MINISFORUM MS-03 Mini PC Barebone with Intel Core Ultra 5 336H

I got this set up yesterday (12th Gen i9, no RAM, OS, SSD). Be prepared to remove a few screws to access the m.2 slots and RAM slots. You will need a minimum of a #0 Philips head screw driver. There are 8 screws to remove the case, 3 screws to remove the m.2 shield, and 3 screws to remove the fan over the memory slots (opposite side of the m.2 slots. With that said, so far this is great. I tweaked the fan curve (mostly added 10 degrees to each option) to keep the fan noise a bit lower, and seems to work great. Idles in the upper 30's to mid 40's, under normal use, 40's to mid 50's. I haven't pushed it too hard yet, and am debating on if I need to install my Nvidia Quadro P620 (I am not a gamer). I mostly use this for work and some minor video editing/transcoding. Be prepared with a USB NIC or something that Windows will recognize when you install (if you need network) as at least my Win 11 ISO (23H2) did not recognize any of the NICs. Finding Drivers was a bit of a pain, but they are on the MinisForum website, just not front and center. Lastly, the case is plastic. Not necessarily a bad thing, but worth noting. It does seem solid.

--- July 2026 - update --- Minisforum, provided excellent support and stood behind their product while focusing on my needs (the customer). Based on my experience with the Minisforum support process and support personal, I would definitely buy from them again. I had intially contacted support (via Amazon links), hoping they could provide some guidance on how to repair the unit. After a few emails, they instructed me to send the unit to their repair center in California, about two weeks later, my repaired workstation was shipped back to me. Although my workstation failed within the 12 month warranty period, I didn't contact them till after the warranty expired, however the company still supported me and repaired the workstation. --- initial review --- Purchased this unit to install OPNsense to have more control over my home network, the unit worked fine for 12 months, then it just wouldn't power on. Power supply Led flashes when the unit is connected, indicating (per online forums) that a short exists within the unit, swapped out the power supply but unit would not power on. Very disappointed with the life of this unit, this power issue seems to be a common fault (design) with these units. A quick search online indicates this is very common. It was great when it. worked, now it's a paperweight.

I am a Mac person through and through but have a few workloads that don’t work well in Parallels, so I started looking for a minimalistic approach that didn’t require me to buy an expensive laptop or bulky desktop. I found great articles about the Minisforum MS-01 and was impressed with its upgradable design, size, and performance characteristics. I bought the largest model and got a 4Tb NMVe SSD and a Yeston RTX 3050 low-profile GPU as upgrades. The PC was super easy to set up. I first cloned the 1Tb SSD to the 4Tb SSD and installed it without any problem by removing just 3 screws. The video card was even easier to install as it required a single screw to be removed. I connected the PC to my 10Gbps network using an SFP+ fiber adapter and was off to the races. The boot time was super fast and after a few obligatory Windows installation steps, I was up and running, connected to the internet, and had a great 4K image. I was glad to see it came with a Windows 11 Pro license and absolutely zero apps; just the necessary drivers. The forums mentioned that upgrading the BIOS was important and that was easy too, although that entire process was much better explained on the forums than in the Minisforum documentation. It took just 5 minutes in the end and allowed me to see a lot of interesting features in the BIOS as well. Now that I’ve run the system for a week, I’m so impressed. It’s unbelievable how powerful this minuscule PC is and how easy it was to expand. It’s not as quiet as my Mac Studio Pro, but it’s totally fine from a noise perspective. I highly recommend the Minisforum MS-01.

The "MinisForum" presents a visually captivating design, embodying both aesthetic appeal and substantial power. Upon closer inspection, I found myself intrigued by the intricate design of the device. It is evident that the construction is not only advanced but also exceptionally well-organized, reflecting a high degree of technological craftsmanship. The interior layout showcases a modular design that facilitates easy access and customization, indicating a thoughtful approach to user experience and functionality. Upon utilizing the computer, I was thoroughly impressed by its operational performance. The efficiency and speed with which it processes tasks demonstrate its formidable capabilities. Indeed, this device can be aptly characterized as "A Small Monster," conveying not only its compact size but also its impressive ability to handle demanding applications with remarkable ease. Overall, this computer represents a noteworthy achievement in modern technology, combining aesthetic charm with robust performance in a seamless package.

I bought 2 Ms01s, and one stopped powering up after a year of use - rma was filed and the service center was unable to repair. They are now asking me to pay $120 for a replacement because they don't have the exact model In stock, even though their own warranty commitment covers this exact scenario "where a product can't be repaired under warranty and the original model is out of stock or discontinued, it's replaced with an equivalent successor model" I refused and they dropped it to $100. Minisforum is directly soliciting payment for RMA replacements in direct contradiction of their published warranty commitment - be warned, if your device fails due to manufacturer defect, this company will push you to pay them more money.

Perfect opnsense box.

I wanted to give my experience wit Minisforum. I had purchased the # MS-01-S1260 back in early June to replace one of my old "shoebox" Proxmox hosts, stuck in a bunch of HDs and 96gb ram and it was working wonderfully. Six weeks in, I had even ordered a second to replace the other host. I powered the first down to move it from a temporary location to it's home. It wouldn't boot. Wouldn't power on. After spending most of a day playing, reading reddit posts, and doing the standard trouble shooting stuff, I gave in and opened a case with Minisforum. I traded emails for a few days. Pictures. Videos. The lag mainly due to our time difference (I am in NY). I the end they did replace the device. I had to send mine into the warehouse in California and the sent me a replacement via Amazon. Dealing with support was painless despite the time lag. I am in IT for 30 years and have more painful RMAs dealing with big companies and 24/7 support. AND even though I had issues, I would recommend the product. It's well thought out and put together. The form factor only has one downside. Heat. Recommendation, If you not going to use the SFP ports, turn them off in the BIOS. This will help with heat and power. Do a google search and you will find plenty of BIOS tweaks to meet your needs. The MS-01 makes a great home server or workstation. If your looking for a gaming PC, look elsewhere. The half height PCI slot and heat mitigation will not work in your favor. Minis has other slightly larger and newer offerings (as do others). Thank you Minisforum PS - If anybody is interested, My Proxmox cluster is 2 x MS-01 (96gb ram, 240gb boot & 2 x 2tb drives for CEPH & 2.5gb for production and 2.5gb for CEPH) with a Mini PC Stick S100 as the 3rd node & witness for HA. The Mini PC Stick S100 is powered over POE on the "camera" switch and will be one of the last to go in a power event. With this in mind, it also runs a backup Pihole LXC.

Update: I had great experience, Lydia from after-sales was very helpful and made RMA process very straightforward. --- I bought 2 of these mini PCs, specs are great, being a barebones PC you get to pick your own RAM, and SSD. Unfortunately, one of them died exactly 1 year after I purchased it from Amazon. They have 2 year warranty on paper but we will see how good that process is. Hoping for a smooth experience. I just contacted their support for after-sale warranty service, my expectation is to get a 5star service but you never know… I will update my review accordingly after going through their RMA process.

Estoy encantado, una gran compra a un super precio, su desempeño es increíble, rara vez un producto supera las expectativas pero éste lo ha hecho.

Solo la memoria no corre a mas de 4800MT/s de ahi en fuera todo bien

A very good workstation. I am using it as a Proxmox server for virtual machines. It is very stable and noise-free. Overall, I recommend it.

Great quality item. At a good price

Buena relacion precio/performance