Minisforum’s AMD Ryzen powered Palm-sized Mini-PCs starting from $299

There are many Intel-based, ultra-compact form-factor PCs around, but the choice is somewhat constrained when it comes to AMD-based UCFF systems, so pricing is typically inflated. Recently, Minisforum, which specialises in affordable ultra-compact PCs, began selling its UCFF computers of the UM250/UM300 series, which carry an AMD Ryzen processor, starting at $299.

The UM250/UM300-series PCs from Minisforum come in an aluminium chassis measuring 128x127x46 mm (according to Notebookcheck.net), which is just marginally bigger than the NUCs from Intel but still fits in the palm of your hand.

The tiny system can be powered by either AMD’s Ryzen 5 Pro 2500U (4C/8T, 2.0GHz – 3.60GHz, 6MB cache, Radeon Vega 8 GPU, 15W, 14LPP) or AMD’s Ryzen 3 3300U (4C/4T, 2.10GHz – 3.50GHz, 6MB cache, Radeon Vega 6 GPU, 15W, 12LP) APU. These are not the latest processors from AMD, but for productivity and basic entertainment tasks, they are more than good enough. However, you should keep in mind that AMD’s Radeon Vega GPUs have rather outdated capabilities for media processing.

The UM250/UM300 can also pack up to 32GB of DDR4 RAM using two SO-DIMM slots, an M.2 SATA SSD, and a 2.5-inch SATA SSD or HDD.

As far as connectivity is concerned, the devices are fitted with an Intel AX200 Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 connector, two GbE ports (which would be particularly useful for business users), four USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports, one USB Type-C port that can be used to connect a monitor or some other device, two additional display outputs (DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI 2.0) and a 3.5 mm audio jack.

Minisforum’s UM250 barebones with the Ryzen 5 Pro 2500U can be purchased directly from the company for $299.