CHH ID: Someone’s Alias
Before we start, let me ramble a bitSince last year, mini PCs have entered a period of rapid growth, but the type of high-performance mini PCs with dedicated graphics cards that many players are looking forward to has been scarce from manufacturers.The main reason is that introducing dedicated graphics cards into mini PCs requires the cooperation of GPU manufacturers. Among the current dedicated graphics card manufacturers,NVIDIA‘s attitude is the most straightforward; they basically do not allow mobile graphics cards to enter mini PCs. Previously, only Intel had this privilege. Originally, there were plans for two powerful RTX40 mini PCs next year, but with the reorganization of the NUC department, it seems uncertain what will happen in the future. I hope ASUS can continue this rare product line…PS: Aside from Intel, Mechanical Revolution (Tongfang) has released a few I+N mini PCs, but they were modified using laptop motherboards under NV’s pressure. The design concept is not very suitable for long-plugged mini PCs, and performance release follows the laptop style. There was also a product that could install a laptop control panel and then go off with an alarm saying the battery was missing. It is said that NV has warned them severely. However, now that the market is sluggish, everyone is having a hard time, and Tongfang is a large manufacturer with shipping capabilities, so NV just turns a blind eye. The so-called stock warning is just like that, but NV’s attitude towards dedicated graphics in mini PCs is very clear.PS2: Their ‘favorite’ Zotac also occasionally has some, but at that price, if I were NV, I would also be at ease… Mainly selling B-end Pro models, with sky-high prices and little volume.AMD‘s attitude is more ambiguous: at first, they were worried about affecting their gaming laptop sales (mobile A cards have long lost their presence!). Later, after the explosion of mini PCs, they were also unable to support it fully. After all, everyone knows that A cards have been somewhat… tortuous in recent years. The entry of genuine graphics cards into mini PCs is different from entering gaming laptops. Generally, manufacturers without strength really can’t do it (or are unwilling to do it). This year, they have increased support for mini PCs, but they are not pushing 3A dedicated graphics mini PCs, but instead designed large APUs like Strix Halo that are similar to PS5/Xbox. Perhaps there are fewer bugs with the APU solution (I’m sure), and OEM adaptation is simpler. In short, the APU’s large core and large graphics solution are very suitable for mini PCs, but AMD’s OEM support capability and OEM development capability still raise questions. Some foundries are indeed a pit.As forIntel— as long as you can produce Arc graphics products, you are the most reliable partner! Pricing is negotiable!
With the original NUC department of Intel reorganized into a mini PC division, the future development and definition of the mini PC market will largely depend on Intel, as this market was initially developed by Intel. The commercial and industrial end of mini PCs is still firmly grasped by Intel. The consumer-level volume is just a bit noisy; it is simply not enough to watch. Plus, MTL, which will start focusing on integrated graphics later this year, if the product itself does not delay too long, considering Intel’s strong OEM support capability and rich experience in mini PC development, it should be able to win back a city. It is quite a pity for users without Intel NUC, but it may not be a bad thing for the entire mini PC market.
Official unboxingSo we finally see that the most capable Miniforum has released a mini PC based on Intel Arc A730m, the HN2673, and it’s the magical i7 12650H + A730M 6G. It looks like the ‘youth version’ of the Intel NUC Serpent Viper Canyon of 12700H + A770M 16G. So how powerful is this combination compared to Viper Canyon?
The packaging of HN2673 is significantly larger than that of regular mini PCs; it actually uses the previous NAD9 mold (i9 12900H + MXM expansion). Seeing this size, we can at least know that this machine does not have to worry about cooling noise.
The accessories are still complete, including a power adapter, vertical support, HDMI cable, and two SATA cables… plugs. The machine itself can support two 2.5-inch 7mm SATA hard drives.
