Minisforum MS-01:Pioneering the small with the large

This is the first Minisforum developed a 10Gb Ethernet port equipped with a mini workstation products, its initial design intent is to meet the need for high-performance computing and multi-device data fast interoperability of users, such as designers, corporate co-ordinators, as well as want to build a stronger and faster friends of the Home lab server.

As Minisforum's first mini-workstation and a newcomer to the mini-workstation field, will this product be able to make it to the top right out of the gate? Let's wait and see.

1.Product Introduction

The Minisforum MS-01 comes in three CPU versions, Core i9-13900H, Core i9-12900H, and Core i5-12450H, and the one we got our hands on today is the top of the line, the Core i9-13900H version of the MS-01-S1390, so let's explore this mini-workstation and see if it can give us a little creative jolt. Let's explore this mini workstation and see if it can bring us a little creative shock.

Firstly, the MS-01 is impressive in its simplicity of design. Its metal body construction gives a sense of durability and shows the reliability of the product.

And the back in addition to as innovative dual 10GbE network port, also equipped with two 2.5G network port (one of which also supports vpro function), two 40G USB4 interface, two USB TYPE-A and HDMI2.0 interface, enough to meet the user's various expansion needs. In addition, this machine is also specially designed for easy disassembly.

2. Test data

The MS-01-S1390 is powered by an Intel Core i9-13900H processor with 14 cores and 20 threads and a RWI of up to 5.4GHz, which is a very impressive parameter. In the BIOS you can see that PL1 is 60W and PL2 is 80W, as a mini machine, this default power consumption setting is understandable.

All test data are tested in high-performance power mode, due to the different physical condition of each machine CPU and score fluctuations, the following test data is for reference only.

From the score data, the performance of this i9-13900H is fully in line with the standard level of performance, performance release no problem, whether it is large-scale data processing, or complex computing tasks, it can easily manage, can provide users with efficient and stable computing services. Its equipped with 96EU Torch core display score is also quite good, such performance is enough to play some mainstream online games and 3A masterpiece, in the video codec is no pressure, can support HEVC, VP9, AV1 8K hardware decoding.

3. Heat dissipation

As for heat dissipation, due to its compact size, the MS-01's heat dissipation design is particularly important. In addition to the metal material used in the body to enhance heat dissipation, a large area of heat dissipation module is also used inside the body to cover the CPU part and the memory part, which fully guarantees the heat dissipation performance of these two big heat generators.

After removing the CPU cooling module, we can see that the entire cooling module is wrapped in acoustic foam, and the cooling fins and copper pipes are neatly arranged in a compact layout. In addition, the CPU thermal conductive material used is silicone grease, and does not use liquid gold.

To get a more concrete idea of its thermal performance, we used Prime95 and Aida64 software to stress test it, and the results are shown in the figure.

Through the load running to simulate high load scenarios, after 60 minutes of continuous operation, the maximum CPU temperature is only 83 ℃, and the heat is evenly distributed, there is no local overheating. This shows that the heat dissipation design of MS-01 mini workstation is quite excellent, and can ensure the stable operation of the system under high load, which is especially important for enterprise users and studios, after all, to ensure the security of data is one of the most important functions of the workstation computer.

In addition, for many people, the most concerned about the machine's quiet problem, after all, a quiet environment will make people happy. So the noise test is also an indispensable part, we also got the results of the rigorous noise test of the machine.

In actual use, the machine is seldom in full load fan full speed state, so basically the machine in the process of running out of the "silent" state, the noise will be basically covered by the ambient noise, so that users do not need to worry about the noise problem, you can focus on their work and life.

4. Expansion

In addition to performance release, cooling and noise, we also explored the expandability of the Minfan MS-01 Mini Workstation, which offers three M.2 NVME SSD slots and comes with a U.2 NVME HDD expansion adapter board (*sharing the location with the 2280 HDD), which allows for excellent expandability in terms of storage. Note that the three drive bays are limited by the channel, from left to right they are 4.0 x4, 3.0 x4 and 3.0 x2.

The MS-01 supports Raid0 and Raid1 functions, allowing you to strip or mirror your data storage configuration as needed to provide higher data performance or redundant backups. Whether you are looking for speed or data security, the MS-01 can meet your requirements. In addition, the MS-01 is equipped with a PCIEx16 slot for half-height blade discrete graphics cards, currently supporting up to an RTX A2000 graphics card, enough to satisfy the needs of professional designers.

In addition, the slot can also be expanded with network cards, USB cards and serial cards, thus increasing the usability and flexibility of the overall device.

5. 10 Gigabit Ethernet port

The final showpiece is the dual 10GbE ports on the MS-01, which is an innovative application that has never been seen in previous mini-workstation products, and is considered to be a window for mini-workstations. The two SFP+ 10GbE interfaces use the Intel X710 chip and are equipped with independent heat sinks, which is a great effort on heat dissipation.

And the two 2.5G network ports are connected to the i226, with the one on the left supporting INTEL vPro technology.

The transmission speed of 10 Gigabit Ethernet port is four times faster than that of 2.5G Ethernet port, which means that the amount of data that can be transmitted in the same time is four times more than that of 2.5G Ethernet port, which is very suitable for linking to high-speed LAN, network storage devices and servers.

Summarizing the above results, we can conclude that the Minfan MS-01 mini workstation has a powerful performance not inferior to that of a standard desktop in a lightweight volume.

In the future development, we hope that Minisforum will continue to optimize its product line and provide more high-performance and high-quality mini workstation products for the majority of users. At the same time, while maintaining the competitiveness of its products, Minisforum should also focus on lowering the price of its products so that more users can experience the convenience and fun of high-performance computing. On this basis, Minisforum can also strengthen cooperation with major industry sectors, deeply understand user needs, and provide users with more customized products and services. By continuously improving product quality and user experience, Minisforum is expected to stand out in the mini workstation market and become an industry leader.

To learn more about the MS-01, click here.