Hey Russ. I’m not very computer savy but I been wanting to get a device like this one with retro gaming installed already and one that has the GameCube emulator on. Do you know or direct where I can get one ? Thanks
I do love my Minisforum PC's! This one looks exactly like my UM350, different CPU, DDR5 and the aluminum case however. To keep mine cool I have a USB powered 12" case fan sitting on top of it, venting upwards with the top cover off. Literally the perfect size! I live in South China (and have actually visited Minisforum Head Office for personal support) so my environment is super hot! Every time I see these new reviews I want to buy another one, but have the UM350 and HX90G already! Love Minisforum! Great systems!
Great overview of this little guy. Currently in the market for one of these myself, and appreciate the detailed overview between productivity, and gaming. Nicely done, bud. 👍
The cinebench score seems abnormally low. The 13700H at 45W should score somewhere around 15000. Some gaming laptops that use this processor with higher PL1 and PL2 can even reach over 17000. I'm not sure if this is because the integrated graphics is running and taking away some of the power budget whereas those gaming laptops have dedicated graphics and the igpu is always at idle or simply turned off when running cinebench. Or if it's because the default CPU Vcore voltage is set too high in the MinisForum's BIOS making it unable to boost very high before being power limited.
As of 3/8/2024, this particular model (NPB7 with the Intel 13700H CPU) is no longer available on the MinisForum website. The closest to it is either the NAB6 (Intel Core i7-12650H) or the NAB7 (Intel Core i7-12700H). Both are available with either 512GB or 1TBSSD and can be upgraded to 64GB RAM and 4TB M.2 SSD, with internal room and connections for a single 2.5" SATA III SSD. I have an older MinisForum U820 (Intel Core i5 8279U, upgraded to 64GB RAM + 4TB M.2 SSD + 2 x 2TB 2.5" internal SATA III SSD) that has been in continuous (and flawless) service for almost a year, so I can definitely vouch for the brand.
Really appreciate the notes on video editing and media server here. I plan on getting a mini-pc in the next year, and while retro-gaming is up on the list, I really would like to use it for that stuff as well.
Doesn't seem that much more powerful than a Steam Deck and costs $200 more when you add ram and storage. I'd go with a Deck, third party dock and a micro sd card as they are cheap as hell right now. Either that or the M2 Mac Mini is a much better buy now that the porting toolkit is coming to fruition.
@KyleRuggles The Deck is an x86 bit PC and can run Windows no problem as well. I get that argument against the Mac mini although the M2 blows anything out of the water at this price point. inho this thing performs pretty subpar for a $600 machine when you can build a very capable ITX PC for about $800-$1000.
The new UM790Pro with AMD 7940HS is only $30 more for barebone and actually the same price for 32G+512G and 32G+1T models. It's got equal or slightly better CPU performance but way better integrated graphics. I mean over 50% better. I don't see any value picking the Intel model unless you really need the extra Ethernet port or the Intel media engine.
The integrative graphics card holds it back for gaming. This feels like more of a mini PC for office uses. No reason to get this considering you can buy the Ally for similar price but also have it be portable.
Thanks, unfortunately I cannot add that functionality while keeping it read-only, and so sadly I can't allow for sorting/filters because it would affect everyone. But you should be able to copy/paste the data into a different Google Sheet and then sort it that way.
Love this box, but one gripe when you say 1080p with GOW2 it's not actually 1080p, not all ps2 games ran at the same resolutions, if you look at the details it's actually at 720p. 16:04. Maybe try hitting 1080p no matter what scale it is, maybe this would be 5x instead of 3x for 1080p for GOW2. Really sucks with xbox emulation though. :( Wondering if you could do some video rendering/encoding tests, this may be great for editing! Great content as always!
Xbox/360 emulators are just terribly hit or miss compared to Dolphin and PCSX2. I have much high end gaming laptop yet still struggle to run some Xbox games at full speed.
This is more a rendering or multitasking Mini PC. The CPU cores are plenty capable for almost anything and you have the iGPU for multiple displays and QuickSync. So if someone wants to game on this with an eGPU, the i7 12650h would make more sense. You are going to bottlneck the 6 performance cores you will use playing games anyway.