In terms of appearance, the HN2673 looks almost identical to the NAD9, and its size is considered large among mini PCs. The official data is 20.82 × 6.7 × 17.95 cm, resembling a relatively large lunch box. Its volume is comparable to Viper Canyon, also at 2.5L, but the square appearance makes it look larger, and it does not take up much space when placed vertically.
When compared to a can of cola, we can see that this machine really just looks big… the actual size is still manageable, but this makes the power brick look huge.
This power brick uses the standard 5.5 × 2.5 mm interface in the mini PC industry, with a power of 239.4W, and is not heavy. It is said that European and American users are not very fond of power bricks, and domestic users have a lot of complaints about this, as it takes up too much space…
HN2673 body, specific interface configuration can be seen in this image:
Overall, it is very… legacy. It’s already 2023, yet it still has HDMI 2.0b everywhere! Oh, it turns out to be the KING card! Two HDMI ports go to the dedicated graphics, and the other USB-C ports go to the integrated graphics, which are also HDMI 2.0b. Fortunately, the integrated graphics can run DP1.4, so using it as an HTPC is also fine— but then the KING card becomes useless! So why not buy the smaller and cheaper UM1265?
Under the heat dissipation grille, four 8cm fans can be seen, which is quite spectacular, with a bit of a meme vibe. I didn’t expect Miniforum to use such a simple and crude cooling scheme— what cooling design? Just brute force! The cooling capacity of these four 8025 fans is absolutely terrifying among mini PCs, and with the ultra-short wind channel design, they directly blow away all the heat. This style is very… crude.
The other side has two 2.5-inch SATA slots, with SATA cables already pre-installed. There are screws in the packaging accessories, and if not used, the included plugs can be used to seal the ports.
Although most mini PCs prefer to ship with a barebone system, the HN2673 only ships as a complete machine. The tested unit has a configuration of 16+512 (currently on sale is 32G+1T for 4599 yuan), the reason is simple: the memory and SSD of HN2673 are deeply hidden under the fans and PCB, making disassembly quite difficult. If it were to ship as a barebone system, it would lead to a flood of customer complaints!
Here we can see that the memory consists of two sticks of DDR4 3200 8G, with the SSD beside it, in 2280 PCIE 4.0 specifications, and it has a heatsink which can also be blown by the fan above. Miniforum is definitely a top-level cooling enthusiast among mini PC manufacturers!
Actually, the HN2673 is just the NAD9 with the i7 12650H swapped in and an MXM slot attached to an A730M 6G graphics card, whilegreatly enhancing the coolingresulting in a CPU section with three heat pipes and a single fan, while the graphics card section has four heat pipes and dual fans. Compared to the previous third-party cooling solution created by forum users for the NAD9, this official solution is much stronger and utilizes the space to the extreme. The effect is naturally excellent. I wonder if NAD9 users can buy this cooling module separately or sell it together with the MXM card. Wouldn’t that make NAD9 users feel better after seeing HN2673…
Overall, this machine is designed quite cleverly. The NAD9’s basic expansion capability is extremely strong. It is probably the only consumer-grade mini PC with an MXM slot. Unfortunately, MXM cards are almost extinct; you don’t even see them in laptops anymore, and users can only find them through unofficial channels. The HN2673 should be considered a worry-free integrated solution. As for the price, the official price for the 16+512 configuration is $649. Now that the dollar is at 7.3, it comes out to about… 4700 yuan without tax, and it is likely that the domestic price will be 4999 yuan. The recently launched price for 32G+1T is 4599 yuan, which is quite a bit lower than expected. However, how to say this… Although this configuration is unique and theoretically cheaper than the 12700H + A770M Viper Canyon, they also have the HX99G! Currently, the 32G+512G HX99G is priced at 5699 yuan, which is 1200 yuan more expensive than HN2673. How do we rank the performance of these three? Let’s test it out!
