MINISFORUM mini-ITX motherboard
A mini-ITX motherboard + CPU + cooler combo that is installed in my computer.
It is the most powerful CPU I've ever owned
It has the most power x86 CPU I've ever owned, the Ryzen 9 7940HX. Has sixteen Zen 4 CPU cores, 32 threads on a 5nm process. In benchmarks, it holds up very well against my other CPU, the Intel 1355U, and even against a loved and newer CPU, the Ryzen AI Max 390.
It's wonderfully convenient
This motherboard, and this category of motherboards, has totally changed how I think of PC building. It combines what is usually 3 separate components into one:
- CPU
- motherboard
- CPU heatsink
Combining those three steps into one removes a common failure point I have in PC builds - sometimes CPU and heatsink installation can fail in subtle or not so subtle ways.
This leaves just a few steps to finish a PC build:
- case - usually an easy choice, just pick one you happen to like and will fit your GPU of choice. Mine is a Louqe Ghost S1.
- power supply - which is usually an easy choice, and something that may come for free with a case.
- RAM - Also usually an easy choice for non-overclockers. I used the cheapest 32GB of DDR5-5600 I could find, which it seems to have correctly clocked down to 5200. It supports up to 64GB, but I have felt no need to have that much.
- A CPU fan - Another easy choice , any 120mm fan. I used the NOCTUA NF-F12.
- An SSD. There are many "best SSD" guides, such as this one from Tom's Hardware, that make this easy.
- optionally a video card. Unfortunately a fairly difficult choice you will still have to make. You can go without, which may give the advantage of making it simpler to connect this to an external dock. But the onboard 610M is awful for any games.
I will very likely be using only this type of motherboard for my gaming PCs in future. The CPU performance is excellent and I greatly appreciated the ease of building. Minisforum have since released an X3D version that I look forward to try if this one should die on me.
Technical things of note
Mine does NOT have wi-fi or bluetooth.
The motherboard has a single 2.5Gbe port, which supports wake on LAN.
Its 2 m.2 2280 slots have built in heatsink and fan. Note these are PCIE Gen 4, not 5.
Mine has BIOS version 1.09 installed. 1.12 seems to exist but judging from this Reddit thread, there seems to be no real advantage to updating to it