MINISFORUM has released a more affordable version of the MS-01 mini-PC. The new version of the MS-01 comes with an Intel Core i5 processor as against the previous model which is equipped with a Core i9. The actual processor in the refreshed MINISFORUM MS-01 mini-PC is the Intel Core i5-12600H.
The MINISFORUM MS-01 still offers significant performance for many applications even when compared with the Core i9 variants. Previous benchmarks between the lower Core i7 and the Core i9 models point to less-than-significant improvements in performance. There are no benchmark results yet comparing the performance of the Core i5-12600H and the Core i9 variants of the MINISFORUM MS-01 mini-PC.
The MINISFORUM MS-01 was originally unveiled in December 2023 and came with the Core i9 processors. The company has also unveiled several other models since the release of the MS-01, some of which featured AMD processors. The MS-01 mini-PC before now featured the Intel Core i9-12900H or Core i9-13900H CPUs. The refreshed version of the mini-PC now offers the Intel Core i5-12600H variant leading to a significant reduction in the price of the mini-PC. While the starting price of the MS-01 was previously around $580/ $870, the refreshed version starts at about $450 on Amazon. When purchased directly from MINISFORUM, the MS-01 costs $399 or $589 with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.
The less-expensive version of the MINISFORUM MS-01 offers access to a greater segment of the market while retaining the core performance essentials of the model. It remains to be seen what the reception of the model might be in the market.
