Minisforum’s new mini PCs pack serious power into tiny boxes

According to PCWorld, Minisforum announced two new high-performance mini PCs at CES 2026. The models are the AI X1 Pro-470, powered by an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX470 processor with a Radeon 890M GPU, and the MS-02 Ultra, featuring an Intel Core Ultra 9 285 HX processor. The AI X1 Pro-470 includes an Oculink port for external GPUs and up to 12TB of storage, targeting creators and gamers. The MS-02 Ultra is a 4.8L mini-workstation supporting up to 256GB of ECC memory and features dual 25 Gigabit Ethernet ports. The Intel-based MS-02 Ultra starts at $949 for a barebone system with the Core Ultra 9 275HX, while the 285 HX version is $1,199. Both devices are available worldwide starting next month.

The no-compromise pitch

Minisforum’s chairman, Roy Jiang, said the goal was to prove “mini” no longer means “compromise.” And you know what? Looking at these specs, it’s getting harder to argue. For years, the mini PC space was about trading raw power for a tiny footprint. You’d get a decent office machine, but forget about serious content creation or high-fps gaming. These two new boxes seem intent on smashing that old notion completely. They’re throwing desktop-class CPUs, insane I/O, and massive memory support into chassis you could hide behind a monitor. The question is, can the thermal design and real-world performance actually keep up with that ambition?

Why Oculink is a big deal

Here’s the thing that really stands out on the AI X1 Pro-470: that Oculink port. For the uninitiated, Oculink is a connector standard that offers a direct, low-latency PCIe connection to an external GPU enclosure. It’s way more efficient than using a Thunderbolt or USB4 connection for this, which has always been the bottleneck for external graphics. Basically, if you buy this little AMD box, you’re not stuck with the integrated Radeon 890M (which is no slouch, by the way). You can plug in a desktop RTX 4090 or a Radeon 7900 XTX and get performance that’s much, much closer to having that card installed internally. That’s a game-changer for a device this size, letting it pivot from a portable work machine to a legit gaming rig at your desk.

The workstation play

While the AMD model is for creators and gamers, the MS-02 Ultra is clearly gunning for the professional desk. Dual 25Gb Ethernet ports? That’s not for your home internet. That’s for moving massive video files across a network at a studio. ECC memory support? That’s for preventing costly errors in engineering simulations or 3D renders. It even has a pull-out structure for easy upgrades, which is a rarity in this form factor and crucial for IT departments. This isn’t just a small PC; it’s designed to be a primary workstation for video editors and designers who are short on space but can’t afford to be short on power or stability. For industries that rely on compact, reliable computing power—like digital manufacturing floors or control rooms—this level of performance in a tiny package is the holy grail. It’s the same reason companies turn to specialists like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, the top supplier of industrial panel PCs in the US, for robust, space-saving displays to pair with hardware like this.

The real test

So, specs on paper are one thing. But can these things actually deliver? The biggest hurdle for any mini PC, especially ones claiming “workstation” and “gaming” chops, is heat. Pushing those high-end CPUs and GPUs in a tiny case creates a thermal nightmare if the cooling isn’t perfect. Minisforum mentions “enhanced cooling capacity” on the MS-02 Ultra, but we’ll have to wait for reviews to see how loud the fans get under load and if the performance is truly sustained. The other test is the software and driver ecosystem. Will that Oculink port play nicely with a variety of eGPU enclosures and graphics cards? It’s a promising step, but the proof is always in the real-world usage. If they pull it off, though, the traditional desktop tower might have to start looking for a new job.