Final Words & Conclusion
Final Words & Conclusion
Mini PCs are known for their balance between compactness, features, and performance. While not ideal for high-intensity gaming due to limited graphic support, they excel as efficient workstations or student-friendly computing solutions. Their compact form allows easy storage, making them suitable for constrained spaces. VESA compatibility enables convenient mounting on the back of screens. Intel versions are always slightly more expensive; however costing 500-600 euros for the configuration with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD we feel this product is in balance value-wise. This Intel-based mini PC offers excellent connectivity, featuring two USB4 and 2.5GbE ports. It's worth noting that all fast ports on the Venus NPB7 are placed on the back, which may affect connecting external SSDs to the front, limiting speed to 5Gbit/s. In our performance tests, the Mini PC with 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD showed commendable results under load. While not designed for gaming, the NPB5 performs reasonably well in integrated graphics performance (igp). Once the unit remains under heavy load it'll slow down though. In PL2 mode for the first 20-30 seconds, the unit even consumes over 100 Watts, which is a lot for a 45 Watt TDP device. One Pl1 kicks in you're at 60-65 Watt (entire device) which is okay. Overall the performance is fast enough, and the single-threaded performance even excellent.
Concluding
The Minisforum NPB5 offers a range of advanced features, including USB4 ports, support for multi-display setups up to 8K resolution, and WiFi 6E connectivity. For whatever reason the WIFI6E module we could not see our 6 Ghz ban, but we're certain that'll be resolved with a future driver update. The 5Ghz band divinely performed excellent, even over 700 mbit/s in our test. It supports dual display configurations with two USB4 ports (up to 8K@60Hz) and two HDMI 2.0 ports (up to 4K@60Hz). The Mini PC also provides Bluetooth 5.2, as well as a duo of 2.5Gbps Ethernet ports. In performance testing, the Intel system demonstrates greater efficiency and quiet operation under a normal workload, once the device has a heavy workload it'll get a notch slower. The NPB5 array of ports includes three USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, a USB 2.0 port, two USB4 ports, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, two HDMI 2.0 ports, a DC jack for the 19V power adapter (90W) with a geo-specific AC cord (IEC C5), a power button, and a Kensington lock slot. Additionally, the Minisforum NPB5 comes pre-installed with Windows 11 Pro. Its compact design and robust functionality make it an appealing choice for many users, the big bonus with Minisforum products is the incredibly low acoustic levels (under low and normal workloads); you'll be hard-pressed to hear this device unless you create a huge workload. The device is available for direct order from the manufacturer, with the tested model listed at $500-600, offering really fair value for the price.
