The Minisforum UM790 is currently “the” mini PC if you are looking for a model that can really replace a high power desktop PC.
So it relies on the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS processor. This is an 8 core core based on AMD’s Zen 4 architecture and delivers fantastic performance!
The Ryzen 9 7940HS can even outperform the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (105W) despite a TDP of 45W! All this in a tiny package.
In addition, there are 2x USB 4, 2x NVME SSD slots and, above all, super low power consumption!
The price of the Minisforum UM790 is also attractive. So you only pay €585 for the barebones version or €749 with 32GB RAM, 512GB SSD and WIndows 11 Pro.
Sounds exciting! Can the UM790 become my new office PC?
Test: Minisforum UM790
The Minisforum UM790 is a classic “NUC” style mini PC. So this relies on a very simple square housing in a gray black. The case measures 130 x 127 x 47 mm.
In terms of quality, this looks very valuable, but unspectacular. Certainly the most exciting thing here are the connections.
2x USB 4
1x 3,5mm Headset Anschluss
4x USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbit)
2x HDMI 2.1
1x 2,5Gbit LAN
At first glance this looks really good! 2x USB 4 with “Thunderbolt” support (PCIe tunnel), 4x normal USB A ports with 10Gbit, plus two HDMI 2.1 ports as well as 2.5Gbit LAN.
It doesn’t get much better than that!
If I had to criticize something here, it would be the port distribution. So both USB 4 “C” ports are on the front and all USB A ports are on the back.
I might have wished for a USB C + a USB A port on the front and one of the USB C ports for it on the back.
Internally
Inside the UM790 you will find 2x SO-DIMM DDR5 Slots and 2x NVME SSD Slots (2280). There is also another slot for WLAN cards, but this is already occupied in all versions.
I bought the barebones version! Accordingly, I have to contribute my own RAM and SSDs.
On the RAM side, I use 32GB Crucial DDR5-4800 RAM. From a performance point of view, 5600 MHz RAM would be better, which the system accepts, but I didn’t have it “in stock” at the moment.
For the SSDs, I use the SK hynix Platinum P41 and the WD SN580.
Additional fan, RAM cooler and feet
Let’s start with a small criticism, the screws to open the UM790 are hidden under the adhesive rubber feet. If you open the PC a few times (1-3x will probably be enough), they will no longer stick properly.
Minisforum also seems to be aware of this, because they include 2x replacement feet. I can’t tell you why 2 and not 4.
There are plus points for a small additional fan on the underside, which is responsible for cooling the SSDs and the RAM. There are also thermal pads and a passive cooler for the SSDs.
The scope of delivery of the Barbone version also includes a RAM cooler! Exciting! The previous version of the UM790 probably struggled a bit with the RAM temperatures. Unfortunately, this RAM cooler has a very strong adhesive.
It will be very, very difficult to remove the cooler from the RAM should you wish to replace/upgrade it.
With my 4800 Mhz modules the cooler doesn’t seem to be necessary. These barely reached 45 degrees for me. The cooling of the SSDs also works perfectly.
Intel WiFi
Fortunately, Minisforum uses an Intel WLAN chipset for the UM790. Strictly speaking, the Intel AX1675x.
This is pretty much the best and most reliable WiFi card you can find in a PC, including WiFi 6E support.
Performance of the UM790
At the heart of the UM790 is the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS. This is an 8-core processor with AMD’s current Zen 4 architecture.
This is also important because not all AMD Ryzen 7000 notebook CPUs rely on Zen 4, some also use the older Zen 3 architecture.
There is also a special feature of the UM790, because it has a 60/65W TDP! Normally, the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS is designed for a maximum power consumption of 35/45W. Due to the higher maximum permitted power consumption, the CPU in the UM790 works faster than would be expected in other devices.
Here you can see the TDP of the UM790 during a 10 minute CineBench 23 run.
This fluctuates between 58 and 65W, which is quite high and gives hope for good performance values.
Where we are in terms of performance values, let’s take a look at them in comparison to other mini PCs and notebooks.
Impressive! The UM790 or the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS can clearly take first place on my list of the best in all CPU tests and easily beat all notebooks that I have had my hands on so far.
The performance in longer tests like Cinebench R23 is particularly impressive, probably due to the high CPU TDP.
