Minisforum MS-02 Ultra leaks out
The new “mini workstation” packs a 24-core Intel CPU.
MINISFORUM has introduced (actually unintentionally) a new high-performance mini PC aimed at different workloads. The MS-02 Ultra is a compact workstation based on Intel’s Core Ultra 9 285HX, while the MS-S1 MAX, which came out a few weeks ago, relies on AMD’s Strix Halo platform with Ryzen AI MAX+ 395. Both systems provide desktop-class power and connectivity but serve distinct purposes.
The MS-02 Ultra uses Intel’s 24-core Core Ultra 9 285H Arrow Lake-HX processor with 8 P-cores and 16 E-cores and supports up to 256 GB of DDR5-4800 memory through four SODIMM slots. It offers four PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots for NVMe storage and three PCIe expansion slots (two x16, one x4). The chassis includes a slide-out SSD tray for upgrades. Networking options cover dual 2.5 GbE, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and an optional 25 Gb NIC with dual SFP+ and 10 Gb Ethernet ports. Connectivity is enhanced by USB4 v2 ports with 80 Gbps bandwidth and support for multiple 4K displays.
Source: Minisforum
Its direct competitor would be Minisforum’s own MS-S1 MAX, which targets AI and content-creation workloads with AMD’s Ryzen AI MAX+ 395 processor. It integrates Radeon 8060S graphics with AI acceleration, supports up to 128 GB of LPDDR5x-8000 memory, and includes a PCIe 5.0 x16 slot for discrete GPUs.
What both systems have in common is the form factor, large capacity memory support, lots of storage and networking options and USB4 V2 support, which is the newer standard with higher 80 Gbps bandwidth.
The company has not revealed pricing yet. The system will be officially announced in 3 days at IT Week in Japan. This is actually where the spec sheet leaked from.
| Minisforum MS Series | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VideoCardz | MS-02 Ultra 🆕 | MS-S1 MAX 🆕 | MS-A2 | MS-A1 | MS-01 |
| Picture |  |  |  |  |  |
| Processor | Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX (Arrow Lake-HX) 24 cores (8P+16E) | AMD Ryzen AI MAX+ 395 16 Zen5 cores | AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX (Zen 5) / Ryzen 9 7945HX (Zen 4) 16 cores | AMD Ryzen 7000 / 8000 / 9000 (BIOS update) up to 100 W dual-CCD SKUs | Intel Core i9-13900H / i9-12900H / i5-12600H |
| Graphics | Intel Arc iGPU + 3 PCIe slots for dGPU support AI up to 15 TOPS | Radeon 8060S iGPU + PCIe 5.0 x16 dGPU | AMD Radeon 610M or discrete (PCIe 4.0 x8) | Integrated or discrete (PCIe 4.0 x8) | Integrated or discrete (PCIe 4.0 x16 half-height) |
| RAM | 4 × DDR5 SODIMM slots (dual channel) Up to 256 GB DDR5-4800 ECC/non-ECC | LPDDR5x-256Bit Max frequency support: 8000MHz Max capacity support: 128GB | Up to 96 GB DDR5 SODIMM (2 slots) | Up to 96 GB DDR5 SODIMM (2 slots) | Up to 64 GB DDR5-5200 SODIMM (2 slots) |
| Storage | 4 × M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe (up to 16 TB) Front slide-out SSD tray | 1× M.2 2280 NVMe SSD slot (supports up to 8TB, PCIe 4.0 ×4) 1× M.2 2280 NVMe SSD slot (supports up to 8TB, PCIe 4.0 ×1) | 1 × M.2 2280 / 2 U.2 NVMe SSD (up to 15 TB) + 2 × M.2 2280/22110 NVMe/SATA | 4 × M.2 2280 + 1 × U.2 to M.2 adapter | 1 × PCIe 4.0 x4 (U.2) 1 × PCIe 3.0 x4 (M.2 2280/22110) 1 × PCIe 3.0 x2 (M.2 2280/22110) |
| Networking | 1 × 25 Gb SFP+ NIC card (default) 2 × 25 Gb SFP+ ports 1 × 10 Gb Ethernet 1 × 2.5 Gb Ethernet (Intel i226-LM) Wi-Fi 7 / Bluetooth 5.4 (M.2 E-key) | 2 × 10 Gb Wi-Fi 7 | Bluetooth® 5.4 | Wi-Fi 6E / Bluetooth 5.2 2 × 2.5 GbE + 2 × 10 Gb SFP+ | 2 × 2.5 GbE + Wi-Fi / Bluetooth | 2 × 10 GbE SFP+ / 2 × 2.5 GbE / Wi-Fi 6 / BT 5.2 |
| Ports | Front: • 3.5 mm Combo Jack (TRRS) • 2 × USB4 v2 (80 Gbps DP Alt Mode) • 1 × USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A (10 Gbps) Rear: • 1 × USB4 v2 (80 Gbps) • 3 × USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A (10 Gbps) • 2 × DisplayPort / 2 × HDMI 2.1 • 2 × 2.5 GbE LAN • DC Power Input / Kensington Lock | Front: 3.5 mm Combo Jack / 2 × USB4 V2 (80 Gbps) / 1 × USB 2.0 Rear: 1× 10GbE LAN (RJ45, Realtek RTL8127) 1× 10GbE LAN (RJ45, Realtek RTL8127) 2× USB 3.2 Gen2 (10Gbps) 2× USB 2.0 2× USB4 V2 (80Gbps, Alt DP2.0, PD out 15W) 1× HDMI 2.1 FRL (Up to 8K@60Hz/4K@120Hz) | Front: 3.5 mm Combo Jack / 2 × USB 3.2 Gen1 / 1 × USB 2.0 Rear: 2 × USB-C Gen2 (Alt DP2.0) / 1 × HDMI 2.1 / 2 × 2.5 GbE / 2 × 10 Gb SFP+ / 1 × USB 3.2 Gen2 / 1 × USB 3.2 Gen1 | 1 × OCuLink (63 Gbps) / 1 × USB-C (40 Gbps) / 1 × USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A (10 Gbps) / 2 × USB 3.2 Gen1 (5 Gbps) / 1 × USB 2.0 Type-A / 1 × HDMI 2.1 / 1 × DP 2.0 / 1 × 3.5 mm audio / 2 × 2.5 GbE | 2 × USB4 (full function) / 2 × USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A (10 Gbps) / 1 × USB 3.2 Gen1 (5 Gbps) / 2 × USB 2.0 Type-A / 1 × HDMI / 1 × 3.5 mm audio |
| Dimensions | 222 × 225 × 97 mm | 222 × 206 × 77 mm | 196 × 189 × 48 mm | 196 × 189 × 48 mm | 196 × 189 × 48 mm |