means it can be attached to the back of a monitor.
Under the hood, it comes with two SODIMM slots supporting up to 128 GB of DDR5-5600 RAM modules, and also hosts two M.2 2280 slots, supports PCIe 4.0 x4 storage for fast data access, and can hold up to 8 TB of NVMe storage.
There is also an additional M.2 2230 slot that houses an Intel BE200 wireless card with Wi-Fi 7. This card offers Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity for wireless peripherals and headphones.
For physical connectivity, this device uses a USB4 Type-C port running at 40Gbps for fast data transfers.
It supports three USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports that each provide 10 Gbps for connecting external devices.
A single USB 2.0 Type-A port provides 480 Mbps for existing accessories such as keyboards or mice.
Video output options include an HDMI 2.1 port and a DisplayPort 1.4 port. Two 2.5 GbE Ethernet ports use the RTL8125D controller for wired network reliability.
There is a 3.5mm audio jack, which rounds out the connectivity suite for headphone or speaker use.
To combat heating, which is a common problem for smaller devices, the M2 comes with two heat pipes and a single cooling fan.
Minisforum claims that with this configuration, at full load, the processor reaches 78 degrees Celsius with only 42.5 dB of noise.
Built for AI
Minisforum markets the M2 for AI tasks using its 90 TOPS of combined processing power (50 from the NPU and 40 from the GPU),
This allows users to run open source models such as GPT-OSS 20B and Gemma-4-26B-A4B locally, a useful feature for testing AI tools without relying on cloud services.
The Minisforum M2 starts at $575 for a barebones model with no memory or storage.
However, a preconfigured version with 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD costs $1,039.
A budget-conscious user might reasonably question whether a system that more than doubles in price after a basic configuration really meets their needs.
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