I really like your videos but I'm still a bit undecided which system would ve best for me. Is there any chance you could make a video about the differences / pros / cons between Raspberry pie with Retroarch, mini pc with Batocera, mini PC with Launchbox and Android phone with Daijisho? I still don't understand which one provides the best price to performance value.
From now on, all your review measurements will need to stick to the grass-fed butter from Costco scale in order to be consistent. Don't let us down, Russ!
Kids are going crazy over that Super Mario RPG remake! My Favorite Games That I Wouldn't Mind Seeing Getting A Remake... Shenmue I & II Final Fantasy VIII, IX & X Metal Gear Solid II Xenogears Parasite Eve (please show nips!) Nights Into Dreams (this wasn't a fav of mine but would love to see a remake) My Favorite Games That Don't Need A Remake... Tekken 3 (it's fine as is) NBA Street Vol. 2 Ridge Racer (PSP) Mario Kart: Double Dash!! F-Zero GX Super Mario World Sonic 1-3 & Knuckles I expect many more games from the 90s and early-00s to get a modern remake. Hollywood keeps doing it for 80s/90s content. I already love getting a remake for Metal Gear Solid 3, my fav MGS game ever. You know what game I'm currently loving right now on my modded PS Vita? The MAME version of Super Street Fighter II. The Turbo one plays too fast for me. I think the MAME/arcade version of SSF2 is now my new favorite SF2 game over my previous one on the Sega Genesis. I would play SSF2 to kill anywhere between 5 to 30 minutes of my time. It's one of those games you can play over and over. Play a few fights and then put the Vita on sleep. It's the perfect time-killer. I've beaten it so many times with Sagat and I still keep coming back for more like I do with Super Mario World which I can play daily. I like easy games at my age of 42. Not be stuck on a 30-minute death loop that stresses me. Those 16-bit classics have some of the highest replay value. I have played Super Mario RPG via emulation on a modded PSP like 12 years ago. I actually enjoyed it for the limited time I played it but it got laggy. And it still has issues for a modded Vita. Then I downloaded it for my more powerful Android smartphones but never got around to playing it. I may just get this remake instead. Some good stuff coming up! FFXVI tomorrow. We got TotK last month. I definitely want FF7 Rebirth, FFXVI, MGS3 Remake, and Sonic Superstars. Time to get a Switch again and a Steam Deck or ROG Ally. More likely a Steam Deck. Cheaper. Don't mind playing it in lower frame rates if it means saving battery life. And Valve will support it longer than Asus will for their Ally.
Can you compare this and MinisForum UM790 PRO (with same ram size, bigger if posible). Also with external GPU test if possible. Thank you! I might need intel and its cores with my line of work but I also want to game so Im wondering how this would work with external GPU. Thank you!
I’m really interested in building a Mini PC for retro gaming up to the Xbox. Which unit is would best suit my needs without having me spend a bunch extra?
Hard to get excited at $500. When amd 8/16 core/thread can be obtained for $199. It will be huge. That will give up to ps3 emulation at full speed. May take a bit for the price to hit that point but when it does it will be a big deal!
xenia is gpu bound. I get better performance on my 4/4 4th gen haswell with a dgpu. Those Intel igpus don't cut it. OTOH, it won't do rpcs3 with only 4 cpu threads
its been a lot longer then a minute since you did one of these reviews..........ohhhhhh you mean short time.......then why not just say short time rather then use a completely irrelevant word?.................do you let your kids use this same kind of slang?
I would never purchase a mini PC without knowing how its size compared to a stick of butter from Russ' kitchen.
But it's grass-fed butter from Costco!
It's very frustrating that manufacturers don't put this kind of information in the spec sheet. Not even the length in bananas.
It's Kerrygold or nothing. Accept no substitute.
Hey Russ. I’m not very computer savy but I been wanting to get a device like this one with retro gaming installed already and one that has the GameCube emulator on. Do you know or direct where I can get one ? Thanks
Americans, would use anything but metric system
I do love my Minisforum PC's! This one looks exactly like my UM350, different CPU, DDR5 and the aluminum case however. To keep mine cool I have a USB powered 12" case fan sitting on top of it, venting upwards with the top cover off. Literally the perfect size! I live in South China (and have actually visited Minisforum Head Office for personal support) so my environment is super hot! Every time I see these new reviews I want to buy another one, but have the UM350 and HX90G already! Love Minisforum! Great systems!
