AMD’s Ryzen 7040 series mobile chips combine Zen 4 CPU cores with RDNA 3 graphics, which makes them popular chips for everything from gaming handhelds to gaming laptops and mobile workstations. But these are, first and foremost, mobile chips rather than desktop processors, and even the most powerful is normally designed to run at 35 to 54 watts.
But mini PC maker MINISFORUM has announced plans to sell a little computer with a Ryzen 7040HS series chip set to 70 watts.
The MINISFORUM UM790 XTX is basically a souped up version of UM790 Pro that launched earlier this year. That model currently sells for $519 and up and features an AMR Ryzen 9 7940HS processor that’s been cranked up to have a 60 watt TDP by default, but which can be configured to run at 65 watts.
MINISFORUM says the new model steps things up a bit further. Keep in mind that increasing the TDP doesn’t do anything to boost the CPU or graphics frequency, but as long as the active cooling system works well enough to keep the chip from overheating, a higher TDP could let the chip run at full speed for a little longer, which could lead to better sustained performance.
The company says the upcoming MINISFORUM UM790 XTX also has another feature that you don’t see in mini PCs very often (yet): an Oculink port that will enables a 63 Gbps connection for compatible accessories including GPU docks. That should make this little computer slightly more viable as a gaming PC than systems that only have Thunderbolt4 or USB4 ports with support for 40 Gbps connections.
MINISFORUM wouldn’t be the first Chinese PC maker to add an Oculink port – several of GPD’s handheld gaming PCs including the GPD Win Max (2023), Win 4 (2023) and Win Mini also have Oculink ports. But it’s still a rather unusual feature, especially for mini desktop PCs.
Other features for the UM790 XTX include dual 2.5 GbE Ethernet ports, two USB4 ports, HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 ports, four USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, and a 4.5mm audio jack.
The computer has two SODIMM slots with support for up to 64GB of DDR-5600 memory and two M.2 2280 slots for PCIe 4.0 solid state storage.
There’s no word on when the MINISFORUM UM790 XTX will be released or how much it will cost.
via Sohu, ITHome and VideoCardz