MinisForum X1 AI Mini PC Review – Better Than Mac Mini for Power Users?

In this article, we’re going to explore the MinisForum X1 AI Mini PC and compare it to the Mac Mini. The MinisForum X1 AI is a compact and powerful Windows PC designed for people who need performance, flexibility, and modern features all packed into a small box. Whether you’re a content creator, gamer, or someone who just wants a strong PC for daily work, this might be exactly what you’re looking for.

The unboxing experience of the MinisForum X1 is pretty solid. The mini PC itself feels premium and well-built, with a design that closely resembles the older generation of Mac Minis. It comes with everything you need to get started, including a built-in power supply, an HDMI cable, mounting tools, and a vertical stand. What’s even more impressive is that this mini PC is designed to be upgraded easily—something you don’t often see in devices this small, especially from Apple.

When you look at the design side-by-side with the Mac Mini, the MinisForum X1 has a few advantages. It’s slightly larger but still very compact and desk-friendly. The most noticeable difference is in the ports. The X1 offers many more options—USB ports on both front and back, an SD card reader, dual Ethernet, and even an Oculink port that allows you to connect an external GPU. Meanwhile, the Mac Mini keeps things more minimal and misses out on features like the SD card slot.

Inside the MinisForum X1, there’s a lot to get excited about. It runs on AMD’s latest Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 chip, offering 12 cores and 24 threads with boost speeds up to 5.1GHz. This is paired with integrated Radeon 890M graphics, which handle gaming and graphics tasks much better than you might expect from a built-in GPU. You can install up to 96GB of DDR5 RAM, and the device supports three NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSDs. On top of that, you get the latest wireless connectivity, including Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4, plus Windows 11 comes pre-installed.

Now let’s talk performance. In benchmark tests like Geekbench and Cinebench, the MinisForum X1 holds its own against the Apple Mac Mini with the M4 chip. While the Mac Mini still wins in single-core tasks, the X1 performs better in multi-core tests, which is great for tasks like video editing or multitasking with heavy applications. In fact, the X1 scored higher in multi-core Cinebench results, proving its strength in real-world work scenarios.

We also tested the internal SSDs and found that the X1 offers almost double the speed compared to the base model Mac Mini. That’s likely because Apple tends to use slower storage in their entry-level models. The MinisForum’s SSD not only gives you faster boot times and file transfers but also more flexibility, as you can upgrade or replace it yourself.

When it comes to video editing, both machines perform well. We used DaVinci Resolve to test a 10-minute HEVC file with heavy effects. Rendering and exporting times were very close, with the Mac Mini finishing just a few seconds ahead. This small difference is mostly due to Apple’s dedicated video encoders, but for most people, the gap is not noticeable enough to justify the trade-offs in customization and upgradeability.

In gaming, the MinisForum X1 clearly takes the lead. We tried games like Cyberpunk 2077, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and Resident Evil 4 at 1080p high or ultra settings. The Mac Mini struggled to deliver smooth gameplay in most cases, while the X1 stayed much more playable. With AMD’s FSR and frame generation technologies turned on, the X1 pushed games like Cyberpunk to nearly 100 FPS, something the Mac Mini can’t come close to. Simply put, the MinisForum’s Radeon 890M GPU is far superior for gaming.

Another standout feature of the X1 is the Oculink port, which allows you to connect an external graphics card, like an RTX 4090. That means you can turn this already powerful mini PC into a high-end gaming or editing machine. Apple’s Mac Mini doesn’t support eGPUs at all, so if you need external graphics power, the X1 is the better choice.

On the pricing front, the value you get from the MinisForum X1 is impressive. At around $929, you’re getting 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. To match that spec on the Mac Mini with 32GB RAM and 1TB storage, you’d be paying significantly more. So not only are you getting better specs for less money, but you’re also getting more ports, easier upgrades, and better graphics performance.

Overall, the MinisForum X1 AI Mini PC is a serious Windows-based alternative to the Mac Mini. It offers more customization, better gaming performance, and strong multi-core performance for professional workloads. While Apple still leads in areas like software optimization and single-core speed, the MinisForum makes up for it by giving users more control over hardware choices and future upgrades. Whether you’re a creative professional, a gamer, or just someone who needs a compact and powerful PC, the MinisForum X1 is definitely worth considering.

If you’re thinking about buying a mini PC and want something more flexible than the Mac Mini, this could be the one for you.