Minisforum Venus Series UM560 XT Desktop PC reviewed: A mini PC with an AMD Cezanne SoC at an affordable price!

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Earlier this year, we took a look at the Minisforum Venus Series UM690. In addition to the top model which is based on the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX, the Chinese mini PC manufacturer offers additional configurations. Based on the AMD Ryzen 5 5600H, the UM560 XT is available in the same case and at a significantly lower price. Of course, it's not fair to compare the performance of the native six-core machine with the top model but at $419 with 16 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD, it's an interesting proposition. In the barebones version, it's possible to save a further $90. However, it's up to the user to take care of the RAM and SSD.
The Minisforum Venus Series UM560 XT comes well-kitted out. All the necessary items are included in order to get the device up and running. The device also comes with a plate allowing the device to be fixed to a monitor (Vesa mount). In this review, we take a close look at how the review model compares to the top model, performance-wise, a device which costs almost $400 more. Is this price difference justified or is the entry-level model sufficient? And what are the changes in detail? Additionally, the Minisforum Venus Series UM560 XT not only has to compete with its own in-house challengers but also strong competition from Geekom, Morefine and Intel in this price category. A list thereof can be found in the following table.
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Possible competitors compared
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Best Price |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
81.7 % | 05/2023 | Minisforum Venus Series UM560 XT (5600H) R5 5600H, Vega 7 | 652 g | 48 mm | |
09/2022 | Minipc Union Ace Magician AMR5 R5 5600U, Vega 7 | 628 g | 72 mm | ||
79.5 % | 02/2023 | Minisforum Mars Series MC560 R5 5600U, Vega 7 | 562 g | 66 mm | |
81.9 % | 05/2023 | Minisforum Venus Series NAB6, i7-12650H i7-12650H, UHD Graphics 64EUs | 616 g | 55 mm | |
85.5 % | 03/2023 | Morefine M600, 6900HX R9 6900HX, Radeon 680M | 779 g | 40.6 mm | |
86.1 % | 02/2023 | Minisforum Venus Series UM690 (6900HX) R9 6900HX, Radeon 680M | 621 g | 48 mm | |
82.3 % | 05/2023 | Geekom Mini IT12, i7-1260P i7-1260P, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 572 g | 45.6 mm | |
86.6 % | 01/2023 | Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 i9-12900H, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.2 kg | 66 mm | |
83.7 % | 05/2023 | Morefine M600, 6600U R5 6600U, Radeon 660M | 768 g | 40.6 mm |
Top 10 Laptops
Multimedia, Budget Multimedia, Gaming, Budget Gaming, Lightweight Gaming, Business, Budget Office, Workstation, Subnotebooks, Ultrabooks, Chromebooks
under 300 USD/Euros, under 500 USD/Euros, 1,000 USD/Euros, for University Students, Best Displays
Top 10 Smartphones
Smartphones, Phablets, ≤6-inch, Camera Smartphones
Minisforum Venus Series UM560 XT in detail
Case
The Minisforum UM560 XT is similar in build to the Minisforum UM690 with an AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX. Further details regarding the case, can be found here in our review of the top model.
Features
At first glance, the Minisforum Venus Series UM560 XT offers the same features as the UM690 model. However, USB4 support is not on board. This means the type of expansions that would be possible via Thunderbolt are not possible here. Nevertheless, six USB ports are, thankfully, at hand. On top of that, three monitors can be used simultaneously if the USB-C port on the front of the device is also used.
Communication
Minisforum has fitted the UM560 XT with the same Wi-Fi 6E module as the one found in the UM690. In practical tests, the Mediatek module performed well. For testing purposes, we used the Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE11000. Alternatively, for faster data connections, the LAN port can be used, allowing data transfers of up to a maximum of 2.5 GBit/s.
