Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 desktop PC review: Compact powerhouse with Intel Core i9-12900H
Minisforum has updated its product lineup by introducing the Neptune Series NAD9, a high-performance compact office PC. The NAD9 is primarily targeted at office users who require a lot of power and manages to achieve this thanks to its modern Intel Core i9-12900H processor with 14 cores and 20 threads. A dedicated graphics card is unfortunately not on board. That said, the Intel Iris Xe is an acceptable alternative that is absolutely good enough for the system's intended purposes.
As always, the Minisforum NAD9 can be ordered from the company's online shop. There are a number of configurations available. The cheapest option is the barebones version (currently €639, or US$569) without any RAM and SSD. You'll also have to purchase a Windows 11 Professional licence separately. The highest-end configuration costs €989 (US$1,019) and comes with 64 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD. Our review unit sports 16 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD and will set you back €769 (US$719) right now.
In this review, we are going to compare the NAD9 with other compact desktop PCs. You can find an overview of these devices in the table below.
Comparison with possible competitors
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85.1 % v7 (old) | 01 / 2023 | Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 i9-12900H, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.2 kg | 66 mm | |
v (old) | 01 / 2022 | Minisforum EliteMini HX90 R9 5900HX, Vega 8 | 60 mm | ||
v (old) | 01 / 2022 | Morefine S500+ R9 5900HX, Vega 8 | 697 g | 40 mm | |
v (old) | 05 / 2022 | Minisforum EliteMini B550 R7 5700G, Vega 8 | 1.1 kg | 67 mm | |
v (old) | 02 / 2022 | Minisforum EliteMini TH50 i5-11320H, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 763 g | 55.5 mm | |
v (old) | 12 / 2021 | Minisforum HM90 R9 4900H, Vega 8 | 55.5 mm | ||
v7 (old) | 09 / 2022 | Minipc Union Ace Magician TK11-A0 i5-1135G7, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 586 g | 53 mm | |
v7 (old) | 10 / 2022 | Morefine S600-Apex Engineer i9-12900HK, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 795 g | 63.5 mm |
Detailed look at the Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9
Case
The Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 is mostly made of aluminium and thus feels exceptionally premium. The two side panels are a mix of aluminium and plastic and have very fine workmanship. The honeycomb structure covering a large part of the side panels is designed to allow sufficient fresh air to enter the chassis. The roughly 2.4-litre chassis also looks very well-built, and the dark-grey colour scheme fits the overall design perfectly. The included stand is likewise made of metal and provides immense stability.
At just 1.1 kg (2.4 lb) including the stand, the Minisforum NAD9 is extremely lightweight. The external power adapter adds another 450 g (1 lb) to the overall weight.
Specifications
At first glance, the Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 offers an outstanding selection of external interfaces. It has more USB ports (eight in total) than its competitors. Although three of them are USB-C ports, there are still five type A ports available. The USB-C connections on the back also have the ability to output video to external displays. This means, alongside the two HDMI ports, the NAD9 is able to drive up to four displays at the same time. Nonetheless, it is worth mentioning that 4K@60Hz is the max resolution and refresh rate supported by the device. The interfaces on the NAD9 are distributed across the front and back and easily accessible. Too bad it doesn't support Thunderbolt.
Connectivity
Minisforum has packed an Intel Wi-Fi 6E module into the NAD9. The Minisforum NAD9 achieved excellent transfer rates when we tested it with our reference router (Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE11000). Our review unit managed to surpass its competitors in both transfer and receive rates. Although the Wi-Fi module supports the latest Wi-Fi standard, it was unable to establish a connection to a 6 GHz network. The integrated LAN port offers a great alternative for connecting to a network and supports speeds of up to 2.5 Gbit/s.
Accessories
Beside the device itself, you'll find a robust stand (including fastening screws), a 120-watt power supply and an HDMI cable inside the box.
Maintenance
The side panels on the Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 can be removed very easily. All screws are readily accessible and not hidden under any rubber feet for absorbing vibrations. The device is very neat internally. But it becomes quickly apparent that there is still a lot of space inside. You'll also find an MXM slot that can potentially accommodate a dedicated graphics card. Our guess is that the NAD9 and the upcoming NAG6 share the same platform. Getting to the M.2 SSD involves a bit more unscrewing, but it isn't too bad. Overall, the NAD9 has an easy-to-maintain chassis, and the CPU fan is also straightforward and quick to clean.
Performance - future-proofed with 14 cores and 20 threads
Test conditions
All performance tests were carried out with the power profile set to "High Performance" on the Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9. We only used a different power profile when measuring power consumption and noise, in accordance with our test criteria. CPU power and cooling were left unchanged in the BIOS.
