Asus announces PN51 mini PC powered by AMD's Ryzen 5000U processors

Asus will soon update its PN mini PC lineup with the latest AMD Ryzen 5000U processors. The new PN51 models are small enough to act as a point-of-sale or digital signage solution, but they also pack more than enough processing power to deliver a superior home theater experience.

The PN51 tech spec page only mentions the Ryzen 3 5300U, Ryzen 5 5500U and Ryzen 7 5700U processor options, which are all based on the older Zen2 architecture. These are not rebranded Ryzen 4000U models, as AMD actually added upgraded memory controllers, but the exclusion of the Ryzen 5 5600U and Ryzen 7 5800U Zen3-based models may suggest that Asus is looking to reduce production costs and keep system MSRP below a certain threshold. Nevertheless, the integrated Vega 7 GPUs can easily handle 4x 4K displays with 60 Hz refresh rate or a single 8K display @60 Hz.

A maximum of 32 GB DDR4-3200 RAM is supported via the two upgradable SO-DIMM slots. On the storage side, the 2.5-inch SATA bay supports HDDs up to 1 TB, while the M.2 slot offers PCIe 3.0 X4 NVMe support for up to 1 TB SSDs. Wireless connectivity options include Wi-Fi 5 + BT 4.2 or Wi-Fi 6 + BT 5.0. There is also support for 2.5 Gb LAN.

Port selection includes 2x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (front full option, back display mode), 3x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, HDMI video out, 4-in1 card reader, GbE jack, audio jack plus a configurable port that can be either COM, VGA, DP or LAN. The front panel also includes a dual array mic for voice commands and an IR sensor for TV remotes when used as a home media center.

It looks like Asus is using the exact same chassis from the previous PN50 model, which measures 115 x 115 x 49 mm and weighs 700 g including an HDD. Asus claims that the system may draw only 9 W of power and generates 21.9 dBA when idle or up to 34.7 dBA in full load.

No pricing or availability info as of yet, but we can expect a mid-year release and starting prices of ~$370.

Buy the Asus PN50 mini PC with Ryzen 7 4800U on Newegg