MinisForum MS-01 - Owners Thread

[Rroff]

I have three of them which have all been fine after re-applying the thermal paste however I agree that I would be cautious when ordering and Minisforum seem to have a bit of a lacking attitude when it comes to the units which don't work (Seen some less than pleasing reports regarding the returns process)

Personally I think with the release of the A2 comming soon I would hang fire if you aren't bothered about Thunderbolt based networking as if anything the newer A2 units may be slightly cheaper than the MS-01s

Well, unless the MS-01s have a price drop, if you can pick them up unpopulated for £300ish for the i5 unit I would go for one at that price, I wouldn't buy the i9s as thermally they seem to have some problems.

The other bit is if this is going to be in a 10" rack make sure you have active cooling ready as they do get warm, especially if you are using any add-in cards

Thanks, i5 not really an option for my usage - not hugely CPU heavy but does actually need a lot of cores (one of my usages is running software originally intended to be hosted on multiple systems and doesn't seem to play nice if crammed onto a smaller number of cores even if those are fast cores - one of the reasons I've been considering the 7945hx even though I don't need that performance).

Won't be using add-in cards but cooling shouldn't be an issue.

 

[TechMinerUK]

Thanks, i5 not really an option for my usage - not hugely CPU heavy but does actually need a lot of cores (one of my usages is running software originally intended to be hosted on multiple systems and doesn't seem to play nice if crammed onto a smaller number of cores even if those are fast cores - one of the reasons I've been considering the 7945hx even though I don't need that performance).

Won't be using add-in cards but cooling shouldn't be an issue.

I see, the i9 definitely runs hot from what I have seen from other people so I think I would be cautious about sticking that in a 10" rack unless you have other fans and systems in place to keep it running optimally.

I'd wait unless there is a steal of a deal on for now

 

[skyeci100]

Undecided on getting one of these (and/or hanging on for the A2 though I'm trying to find a good compromise between low idle power use and lots of cores). Want something to stick in a 10" rack to replace the system I use currently for running some game servers and light VM use as my current solution is getting a bit old now and doesn't need to be using as much power or taking up as much space.

But seeing some very mixed reports on the reliability of the MS-01.

Got 2 i5's. One does 10gb lan & wan and the other is my hobby server/backup unit. I have had no issues with either. In fact the second one I didn't bother re-applying the paste. Its not had any issues. The only thing I did do was update the x710 firmware. had some crashes in the early days with pfsense but resolved that by disabling most of the options I didn't need in the bios. No problems since.

 

[supergt]

Got 2 i5's. One does 10gb lan & wan and the other is my hobby server/backup unit. I have had no issues with either. In fact the second one I didn't bother re-applying the paste. Its not had any issues. The only thing I did do was update the x710 firmware. had some crashes in the early days with pfsense but resolved that by disabling most of the options I didn't need in the bios. No problems since.

I have to really be bothered to reapply thermal paste. I feel like i end up forgetting about the woes of slight temp increases months later

 

[HighlandeR]

I would give Honeywell PTM7950 a go rather then thermal paste, I am impressed with its thermal performance @ load over the classic thermal paste so much I don't think I will bother with thermal paste ever again. 10c+ drop in cpu temps and having it re-usable is a bonus.

And these china minipcs/boards are already iffy with the cpu contact with the heat sink and plates sometimes, so the PTM7950 acts as a extra point of contact especially if its off by 1-2mm.

Still debating the MS-A2, not too happy with the extra power draw you get with AMD but I see some other mini forum boards with 7950HX getting around 60-80 watts with 60-80% load, so it maybe ok if running a server.

 

[TechMinerUK]

I would give Honeywell PTM7950 a go rather then thermal paste, I am impressed with its thermal performance @ load over the classic thermal paste so much I don't think I will bother with thermal paste ever again. 10c+ drop in cpu temps and having it re-usable is a bonus.

And these china minipcs/boards are already iffy with the cpu contact with the heat sink and plates sometimes, so the PTM7950 acts as a extra point of contact especially if its off by 1-2mm.

Still debating the MS-A2, not too happy with the extra power draw you get with AMD but I see some other mini forum boards with 7950HX getting around 60-80 watts with 60-80% load, so it maybe ok if running a server.

Is there a reliable seller of PTM7950 in the UK as I'd be keen to give it a go on the MS-01s since I'd rather not be re-pasting them each year but I really would rather not risk getting some "knock-off" brand

I've seen LTT sell it but by the time you add on delivery it makes it quite pricey!