Processor
The Intel Core i9-12900H is a high-end mobile SoC based on the Alder Lake architecture. The hybrid architecture combines performance and efficiency cores and can run up to 20 threads concurrently. During testing, our review unit was able to secure an excellent spot in our comparison thanks to its fast processor. The CPU even outperforms the Core i9-12900HK used in the Morefine S600 Apex Engineer. The reason is that the NAD9 has a slightly larger thermal headroom that allows for a touch more performance in the short term. That said, the Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 isn't able to get the most out of the Intel Core i9-12900H. We saw a maximum power usage of 85 watts under load, but the PL2 is capped at 95 watts out of the box.
Click here to see more processor benchmarks.
* ... 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 Neptune Series NAD9 running Cinebench R15 Multi-loop
We got a good look at the efficiency of the included cooling solution during the Cinebench R15 loop test. Following the first few runs, the system's performance dropped drastically, and the SoC only ran at PL1 (45 watts). At the end of 50 runs, the NAD9 received an average score of 1,703.
System performance
In the system benchmarks, the Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 was definitely able to build on the great performance in the CPU benchmarks. The results correspond to our subjective experience with the device during our review. The system is snappy and doesn't make you wait long. The included memory doesn't offer the best latency, but this is hardly noticeable in everyday use. In our testing, the transfer rates were nevertheless good and mostly better than what competing devices are capable of.
| AIDA64 / Memory Copy | |
| Average Intel Core i9-12900H (34438 - 74264, n=28) | |
| Average of class Mini PC (8377 - 89287, n=110, last 2 years) | |
| Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
| Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 | |
| Morefine S600-Apex Engineer | |
| Morefine S500+ | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Minisforum EliteMini HX90 | |
| Minipc Union Ace Magician TK11-A0 | |
| Minisforum HM90 | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Read | |
| Average Intel Core i9-12900H (36365 - 74642, n=28) | |
| Average of class Mini PC (8974 - 100086, n=110, last 2 years) | |
| Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 | |
| Morefine S500+ | |
| Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
| Morefine S600-Apex Engineer | |
| Minisforum EliteMini HX90 | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Minipc Union Ace Magician TK11-A0 | |
| Minisforum HM90 | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Write | |
| Average Intel Core i9-12900H (32276 - 67858, n=28) | |
| Average of class Mini PC (8762 - 100538, n=110, last 2 years) | |
| Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
| Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 | |
| Morefine S600-Apex Engineer | |
| Morefine S500+ | |
| Minipc Union Ace Magician TK11-A0 | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Minisforum HM90 | |
| Minisforum EliteMini HX90 | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Latency | |
| Morefine S600-Apex Engineer | |
| Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 | |
| Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
| Average of class Mini PC (44.9 - 184.8, n=110, last 2 years) | |
| Minisforum HM90 | |
| Average Intel Core i9-12900H (74.7 - 118.1, n=27) | |
| Minisforum EliteMini HX90 | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Morefine S500+ | |
| Minipc Union Ace Magician TK11-A0 | |
* ... smaller is better
DPC latency
Using the tool LatencyMon, we didn't detect any increase in latency even when keeping several tabs open in Microsoft Edge and playing back our 4K test video. The iGPU usage was about 20 per cent during the 4K video playback. Latency only increased slightly once we started Prime95.
* ... smaller is better
Mass storage
Our review configuration of the Minisforum NAD9 comes with an M.2 2280 Kingston SSD with 512 GB of storage. During the review, the SSD delivered very high transfer speeds. The 4K read speed is extremely high at over 100 MB/s. We only noticed minor issues with the SSD's sustained read performance. The NAD9 can be fitted with up to three storage drives. On the back of the motherboard is a bracket for mounting two 2.5-inch drives. The necessary connection cables are already present in the device.
Refer to our storage drive comparison table for more information and benchmarks.
* ... smaller is better
Sustained read: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
Graphics
The Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 iGPU on the Core i9-12900H is in charge of graphics processing as the Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 doesn't have a dedicated GPU. In future, Minisforum is going to release the Neptune Series NAG6 with an AMD Radeon RX 6600M as an alternative to the NAD6. Notebookcheck will keep you updated on the NAG6. But back to the topic: the Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 boasts a max clock speed of 1,450 MHz and 96 EUs, thus allowing the Minisforum NAD9 to deliver a relatively solid performance in our comparison. In some instances, its performance even exceeds that of the Radeon RX Vega 8 found on AMD APUs.
| 3DMark 05 Standard | 39854 points | |
| 3DMark 06 Standard Score | 32907 points | |
| 3DMark Vantage P Result | 26658 points | |
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 7673 points | |
| 3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score | 126522 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 25668 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 5157 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Extreme Score | 2448 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 1897 points | |
Help | ||
Gaming performance
The Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 is completely overwhelmed by demanding games. Even older titles are only able to run smoothly at 720p and at the lowest settings. At best, only the simplest of casual games can be played on the iGPU at native resolution. Those who need more 3D performance can take a look at the Minisforum HX90G. Likewise, the upcoming NAG6 will pack considerably more 3D performance thanks to its AMD Radeon RX 6600M.
