MINISFORUM announces new EliteMini Box X400 mini PCs with AMD Renoir desktop APUs
AMD is already working its magic in the traditional desktop and server markets, and we now see that Team Red is also trying to disrupt the small form-factor sector, especially ever since the Renoir desktop APUs got released earlier this year. Asus and ASRock may have been the first to offer mini PC support for the new Ryzen 4000 APUs, but there are quite a few other companies that quickly jumped on the Renoir bandwagon. MINISFORUM is one such company that offers a very comprehensive portfolio of mini PC models, with an emphasis on AMD-based systems as of late. Just recently, MINISFORUM announced yet another AMD-powered mini PC lineup with the new EliteMini BOX X400 series that supports Ryzen 2000, 3000 and 4000 APUs.
MINISFORUM usually mixes its funding venues up, letting customers support it via crowd-funding campaigns or direct sales from the official store or partner outlets. In this respect, the new EliteMini BOX X400 models will be available for purchase in most regions directly from Amazon or the MINISFORUM store, but the Japanese market will only be able to order these through a crowd-founding campaign on the Makuake site. The difference here is that the Japanese models will come with the more powerful Ryzen 5 Pro 4650G APUs, while the other models will only ship with the older Ryzen 5 3400GE processors.
As far as looks go, the new systems use the same chassis as the ones on the EliteMini H31G Intel-based mini PCs, measuring 6.1 x 6.0 x 2.4 inches. However, the hardware specs are mostly different. While users can upgrade the processor, RAM and storage components, MINISFORUM usually offers a few completely assembled models, and there is word that a top-of-the line Ryzen 7 Pro 4750G model should be available at some point.
Apart from supporting up to Ryzen 4000 APUs, the included motherboard also integrates two DDR4-3200 RAM SODIMMs, M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 slot for NVMe SSD storage, 2.5-inch drive bay for SATA SSDs/HDDs and a microSD card reader. Additionally, MINISFORUMS pre-installs an Intel AX200 wireless card in an M.2 2230 slot. Port selection includes 4x USB-A 3.0 connectors, HDMI 2.0 + DP 1.4 video outputs, dual GbE jacks and line in / mic in / headphone out jacks.
The new models are expected to start pre-selling this November, but there is no pricing info for the time being.