Love these reviews, and handhelds as well! Thanks for all of your work, Russ! 🍻
I’m glad you’re still reviewing mini PCs. Hopefully you can get your hands on the Ryzen 9 7940HS. I hear good things 🕹️
Great overview of this little guy. Currently in the market for one of these myself, and appreciate the detailed overview between productivity, and gaming. Nicely done, bud. 👍
Thanks man! Would love to see a testing with an external GPU.
As a fan of (near) silent PCs I'd appreciate noise test in DBA both under LOAD and IDLE
Ow that is one huge list of system you have tested RGC 20:50
For me I would love to focus on the cheap ones or super expensive ones.
That spreadsheet is 🔥🔥 man very helpful.
3:40 it's awesome you can remove the lid like that without any screws or rubber feet!
The cinebench score seems abnormally low. The 13700H at 45W should score somewhere around 15000. Some gaming laptops that use this processor with higher PL1 and PL2 can even reach over 17000. I'm not sure if this is because the integrated graphics is running and taking away some of the power budget whereas those gaming laptops have dedicated graphics and the igpu is always at idle or simply turned off when running cinebench. Or if it's because the default CPU Vcore voltage is set too high in the MinisForum's BIOS making it unable to boost very high before being power limited.
As of 3/8/2024, this particular model (NPB7 with the Intel 13700H CPU) is no longer available on the MinisForum website. The closest to it is either the
NAB6 (Intel Core i7-12650H) or the
NAB7 (Intel Core i7-12700H).
Both are available with either 512GB or 1TBSSD and can be upgraded to 64GB RAM and 4TB M.2 SSD, with internal room and connections for a single 2.5" SATA III SSD.
I have an older MinisForum U820 (Intel Core i5 8279U, upgraded to 64GB RAM + 4TB M.2 SSD + 2 x 2TB 2.5" internal SATA III SSD) that has been in continuous (and flawless) service for almost a year, so I can definitely vouch for the brand.
I am glad they gave 2 usb 4 ports. I wish they gave atleast 1 thunderbolt 4 but this is also fine.
thanks for the review and spreadsheet - very useful
Really appreciate the notes on video editing and media server here. I plan on getting a mini-pc in the next year, and while retro-gaming is up on the list, I really would like to use it for that stuff as well.
Make sure you get a mini pc that you can upgrade cuz these pcs aren’t very good for gaming
@@xirochamber5863 you mean like the upgrade capabilities mentioned in the review above, or something else?
@@robert.sec2 yes
It was cool to see the RTS Genre get at least a little spot on the video.
Doesn't seem that much more powerful than a Steam Deck and costs $200 more when you add ram and storage. I'd go with a Deck, third party dock and a micro sd card as they are cheap as hell right now. Either that or the M2 Mac Mini is a much better buy now that the porting toolkit is coming to fruition.
Well it's a pc first, they don't build these only for gaming ya know.
I do agree with @madgodzilla12465
Steam Deck it's powerful and also more efficient!
@KyleRuggles The Deck is an x86 bit PC and can run Windows no problem as well. I get that argument against the Mac mini although the M2 blows anything out of the water at this price point. inho this thing performs pretty subpar for a $600 machine when you can build a very capable ITX PC for about $800-$1000.
The new UM790Pro with AMD 7940HS is only $30 more for barebone and actually the same price for 32G+512G and 32G+1T models. It's got equal or slightly better CPU performance but way better integrated graphics. I mean over 50% better. I don't see any value picking the Intel model unless you really need the extra Ethernet port or the Intel media engine.
Great points, which I will bring up in my UM790 review :)
But it also has far less security, look up in Google, amd silently patches over 30 vulnerabilities in amd ryzen cpus
I picked the Intel one only because I run a big Plex server with HW 4K transcodes.
