Power Meets Portability: What Makes This Mini a Max
The MS-S1 Max is Minisforum’s most powerful small form factor machine yet—and it isn’t holding back.
- Equipped with AMD’s Ryzen AI Max+ 395 APU, codenamed Strix Halo
- Features 16 Zen 5 cores, SMT, and a 160W peak TDP, pushing way beyond AMD’s recommended 120W limit
- Packs a 40-core integrated Radeon 8060S GPU with discrete-class performance
- Built to support large AI models (up to 109B parameters)
“This chip was made for high-end AI work, and Minisforum is squeezing out every drop of performance.”
What truly stands out is its discrete-class performance in a compact chassis—this thing punches way above its weight.
Cooling, Power, and Performance? It’s All There
Handling that level of heat and horsepower in a tiny 3.2L chassis is no easy feat—but Minisforum delivered:
- A dual-fan cooling system with six heat pipes to banish thermal throttling
- A massive 320W built-in PSU—rare for mini PCs
- Optional 2U rack mounting, making it ideal for AI clusters or edge computing environments
All this ensures the MS-S1 Max can run flat out without breaking a sweat.
Expandability That Rivals Full-Size Rigs
Don’t let its size fool you—this isn’t just a sealed box.
- Tool-free, slide-out design for quick maintenance and upgrades
- Equipped with a PCIe x16 expansion slot—likely Gen 5—designed to support low-profile dedicated GPUs or accelerators
- Designed likely for low-profile GPUs, but that’s still a huge deal for a mini PC
- While not officially confirmed, Minisforum is expected to offer soldered LPDDR5X RAM configurations of 64GB, 96GB, and up to 128GB.
“This could be the first tiny PC serious enough for developers and AI researchers alike.”
USB4 V2 + Network Beast Mode
The MS-S1 Max is one of the first mini PCs to feature USB4 V2—and not just one, but two of them.
- 80Gbps transfer speed, matching Thunderbolt 5
- Great for high-res displays (via DP 2.1) and external GPUs like Razer Core X or ASUS ROG XG Mobile
- 2x 10-Gigabit Ethernet ports—great for heavy AI workloads or multi-node clusters
That kind of connectivity firepower makes it ideal for developers, creatives, and network pros alike.
Pricing & Market Impact: Worth the Power?
Although pricing hasn’t officially dropped, early estimates suggest:
- Base models may start around $2,500
- Fully-specced versions with 128GB RAM might exceed $3,000
And honestly? That’s not surprising. It outperforms most mini workstations from bigger names and even rivals full-tower setups in some workloads.
“It’s the most exciting mini PC of 2025 so far.”
