Minisforum MS-S1 Max Review – The Best Ryzen AI Max Mini-PC Yet

A name that needs no introduction in the mini-PC space, Minisforums recently released what is arguably one of its most interesting designs in ages: the MS-S1 Max, a mini-PC based around AMD’s Ryzen AI Max hardware. Designed to tap into the AI developer market that’s enabled by the system’s powerful integrated GPU and attached 128GB of high-bandwidth LPDDR5X memory, Minisforum has taken things one step further by putting together a high-end mini-PC that flanks AMD’s chip with tons of expandability and extra features. The end result is that the MS-S1 Max is a Ryzen mini-PC with few rivals, and a lot of headroom for its users.

Minisforum has based this PC around AMD’s most powerful Ryzen AI Max chip, the Ryzen AI Max+ 395. A fully enabled “Strix Halo” chip, the 395 delivers every bit of performance that AMD’s Zen 5 CPU and RDNA 3.5 GPU architectures can provide in a single chip SoC. For AI developers in particular, the iGPU coupled with the 128GB of LPDDR5X memory attached on a larger-than-normal 256-bit memory bus makes for a very potent combination for local model development and inference.

While there are numerous Ryzen AI Max systems on the market today, few aim as high as Minisforum’s MS-S1 Max. Along with AMD’s chip, the system is equipped with dual 10GbE ports, USB4 v2 ports, and an internal half-height PCIe slot. As a result, the MS-S1 Max brings a lot to the table, not just with AMD’s SoC, but with everything Minisforum has added to it. Consequently, as we will go through in this review, the MS-S1 Max has become our favorite Ryzen AI Max mini-PC to date.

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Minisforum MS-S1 Max External Hardware Overview

Starting things off at the front, the design of Minisforum’s MS-S1 Max marks a clean break for the company in terms of design. Owing in part to a larger cooling system to accommodate the relatively high-powered Ryzen AI Max SoC as well as Minisforum’s decision to integrate an internal PSU, the MS-S1 Max does not use any of the company’s existing case designs. As a result, there is quite a bit new here, while other parts have been rearranged in the new design. The overall aesthetic has taken on a grated look from the front, and on the whole, we feel that this is Minisforum’s best industrial design yet.

For their Ryzen AI Max box, Minisforum has opted for a mix of USB Type-A and Type-C ports on the front of the system, a notable distinction since some of their recent systems have still been entirely Type-A. Both front USB-C ports support USB4 40Gbps, providing ample I/O bandwidth for front-facing peripherals.

Otherwise, the front panel of the system rounds things out with the usual combo audio jack, microphone, and a power button.

Rotating the mini-PC a bit, we can immediately spot one of its other notable design elements: rubber feet on the side.

Not only can the MS-S1 Max be laid flat like typical mini-PCs, but this one is also designed to fully support being laid on its side, with rubber feet on both the bottom and the side to accommodate either.

While we are looking at the bottom, we can see that it is completely sealed along the bottom. All of the air intake in this system is through the front as well as the top, where we can see an intake vent.

On a side note, while the MS-S1 Max is first and foremost designed to work as a desktop mini-PC, Minisforum has built in some additional flexibility here as well. Presumably, in a nod to customers using whole clusters of Ryzen AI Max systems, the MS-S1 Max can also be rack-mounted in a 2U configuration.

Flipping over to the rear of the mini-PC, we find the rest of the MS-S1 Max’s various ports and, really, a summary of just what this high-end mini-PC is all about.

With 6 USB ports flanking the system, four USB-A and two USB-C, the MS-S1 Max is a rather I/O-heavy system. While the USB-A ports are relatively unremarkable, with a pair of USB 3.2 10Gbps ports and a pair of USB 2 480Mbps ports for basic peripherals, Minisforum is aiming high with the USB-C ports. Rather than just using 40Gbps ports, the company has installed a discrete USB4 V2 controller on the motherboard, allowing it to drive a pair of USB4 V2 80Gps ports. As a result, the MS-S1 Max should have no trouble working at full speed with even the newest and fastest USB devices, even years down the line.

The USB-C ports also double as the DisplayPort outputs for this mini-PC. Minisforum did not include a dedicated DisplayPort of any kind, so instead, that task falls to DisplayPort Alt Mode on the USB-C ports. So there is quite a lot of hidden flexibility in the MS-S1 Max’s display output capabilities courtesy of USB-C.

As for those users who need a more classic connectivity option, there is a dedicated HDMI 2.1 port. According to Minisforum, it supports resolutions up to 8K@60Hz. Linux users, however, will want to keep in mind the current limitations of using HDMI 2.1 modes on AMD hardware under Linux.

We also briefly see the cutout for a low-profile PCIe slot here. We will go into that a bit more when looking at the internal hardware, but this is where the I/O backplate of any such installed card would be.

On the right side of the MS-S1 Max, we find another of the PC’s high-end features: a pair of 10Gbps RJ45 Ethernet ports. Minisforum has been no stranger to including high-performance networking options with its mini-PCs- the MS-01 even included SFP+ ports, so the Max continues that trend with 10GbE.

Like a rush of other recent devices shipping with 10Gbps Ethernet support, Minisforum is using Realtek’s recently released RTL8127 controllers here. So far, we have found to be reliable and relatively low power. The main potential downside is that the hardware is so new that, if you are installing the OS from scratch, you may need to locate Realtek’s drivers.

A quick look to the right of that finds the system’s CMOS reset button, thankfully embedded so that it cannot be accidentally triggered.

Finally, thanks to the switch to the use of an internal power supply with this system, Minisforum’s system ditches the barrel connector for a C14 AC power connector. Ironically, by moving the PSU inside the PC, Minisforum has needed to use a larger connector – but it is certainly nice to ditch the brick. The C14 in turn is an uncommon plug on mini-PCs, but with the MS-S1 Max utilizing a 320 Watt power supply, it is required by electrical code as the smaller C6 connector we normally see here is only rated for 300W (120V@2.5A).

Having completed our tour of the outside of the MS-S1 Max, let us dig into the internals.