MINISFORUM shows M2 Pro and MS-03 Panther Lake AI PCs at Intel Shanghai event
MS-03 looks like MS-01 (pictured), Source: MInisforum
MINISFORUM used Intel’s Core Ultra Series 3 event in Shanghai on March 12 to show two upcoming Panther Lake systems, the M2 Pro mini PC and the MS-03 workstation. The company presented both products as OpenClaw-compatible AI PCs, with the M2 Pro aimed at compact local AI use and the MS-03 positioned as a larger workstation-class system. Intel had already introduced Core Ultra Series 3, also known as Panther Lake, at CES 2026 in January.
M2 Pro gets flagship Panther Lake
The M2 Pro is the more detailed of the two announcements. According to MINISFORUM, it can be configured with up to an Intel Core Ultra X9 388H, supports memory speeds up to 9600 MT/s , and offers up to 180 TOPS of total compute. The company says the system is meant to run OpenClaw in a hybrid setup, where local processing handles sensitive data and cloud resources are only used when needed.
M2 Pro, Source: Minisforum
That positioning makes the M2 Pro less of a standard mini PC launch and more of a hardware pitch for local-first AI workflows. MINISFORUM says the goal is to reduce token costs, keep private data on the device, and still allow access to cloud models when extra compute is required. OpenClaw itself is an open-source AI agent platform, so MINISFORUM is clearly trying to tie its upcoming hardware to that fast-growing local AI segment.
MS-03, new workstation
The MS-03, meanwhile, is described as the successor to the MS-01. MINISFORUM says it will use Intel Panther Lake processors and targets workloads such as AI development, edge computing, virtualization, home server use, small business server deployment, and software router duties.
Now, this PC uses a different Panther Lake chip. It does not feature a flagship Core Ultra X9 variant, but instead the Core Ultra 7 356H. While that is a bit disappointing, it is worth noting that this is not a typical mini PC. It is designed to work with a discrete low-profile graphics card, and only some Panther Lake SKUs offer the higher PCIe lane count needed for that.
The CPU still has 16 cores, so the trade-off here is clear. It gives up stronger integrated graphics (Arc B390) in favor of better support for a discrete GPU, which is likely something many MINISFORUM MS users will actually prefer.
MS-03, Source: Minisforum
For now, this looks more like an early teaser than a full launch. MINISFORUM has confirmed the Panther Lake platform direction for both systems, and it has shared more concrete performance claims for the M2 Pro, but pricing, full configurations, and release timing were not included in the press materials.
| Minisforum MS Series | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| VideoCardz | Picture | Processor | Graphics |
| MS-03🆕 | Intel Core Ultra 7 356H 16 cores (4P+8E+4LP) | Intel Graphics (4 Xe3 Cores) | |
| MS-02 Ultra |  | Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX (Arrow Lake-HX) 24 cores (8P+16E) | Intel Arc iGPU + 3 PCIe slots for dGPU support |
| MS-S1 MAX |  | AMD Ryzen AI MAX+ 395 16 Zen5 cores | Radeon 8060S iGPU + PCIe 5.0 x16 dGPU |
| MS-A2 |  | AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX (Zen 5) / Ryzen 9 7945HX (Zen 4) 16 cores | AMD Radeon 610M or discrete (PCIe 4.0 x8) |
| MS-A1 |  | AMD Ryzen 7000 / 8000 / 9000 (BIOS update) up to 100 W dual-CCD SKUs | Integrated or discrete (PCIe 4.0 x8) |
| MS-01 |  | Intel Core i9-13900H / i9-12900H / i5-12600H | Integrated or discrete (PCIe 4.0 x16 half-height) |
Source: Minisforum (Weixin)
