Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX review: The mini PC with an AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS and a Radeon 780M has been given OCuLink and USB-4 connections
The Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX is a powerful mini PC which masters a whole load of tasks. As a result of its design, we would recommend the PC as a high-end multimedia device, as its RGB lighting might be a little inappropriate for everyday office use. Its AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS is an up-to-date SoC from AMD's Phoenix series. With 8 Zen 4 cores, it boasts outstanding performance which is supported by its fast DDR5 RAM (5,600 MT/s). Furthermore, our test sample features a speedy SSD with 1 TB of storage. The manufacturer currently sells the device for around US$960, which, in comparison, is a little expensive. The Minisforum Venus Series UM790 Pro can be found with an AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS and the same storage for much cheaper. Aside from its illuminated tiger emblem, a highlight of the Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX is its OCuLink connection, which improves the performance of external graphics cards. More on what exactly this means later.
You can also get the Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX as a so-called barebone system, meaning without RAM and an SSD. This version currently costs around US$730. Minisforum also offers a version with 64 GB RAM, which will set you back about US$1,090, making it a true high-end device, at least when it comes to mini PCs without dedicated graphics cards.
In our comparison, the Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX faces strong in-house competition. However, other manufacturers offer similarly configured devices which will face our test sample. An overview of all the comparison devices can be seen in the table below.
Possible competitors compared
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 87.3 % v7 (old) | 11 / 2023 | Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX R7 7840HS, Radeon 780M | 750 g | 52.3 mm | |
| 86.6 % v7 (old) | 09 / 2023 | Beelink SER7 R7 7840HS, Radeon 780M | 640 g | 49 mm | |
| 86.3 % v7 (old) | 07 / 2023 | Beelink GTR7 7840HS R7 7840HS, Radeon 780M | 890 g | 48.8 mm | |
| 86.1 % v7 (old) | 02 / 2023 | Minisforum Venus Series UM690 R9 6900HX, Radeon 680M | 621 g | 48 mm | |
| 82.8 % v7 (old) | 07 / 2023 | Minisforum Venus Series UM790 Pro R9 7940HS, Radeon 780M | 666 g | 52.3 mm | |
| 85.1 % v7 (old) | 01 / 2023 | Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 i9-12900H, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.2 kg | 66 mm | |
| 82.8 % v7 (old) | 07 / 2023 | Geekom AS 6, R9 6900HX R9 6900HX, Radeon 680M | 753 g | 58 mm | |
| 82 % v7 (old) | 06 / 2023 | ACEMagician Ace Magician AM08 Pro R9 6900HX, Radeon 680M | 874 g | 188.5 mm | |
| 80.8 % v7 (old) | 04 / 2023 | Intel NUC 13 Pro Kit NUC13ANK i7-1360P, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 538 g | 37 mm |
Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX Pro in detail
Case - Extremely well-built metal case
Visually, the Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX looks a little different to the previous EliteMini series models. It looks a little like the Minisforum Venus Series UM790 Pro. Both have the same footprint and are made from a mix of plastic and aluminum. However, they don't share the same base. The top of our test sample houses an LED panel with an illuminated tiger logo. Other motifs aren't included with the device. An important point about this is that the lighting automatically switches between blue, red and green in 5-second intervals. Although you can completely deactivate this within the BIOS, you aren't able to change it to different colors or even change the speed at which it changes.
The Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX is immaculately built. Its plastic lid is connected with a magnet and can be easily removed. The bottom is also made from plastic and is fixed to the rest of the case using four screws. Thanks to its high-quality metal surfaces, the PC feels very nice. As a result of its material choice, the Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX offers great stability. The mini PC can either be placed on your desk, or you can use the supplied VESA mount to fix it to your monitor, for example. It also includes a stand, which allows you to position the device vertically as well. This saves a bit of space and if you wish, you can turn the mini PC into a visual highlight of your desk set-up. At 750 grams, the Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX weighs a little more than the Minisforum Venus Series UM790 Pro. If you use the stand, then you'll have to factor in an additional 125 grams. Its new 120-watt power supply is considerably lighter and now only weighs 278 grams (compared to the previous 450 grams).
The Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX can currently be found in three colors. This includes black, which is the color of our test sample, Champagne Gold and Azure. The colors only correspond to the device's metal surfaces. The case lid and bottom are always black.
Connectivity
The Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX has been given lots of connectivity options, spread out between the front and back of the device. Four USB Type-A ports are pretty standard and should generally be enough. It also features four USB-4 ports which can be used in a variety of ways. In combination with the Razer Core X, you can also connect external graphics cards using this connection. We took a look at how well this works and compared it to other devices. One new port on the Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX that is also meant for external graphics cards is the OCuLink connection. The PC's scope of delivery includes an M.2 adapter which can be installed if needed. As a result, the device will only have space for one storage device. The OCuLink connection also has access to a higher bandwidth compared to USB 4, meaning you should be able to achieve higher frame rates in connection with a dedicated graphics card. Unfortunately, Minisforum itself doesn't offer any accessories for this use. It does, however, offer the GPD G1, which uses this new port natively. Screens can be connected via HDMI or DisplayPort. In addition, both USB-4 ports support image output. As a result, this means you can connect a total of 4 displays to the Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX at once — the same as on the Minisforum Venus Series UM790 Pro.
