@David out of interest, how does the size of the MS-02 compare to the size of the MS-01/A2 plus power brick?
They're all inside the rack but best guess - MS-A1/01 is 1.8L, the brick and bundled cabling is around another litre or so - call it 3 litres. The MS-02 is 4.8L but around .8L is due to the additional length over the MS-01, which isn't really a factor in a rack. It is twice the height around 35mm wider.
The brick itself is roughly 40x80x170 without any cables attached, which add a considerable amount of volume.
Yeah, that was sort of what I was wondering about. I like the idea of a computer that small, especially the ability to put a GPU into it, but the external brick is a bit of a pain.
That's why it replaced my Dell 3280, which is a great machine but the GPU limit is the SFF RTX models with no additional PCIE power, plus limited scope for fast ethernet. The brick and associated cabling is huge and cumbersome. It's still small at under 3 litres but the PSU and cabling bring that up to around 4 litres. The extra volume of the Ultra is easy to swallow when you consider the internal PSU even better GPU support, including the 4060 & 5060 LP models, extra PCIE expansion, four RAM slots, four type A ports, three type C (two of which are 80gbps), 2.5 and 10GbE. If the CPU was socketed, opening up a future upgrade path, it'd be bloody perfect. As it stands, its pretty ****ing close.
Ah, didn't realise the CPU wasn't socketed, that's a bit of a shame, but other than that it looks ideal, a cracking piece of kit.
I’d half thought about getting one of the n3rdware single slot coolers for my Arc B50 pro, which would be ideal for the MS-01/A2. The thing is I’d prefer the AMD CPU, but the A2 version doesn’t have USB4, which is annoying given the older Intel version and most of their other AMD mini PCs do. And I’d like that for expandability/future proofing.
Depends what you're doing with it - I can't speak to the B50 but I had the single slot cooler for the RTX 4000 Ada SFF with a view to making an uSFF gaming rig out of the MS-01, but it throttled like a pig within minutes. It's an impressive cooler but you have to temper your expectations. Yeah, Minisforum has a patchy history with Intel chipsets and labelling. The two front Type C ports on the Ultra are Thunderbolt 5 in all but name and are officially called USB 4 v2 ports. It's weird that they can produce the hardware but I guess Intel demands a chunk of change if you want to officially call it Thunderbolt 5. TBH, I think there is a small difference in that the ports on the Ultra are 80gbps but can't do the short term 120gbps "bandwidth boost" thing.
The NFC S5M is now available to pre-order if anyone is interested: here. It’s not as mini as the S4M was, but much more compatible with modern GPUs.
Looks like Arboreal was the only one to get my daft quip! What do people think of soldered ram? I read awhile back that Acer is annoying people with 3 different configurations on the same models depending on the batch run, Soldered , Non-Soldered and a hybrid mix of both.
I think, like a lot of things, it depends on use case. If you absolutely want/need max bandwidth, e.g. for an APU for gaming or inference, and are going to go whole-hog upfront anyway then it’s fine. I’m thinking Strix Halo for AI models as an example. Or a 32GB 388+ on an ITX board for a HTPC/living room gaming set up. What I don’t get is on baseline units where upgradability is a good thing and allows someone to get on board and stay longer or do more - e.g. where it might be bought for web browsing and word processing, but they get into games, coding, running a small business, etc. why not keep someone on your platform for longer? Sure, they may buy a new laptop, but will it be one of yours?
You'd think they would learn from the e-waste that mobile phones have caused with what feels like planned obsolescence so you buy a whole new device. Unlike laptops the mini pcs tend to be one or the other from what i've seen though i'm pretty sure some of the N100 / N95 "NAS" units are hybrid.
I didn't realise that the n100 lacked the AVX-512 instruction set , isn't this needed for console emulators?
Ok, I'm looking for a little help, by way of chassis suggestions or recommendations. I have my M1 with a B650m mobo, a 7600x, soon to be swapped out for the 7800X3D I bought from @pete* , and a Powercolor 9070 XT Reaper. I've had it up and running but windows won't activate and no amount of fugging around with my Microsoft account will let me assign one of my keys. So I've decided to turn it into a Steam machine. I do all my light gaming and browsing 3d modelling/printing etc..on my MS-02, so I don't really need windows on my Gaming rig. I plan to replace the B650m with an ITX board and I'm looking for the absolute smallest ITX chassis that will accommodate the relatively diminutive Reaper 9070 XT. I have a FormD T1 but I kinda promised it to my nipper for his rebuild. Is there anything smaller out there? [Edit] A spot of googling turned up the Ghost S1, which I thought was bigger than the T1. I've asked @BeauchN if his has sold.
Sooo, I don’t know your timescale on wanting a case. I have the Lazer3D HT5 itx case, coincidentally I got also from BeauchN. I’ve been using it, but gone a different way with the innards. If that is of any interest , not sure on size compared to others, just know it is tiny. And I will need a bit of time to get bits together as I was in the middle of trying to sort things and we’ve had to empty most rooms in the house for carpets! But you’re welcome to it if it fits the bill. It’s absolutely tiny (for me) and I’m unlikely to want to build in such a tiny case again.
That's interesting. It won't accommodate my 9070XT but it might work for my nipper's short length 3060 ti. I'll go and have a measure up. How much are you looking for?
Postage mate, will be a few days to get the bits together and sort the screws. I’m a disorganised mess at the mo with all the house work all going on
