Minisforum MS-A1 mini PC launched with support for up to Ryzen 9000 series, OCuLink port, up to 96 GB of memory

Earlier this year, Minisforum unveiled the MS-A1 mini PC as an AMD-based alternative to the previously launched Intel-based MS-01 high-end compact system. Unlike the MS-01, which features Intel's H-series laptop CPUs, the MS-A1 boasts support for socketed desktop-class AMD CPUs, up to AMD's Ryzen 7 8700G 'Phoenix' APU. Now, the company has officially launched the MS-A1 on its website, starting at just $259 for the barebones version.

According to Minisforum's website, the MS-A1 will also have support for AMD's Ryzen 9000 CPUs, although that may require a BIOS update. For now, the system supports the Ryzen 7 8700G and the Ryzen 5 8600G 'Phoenix' APUs with a max TDP of 65 W, while dual-CCD offerings such as the Ryzen 9 7900X or the 7950X CPUs will have support for up to 100 W -  significantly lower than the officially rated TDPs for these chips, so they will most likely not be as performant as they are capable of being.

While there is no support for internal discrete GPUs, the supported Ryzen 7 8700G and Ryzen 5 8600G APUs from AMD feature sufficiently potent RDNA 3-based integrated graphics (Radeon 780M and 760M, respectively) for lightweight graphical tasks. Those who require additional graphics grunt, or those opting for the Ryzen 9 7900X, Ryzen 9 7950X CPUs will likely have to settle for external graphics, which should not be a hassle since the MS-A1 rocks an OCuLink port for seamless eGPU connections, thanks to transfer speeds up to 8 GB/s - considerably more than Thunderbolt 4's 5 GB/s.

As for storage, the Minisforum MS-A1 packs a whopping four M.2 2280 slots. Connectivity options are also plenty, including 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x DisplayPort 2.0, 2x USB 2.1, 1x Type-C (Power Delivery, DisplayPort), and an audio jack. In contrast to the Intel-based MS-01 (currently $809 on Amazon), the MS-A1 lacks 10 G ethernet, so customers will have to satiate their networking needs with a single 2.5 G ethernet port.

As mentioned previously, the barebones version of the Minisforum MS-A1 can be purchased for $259, while the Ryzen 7 8700G-based version with 32 GB of DDR5-5200 memory and 1 TB of flash storage commands a price tag of $729. These prices include what appears to be an introductory discount of $50 and $180 respectively, so potential buyers are advised to take these discounts into consideration.