Release of the Minisforum MS-R1 ARM PC and global availability of the device

Minisforum has unveiled the MS-R1 ARM system. The new device comes with a PCIe x16 slot and a pretty compact case design.

Features of the Minisforum MS-R1

The MS-R1 mini PC runs on a 12-core CIX CP8180 system. The system consists of an Immortalis-G720 MC10 GPU, 4 Cortex-A520 cores, and 8 Cortex-A720 cores. The processor has a TDP of 28 W and delivers AI computing performance of up to 45 TOPS.

The base version of the device has a 1 TB SSD and supports up to 64 GB of RAM. However, the storage can be expanded to 8 TB if necessary.

A key feature of the MS-R1 is its support for UEFI boot. This is the first version of such a mini device that can run major operating systems without complicated configuration processes. All you need to do is plug in a USB and select the desired system. In this context, we are talking about Linux systems.

The physical PCIe x16 slot has x8 bandwidth and can be used to install a discrete graphics card, U.2 storage device, or network adapter. This approach can greatly facilitate the creation of customized solutions related to AI and 3D graphics. However, despite the presence of a full-size slot, the size of the case makes it impossible to install powerful graphics cards.

The basic version of the mini-PC will start at $503, and the configuration with more advanced features will cost $695.90. Most likely, the price of the device will increase after the initial supply is sold out.