Update 7/4/2021 TPM 2.0 - is a new requirement for Win11 when it's released this fall. Minisforums engineering released a new BIOS/EUFI update that enables TPM. I am running the developers Win11 release and no compatibility problems have surfaced at all. So this HM50 is Win11 ready... ........................original post............................ Plenty of reviews out there on bloggers sites and on YouTube that provide technical details and stress testing the AMD Ryzen 5 4500U CPU and the AMD GPU. It scores very well in all the tests and is certainly no laggard by any means. It is still used in new name-brand laptops today so it's not outdated at all and runs like a scared cat. I've done my own non-scientific torture tests that go well beyond what I expected from this mini. I have three 24" 1080P monitors connected and brought up 3 different 1080P streaming videos - one on each monitor - all running at the same time. I had Netflix, Amazon Prime and YouTube video's all running and then looked at the Task Manger Performance tab and this mini was not even breaking a sweat. CPU at 17%, Memory at 4.8GB/15.4 (31%), GPU at only 7%. While all those were running, I brought up Lightroom 6 and started editing a photo as well Photoshop and the GPU usage went to 10%, CPU to 20% and Memory 5.5/15.4GB (36%). I then opened a word document in Libre Office, started a couple of app's (email and newsgroups ) and could not see any difference in the numbers. Still way below what one would consider high usage for any resource. I also tested both Ethernet ports (1GB and 2.5GB) as well as the wireless systems and they all work. I have 300MB/300MB service and the WiFi worked at spec. Not a single glitch... Certainly way more stuff going on than I would ever have normally running but... I'm also evaluating it as a replacement media / signage controller for a clients business with multiple monitors. This mini is now my daily driver and It has replaced a workstation I have that has dual graphics cards, 32GB of memory and 9 hard drives - all which made it an excellent room heater. With all the fans and hard drives spinning - it made some noise as you can imagine. I seriously doubt I will never need more power or capabilities than what this HM50 provides. I have 3 USB (4TB, 8TB and 10TB) drives connected to it and they remain fast even when copying files to all 3 at the same time. I installed two 500GB internal SATA SSD's (Samsung 860 EVO and a Corsair) for dual booting between versions of Win10 & Win11 and for running a Linux VM - just for playing around with. Not a single problem with any of the applications or any hardware compatibility issues - none. I have been in the computer / communications fields my entire career having used, programmed, built and maintained many different type systems from world-class size to now - Mini PC's. In my opinion, the most important part of any system is not the just the hardware or the software, it is the Customer Service and Technical Support that the company provides and how they stand behind their products. Yep, I tested both of those before purchasing the HM50 and I can say they are some of the best I have ever dealt with in all my years in this industry. I can't speak to reliability but they provide a 1 year warranty with a 6 month extension when you register. So 18 months warranty in total - I don't know of another manufacturer that provides that length of warranty unless you purchase it via a separate contract. Unlike some other mini manufactures I recently had to deal with for 5 months, I received prompt, courteous and accurate responses to my questions from Minisforum Customer Support (Nora) and Joey in Technical Support. Response time was a matter of a couple of hours and not days or a week or two later as with the other manufacturer. When I was looking for a replacement pc, a mini made a lot of sense for me. Big savings in power consumption. I cannot hear the fan even when the system is under a stress load and it does not take up a lot of space on my desk. It far exceeds my expectations. I have a home lab with about 10 other systems (full size PC's, laptop's and tablets) that I still use as test beds and just messing around with as part of my computer hobby. Now I do all my photo editing, writing and media watching on this HM50 and not lacking for anything. Remember that there are chip shortages now - and will be for a year or more which has driven costs up and that support is also part of the cost of any product. In time, Windows or some other applications or piece of equipment attached to it is going to create a problem and you may need some tech support in the future. I know that both the before and after -sale support was a positive 5 star experience for me and I expect it to be the same down the road. Lot's of choices out there to look at and I did a lot of research to make sure this would fit my needs now and still have plenty of power and resources for the future. It came with 16GB of Kingston memory and Kinston 512GB NVMe SSD for storage and can be upgraded if needed. It's plenty powerful and it just works....
