Mini Gaming PC MINISFORUM HX90G AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX 32GB RAM
Mini Gaming PC MINISFORUM HX90G AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX 32GB RAM 512GB SSD with AMD Radeon RX 6600M Wi-Fi 6E/BT5.2, 2xHDMI, 2xDisplayPort, RJ45 2.5G, 2X Slot PCIe/Sata SSD, 5X USB3.2 Port, Windows 11 Pro
| Weight: | 2.77 kg |
| Dimensions: | 33.2 x 23.5 x 15.7 cm; 2.77 Kilograms |
| Brand: | MINIS FORUM |
| Manufacture: | Micro Computer (HK) Tech Limited |
| Dimensions: | 33.2 x 23.5 x 15.7 cm; 2.77 Kilograms |
This is an excellent mini PC for retro game emulation. Load up a hard drive with your roms and use Batocera frontend and play everything from Game Boy to WiiU to PS3.
Minis who? I certainly hadn’t heard of them before I went looking for a new Windows machine.
However, looking at the reviews overall it seemed to be a reasonably good brand and a competent performer for the price. I decided I wanted a small form factor PC basically because there’s no space left on my desk for anything but an All-In-One. The commercial AIOs didn’t appeal so a vesa-mountable SFF ‘box was on my list.
My old windows laptop was getting long in the tooth (and I put Kali on it anyway), my old IMac OS was no longer supported by software houses generally, so no updates for applications either (Apple had stopped supporting it years ago) so that’s when I started looking.
I will admit I was a little apprehensive bunging so much cash at a to me, unknown manufacturer for a decent SFF PC.
I needn’t have worried – the PC seems to be very well manufactured and (thank you Minis!) all hardware is present in the box that you are likely to need including the small set screws for installing additional internal storage. As others have noted though, it is a bit fiddly installing the SATA ribbon cable for the extra SDD, if you are using one.
So, real world experience; is it any good? In a few words, yes – this is a beast!
So very different from my other machines – boot is far quicker than making a coffee (perfect!) and Windows 11 isn’t all that bad, once you retrain the muscle memory.. :-). It is very quiet and frankly I struggle to understand how they got so much horsepower in such a small space. Well done Minis!
It isn’t bad at games, but then I have got a console for that, so it wasn’t my prime reason for purchase. It is a capable machine though don’t expect serious 4k/HDR gaming from it.
It is however, very very quick at video editing, slicing, compiling etc. and general office work.
To date, I have had zero issues with the ‘box. It is far better than I had expected – we’ll just have to see how it copes over time.
Hope that helps!
Kz
In short, very impressed so far.
Can run demanding games using the APU, but comes into its own when you plug in a dedicated GPU. Quiet and remains cool. Could do with a bit more space to accommodate an M2 SSD with heatsink attached.
love it dumped the tower and got this well pleased with i
What a brilliant purchase this has turned out to be. Windows 11 aside, I’ve had no issues at all and it runs quiet even when hammering the dedicated gpu. Best of all, this does output at 4k/120 unlike the description and the minisforum website that, says max 4k/60.
Ive not played the most demanding games yet, I’m working through some classics on my steam library. Max payne 3 flies on this machine, getting well over 100fps at 4k which looks great on my LG C2. Tried out some emulation 2 and everything I’ve tried with yuzu works great too, some at 2x resolution. I have this setup to boot straight to steams new big picture mode and within seconds of powering on, I’m straight into big picture giving a console like experience.
Biggest letdown is the WiFi card on board, I feel like speeds aren’t as good as what they could be but not helped by the location of where the pc is kept. I may upgrade to the Intel ax210 at some point since its just a standard M2 slot. Already ordered a 2tb ssd which I’m looking forward to upgrading and will give me plenty storage for my library.
Depending on your needs, I would definitely recommend this pc if it’s for a living space or you are short on room. Yes it’s not a 4k AAA powerhouse but will comfortably run modern games at 1080/1440p without Ray tracing. This should keep me going for years to come or until minusforum realise something a lot better than catches my eye!
I’ve been using this PC for a few weeks now and it works perfectly, more power than I need and its completly silent! Plays all games perfect GTAV, Red Dead Redemption, Cyberpunk with no problems. Would recommend to anyone who games, but for general PC use you would be better off getting one of the cheaper versions without a graphics card. One of the other advantages of this PC is you can upgrade RAM and HD very easily.
great machine had to send back unfortunately as the sound jack out put was lose and was only allowing sound through one speaker but despite this would recommend
I have the version with 2 HDMI, 2 Display Port sockets plus 2 internal SATA drive bays. I’ve added a 4TB SSD, a 2TB SSD and replaced the m.2 device with a 2TB stick to meet my photography needs. It sits just under my desk, but I’ve never heard the fans make a noise. I don’t play games so cannot make a comment on it’s abilities in that sphere.