Networking | |
iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 | |
Minisforum Venus Series UM690 (6900HX) | |
Minisforum Mars Series MC560 | |
Morefine M600, 6600U | |
Geekom Mini IT12, i7-1260P | |
Morefine M600, 6900HX | |
Minipc Union Ace Magician AMR5 | |
Minisforum Venus Series UM560 XT (5600H) | |
Average MediaTek RZ608 (430 - 975, n=13) | |
Average of class Mini PC (192.9 - 1688, n=32, last 2 years) | |
Minisforum Venus Series NAB6, i7-12650H | |
iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 | |
Minipc Union Ace Magician AMR5 | |
Morefine M600, 6900HX | |
Minisforum Venus Series UM690 (6900HX) | |
Minisforum Mars Series MC560 | |
Geekom Mini IT12, i7-1260P | |
Average MediaTek RZ608 (572 - 979, n=13) | |
Minisforum Venus Series UM560 XT (5600H) | |
Morefine M600, 6600U | |
Average of class Mini PC (184.1 - 1491, n=32, last 2 years) | |
Minisforum Venus Series NAB6, i7-12650H |
Performance - AMD based on the Cezanne generation
In the Minisforum Venus Series UM560 XT, an AMD Ryzen 5 5600H with six cores and twelve threads does its job in helping the device be well-equipped for every day, work-based tasks. Office, multimedia and streaming are the main focus of this mini PC. With the AMD Radeon RX Vega 7, we have a good iGPU which ably supports the SoC.
Test conditions
When conducting all of the performance tests, we selected the High Performance energy profile. Deviations from this were only made concerning energy and volume measurements, in accordance with our test criteria. The CPU's performance was not changed in the BIOS and we also didn't undertake any changes to the fan curve regarding the cooling either.
Processor
The AMD Ryzen 5 5600H belongs to the AMD's Cezanne series and offers six cores with a total of twelve threads. Compared to the top model with an AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX, the Minisforum Venus Series UM560 XT loses 13 percent in our performance rating with this being around the middle value of all CPU benchmarks in this comparison. However, in comparison to the competition, our review sample holds up wonderfully. Basically, the Minisforum Venus Series UM560 XT offers similar performance to that found in the Geekom Mini IT12 with an Intel Core i7-1260P. Additionally, the Morefine M600 6600U is kept in check. Nevertheless, our review device delivered only marginally better performance which can only really be detected here, under test conditions.
Additional processor benchmarks can be found here.
* ... 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 Venus Series UM560 XT in the Cinebench R15 multi-loop test
In the Cinebench R15 continuous loop, it's possible to get a good impression of how well the system works under load. The Minisforum Venus Series UM560 XT mastered the test wonderfully. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600H's results in every one of the 50 runs were very stable and there was next to no significant drop in performance. In this comparison area, no other system comes close.
System performance
In the area of system benchmarks, the Minisforum Venus Series UM560 XT fared very well, managing third place in the PCMark 10 comparison. However, things look somewhat different in the Crossmark comparison. However, it's in this area where all AMD-equipped devices have to give way to Intel ones. Possessing DDR4 RAM means the Minisforum Venus Series UM560 XT is only able to compete with rather blunt weapons. The first three places go here to devices with faster DDR5 RAM. Nevertheless, our review sample"s performance is decent and can be compared to a UM560 XT. This is reflected subjectively in terms of performance.
* ... smaller is better
DPC latencies
We didn't encounter any problematic latencies with the Minisforum Venus Series UM560 XT. Our review device dealt with both the opening of multiple tabs in Edge and the playback of a 4K test video perfectly. Using Prime95, we were unable to detect any increased latency.
* ... smaller is better
Mass storage
Minisforum equipped our Venus Series UM560 XT review model with a 512 GB SSD, without specifying its details. The installed model's transfer rates reflect its PCIe 3.0 interface. The competition, with faster PCIe 4.0 SSDs, enjoys an unattainable lead. Under continuous load, the Minisforum Venus Series UM560 XT had no problems maintaining its SSD performance. It's in this area that it paid off to have fitted the SSD with a relatively large heat sink. The device can house a total of two mass storage devices. In addition to the M.2 interface, there is also a SATA connector for a 2.5-inch storage medium. The device comes complete with the appropriate connection cables.
Additional comparisons and benchmarks can be found in our comparison chart.