The integrative graphics card holds it back for gaming. This feels like more of a mini PC for office uses. No reason to get this considering you can buy the Ally for similar price but also have it be portable.
You can get certain mini PCs cheaper than the Ally. I bought a 7840u equipped one for about 200 pounds less than the cost of the Ally.
@@Heldermaior but was that barebones or with memory and storage
@@Vegatablez 200 pounds less for a model with 16GB DDR5 memory and 512GBB drive (will change DDR5 to 6000 MHz eventually. 5000 stock).
The intel igpus aren't on par with the AMD ones.
Hey russ what do u do with all these review units. You can start your own arcade. Great videos. Very informative.
Great review and love the spreadsheet! Just one quick comment, is it possible (in the spreadsheet) to make the headers sortable / filterable?
Thanks, unfortunately I cannot add that functionality while keeping it read-only, and so sadly I can't allow for sorting/filters because it would affect everyone. But you should be able to copy/paste the data into a different Google Sheet and then sort it that way.
very thorough review, sir, many thanks
Love this box, but one gripe when you say 1080p with GOW2 it's not actually 1080p, not all ps2 games ran at the same resolutions, if you look at the details it's actually at 720p. 16:04. Maybe try hitting 1080p no matter what scale it is, maybe this would be 5x instead of 3x for 1080p for GOW2.
Really sucks with xbox emulation though. :( Wondering if you could do some video rendering/encoding tests, this may be great for editing!
Great content as always!
Xbox/360 emulators are just terribly hit or miss compared to Dolphin and PCSX2.
I have much high end gaming laptop yet still struggle to run some Xbox games at full speed.
@@barebarekun161 Yeah that's true, I got an 3700x with a RTX 3060 and it does tax my system quite a bit.
Always love a Russ review. Time for a beer and chill...
Hopefully you can also review the Minisforum UM790 Pro🙏🙏
showing the games irl. "nintendo, pls don´t sue me." :)
Love this channel so much!
You should reach out to Viture and review their Viture one glasses along with the mobile dock and neckband.
This Mini PC suppports Opera browser, Steam Games and Neo Geo Emulator Games?
Happy 500th video
Can i use SSD nvme m.2 ADATA Legend 1 Tb PCIe Gen 4X4 in this mini pc?
This is more a rendering or multitasking Mini PC. The CPU cores are plenty capable for almost anything and you have the iGPU for multiple displays and QuickSync. So if someone wants to game on this with an eGPU, the i7 12650h would make more sense. You are going to bottlneck the 6 performance cores you will use playing games anyway.
does this support USB-C PD in? As in run using USB-C power adapter as opposed to the supplied DC adapter?
thank you and great video! :)
What about Game Boy emulation?! If I can't emulte GB at 4000FPS, then no sale.
if you still have this unit for testing, would love to see some added egpu performances gains, especially for the xbox series emulation
It is a pity that the BIOS screen has not been reviewed
wish this included power consumption and egpu test over usb4
I really like your videos but I'm still a bit undecided which system would ve best for me. Is there any chance you could make a video about the differences / pros / cons between Raspberry pie with Retroarch, mini pc with Batocera, mini PC with Launchbox and Android phone with Daijisho? I still don't understand which one provides the best price to performance value.
From now on, all your review measurements will need to stick to the grass-fed butter from Costco scale in order to be consistent. Don't let us down, Russ!
Hi Russ, did you have random reboot/shutdown issues with NPB7?
Kids are going crazy over that Super Mario RPG remake!
My Favorite Games That I Wouldn't Mind Seeing Getting A Remake...
Shenmue I & II
Final Fantasy VIII, IX & X
Metal Gear Solid II
Xenogears
Parasite Eve (please show nips!)
Nights Into Dreams (this wasn't a fav of mine but would love to see a remake)
My Favorite Games That Don't Need A Remake...
Tekken 3 (it's fine as is)
NBA Street Vol. 2
Ridge Racer (PSP)
Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
F-Zero GX
Super Mario World
Sonic 1-3 & Knuckles
I expect many more games from the 90s and early-00s to get a modern remake. Hollywood keeps doing it for 80s/90s content. I already love getting a remake for Metal Gear Solid 3, my fav MGS game ever.
