So far, we’ve seen AMD’s Ryzen Mobile 6000 series chips featured in several mini PC devices, but the mini desktop recently released by Minisforum is the smallest so far. The mini PC specialist has launched the Mercury EM680, an ultra-compact PC based on AMD’s Ryzen 7 6800U. It pushes the limits of computing density using SoCs far more powerful than those found in the most powerful of these devices.
In terms of size, Mini Forum Mercury EM680 It literally fits in the palm of your hand and is smaller than a can of Coke. At its core, Minisforum has taken full advantage of the mobility of AMD’s recent laptop chips, bringing AMD’s Ryzen 7 6800U processor (8C/16T@4.70 GHz, Radeon RX 680M) and associated hardware into a tiny desktop PC. It’s packed. To achieve PC miniaturization, Minisforum also relies on soldered-on LPDDR5 memory, paired with AMD SoCs and either 16 GB or 32 GB of LPDDR5-6400. And finally, storage is provided by his SSD in M.2 2230 size connected to the SoC’s PCIe 4.0 interface.
The memory is soldered in, so there’s no option to expand it further, but it’s relatively easy to replace the M.2 drive with a larger one. Minisforum sells his SKUs with 512GB and 1TB drives, but recently he has also made 2TB drives available from third parties, albeit for a fee. Technically, external graphics expandability via a USB4 Type-C port is also an option. However, you won’t find his eGFX box, which is nearly as big as Mercury’s.
To ensure consistent performance of APU, memory and SSD even under heavy loads, the system is equipped with Minisforum’s Cold Wave 2.0 cooling system, which has heatsinks, heat pipes and blower fans that remove heat from both sides of the motherboard. used. Minisforum says this pc supports silent mode but the TDP of his 6800U at full throttle is relatively high he said 28W+ so if you want to keep that kind of performance for a good amount of time active cooling points out that is absolutely necessary.
In terms of connectivity, at least as far as the small system is concerned, the system has an onboard Wi-Fi 6E + Bluetooth 5.3 module, two USB4 connectors with DP Alt mode and three USB 3.2 Gen2 types, so it’s very rich. I can see it. A port, TF card slot, HDMI 2.1 output, TRRS connector for headset. Considering the display output capabilities and AMD’s Radeon RX 680M integrated GPU, this machine can handle his three monitors. USB-C powered displays support 8Kp60 resolutions, while HDMI 2.1 supports outputs up to 4Kp144.
As far as physical dimensions go, the Minisforum Mercury EM680 measures 80 x 80 x 43 mm, which is about 40% smaller than the company’s typical small form factor PCs. The system doesn’t have his PSU built in, but comes with his tiny 65W USB Type-C power adapter.
Traditionally, Minisforum’s systems have not been very expensive. The cheapest configuration with 16 GB of memory and a 512 GB SSD costs $399 (down from $499), while the top model with 32 GB of LPDDR5 and a 1 TB drive costs $489 (609 down from the dollar).
