Minisforum MS-01 Internal Hardware Overview
Inside the system, we get a configuration that is very Dell Micro or HP Mini-like. The CPU and memory are under a shroud at the bottom. Then the top is an expansion area.
The expansion slot is a low-profile single-slot expansion. Minisforum says that this can take an NVIDIA RTX A2000 mobile GPU. We tried finding a seller on AliExpress, eBay or elsewhere that had this GPU in stock, and could not get it. When we asked Minisforum to validate this claim, they told us that in China there is a big modding community that has A2000’s for this slot. Instead, we plugged in a number of different cards that we will talk about on the second to last page of this review.
We are also going to have a listing of PCIe cards and memory modules we used in this system in this forum thread. If you get something working, please add it to that thread.
The fan requires three screws to remove. It would be nice if this was tool-less like on systems from companies like HP. Underneath the fan, we get two DDR5 SODIMM slots. Our system came pre-installed with 32GB (2x 16GB) Crucial DDR5-5600 SODIMM memory. We upgraded this to 64GB (2x 32GB) which is the maximum supported. We also used 2x 48GB for 96GB total. That is in the “it works but is not Minisforum supported at this time” category. We did not have issues during our testing with it and it was a primary configuration we used.
The CPU is the Intel Core i9-13900H. This is a very fast CPU with 6 performance and 8 efficient cores. It also has an integrated GPU for those who want the Intel iGPU for a desktop, Quick Sync transcoding, or the like. One item that is worth mentioning is that there is a Core i9-12900H option as well. The Core i9-13900H is probably more CPU than many folks will need. Personally, I might get the Alder Lake generation Core i9 instead just to save a few dollars. Initial pricing had the generational upgrade as a $130 or so price difference.
Turning the system over, we can see storage, networking, and another fan.
That fan is important as the plate it rests on has just enough room to fit a U.2 7mm SSD. As a result, it means a SSD with a heatsink can only be used in the default position, where the 1TB Kingston NVMe SSD is installed in this photo. The other two slots cannot handle heatsinks because of the fan.
A somewhat odd find was the Mediatek RZ616 WiFi 6E solution. This is typically used in AMD systems, but here we have it in an Intel system.
On the topic of networking, here is the Intel SRKTV and SRKTT which are the Intel i226-V and i226-LM NICs.
Here is the Kingston 1TB NVMe SSD installed in the primary M.2 slot.
That slot has something interesting. One can install a M.2 2280 (80mm) or 22110 (110mm) SSD in it, or one can decide to go a different route, and install a U.2 7mm SSD.
The system came with a M.2 to U.2 adapter. Of course, M.2 drives use a lot less power, so there is a switch on the motherboard, with a giant warning label, to change the M.2 slot to a higher-power mode. That switch is very important. If you have it set to the U.2 mode, and try installing a M.2 drive, there is a solid chance that it will damage the M.2 drive. Hence, the giant warning label.
One challenge is that with the drive installed, one cannot see the label for the switch.
Here is an example with three drives installed and we cannot tell if it is in the U.2 or M.2 position. You can remove the U.2 drive to check, but that feels like something that could be better labeled in the system.
Of course, the benefit of this is that there are three M.2 drive slots that can take either M.2 2280 or M.2 22110 SSDs. That third can also handle a U.2 drive as one can see here:
Most mini PCs we see are limited to 1-2 M.2 2280 SSDs, so this is an expansion of capability beyond just the PCIe slot on the other side of the chassis.
Next, let us get to the performance.
This part is repeated twice in the article (Page 5), I’d edit one of them out real quick:
“We spent a ton of time and money on this review testing cards that we thought folks would be interested in. This was one of those reviews that we were very excited for the product, so we put extra effort into.”
So it doesn’t support PCIe bifurcation? Shame.
Were any other plx cards attempted excluding the QNAP qm2-2p2g2t?
It would be nice to try a simple dual NVME. Aiming for 5 nvme ssds at using the maximum bandwidth available.
Looks like they won’t ship until Jan 20? I have 2 on order, also have 2 RTX A2000’s. Should make for an interesting homelab.
How does the iGPU on this compare to a laptop dGPU like a laptop version of an RTX 2070? If significantly worse, do they make graphics cards that would fit in this unit’s pcie slot that would provide that sort of slightly boosted level of graphics performance?
