How much is power consumption in MINISFORUM mini PC UM690? Recently, Minisforum unveiled the UM690 in its Venus range, which is equipped with AMD’s top-tier Rembrandt Ryzen 6000 APU, the Ryzen 9 6900HX. Up to 2TB M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 SSD and 64GB DDR5 RAM are both options for the Ryzen small PC. A 2.5″ SATA HDD or SSD can fit inside the Minisforum UM690 for further storage. We have details MINISFORUM mini PC UM690 AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX review.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Sleek style
- Fast Wi-Fi
- Many USB ports
- Is capable of driving three screens.
- Thunderbolt +USB4
- Plus VESA mounting choice
Cons
- The absence of an SD card reader
- Only 4K@60Hz is supported by display outputs.
MINISFORUM mini PC UM690 Specs
- AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX processor, 8 cores, and 16 threads
- AMD Radeon 680M GPU (2400 MHz graphics frequency)
- Memory DDR5 8GB x 2 Dual Channel (up to 64GB in SODIMM Slots)
- Storage 512GB M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 SSD
- expansion of storageSATA 3.0 6.0Gb/s 12.5 inch HDD slot
- Mobile Internet Access: Support for M.2 2230 WiFi (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth)
- One HDMI video output (4K@60Hz) 2 USB4 (8K at 60Hz) Audio Output: 1HDMI and 3.5mm Combination Peripheral Interface Jack 1 RJ45 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C port one (data only, in the right).
- (In Left) USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A 4 USB 4 Type-C 1
- Clear CMOS 1 DMIC 1 HDMI 2
- One Power DC 19V (adapter included) 3.5mm Combo Jack
- Windows 11 Pro for systems
MINISFORUM mini PC UM690 AMD Price
The UM690 now has a starting price of €559 (US$499), while our review model costs €719 (US$649). Up to 64 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD can be installed in the Minisforum Venus Series UM690.
MINISFORUM mini PC UM690 AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX review
Built & design
The exterior of the Minisforum Venus Series UM690 is primarily constructed of plastic. However, metal is integrated into the system on the inside to increase the overall durability of the chassis. The gadget has a high-end feel. Amazingly, the UM690 weighs only 621 g (1.36″). The unit has vents on its sides. With solid top and bottom panels, all four sides do. This indicates that the top of the chassis is cooled the most.
Ports
Two HDMI 2.1 ports, four USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, a 2.5GbE RJ45 LAN port, a DC19V input, a Clear CMOS button, a USB4 port, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port, a 3.5mm Combo Jack, a DMIC port, and a Power button will be available for I/O on the device. Additionally, WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 functions are fully supported. The Minisforum Venus UM690 Mini PC also features dual 4K Display compatibility and a Thunderbolt 4 connector for front-panel access to up to 8K 60 Hz displays.
Processor
The AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX CPU used in the Minisforum Venus UM690 has 8 cores, 16 threads, 20 MB of combined L3 and L2 cache, and a maximum boost rate of 4.9 GHz. The CPU cores are built on the cutting-edge Zen 3+ architecture, which is incredibly efficient for the 6nm node on which it is based.
Memory & storage
The newest standard RAM, 16 GB of DDR5, and a 512 GB SSD are placed on either side of the APU. There is also a barebones kit of the Minisforum Venus Series UM690 sans RAM and storage.
Noise
Under moderate load, the machine made noise at a level of 34 dB(A), while under full load, it didn’t grow much louder at 34.4 dB(A). The fan noise, however, caught our attention far more than we had anticipated due to its high frequency. In this way, the Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 performed noticeably better.
Heat dissipation
Two heat pipes and a tiny fan make up the built-in cooling system. To provide the best heat transfer, liquid metal has also been used on the SoC. During our tests, the SoC got as hot as 76°C (169°F) under stress, which is still far outside the safe temperature ranges for the internal laptop components.
Power consumption
An eight-core Rembrandt processor, the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX has the capacity to run 16 threads concurrently. Before the 45-watt limit is reached, the SoC in the UM690 is permitted to take up to 65 watts of electricity for a brief period of time.
Can you do upgrade in MINISFORUM mini PC UM690 AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX?
It’s easy to remove the bottom plastic cover to access the internals, which are only partially upgradeable. These consist of the RAM, the M.2 SSD, and the SATA HDD. The M.2 SSD has a heatsink, which is quite significant because the small amount of space may cause things to get hot within the chassis and the additional cooling on the SSD is undoubtedly a benefit. There is also a small SATA header.
MINISFORUM mini PC UM690 AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX consumer review
pre-ordered it to replace my UM 690, and its a step forward in every single way. better cooling more polished feel and construction. even the power brick now has a metal body instead of plastic. maybe for better thermals? more thunderbolt ports thunderbolt / USB4 bugs fixed boosts higher, seeing 5.2Ghz on single cores. running yuzu with the same settings that used to hit 100% gpu usage with some hitches now only hits 60-70% and very stable framerates. linux runs perfectly, amd pstate the new ram heatsinks were very easy to mount and install confidently comes with extra feet in case some lose their stickiness when you’re getting to the screws to open it. minor annoyances: the new fancy bios gui is a bit of a downgrade IMO but I’d rather just have a classic list of options. my diy kit shipped with secureboot enabled and makes it impossible to install an os without a dance of resetting passwords and rebooting. 10/10 overall though so far.
By Ada at MINISFORUM
MINISFORUM mini PC UM690 AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX alternative
Geekom Mini IT8
Even though the 8th generation Intel Coffee Lake CPU in this inexpensive tiny PC is outdated, it still provides more than adequate power for daily work. The Mini IT8 is more than capable of handling most users’ needs for word processing and web browsing. Additionally VESA-mountable, the Geekom Mini IT8 can be attached to the back of your monitor for a tidy workstation.
While having Windows 11 Pro pre-installed is fantastic, our minds start to wonder what we could do with it if we turned this little PC into, for example, a streaming media center or virtualization host for your home network. The little IT8 is an excellent little PC for hobbyists and tinkerers since you can install Linux or anything else you want on it.
