Minisforum UM690 Mini PC Rocks Ryzen 9 6900HX, Radeon Graphics And High-Speed I/O

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Minisforum UM690 mini computer on a black desk.

Minisforum is adding some new AMD-powered models to its Venus series minicomputer lineup. They include the EliteMini UM590 with a Ryzen 9 5900HX processor under the hood, and the more powerful EliteMini UM690 powered by a Ryzen 9 6900HX, both with integrated Radeon graphics. The latter configuration is arguably the more intriguing, as only a $50 price separates the two configurations in bare form.

AMD launched its Ryzen 6000 series of mobile processors at CES earlier this year. Otherwise known as Rembrandt, these chips pair Zen 3+ CPU cores with RDNA 2 graphics. They are AMD’s fastest mobile CPUs until it brings Zen 4 to the mobile space.

As for the Ryzen 9 6900HX, it features an 8-core/16-thread design clocked at 3.3GHz (base) to 4.9GHZ (max boost). It also has 16MB of L3 cache, 4MB of L2 cache, and 512KB of L1 cache, and a default 45W thermal design power (TDP) rating.

On the graphics side, the Ryzen 9 6900HX is infused with an integrated Radeon 680M GPU equipped with 12 graphics cores clocked at up to 2,400MHz. You’ll have to make some compromises in image quality in more demanding games to maintain playable frame rates, but in sports and less demanding titles in general, the Radeon 680M packs enough firepower to reach 60 frames per second at 1080p (depending on the specific game and settings, of course) .

You can buy either the UM590 or UM690 in plain form and add your own RAM and storage, or choose from 16GB RAM + 512GB SSD, 32GB RAM + 512GB SSD, or 64GB RAM + 512GB SSD configurations. These mini PCs have a pair of SO-DIMM slots (DDR4 for the UM590 and DDR5 for the UM690), an M.2 connector (PCIe 3.0 for the UM590 and PCIe 4.0 for the UM690), and a 2.5-inch SATA bay.

Front and rear ports on the Minisforum UM690 and UM590 minicomputers.

The port selection differs slightly but mainly between the two models. On the UM590, you are looking at 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 (supports DisplayPort 1.4) in the back and another in the front (data only) , two HDMI outputs, a clear CMOS button, 1x DMIC, and a 3.5mm combo jack.

For the UM690, Minisforum ups the ante with USB4 connectivity (a single port on the front), along with a 2.5Gbps LAN port, four USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port (data). only), two HDMI outputs, a clear CMOS button, 1x DMIC, and a 3.5mm combo jack.

As for pricing, here’s how it shakes out…

UM690 Barebones: $499
UM590 Barebones: $459
UM690 with 16GB RAM + 512GB SSD: $649
UM590 with 16GB RAM + 512GB SSD: $569
UM690 with 32GB RAM + 512GB SSD: $729
UM590 with 32GB RAM + 512GB SSD: $619
UM690 with 64GB RAM + 512GB SSD: $869
UM590 with 64GB RAM + 512GB SSD: $739

As you can see, the price gap widens when choosing a pre-configured layout. While there is a $50 price difference for the barebones models, the disparity increases to $80 for the 16GB RAM configurations, $110 for the 32GB RAM configurations, and $130 for the 64GB models.

This is not funny business on the part of Minisforum, and instead it reflects that DDR5 memory is simply more expensive than DDR4. Fortunately, the situation has improved. An $80 difference between the 16GB configurations seems fair to us, considering you also get a faster CPU, faster graphics and USB4 connectivity into the mix.

Also note that these are discounted, pre-sale prices. If you’re interested, all eight configurations are available for pre-order now and will ship in mid-December.

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