What would make it better? If I could name only one – it would be support for more than one m.2 device.
I have no problem recommending this PC to others.
A great purchase for me.
The inclusion of windows 11 is a bit of a let down (because I can’t stand windows 11) it might have been better to include windows 10 as you have the option to upgrade for free if you really really want it.
I have had a few software crashes in things like development software and virtual box that don’t bode particularly well, but with PC’s you can never quite be sure where things are messing up. For all I know this is just a windows 11 thing. Unless I see a smoking gun I’m not going to point fingers at the hardware.
I did try to get support from minis forum regarding memory upgrades. I was VERY disappointed. They respond quickly enough, just don’t expect knowledgeable responses. That said I get very irate with Dell support so this might not mean anything
Very impressed with performance and ease of use.
set up was easy, only issue I had was the display went blank around a minute or two after switching it on. I tried several different set-ups but the issue persisted, until it just stopped happening and works perfectly now. I have no idea what caused it or why it stopped.
I will attempt to install further hard drive in a couple of weeks. stay tuned for how that goes.
Comes ready to go with windows 11. Does not make much noise and very powerful what’s not to like.
I was anxious about the small box but it packs a super fast punch! with the Ryzen 9 it is booting in couple of seconds and handles huge mailboxes with ease. Very very happy with this one
Was a bit worried being so small but very happy once switched on very fast great to use pro 11 taking a bit of time to sort out wants to do to much for me but the HX90 is a pleasure to use.
Only been using this mini pc for about a week. Everything works fine. It’s very fast and quiet compared with other PCs I’ve used. I haven’t pushed it to the limits though, just general web browsing, email, MS office work. Very happy with it so far. Long may it last!
The Ryzen APU is more responsive than my i7 10750h gaming laptop. No bloatware in the installed windows11 pro OS. However I haven’t used the supplied GPU dock as yet. Do check out the reviews on YouTube. In my opinion a good value and very quite you can’t even tell it’s on except for it blue light.
I had been using a Lenovo laptop for years as my main computer and it was struggling with everything, it couldn’t play 4k movies and was very slow. I needed a new computer so thought I’d give this one a go as it appeared to have the specs I needed. I have put it through its paces and it seems to have handled everything I have thrown at it with ease so far. I was initially going to replace the 500gb ssd with 2 5tb ssd and replace the 32gb ram with 64gb ram but to be honest I don’t think I will need to at least not for a few years anyway. I was paying for 1gb internet speed but couldnt understand despite all the tests why I was only getting 150mb and came to the conclusion the laptop couldnt cope as it was old technology. After pluging my ethernet into this boom 1150gb speed! The only complaint I can come up with so far is when I play any kind of video be it a downloaded one or a YouTube video it has very tiny white pin prick effect in the background, this of course could be to do with Windows 11 or the hdmi cable from the pc to my tv I have no idea at the moment but am looking into it. I think this is a great small sized pc and very powerful and future proof. I am happy with my purchase and would recommend.
Yeah decent machine, love the DP and HDMI connectivity. Fast enough for general use PCing and mid-level gaming which is all I use it for.
Even playing football manager 2022 is making the fan buzz like a cheap laptop so I don’t know what would happen with a FPS game like call of duty or battlefield!
I bought it 3 months ago and have ALMOST got it how I want it.
I have not noticed any heat issues even though I bought it in July, I am HOH so maybe I just cannot hear the fan.
CONNECTIVITY
4 display ports – spectacular.
1 ethernet – fast enough.
USB… I thought 6 USB ports was good – no.
REAR ports – one for USB hub – HDDs and USB sticks, one for monitor link, others for printer and label printer.
I am planning a UPS ASAP which will take up the last USB A port leaving just the USB C – these two at the front.
Trouble getting my printer working via ethernet so am sticking with USB for now.
Using with a Dell S3221QS monitor via Display Port, perixx keyboard and kensington trackball connected via monitor.
Bluetooth for speakers / peripherals works just fine.
It can hang and crash a lot, but it comes with Windows 11 Pro which by all accounts is temperamental.
GAMES issue – because it uses integrated graphics, Microsoft Store will not recommend many games indeed when I tried a couple it was a disaster.
I am using external drives rather than adding internals – 3 for a RAID array and a 4th as main backup; memory stick as recovery drive.
For a PC it is quite impressive and does almost everything I want, its limitations are software and limited USB ports – could do with twice as many, but would need a new USB board for that.
