Minisforum has announced a new version of its NUC-like AMD Ryzen-powered UM300-series ultra-compact form-factor (UCFF) desktop computer. The new system comes with a new processor that boasts AMD's Zen 2 microarchitecture and a slightly faster graphics core. Unfortunately, the new unit will cost significantly more than the predecessor.
The new Minisforum UM340 UCFF PC comes packed with AMD's Ryzen 5 3450U (4C/8T, 2.10GHz – 3.50GHz, 6MB cache), and a Radeon Vega 8 GPU with 512 stream processors, 15W, 12LP) APU, which unfortunately actually doesn't belong to AMD's latest breed of accelerated processing units, but which arguably provides sufficient performance for productivity and general entertainment workloads. Of course, AMD's Radeon Vega graphics processor does have rather outdated media processing capabilities, but it can still support 4K video playback.
The UM340 can be equipped with up to 32GB of DDR4 memory using two SO-DIMM slots, an M.2 SATA SSD with up to 512GB of capacity, and a 2.5-inch SATA SSD or HDD.
Connectivity features are exactly the same as we see with the other UM250/UM300 PCs. The new system still boasts an Intel AX200 Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 adapter, two GbE ports (to appeal to corporate buyers), four USB 3.1 Gen 1 connectors, one USB Type-C port that can be used to connect a monitor or any other device, two additional display outputs (DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI 2.0), and a 3.5-mm audio jack.
Given that we're dealing with an upgraded machine and not a brand-new system, the UM340 comes in the same chassis as its predecessors, measuring 128×127×46 mm, and weighs 0.5 kilograms. The system also looks similar to the DMAF5, which we reviewed last year.
An upgrade is always welcome by almost everyone, and the Minisforum UM340 is certainly not an exception. However, the new unit starts at $539 when equipped with 8GB of memory and a 256GB SSD. In contrast, its predecessor, the model UM300 with the Ryzen 3 3300U, had 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage, yet cost $419.