Refer to our game list for GPUs for more information and benchmarks.
| The Witcher 3 | |
| 1024x768 Low Graphics & Postprocessing | |
| Morefine S600-Apex Engineer | |
| Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 | |
| Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
| Morefine S500+ | |
| Minisforum EliteMini HX90 | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| Minipc Union Ace Magician TK11-A0 | |
| Minisforum HM90 | |
| 1920x1080 High Graphics & Postprocessing (Nvidia HairWorks Off) | |
| Morefine S600-Apex Engineer | |
| Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 | |
| Minisforum EliteMini TH50 | |
| Morefine S500+ | |
| Minipc Union Ace Magician TK11-A0 | |
| Minisforum EliteMini HX90 | |
| Minisforum HM90 | |
| Minisforum EliteMini B550 | |
| low | med. | high | ultra | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GTA V (2015) | 135.3 | 21 | 8.89 | |
| The Witcher 3 (2015) | 97.2 | 32 | 15.7 | |
| Dota 2 Reborn (2015) | 136.9 | 105 | 68 | 61.9 |
| Final Fantasy XV Benchmark (2018) | 45.7 | 24.8 | 24.8 | |
| X-Plane 11.11 (2018) | 66.1 | 47.3 | 42.3 | |
| Far Cry 5 (2018) | 57 | 29 | 27 | 25 |
| Strange Brigade (2018) | 96.3 | 40.2 | 32.5 | 26.3 |
| Far Cry New Dawn (2019) | 52 | 29 | 28 | 25 |
| Metro Exodus (2019) | 40.4 | 19.8 | 14.6 | 11.6 |
| Borderlands 3 (2019) | 59.1 | 26.4 | 16.2 | 12.1 |
| F1 2020 (2020) | 95.2 | 48.2 | 37 | 23.6 |
| F1 2021 (2021) | 97.2 | 52.2 | 40.4 | 28.2 |
| Tiny Tina's Wonderlands (2022) | 33.1 | 25.5 | 15.7 | 12.3 |
| F1 22 (2022) | 46.4 | 42.1 | 29.9 | 23.4 |
| The Witcher 3 v4.00 (2023) | 31.4 | 24.9 | 21 | 17.2 |
Emissions - almost silent despite active cooling
Noise emissions
The Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 is by far one of the quietest mini PCs we've tested so far. This is especially impressive considering that the Intel Core i9-12900H inside is a native 14-core processor. The device is just as quiet under full load as at idle. Only the Minisforum EliteMini HX90 can keep with the the NAD9 in this department. It is a smidge noisier than the NAD9 but doesn't really get loud at 33.4 dB(A) during the stress test.
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 30.5 / 30.5 / 30.5 dB(A) |
| Load |
| 30.5 / 30.5 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Earthworks M23R, Arta (15 cm distance) environment noise: 30.2 dB(A) | ||
| Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 i9-12900H, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | Minisforum EliteMini HX90 R9 5900HX, Vega 8 | Morefine S500+ R9 5900HX, Vega 8 | Minisforum EliteMini B550 R7 5700G, Vega 8 | Minisforum EliteMini TH50 i5-11320H, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | Minipc Union Ace Magician TK11-A0 i5-1135G7, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | Morefine S600-Apex Engineer i9-12900HK, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noise | -5% | -15% | -3% | -10% | -10% | -25% | |
| off / environment * | 30.2 | 30.8 -2% | 30.1 -0% | 30.2 -0% | 30.2 -0% | 30.28 -0% | 29.6 2% |
| Idle Minimum * | 30.5 | 30.5 -0% | 30.8 -1% | 31.82 -4% | 36.1 -18% | ||
| Idle Average * | 30.5 | 31.6 -4% | 33.15 -9% | 30.5 -0% | 32.1 -5% | 32.27 -6% | 37.6 -23% |
| Idle Maximum * | 30.5 | 30.5 -0% | 32.9 -8% | 33.17 -9% | 39.2 -29% | ||
| Load Average * | 30.5 | 31.2 -2% | 33.9 -11% | 35.82 -17% | 42.6 -40% | ||
| Load Maximum * | 30.5 | 33.4 -10% | 41.63 -36% | 35.1 -15% | 41.4 -36% | 37.1 -22% | 42.4 -39% |
* ... smaller is better
Temperature
There are many openings on the NAD9's chassis for drawing fresh air into and pushing warm air out of the case. Furthermore, the device has a relatively large cooler with three heat pipes to keep the Intel Core i9-12900H nice and cool within the defined power limits. In the Cinebench R15 multi-loop test, we already saw that the SoC couldn't maintain its max turbo frequency over a very long period, causing the power draw to dropped to just 45 watts. Furthermore, the BIOS limits the max temperature of the SoC to 87°C (188.6°F) right out of the box. This in turn means that thermal throttling kicks in when this threshold value is reached. The PC kept on hitting this temperature limit during our tests. We noticed temperatures peaked briefly at 90°C (194°F) when performing the load test using FurMark.