First, let’s take a look at the core specifications. The CPU used is the i7 12650H, commonly referred to as “i6.” Compared to the full-blooded 12700H with 6P+8E 96EU 2Codec specifications, the 12650H primarily cuts a circle of specifications around it, removing the four small cores that were just filler. The integrated graphics were also cut down, becoming 64EU 1Codec. Functionally, there are no changes; the most crucial 6 P-cores and the highest frequency of 4.7GHz remain unchanged. If the price is right, the 6P+4E configuration is very suitable for gaming desktops/laptops. This year, there are quite a few cost-effective laptops using the 12650H, and RPL has a sequel, the 13620H, which also has the same 6+4 configuration and is said to be very reasonably priced.
However, the other protagonist, the Arc A730M, seems a bit awkward. Compared to the full-blooded A770M and the desktop A750, the A730 has been cut down in core specifications and memory, having only 384EU + 192bit, while the full-blooded A770M has 512EU + 256bit, making the overall scale just three-quarters of the 770M. What’s more frustrating is the memory issue; 6G is evidently insufficient, while 12G is a bit too much for this core, leading to significantly higher costs. Thus, the HN2673 uses 6GB of memory, and I personally feel it would be better to pay an extra 200 yuan for 12G…
In terms of specific performance release, the total power limit of the HN2673 is 145W, namely CPU 45W + GPU 100W, which is a giant among mini PCs. For this cooling scale, it is indeed overkill; the fans hardly spin and could easily handle a higher limit:
In terms of performance, the 45W 12650H performs similarly to the 6900HX, and the 12700H’s small cores and nearly double power consumption only yield a 50% multi-core improvement. However, the single-core performance remains consistent with the 12700H. Theoretically, if it is 12700H + A730M, there shouldn’t be much change in gaming performance:CBR20 scores are as follows: 12650H 45W, 6900HX 45W, and 12700H 80W:
Of course, gaming is just an addition. Currently, Intel’s Arc graphics cards still inherit the excellent video acceleration capabilities of UHD and Iris integrated graphics. As the saying goes, if performance is lacking, make up for it with productivity. Intel graphics have always been the strongest in the x86 camp, and QuickSync is well-regarded; Arc is no exception. The positioning of Viper Canyon is somewhat workstation-oriented, and as a little brother of Viper Canyon, the HN2673 is naturally similar:For example, in DaVinci testing, the HN2673 scored 1127 points, which is even slightly higher than Viper Canyon’s 109X points at launch. After all, Arc graphics are truly “fighting the future,” updating almost weekly with significant performance improvements (though there are still many bugs…). The benchmark configuration is i9 10900K + Titan RTX 24GB, with 1000 points, which means the HN2673 performs 12% better than this benchmark configuration in DaVinci, which is quite good.
More professional SPECworkstation tests also performed well, with average scores around 2.0, which is twice that of the benchmark configuration 1240V5 + Radeon Pro WX3100 (some scores may have been run on small cores). Remarkably, this test ran smoothly without errors or bugs throughout. I would suggest directly flashing a BIOS to turn it into something like an Arc Pro card for better selling points, but at least this professional performance is usable.
In summaryOverall, the HN2673 feels more like a trial work by Miniforum based on the NAD9 mold. The combination of 12650H + A730M 6G is not only awkward but also lacks highlights in performance. The 6G memory somewhat limits the A730M’s already weak performance, and the 45W 12650H is a waste of the super-strong cooling module. If the NAD9 mold could continue to iterate, switching to i7 13620H or even 13900H, along with a more powerful graphics card, even if it’s an A card, would be much more appealing than the current combination. The advantage is that the price is still reasonable. There are not many mini PC products at this price point; buying a 32G + 1T host with an “i7” + A730M 6G dedicated graphics for 4500 yuan seems quite reasonable. After all, it’s better than the price-performance ratio of Viper Canyon. However, at this price, one could assemble a system with 13400F + RTX4060, and aside from the larger size advantage, there is not much competitive edge. But if one really pursues size, it would be better to save money and buy a PHX mini PC!
