Minisforum MS-01 Performance
Instead of going through the entire Linux-Bench test suite, we are going to show a few performance and power numbers here to give a general sense of performance. This also gives us the opportunity to test with Linux/ Ubuntu instead of just Windows.
Python Linux 4.4.2 Kernel Compile Benchmark
This is one of the most requested benchmarks for STH over the past few years. The task was simple, we have a standard configuration file, the Linux 4.4.2 kernel from kernel.org, and make the standard auto-generated configuration utilizing every thread in the system. We are expressing results in terms of compiles per hour to make the results easier to read:
Overall one gets a very capable and fast processor with the Intel Core i9-13900H. It is faster than the Core i7, which we would expect. To us the big challenge with the Core i9-13900H is not the total performance. Instead, it is things like VMware ESXi not liking hybrid core designs.
7-zip Compression Performance
7-zip is a widely used compression/ decompression program that works cross-platform. We started using the program during our early days with Windows testing. It is now part of Linux-Bench.
Again, we get more performance here, and more performance than something like the Minisforum NPB7 which had the Intel Core i7-13700H.
OpenSSL Performance
OpenSSL is widely used to secure communications between servers. This is an important protocol in many server stacks. We first look at our sign tests:
Here are the verify results:
Again, we get great performance from this chip. Something to keep in mind though is that most home servers run at less than 25% CPU utilization as memory capacity is a limiting factor rather than CPU performance.
Geekbench Performance
Just as a quick check versus the SimplyNUC Onyx v9 in Geekbench 6 that uses the same processor.
Part of this is just where systems throttle based on the Geekbench 6 workload. Other parts of this come down to the fact that the MS-01 by being larger is able to get a bit more cooling onto parts. We have discussed a number of times how we would trade a slightly larger chassis for better cooling, and this is a great example of that in action.
Next, let us get to the storage performance.
CrystalDiskMark SSD Performance
We took a quick screenshot with the three drives shown in photos earlier installed and just ran CrystalDiskMark to see what the results were.
Overall, not the best results. At first, I was not very happy. Then two of our team members reminded me that those are still faster than SATA and 10GbE and that there are three drives, not two. Sometimes, just having fast enough storage that has more devices or more capacity can be very useful.
One may have noticed that we have 96GB of memory in the system, let us get to the plug fest next.
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