The manufacturer could have made better use of the SoC's potential by giving it a much larger cooler. In any case, the chassis has enough space for this because the MXM slot is unoccupied.
Power consumption
Performance-wise, the Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 is neck and neck with the Morefine S600 Apex Engineer. But the Minisforum demonstrates that it can do things differently in terms of power consumption. The Morefine S600 has a major problem with its idle power draw, thus giving our review unit an edge over it. At merely 12 to 18 watts, the NAD9 requires a very small amount of power at idle when displaying 2D windows. Nevertheless, the adapter has to supply up to 113 watts of power, which the included 120-watt power adapter has no problem handling. We also didn't encounter any power issues during this review.
| Off / Standby | 2.6 / 2.8 Watt |
| Idle | 12.1 / 13 / 18.2 Watt |
| Load |
70.6 / 113 Watt |
   
| |
Key:
min: ,
med: ,
max: Metrahit Energy | |
| Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 i9-12900H, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | Minisforum EliteMini B550 R7 5700G, Vega 8 | Minipc Union Ace Magician TK11-A0 i5-1135G7, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | Morefine S600-Apex Engineer i9-12900HK, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | Average Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs | Average of class Mini PC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | 11% | 56% | -185% | 41% | 15% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 12.1 | 8.9 26% | 3.4 72% | 46.5 -284% | 5.41 ? 55% | 9.53 ? 21% |
| Idle Average * | 13 | 9.6 26% | 5.7 56% | 63 -385% | 8.6 ? 34% | 11.8 ? 9% |
| Idle Maximum * | 18.2 | 11.8 35% | 7 62% | 68.9 -279% | 10.9 ? 40% | 15.1 ? 17% |
| Load Average * | 70.6 | 98.9 -40% | 36.5 48% | 73.9 -5% | 45.4 ? 36% | 58.9 ? 17% |
| Load Maximum * | 113 | 101.8 10% | 68 40% | 80.8 28% | 67.6 ? 40% | 100.8 ? 11% |
* ... smaller is better
Power consumption with external monitor
Pros
Cons
Verdict - Extremely quiet, yet powerful
Compact PCs are getting more and more powerful. Efficiency is one major advantage of such devices because they make use of components that are otherwise only found in laptops. Minisforum recognised this and has been releasing compact devices tailored to specific use cases for quite some time now. With the launch of the Neptune Series NAD9, there is now a very high-performance mini PC with an Intel Core i9-12900H, which has 14 native cores. In our review, the NAD9 has demonstrated that it is definitely capable of taking on the Morefine S600 Apex Engineer.
We think Minisforum has made a good choice when it comes to materials: apart from looking attractive, the aluminium chassis provides great stiffness. The device also feels very premium in the hand and has a generous selection of external interfaces. The NAD9 has a plethora of USB ports and can even drive up to four displays simultaneously. Unfortunately, though, the device doesn't come with a Thunderbolt port for future-proofing, and you'll need an adapter to use SD cards with it. If you can make do without these features, the Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 is a powerful mini PC capable of handling challenging task as well.
The Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 is one of the quietest mini PCs that we have reviewed until now. What's more, the compact workhorse with a Core i9-12900H even offers great performance for demanding tasks.
The built-in cooling solution is a drawback of the device. Whilst it is really good considering the amount of noise it produces, the manufacturer could have made better use of the space available in the device in order to keep the SoC's long-term power limit at a higher level.
Price and availability
You can order the Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 directly from the Minisforum Store. There are currently attractive pre-sale discounts available, and taxes are already included in the prices. For instance, you can expect to pay just €769 (US$679) for the review configuration. The original price before discount is €959 (US$799). The cheapest barebones model starts at €639 (US$569).
The NAD9 is currently shipping from Hong Kong and will usually take 2-3 weeks to arrive. In future, the device will also be available in the German-speaking region, meaning delivery time will be significantly reduced for the countries in question. Use the code "NOTEBOOKCHECK" to enjoy a €15 discount on your purchase (valid until 18/02/2023).
The review sample was loaned to the author for free by the manufacturer for review purposes. The company has no influence on this review and didn't receive any version of it before publication. There is no obligation to publish any article on the product.
Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9
- 09/08/2023 v7 (old)
Sebastian Bade
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