Minisforum Unveils MS-S1 Max: A Powerful Mini AI Workstation with AMD's Strix Halo APU and USB4 V2 Technology

Minisforum MS-S1 Max Mini AI workstation teased: AMD Strix Halo APU, USB4 V2 80Gbps port

TL;DR: Minisforum's upcoming MS-S1 Max Mini Workstation features the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 APU with 16 cores, RDNA 3.5 Radeon 8060S GPU, and USB4 V2 support delivering 80Gbps bandwidth. Designed for AI workloads and compact performance, it offers up to 126 TOPS AI power and PCIe x16 GPU support, launching in late 2025. Minisforum is preparing its new MS-S1 Max Mini Workstation, which looks to be the first Mini-PC system packing the new USB4 V2 standard which provides up to 80Gbps of bandwidth. The upcoming Minisforum MS-S1 Max Mini AI workstation is powered by the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 "Strix Halo" APU that features 16 cores and 32 threads of Zen 5 processing power, and a powerful RDNA 3.5-based Radeon 8060S integrated GPU. Minisforum has its new Mini-PC workstation capped at 160W for peak workloads, all inside of a small 3.2L chassis. If the RDNA 3.5-based Radeon 8060S GPU isn't powerful enough for your liking, the Minisforum MS-S1 Max Mini AI workstation features support for dedicated graphics cards through a PCIe x16 slot, but without knowing how much clearance is inside, we don't know what type of GPU will fit... but the RTX 5090 is definitely ruled out at this size and PSU limits, obviously. Minisforum has a built-in 320W power supply inside, with the design of the system offering a slide-out pull design, which is a tool-free mechanism that makes maintaining your Minisforum MS-S1 Max Mini AI workstation easy. There's a dual-fan cooling system inside with six heatpipes that keep thermal throttling away, and a bunch of ventilation to keep the APU and other hardware cool. One of the key highlights of Minisforum's new MS-S1 Max Mini AI workstation is that it features the updated USB4 V2 standard, which offers a huge 80Gbps of bandwidth. The 80Gbps of bandwidth available lets users hook products up and enjoy the higher Thunderbolt 5 levels of bandwidth, like high-end monitors with high refresh rates, super-fast Gen5 external SSD storage, and more. Minisforum's new MS-S1 Max Mini AI workstation is ready for those AI workloads with the Strix Halo APU and its built-in NPU, offering up to 50 TOPS of AI performance, and up to 126 TOPS of AI performance all up. The new Mini-PC workstation supports large language models, including up to 109B parameter LLMs, offering some huge AI performance inside of a small system that will easily fit on (or under, or behind) your desk. The new MS-S1 Max Mini AI workstation is expected to be released in the second half of 2025, with no word on pricing just yet, but that shouldn't be too far away. Whether it's for gaming -- because you dig the design of the Minisforum MS-S1 Max Mini AI workstation -- for AI workloads, regular work and play, the AMD Strix Halo APU is more than powerful enough. 16C/32T of Zen 5 power with up to 128GB of RAM (no word on how much RAM is supported, but 96GB to 128GB most likely) and the RDNA 3.5-powered Radeon 8060S make this a potent Mini-PC system.

Minisforum Teases AMD Strix Halo-Based MS-S1 Max Mini AI Workstation, Featuring USB4 V2 80 Gbps Port

The MS-S1 Max Mini is likely the first mini PC to feature the latest UB4 version 2 port, which unlocks 80 Gbps bandwidth, and also offers a full-size PCIe x16 slot for graphics cards. Popular mini PC manufacturer, Minisforum, is back with a powerful AI workstation called MS-S1 Max Mini AI Workstation, which is its most powerful mini PC yet. The MS-S1 Max features the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 processor, offering 16x Zen 5 cores and SMT to deliver excellent gaming and productivity performance. Capped at 160W for peak workloads, it's ready to boost the performance whenever required. The MS-S1 Max delivers leading specifications inside a small chassis with a capacity of 3.2L and offers 2U rack mounts. Apart from boasting the fastest integrated graphics, i.e., the Radeon 8060S, the mini workstation is apparently ready to support dedicated GPUs via a PCIe x16 slot available inside the chassis. We don't know how much clearance is available for the dGPUs inside, but it is likely made for low-profile entry-level graphics cards. To ensure the system gets sufficient power, a 320W power supply is deployed to meet the requirements. To allow quick access to the hardware, the MS-S1 Max offers a slide-out pull design, which is a tool-free mechanism that also makes maintenance easier. The system uses a dual-fan cooling design and six heat pipes to keep thermal throttling at bay and has ample ventilation for the hardware. Perhaps one of the most notable features of the MS-S1 Max is the availability of a USB4 V2 interface, which unlocks a staggering 80Gbps of bandwidth. Through this port, users will be able to unlock support for uncompressed visuals on higher resolutions and at high refresh rates. Compared to the USB4 V2, the bandwidth is doubled, making the MS-S1 Max perfect for modern external GPUs like the ASUS ROG XG Mobile 2025 and Razer Core X V2. However, one shouldn't expect speeds like the standard PCIe 4.0 or 5.0 x16 interface. The MS-S1 Max is ready for AI workloads, thanks to the dedicated NPU on the Strix Halo chip, which offers up to 50 TOPS of AI performance and up to 126 TOPS of AI performance overall. The mini PC supports large models, such as up to 109B parameter LLMs, and can offer exceptional AI performance on your desk while also excelling at intensive CPU operations. The MS-S1 Max will be released in the second half of 2025, but there is currently no word on the pricing yet.