MinisForum MS-01 - Owners Thread

TechMinerUK said:
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 :)
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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.
 
Rroff said:
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.
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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
 
Rroff said:
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.
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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.
 
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skyeci100 said:
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.
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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
 
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.
 
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HighlandeR said:
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.
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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!
 
Looks like the MS-A2 is going to be launching with the 9955HX - maybe I missed something but previous information I read suggested it would be the 7945HX.
 
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Rroff said:
Looks like the MS-A2 is going to be launching with the 9955HX - maybe I missed something but previous information I read suggested it would be the 7945HX.
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I think you are right to be fair as I remember reading it was launching with the 7845HX.

Having said that I know when I ordered the MS-01 I ordered it with the 12450H CPU however mid order they changed it to the 12600H.

I'm guessing it will be based on whatever they can source in bulk for the production cycles they are running.
 
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www.minisforum.uk

Minisforum MS-A2

Minisforum MS-A2 Powerful Mini Workstation, AMD Ryzen™ 9 9955HX 16Cores/32Thread(64M Cache, Up to 5.4Ghz) & AMD Radeon™ 610M,with Dual DDR5 channels up to 5200Mhz, max 96GB and M.2 2280 PCIE4.0 NVME SSD x3
www.minisforum.uk www.minisforum.uk

Info updated and price...£759 barebone..ouch!
 
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skyeci100 said:
www.minisforum.uk

Minisforum MS-A2

Minisforum MS-A2 Powerful Mini Workstation, AMD Ryzen™ 9 9955HX 16Cores/32Thread(64M Cache, Up to 5.4Ghz) & AMD Radeon™ 610M,with Dual DDR5 channels up to 5200Mhz, max 96GB and M.2 2280 PCIE4.0 NVME SSD x3
www.minisforum.uk www.minisforum.uk

Info updated and price...£759 barebone..ouch!
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I can't even get on their site at the moment but if they're sticking to that price...... Yeesh!
 
TechMinerUK said:
I can't even get on their site at the moment but if they're sticking to that price...... Yeesh!
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I would like a 3rd but I will be sticking with the i5!
  • AMD Ryzen™ 9 9955HX,16C/32T
  • Dual DDR5-5600Mhz,up to 96GB
  • M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD slot*3 | Support U.2 NVMe/M.2 22110
  • Dual 10Gbps SFP+ Ethernet & 2.5G Lan Ports
  • Built-in PCle x16 Slot
 
Rroff said:
7945HX and 9955HX options, bare bones starts at £559 (with CPU), 7945HX with 32GB RAM and 1TB NVME is £719, says ships mid May but looks like you won't get it until end of May.
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The 7945HX is much more reasonable but the shipping times are similar to last year as I remember ordering mine in February and it turned up around May time
 
Welp, today has been annoying as the second MS-01 that I got in my pair has finally well and truly bit the dust with a faulty power button.

I've logged a ticket with Minisforum to see how they will manage it so it should be an interesting one but man that is a stink way to end a Tuesday
 
TechMinerUK said:
Welp, today has been annoying as the second MS-01 that I got in my pair has finally well and truly bit the dust with a faulty power button.

I've logged a ticket with Minisforum to see how they will manage it so it should be an interesting one but man that is a stink way to end a Tuesday
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Is it just a faulty power button or something more significant?

On another note, not sure if order lead, but expected shipping time for the MS-A2 is increasing - doubt many people will get hold of one until June or so directly from Minisforum.
 
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Rroff said:
Is it just a faulty power button or something more significant?
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It's either a faulty power button or dodgy CMOS as when the unit is left unpowered for 20+ minutes unplugged and I plug it back in it powers on automatically but when I then power it off by unplugging and attempt to power it on using the button it does nothing.

If I plug it into the power and connect the network I can see the activity lights flashing so I think the board is still working but the button is defective or it has the issue where the CMOS has completely croaked it and it wont power on as a result as I've heard reports of that before
 
TechMinerUK said:
It's either a faulty power button or dodgy CMOS as when the unit is left unpowered for 20+ minutes unplugged and I plug it back in it powers on automatically but when I then power it off by unplugging and attempt to power it on using the button it does nothing.

If I plug it into the power and connect the network I can see the activity lights flashing so I think the board is still working but the button is defective or it has the issue where the CMOS has completely croaked it and it wont power on as a result as I've heard reports of that before
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Good luck with getting it sorted - one of the reasons I've held off purchasing is hearing some mixed stories when it comes to Minisforum and long term reliability of their products.
 
Rroff said:
Good luck with getting it sorted - one of the reasons I've held off purchasing is hearing some mixed stories when it comes to Minisforum and long term reliability of their products.
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As a hailmary I bought a load of CMOS batteries that use the same connector back in December, just bobbed one of those on and it has lit up........

They're great units but yeah, I must admit I'm not sure about their RMA warranty process based on others who have raised issues where they have attempted to dock parts of the costs from the refund etc, shame as they're great little units (2/3 isn't fab odds though)
 
Yeah I heard about the cmos battery issues, lots of comments over on reddit are asking if they have fixed the cmos battery failure, since many owners are saying I can't keep changing batteries constantly and its apparently not easy to do it.

I am still amazed you don't hear about it with the YT videos really, but guess they are just spamming out non stop reviews and not actually using them or don't have the time to do a follow up video half the time.

I haven't even had the chance to dabble with the ms units or servers, put me right off already :D
 
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