As an experienced tech specialist and lead data analyst for a computer hardware publication, cutting-edge gadgets like the MINISFORUM HX90G cross my desk all the time. I‘ve made a career out of profiling the latest and greatest innovations to hit the PC landscape. So when the chance came up to put this compact AMD-powered gaming beast through its paces, I cleared my schedule.
You see, MINISFORUM has carved out a niche by packing serious computing muscle into impressively small boxes. They refuse to compromise on performance just because motherboard real estate gets tight. The quest for no-limit power inside petite chassis aligned perfectly with my personal motto – big things come in small packages!
In the HX90G, MINISFORUM just might have created their masterpiece. Cramming AMD‘s stellar new Ryzen 5000 mobility platform into a box not much larger than an external DVD drive feels like witchcraft. Are the cooling and noise levels really up to the task? Can such a miniature PC truly deliver high fidelity gaming? I aimed to find out with a battery of benchmarks spanning over two weeks of testing.
What I discovered blew my socks off. But before getting to the results, let me bring you up to speed on MINISFORUM and what exactly the HX90G packs under the hood…
All About MINIFORUM – Masters of Miniature Computing
Founded in 2018, MINISFORUM primarily focuses on crafting small form factor PCs for home and office. Don‘t let the diminutive size fool you though. Unlike underpowered stick PCs or compute sticks, MINISFORUM leverages bleeding edge internals similar to premium laptops. The quest for maximum performance never takes a backseat just because circuit boards shrink.
Product families span entry level desktops and mini servers all the way up to compact gaming powerhouses like the HX90G. Yet certain constants remain across their lineup – cutting edge mobile processors, field-leading wireless connectivity, and rock solid aluminum alloy enclosures. Oh, and dimensions always squeeze into spaces a fraction the size of traditional mid towers.
Take one look at MINISFORUM‘s signature floating body internal structural design and the commitment to quality becomes obvious. Strategic airflow channeling, dual chamber heat isolation, vibration dampening – every facet aims to extract peak computing power from the smallest possible volume.
And don‘t assume size savings force external power bricks. The HX90G for example ships with a built-in 500 watt 80 Plus Platinum PSU. Even integration of the AC to DC power supply gets carefully considered! Clearly no compromises exist for this hardware manufacturer no matter how pint-sized the motherboard shrinks.
Which brings us to the star of this review, the MINISFORUM HX90G. Just how much desktop-grade hardware does the latest flagship model manage to cram inside a 7 x 7 x 2.25 inch enclosure? Let‘s find out!
What‘s Under the Hood? HX90G‘s Cutting Edge Specs
We computer enthusiasts tend to drool over spec sheets.component by shiny component. So I‘ll spare you flowery language and dive straight into what the HX90G offers in terms of performance parts:
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5900X (8C/16T, 20MB cache, 4.6 GHz boost)
- GPU: AMD Radeon RX 6600M (8GB GDDR6, up to 2.6 GHz)
- RAM: 2x SO-DIMM slots – up to 64GB DDR4-3200
- Storage: Dual PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots, up to 2TB each
- Wireless: WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2
- Ports: 1x USB 3.2 Type C, 4x USB 3.2 Type A, 2x HDMI 2.1, 2x DisplayPort 1.4, 2.5GbE, dedicated mic & audio
- Dimensions: 7 x 7 x 2.25 inches
- Weight: Just over 3 pounds
I don‘t know about you, but seeing specs like those never ceases to bring a grin to my face! AMD‘s bleeding edge Zen 3 and RDNA 2 architectures make appearances through both the 8-core Ryzen 9 5900HX CPU and Radeon RX 6600M graphics. And rather than welding everything onto the motherboard as laptops do, M.2 and SO-DIMM slots allow future upgrades.
Let‘s dive a bit deeper into the compute powerhouses driving the HX90G!
Ryzen 9 5900HX
AMD‘s 5000 series marked the triumphant debut of the new Zen 3 CPU architecture. Fabricated on advanced 7nm silicon, Zen 3 revolutionizes AMD‘s core design through direct 8-core complex die access. This allowed engineers to fit an incredible 40% more L3 cache per core into each complex while reducing latency.
Traits like these become hugely impactful for gaming and content creation tasks that rely on data processing speed. And they manifest clearly when comparing Zen 3‘s IPC (instructions per cycle) gains versus past Ryzen generations as the graph illustrates:
Now translate those strong IPC lifts into the HX90G‘s 5900HX model. You find an 8-core, 16-thread processor with a bowel loosening 32MB of L3 cache at its disposal. That cache amount nearly rivals some mainstream desktop chips!
Augment the beefy caching with zen 3‘s clock speed agility through AMD‘s Precision Boost algorithm. This lets the 5900HX hulk up to 4.6 GHz under full loads across its favoritest cores using electrically opportunistic tricks. Yet the cTDP down to 54 watts ensures things stay efficient during lighter computing.
Truly an impressively versatile mobile chip. But enough drooling over the CPU, let‘s peek at the pixels pusher!
Radeon RX 6600M
Graphics duties get handed to AMD‘s acclaimed RDNA 2 architecture inside the Radeon RX 6600M. Like Zen 3 redefined Ryzen CPU capabilities, RDNA 2 similarly uplifted Radeon GPUs through an epic rearchitecting effort engineers named Infinity Cache.
By embedding up to 96MB of streaming buffer memory directly adjacent to the graphics compute units, data flows quicker in and out during rendering and gaming. Infinity Cache hugely reduced reliance on comparatively slower DDR system memory. And it really manifests during dynamic AAA gaming titles.
You can think of Infinity Cache like adding more fuel tanks alongside a race car‘s existing gas tank. Quicker to fill up means less downtime pitting. That analogy roughly captures why RDNA 2, RX 6000M series GPUs achieve such responsive smooth gaming even in compact thermal environments like the HX90G. The frames just render faster!
Let‘s quantify the gaming performance with some real world numbers across today‘s most graphics intensive titles…
