Last month, AMD released its next generation of desktop CPUs – the Ryzen 9000 series, as well as the Ryzen AI 300 processors, which are new APUs, primarily designed for lightweight laptops. Now, there were no definitive answers about whether the new APUs would be used for handheld gaming PCs or mini PCs.
However, PC manufacturer AOOSTAR recently mentioned on their Discord server that the first mini PCs powered by the upcoming Ryzen AI 300 “Strix” APUs will arrive later this year (around October). In fact, the manufacturer mentioned that the motherboards for these mini PCs were ready and they were awaiting samples for testing.
And now, Minisforum has become the next manufacturer to tease a mini PC that would be powered by the Ryzen AI 300 “Strix” APUs. This is great news for productivity users; the fact that AFMF 2 works on these integrated graphics is a boost for gamers too.
Minisforum teases EliteMini AI370 Mini PC powered by Ryzen AI 9 HX 370
Minisforum, which is one of the most well-known manufacturers of mini PCs, has given us a glimpse of the EliteMini AI370 Mini PC. As mentioned, this new mini PC will be powered by AMD’s latest Ryzen AI 300 processors.
At the moment, the company hasn’t shared too many details about the mini PCs, but they have showcased one of the models that would be powered by Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 chip. Based on Zen 5 and RDNA 3.5, this processor features 12 CPU cores and 16 GPU cores. As far as AI specs are concerned, it has 50 TOPS for the NPU. Further, the APU’s TDP ranges from 15W to 54W, which is quite power-efficient.
As per an X post shared by @realVictor_M, the EliteMini AI370 Mini PC looks like any other mini PC – small and squared with curved edges. Recently, we have seen some mini PCs, like ASUS NUC 14 Pro AI, with a dedicated copilot button, but we don’t yet know whether this EliteMini PC will boast the same feature.
In case you missed it, AMD just launched a technical preview of AFMF 2, which is AMD’s frame generation tool. Along with improving frames on compatible cards, AFMF 2 can also use VGM (Variable Graphics Memory) to fulfill the minimum VRAM requirements for any game.
With VGM, gamers basically convert their system RAM into “dedicated” graphics memory (VRAM) and run games. In AMD’s official post, the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 was able to run Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy by fulfilling VRAM requirements and play with decent framerates.
As we already mentioned, VGM is a game-changer for laptop gamers that uses integrated graphics. Although Ryzen AI 300-powered mini PCs are yet to hit the market, we’re hoping that AFMF 2 and VGM would help take gaming on mini PCs to a new level.