You know what game I'm currently loving right now on my modded PS Vita? The MAME version of Super Street Fighter II. The Turbo one plays too fast for me. I think the MAME/arcade version of SSF2 is now my new favorite SF2 game over my previous one on the Sega Genesis.
I would play SSF2 to kill anywhere between 5 to 30 minutes of my time. It's one of those games you can play over and over. Play a few fights and then put the Vita on sleep. It's the perfect time-killer. I've beaten it so many times with Sagat and I still keep coming back for more like I do with Super Mario World which I can play daily. I like easy games at my age of 42. Not be stuck on a 30-minute death loop that stresses me.
Those 16-bit classics have some of the highest replay value. I have played Super Mario RPG via emulation on a modded PSP like 12 years ago. I actually enjoyed it for the limited time I played it but it got laggy. And it still has issues for a modded Vita. Then I downloaded it for my more powerful Android smartphones but never got around to playing it. I may just get this remake instead.
Some good stuff coming up! FFXVI tomorrow. We got TotK last month. I definitely want FF7 Rebirth, FFXVI, MGS3 Remake, and Sonic Superstars. Time to get a Switch again and a Steam Deck or ROG Ally. More likely a Steam Deck. Cheaper. Don't mind playing it in lower frame rates if it means saving battery life. And Valve will support it longer than Asus will for their Ally.
I would like to humbly request that you make a size comparison using a block of munster cheese 🧀 or a slice of bread 🍞. 😁
How does scarface the world is yours run? Its one of the hardest games to emulate ive heard.
System76 offers the same specs on the same price point but with Coreboot open source bios.
Can you compare this and MinisForum UM790 PRO (with same ram size, bigger if posible). Also with external GPU test if possible. Thank you!
I might need intel and its cores with my line of work but I also want to game so Im wondering how this would work with external GPU.
Thank you!
@Russ, prices in the mini pc list are outdated, pls update or place disclaimer if not already there ❤
what is the idle or low load power usage measured from the wall?
Need to test it with external gpu
How does this compare to the Minisforum Venus UM790? And how well does it emulate Dreamcast, Saturn, 3DO and N64?
If this runs 4k at 60hz can it run 2k or 1080 at higher refresh rates? Including that the monitor is a QHD 165hz.
What is stopping MinisForum from adding a discrete GPU like say the 5600M with an Intel CPU?
The frequency when Cinebench was running looked very low?
I'm new to computers and gaming. What mini pcs can emulate modern games. Like if I wanted to play madden 23.
if i unplug power all bios settings are gone. any idea why? is there a battery that i can replace?
how do you think this would perform as an Audio production machine?
Is it possible to add an SSD with heatsink inside this beast?
Russ, when shaders load on emulation, is that a one time thing or do you deal with that every time you get into the game?
Just save your shaders settings and they load every time.
I’m really interested in building a Mini PC for retro gaming up to the Xbox. Which unit is would best suit my needs without having me spend a bunch extra?
Those with Ryzen 5000, they're almost dirt cheap but vey competent foe emulation up to PS2 or even PS3.
@@Just_An_Ignacio thank you!! I’ll look into them!
In the intro you called it the "NBP7". Edit fail.
Nice in real life game picture in picture. 😂
Hard to get excited at $500. When amd 8/16 core/thread can be obtained for $199. It will be huge. That will give up to ps3 emulation at full speed. May take a bit for the price to hit that point but when it does it will be a big deal!
Does anyone know why Xbox 360 doesn't work? I'm curious. :D
xenia is gpu bound. I get better performance on my 4/4 4th gen haswell with a dgpu. Those Intel igpus don't cut it. OTOH, it won't do rpcs3 with only 4 cpu threads
Always iffy on these cuz I don't wanna buy a monitor, jus want a plug an play for my tv
Intel are so far behind AMD for integrated graphics
no display port👎
😱 you said "MBP7" instead of "NPB7" i cannot believe anything else that comes out of your mouth
🤦♂️
its been a lot longer then a minute since you did one of these reviews..........ohhhhhh you mean short time.......then why not just say short time rather then use a completely irrelevant word?.................do you let your kids use this same kind of slang?