AMD's Ryzen 9 5900HX Zen 3 CPU Powers New NUC-Like PC

Look out Best Canyon NUC; there's some AMD-powered competition town. Minisforum, a popular mini PC manufacturer, has launched the new EliteMini HX90 that utilizies AMD's Ryzen 9 5900HX (Cezanne) processor. The high-performance NUC-like device aims to provide gamers and enthusiasts the best of what Zen 3 and Vega have to offer.

Despite being a 7nm mobile chip, the Ryzen 9 5900HX is no joke. The Zen 3 processor packs eight cores, 16 threads and up to 16MB of L3 cache. It features a 3.3 GHz base clock, 4.6 GHz boost clock and even supports overclocking. On the graphics side, the Ryzen 9 5900HX is packing eight Vega cores clocked at 2,100 MHz so it can play some games at modest settings but won't compete with the best gaming PCs. 

A single cooling fan keeps the Ryzen 9 5900HX's operating temperatures in check. Minisforum opted to use a liquid metal thermal compound to improve heat transfer. The vendor claims a noise level around 30 dB when the EliteMini HX90 is under a full load.

The EliteMini HX90 measures 195 x 190 x 60mm with a weight of 2.65 kg. The mini PC flaunts an aggressive and sleek body that's made of carbon fiber material. The EliteMini HX90 can sit in any orientation that you want thanks to the included stand, which adds 25.7mm to the device's height. Minisforum also incorporated a mounting bracket although the vendor didn't specify the VESA dimensions. The EliteMini HX90 looks pretty good, though, so it would be a shame to hide it behind your monitor or TV.

With two onboard DDR4 SO-DIMM memory slots, the EliteMini HX90 allows you to have up to 64GB of DDR4-3200 memory. Despite the size, the mini PC isn't short on storage options, either. You get a standard M.2 2280 slot and sufficient space for installing up to two 2.5-inch SATA III hard drive or SSDs.

The EliteMini HX90 should be great for heavy multitaskers. It supports up to four 4K monitors (see best budget 4K monitors) without a sweat. The mini PC supplies two HDMI ports and two DisplayPort outputs to drive displays at 4K with a refresh rate up to 60 Hz.

In regards to connectivity, the EliteMini HX90 is equipped with five USB 3.0 Gen 1 ports, one USB-C port and a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port. If you're more of a wireless type of person, Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 functionality is also present. It's unknown which audio codec powers the EliteMini HX90's audio system, but the device provides four 3.5mm audio connectors (two line out jacks and two microphone jacks).

Minisforum rates the EliteMini HX90 with a maximum power consumption up to 119.7W. Therefore, a DC 19V power adapter with 6.3A is more than enough to feed this little guy.

The barebones kit goes for $729, while the models with 16GB of memory and a 256GB or 512GB sell for $899 and $929, respectively. The flagship SKU, which comes with 32GB of memory and a 512GB SSD, sells for $1009. If you order now, you'll receive an early-bird discount of $100.