Obviously as it is NOT a tower – conventional expansion is not an option.
The processor was rated as road runner for non gaming and it seems to be.
32GB RAM handles pretty much everything, but programs still crash – especially Edge Browser – seems to be the best with W 11 Pro, Firefox is useless and Chrome a PITA.
Don’t bother with built in email client.
Running OEM software for Kensington, Dell, Phomemo, Brother and Libre / Open Office – some issues, but basically Windows 11 Pro again.
Ethernet is speedy – only using it for router at the moment, still planning to set up the Brother MFC-J4540DW on the network to free up a USB port once I can get the software installed correctly.
TP Link hub & 4G router – work fine but I use AVG VPN so temperamental.
All in all, expensive but small footprint – it lives on its stand so no bigger footprint than my USB hub, cables take up more space than the CPU, don’t they always.
I do some graphics using GIMP 2 and really smooth and quick.
Using for data analysis on large multiple linked spreadsheets and data base and this pc is an absolute beast in performance and whisper quiet, not totally silent but almost. Well worth to deal price.
The vertically mounted computer is almost silent, except when the fan racks up for cpu-intensive processing, when it throws out a surprising amount of hot air. This indicates that the relatively “state of the art” liquid metal cooling does facilitate excellent heat transfer. Video processing is as fast as one would expect of an 8 core Ryzen 9 chip. The integral graphic processor in the chip works fine with my single 4K monitor and external usb3 blue ray disc drive / recorder. This is a fast machine. What is not fast is the tedious business of reloading software onto windows, a problem of Microsoft not the machine.
Value for money, particularly if you get a good voucher deal, is excellent. I have no experience using the machine for gaming nor have I needed to contact the seller, so I have not rated those items.
Perhaps the best recommendation is that I was sufficiently impressed with the machine that a few weeks later I bought one for my wife. I would have preferred to buy her a more “goof-proof” MiniMac with M1 chip, not that much more expensive. However she is addicted to a particular legacy piece of Microsoft software which, to my surprise, still runs fine on Windows 11.
I rarely write Amazon reviews and it is early days yet, but two happy users of the Minisforum Ryzen 5900HX MiniPC here!
Certainly powerful and fast – if there is a fault it could do with a larger C Drive SSD (I cloned it and replaced it with a 1TB). Space for two internal SSD/2.5 hard drives. Quiet, small footprint, enough USB A and C ports.
So far, so good – time will tell but v happy with my purchase, although pricey its the best I could find for my use and it is Windows 11 Pro.
Very compact unit measuring DMS 190cm x 190cm x 60cm and good looking to boot.. Powerful CPU with good cooling due to case design which also lends itself to easy DIY upgrade access to memory and HD components.
Very quiet in use, and so far… has stayed cool during use over a single 24hours of use of BOINC projects mixed with video UHD viewing from the DIY HD upgrade.
On a personal note: Screws were changed – on a previous review request – from Torx to X head?
If possible, add to Torx screw as extra’s or, allow replacement Torx screw set via purchase?
In a nut shell: A well designed quality item at a very good price point.
I use it for everything. A speedy little PC. I put an extra 1.0 Tb and 500 Gb drives in mine.
The software included is not bloatware but windows 11.
So far can’t recommend this enough.
Only slight niggle stated on sales-page that comes with a 3-year warrantee, no mention in documentation to back this up, test will come if problems occur in next couple of years if warrantee genuine.
Waiting for a replacement power pack so haven’t used the machine yet, will update when we have.
When it arrived, I was a little surprised with only a small leaflet with instructions. It seemed to simple.
Nothing to worry about. Plugged it in, attached the screen lead, wireless mouse with keyboard, pressed the power button. It just worked! Easy on screen instructions from there onward. It was that simple.
There was more information on the leaflet, which explained about fitting additional drives, etc.
The first thing I noticed when I picked up the box, was a decent weight. Unpacking was straight forward and everything you need was
In there, even a HDMI cable (albeit a bit short, but perfect if your screen is as close as mine).
I was concerned that my analogue screen wouldn’t work through my docking extension, but it did, quickly. Even the stand attachment to hold the unit vertically is substantially in weight. There is no sign of quality compromise.
So far – very happy and impressed.
Time will tell if it continues to be as good.
Unfortunately mine is faulty with a sound problem. so can’t say much more. Did contact manufacturer support got one email from them and then nothing else even though I emailed them again,
I can only give it 4 stars due to sound problem. Will ask for replacement. Have to reorder as no provision replacement on Amazon. Amazon picking up faulty unit and manufacturer appologised for inconvenience caused. Second pc absolutely fine