This is also evident in the Handbrake video conversion test, where the UM790 performs excellently.
In short, the Minisforum UM790 has an incredible amount of CPU power!
Gaming Performance des UM790? (AMD Radeon 780M)
The UM790 also relies on a graphics card “integrated” in the CPU. Accordingly, this is not a “gaming monster”, but here we have the AMD Radeon 780M, which is AMD’s latest and greatest integrated GPU. This is also based on the current RDNA 3 architecture.
Let’s take a look at the UM790’s performance in a few games.
WOW! With Full HD resolution, the UM790 with the AMD Radeon 780M is definitely “suitable for gaming”.
Diablo 4 with medium details and an average of 39 FPS is anything but bad. The 38 FPS on medium details is also a really strong result in Total War Warhammer 3.
Lighter titles like CIV IV or ESport titles like Overwatch easily reach 60 FPS+ on average with high details.
Only the slightly low minimum FPS are noticeable. This may also be due to my use of DDR5-4800 RAM. Faster RAM can help quite a bit with the minimum FPS.
Although I would still not recommend a mini PC for gaming, or only to a very limited extent, the Minisforum UM790 does a very good job with Full HD resolution!
Even in Hogwarts Legacy in Hogsmeade at 1080p medium details we get 37 FPS! Only the minimum FPS is a bit low at 23 FPS, but with fast RAM you will be able to improve this even more.
You will probably be able to play any current game on the UM790 at +- medium details.
Very quiet! (and cool!)
What surprised me with the high TDP of 60W or 65W was the volume/temperature of the UM790.
The PC is completely silent when idling. But even under full load, it only whirrs minimally. This is significantly quieter than the Intel NUC models and generally one of the quietest “upper class” models.
Really impressive! The CPU heats up to 80-88 degrees, which is not excessively or problematically hot. Minisforum also advertises the use of liquid metal, which might explain this a bit.
In addition, the SSDs and the RAM remain comparatively “cold” thanks to the additional fan.
Performance Modus
In the BIOS of the UM790 you can choose between two performance modes. By default, the “Balanced” mode is selected. But there is also a performance mode.
The performance mode increases the TDP from 60W to 65W and lets the fans rotate a little higher. So we have at most a minimal gain in performance, but the PC is a bit louder.
As we can see, the CPU and RAM temperatures are a bit lower in performance mode.
power consumption
In practice, the power consumption of the PC naturally varies significantly depending on the application. But as a rough guide, for me the UM790 needed im Approx. 8.8W idle and 90W under full CPU load.
The latter is a surprising amount for a mini PC! However, this is not surprising either, because the CPU in the PC runs at very high performance.
But this isn’t a problem for me, because the main thing for me is the energy consumption when idling or at low load, and this is very low here, as with most mini PCs.
Conclusion on the UM790
The Minisforum UM790 is the best mini PC I’ve had my hands on so far! This is of course due in large part to the excellent AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS.
This is the best “notebook CPU” I’ve seen so far. The UM790 can easily surpass all notebooks that I have tested so far. This is partly due to the high TDP.
The UM790 allows the CPU a maximum power consumption of constantly 60W, which is quite a lot and allows the Ryzen 9 7940HS to achieve and maintain high clock rates.
The UM790 keeps the temperatures of the CPU pleasantly well under control, at a very low volume! The UM790 is very quiet even under full load, which is pleasing.
The power consumption is also pleasing. I am currently using this mini pc as my primary computer in my office. The UM790 needs just 8-9W when idling and around 20W in normal operation. That’s how much the fans need in a normal large high-end PC.
Yes, under full load, the power consumption increases to a whopping 90W, which is quite a lot for a mini PC, but then it also delivers the corresponding performance. Super low idle power consumption is the beauty of Mini PC.
There are further plus points for the USB 4 ports. The only thing I would have liked was a different port distribution (1x USB C and 1x USB A on the front).
Apart from that, I really have nothing to complain about on the Minisforum UM790! This is an absolutely superb Mini PC that can easily replace a small workstation. Even the GPU performance isn’t bad.
POSITIVE
Very high CPU performance!
Decent graphics card performance
Very quiet even under load
Low power consumption
Mit USB 4 Ports (Thunderbolt 3)
2.5 Gbit LAN
NEGATIVE
Opening not solved optimally