MINISFORUM Mini Workstation MS-A1 Barebone with AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (Zen 5, 16 cores/32 Threads, up to 5.7 GHz) Mini PC, OCuLink, Dual 2.5G LAN, 4× M.2 PCIe, HDMI/DP/USB-C, Without RAM/SSD

The Minisforum MS-01 is hands-down the best mini PC I’ve ever used for a home lab/server setup, and I’ve gone through more than a few (N100 minis, old Intel NUCs, used ThinkCentre tinies, etc.). This thing is a beast in a ridiculously small package. What makes it the “ultimate” for homelabbers: • CPU: The i9-13900H (or 12900H version) absolutely flies. Running Proxmox with a dozen VMs and LXCs (Pi-hole, Home Assistant, Plex, Nextcloud, WireGuard, etc.) and it barely breaks a sweat. Pass-through of the iGPU to a Jellyfin/Immich VM works flawlessly for hardware transcoding. • I/O is insane: Dual 10GbE SFP+ ports AND dual 2.5GbE RJ45. Finally a mini PC that doesn’t choke my network. The PCIe 4.0 x16 slot (x4 electrically) let me drop in a real quad-port 10GbE NIC without any compromises. • Expansion: Two M.2 2280 slots + one M.2 22110 + a U.2 NVMe connector. I’m running 12 TB of fast storage inside with zero external drives. Hot-tier, warm-tier, cold-tier—all in one tiny box. • Build quality & thermals: Surprisingly quiet under normal load, and even when I push all cores it never thermal throttles. The cooling solution is clearly over-engineered in the best way. • Power draw: Idle at ~18-22 W with everything running (Proxmox + services). That’s stupidly efficient for this much performance. Minor nitpicks (because nothing is perfect): • It’s not exactly cheap, but you get what you pay for. • The internal USB header situation is a little awkward if you want to run a Coral TPU or something similar. • BIOS is still getting updates—some early quirks with sleep/resume are mostly fixed now. If you’re tired of outgrowing every “mini PC” after six months and don’t want to run a loud 1U rack server in your apartment, the MS-01 is pretty much the endgame. I wish I bought two. Highly recommended for anyone serious about self-hosting or building a compact, high-performance home lab. 11/10 would buy again. Lots of ports,games ok, fast speed and easy to setup

The "MinisForum" presents a visually captivating design, embodying both aesthetic appeal and substantial power. Upon closer inspection, I found myself intrigued by the intricate design of the device. It is evident that the construction is not only advanced but also exceptionally well-organized, reflecting a high degree of technological craftsmanship. The interior layout showcases a modular design that facilitates easy access and customization, indicating a thoughtful approach to user experience and functionality. Upon utilizing the computer, I was thoroughly impressed by its operational performance. The efficiency and speed with which it processes tasks demonstrate its formidable capabilities. Indeed, this device can be aptly characterized as "A Small Monster," conveying not only its compact size but also its impressive ability to handle demanding applications with remarkable ease. Overall, this computer represents a noteworthy achievement in modern technology, combining aesthetic charm with robust performance in a seamless package.

After reading so much hype about the MS-A2, I couldn't wait to get my hands on one! I already have an MS-01 and MS-A1, so I was super excited to see how much the tech has evolved in the last year. The MS-A2 is essentially in the same case as the MS-A1, but packed with a lot more power! I was a bit saddened to see there is no USB4 support or Gen5 NVME and has just one HDMI video output . It does have two type-C USB 3.2 Gen2 10Gbps ports that support display port out, so you can add two additional monitors (for a total of three monitors at the same time.) It has two 2.5GbE ethernet ports. One is Intel-based, the other is Realtek based. In addition, it also has two SFP+ ports based on the Intel X710 network chip. The WiFi 6E and Bluetooth are from a Mediatek RZ616 m2 network adapter inside. It is now possible to get 64GB DDR5 SODIMM memory modules, so two of those DO work in this system for a total of 128GB of RAM!!! Of course, I had to get the Ryzen 9 version 9955HX, which has 16 cores and 32 threads. That CPU can turbo up to 5.4GHz! For storage, there are three M.2 slots that can fit either M.2 2280 (80mm) or M.2 22110 (110mm) NVMe SSDs. Yes, you can use RAID 0 or RAID 1 on them! It also includes an adapter if you want to use U.2 enterprise-class server storage drives. This Mini PC is no toy! The power brick is 240 watts! It's amazing how much power, performance and reliability you get for such a low price in such a small and quiet package! Yes, you can absolutely hear the CPU fan ramp up when it's under a heavy workload, but it is much quieter than the CPU coolers of yester-year! Opening up the system to work on it is just a push button away. No tools required! You push a button in the back and the entire case pulls off like a sleeve! There is an option to slot in a OcuLink PCEi card if you want to have an external GPU, though I'd just get a regular tower PC if that was my intention, personally. This is THE best value homelab computer available today! I am absolutely smitten with this workhorse!!!

He tenido problemas con el ventilador principal, ya que tiene 2 y el más grande que es el que disipa la mayoría del calor se desactiva de la nada, al principio crei que era mal contacto pero no, simplemente deja de funcionar, tengo que apagar la computadora y volver a encenderla, este problema hace que todo el chasis se caliente y termine afectando la temperatura del SSD y supongo que de otros componentes también, quiero esta PC para usarla desatendida y via Remota, pero este problema es de tomar en cuenta de que tengo que estar verificando qué no tenga este fallo

Estoy encantado, una gran compra a un super precio, su desempeño es increíble, rara vez un producto supera las expectativas pero éste lo ha hecho.

Just like other Minisforum products it is very well made and no issues so far. I have 4 more HX99G and UM790Pro units and all work like charm. The only problem with this MS-A1 is that the U.2 adapter was not included in the box. This was the main reason that I purchased this Mini Workstation for. That is why I have given this one 2 stars only. As the package seemed to be factory sealed, I assume that Minisforum assembly line did not put it in the box at the first place. I appreciate if Minisforum could send me the adapter.

Solo la memoria no corre a mas de 4800MT/s de ahi en fuera todo bien

A very good workstation. I am using it as a Proxmox server for virtual machines. It is very stable and noise-free. Overall, I recommend it.