Would something like a OWC Thunderbolt enclosure work on these?
Is there a low profile single slot a2000 that fits?
Anyone who is buying one and planning to use it for firewall duty, could you check throughput of IMIX traffic when running through Suricata or ZenArmor? Really interested what this CPU can do.
I hope to see an AMD minipc with dual 10 GbE soon.
Was a link to the QNAP NAS through the onboard 10gb SFP port successful with these Cheap SFP+ Optics (Amazon Affiliate link)?
Would be nice to see the power consumption from wall in ‘on-demand’ or power safe mode in idle in promox.
Frustratingly, on the uk store site the 12900H model is no longer showing a barebones option, and that’s the one I would be interested in :/
I would buy a lot of these if it had PCIe 16x with Bifurcation, and IPMI. So much potential…. Maybe a PRO version or Rev 2 model with these features
Now where’s the AMD version of this powerhouse!?!?
Going to order at least one soon.
@All the ones concerned with bifurcation: you can circumvent this lack via active adapters sporting onboard PCie switches. Costly, but effective when lacking bifurcation.
Is the case material aluminum or steel?
i just ordered one and i will be getting the power usage down as much as i can. (not going to be using hyperthreading for starters and limiting burst.)
Consider their weird NIC choices on their AMD mini PCs, I wouldn’t put hope on the AMD version of this platform, but if you are not so into VMware camp like me you would be fine.
And TBH I would rather they make the chassis thicker or wider so I can have the PSU internalized, than finding ways to accommodate this god horrid large power brick that would get moved easily and take up a lot of space, especially when you buy a cluster of them.
What about using an external thunderbolt expansion case for those who want to link in a 4090? I know that begs the question of “why mini-pc” but it would allow for a flexible arrangement in a short-rack depth.
Also, for v2.0, ECC support pls!
Wish you would stop getting my hopes up with 10GbE in the title.. I need ethernet.. For love of all that’s holy can we get Base-T instead of SFP+
I have my CAT7 already run, what I’m in need of is 10Gbase-T!
Which x710 nic are they using? Some of the models only support 1/10 instead of 1/2.5/5/10.
No block diagram?
Just got mine in. I was wanting to run a standard SATA SSD, Will that not work or is there some config im missing?
The BIOS is very basic so i cant tell on a hardware side if the device is being recognized.
I ordered a barebone MS-01 system (based on the i9-12900H) on January 13, 2024. Given the website’s very clear warning, I thought it wouldn’t ship until March 29th. To my very pleasant surprise, it arrived today (January 24, 2024)! Now I have to scramble to pick up done memory and NVMEs!
Wow…the space under the heat dissipation bracket & fan is TIGHT. I applied a thin heatsink (.5mm silica gel pad & 1mm copper plate) to the first SSD, but there wasn’t enough clearance for the second SSD!
Can someone please suggest a beefier power supply for the Minisforum MS-01? Along the line of 240W+ that will be compatible with the MS-01. Thanks in advance.
Can someone tell me if I can connect an eGPU via the USB4 (thunderbolt 3) port? If so this would help greatly to over come the power, low profile PCIe slot, and heat limitation for attaching a dGPU to the system.
Great review
Question on the primary NVMe slot and the specs. They state 2TB max on the website. Can a larger M.2 drive capacity fit with double sided memory chips or will it only support single sided M.2 drives up to 2TB max only?
What is the hight of that heatsink? wondering if a 990 Pro with heatsink will fit?
@Joe Pepsi: You know you can put in a 10GBASE-T SFP+, right?
Anyone got the KVM working? I enabled Intel AMT with KVM and can access the WebUI. But there ist no KVM to connect to.
hello about the Bradcom lsi 9300-8e card, it seems that all the card i found on amazon or ebay seems to be very long… wath is the lenght of the tested card?
in fact i want to replace asm1164 qnap card (not compatilble with my freebsd xigmanas ) by a LSI compatible model and i want to know to by one..
could some body helpe me
Any recommendations for a cheep JBOD that can be used with a HBA on IT mode to run with proxmox and TrueNAS Scale? Thank you kindly
@mishan you can use lsi 9300-8e from china wia ebay