Communication
The Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX has received an Intel Killer Wi-Fi 6E AX1675x (210NGW) WLAN module. In general, this is good enough for everyday use, however, in comparison, our test sample couldn't keep up with the comparison devices. We performed our test using the Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE11000 as a test router. The Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX also gives you the choice to use a wired connection for faster speeds. The manufacturer has actually even installed two ports for this and they allow speeds of up to 2.5 GBit/s.
Accessories
The device's scope of delivery includes a 120-watt power supply and a mounting plate to attach the PC to a monitor (VESA mount). If you wish to use the device in an upright position, then you can use the metal stand. All the required materials for the VESA mount and the stand are included in the package. Furthermore, you will receive an HDMI cable, a short instruction manual as well as an OCuLink adapter which can optionally be installed.
Maintenance
The Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX can be opened up relatively easily from the top. The lid is held on magnetically. In order to access further components, you'll have to first remove the LED module which is held on with four screws. This also includes an active cooler that cools the storage device. You just need to be careful taking it apart as it has quite a short cable. RAM and SSD components can then be installed easily if you have purchased the Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX as a barebone system. In our case, we only had one free M.2 slot, which we used to plug in the OCuLink adapter. If you need to clean the CPU cooler, then you'll have to take out the entire circuit board. If you are careful, you can do so, although the manufacturer strictly advises against this. According to the device's specs, it uses liquid metal to ensure the best heat dissipation.
Performance - AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS with 8 Zen 4 cores
Minisforum has equipped the EliteMini UM780 XTX with an AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS. The SoC, which is based on Zen 4, features 8 cores and 16 threads. With 32 GB DDR5 RAM and a fast SSD, even demanding tasks are no issue for the mini PC. There are currently no alternative configurations of the device. A more affordable model with an AMD Ryzen 5 7640HS would be a suitable alternative.
Testing conditions
We ran all performance tests using the energy profile "balanced". The SoC's performance was not changed. The iGPU was given access to 4 GB RAM.
Processor
The Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX's AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS is a very powerful processor. The modern SoC made by AMD features 8 cores and 16 threads, and is part of the Phoenix series based on Zen 4. Minisforum has forgone to use an AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS for the EliteMini UM780 XTX. In comparison, we noted that our test sample with the presumably slower processor delivered better performance levels, as the Minisforum Venus Series UM790 Pro (which we already tested) is fitted with AMD's top-of-the-range model. The installed cooling unit seems to be the key factor here and is the reason why the EliteMini UM780 XTX seems to be more powerful.
Even so, the Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX couldn't quite keep up with the Beelink SER7's performance. However, taking a look at the averaged results shows that there are only six percentage points between the two. You certainly can't speak of a noticeable performance difference here.
For further comparisons and benchmarks, take a look at our CPU comparison table.
* ... smaller is better
* ... smaller is better
AIDA64: FP32 Ray-Trace | FPU Julia | CPU SHA3 | CPU Queen | FPU SinJulia | FPU Mandel | CPU AES | CPU ZLib | FP64 Ray-Trace | CPU PhotoWorxx
Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX vs. Cinebench R15 Multi Loop
In the Cinebench R15 continuous loop, we already noted that Minisforum has installed a powerful cooling system that manages to keep the performance of the AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS stable under load over a longer period of time. With a maximum of 65 watts, the processor's power consumption is relatively low, although the temperature peaked at 76.6 °C.
DPC latency
When it comes to determined latencies, the Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX achieved average results. Our test sample already had to fight increased latencies when opening multiple tabs in Edge. When playing our 4K test video, these increased further. Beelink manages its latencies much better when surfing the web and playing video with its GTR7 and SER7.
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| Geekom AS 6, R9 6900HX | |
| Minisforum Venus Series UM690 | |
| ACEMagician Ace Magician AM08 Pro | |
| Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX | |
| Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 | |
| Intel NUC 13 Pro Kit NUC13ANK | |
| Minisforum Venus Series UM790 Pro | |
| Beelink GTR7 7840HS | |
| Beelink SER7 | |
* ... smaller is better
Storage devices
Minisforum has installed a 1-TB SSD from Kingston into our test sample. The M.2 model is connected via PCIe 4.0 x4 and as a result, manages good transfer rates. Still, the installed model can't be classed as one of the top models. Even so, the SSD's performance is more than good enough for everyday use. In order to guarantee stable performance, the manufacturer has installed an active cooling unit which takes care of the storage device. In our practical test, this worked well. As you can see when looking at the results, the Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX, together with both of the Beelink contenders (GTR7 and SER7) and the Intel NUC 13 Pro Kit, was one of the few devices which suffered no performance drops. You can install up to two storage devices into the Minisforum EliteMini UM780 XTX. However, if you are looking to use the OCuLink connection, you will have to make do with one SSD.
For further comparisons and benchmarks, take a look at our comparison table.
