Asus is launching a line of miniature PCs that are small enough to fit in the palm of your hand (see image above), but powerful enough to handle some lightweight gaming.
The new Mini PC PN50 series is built around AMD's Ryzen 4000 mobile processors, which is what makes them so compelling. The Ryzen 4000 mobile series is based on AMD's latest generation Zen 2 architecture (same as found within its Ryzen 3000 desktop CPUs), with onboard graphics based on Vega.
Ryzen 4000 chips are basically APUs (accelerated processing units), a term AMD doesn't use anymore.
Asus is offering its new mini PCs in four different processor options: Ryzen 5 4300U (4C/4T), Ryzen 5 4500U (6C/6T), Ryzen 7 4700U (8C/8T), and Ryzen 7 4800U (8C/16T). The highest end configuration is the most compelling, because the 8-core/16-thread 4800U packs a fair amount of firepower to tackle a variety of chores.
It's also accompanied by the highest end iteration of Vega in the mobile graphics space, with 8 compute units. Playing triple-A games at the highest settings is not a reasonable expectation, but for lighter weight titles—Counter-Strike: Go and League of Legends, for example—it is plenty capable.
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These mini PCs support up to 64GB of DDR4-3200 RAM (by way of two SO-DIMM slots), and can accommodate two storage drives—M.2 and 2.5-inch SATA.
There is a fair amount of connectivity options as well. On the wireless side, these little units pack an Intel Wi-Fi 6 chip. And on the wired side, the front I/O houses a USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C port, a USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A port, an audio jack, and a 3-in-1 card reader. Around back there is another USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C port, two USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A ports, a GbE LAN port, and an HDMI 2.0 output.
The new mini PCs are available to preorder on Amazon in the UK, ranging in price from £274.98 to £499.98. Depending on the model, they will either release on September 7 or September 21.
Thanks, Anandtech.
