- Minisforum MS-A2 integrates into your hand but flexes stronger than most full-size office computers
- Double ports 10gbe and 16 cores – This box is designed for serious work, not games
- The united processor prevents upgrading, but it is not a concern in this case
Compact systems has long been considered undernourished, but the MS series of Minisforum fligs this notion.
The latest flagship product of the company, the MS-A2 Mini PC, uses the Ryzen chips 9 9955HX of AMD or 7945HX, both from movable processors to 16 cores which increase up to 5.4 GHz and hold up to 100W, by explaining an office territory while retaining thermal efficiency.
With a chassis measuring only 196 x 189 x 48 mm, this mini PC comes with welded processors, which prevents future upgrades, but it incorporates integrated cooling to maintain performance at high power levels.
A net of networking
Network, often a reflection afterwards in compact PCs, is a remarkable functionality in the MS-A2. Designed with advanced use cases such as Home Labs, multimedia servers and AI Edge deployments, this device supports Dual 10GBe via SFP + and Dual 2.5gbe LAN.
The MS-A2 ministerum has three compatible NVME locations, including two locations M.2 2280 and a U.2 compatible bay. Despite the loss of a M.2 location compared to the previous MS-A1, the device still offers up to 15 TB of fast storage via U.2 and NVME locations, as well as a raid support.
Support for discreet GPUs – although limited to low profile models via a PCIe 4.0 x8 location – adds credibility to its workstation allegations.
The system design includes bifurcation management, allowing advanced users to run calculation cards or support accelerators for tasks such as plex transcoding or IA inference. Associated with up to 96 GB of RAM DDR5, this configuration puts the MS-A2 in serious affirmation as the best workstation in its size category.
The MS-A2 Barebone version costs $ 839, while the version with 64 GB of RAM and an SSD of 1 TB is at a price of $ 1,103 for American customers.
Minisforum has a story to push the limits, with models such as MS-01, taking charge of high-end Intel mobile processors such as the Core i9-13900h, and offering features such as three M.2 locations, a SATA bay and 10GBe networking.
The MS -02 continued this trend with a range of confusing options, including four Ethernet ports – two of which are 10 GBE – and the care of up to four SSDs.
Via video
