Preface:As a PCDIY enthusiast, although I enjoy various types of DIY hosts, I rarely play games, and my hobby has dwindled to occasional gaming on the living room TV with a PS5. In real life, I use a Macbook Pro M1 the most, and the other is a NUC. While MacOS is great, some Windows applications are still essential. Three years ago, I purchased an ASUS VC66, which is compact and capable. I originally intended to use it as an HTPC on the TV cabinet, not wanting to have two laptops, but it gradually became my main machine. Working from home during the pandemic, browsing the web, and watching movies on a large screen provides a great overall experience. The old debate of whether laptops are better than NUCs has been ongoing. In my view, these are two products designed for different usage scenarios; if mobility is needed, a laptop is the way to go, while if the scenario is fixed, desk space is limited, and rich interfaces are required, NUCs are more suitable.Today, I want to introduce a product I recently acquired, the ASUS PN53 MiniPC, which ASUS has just launched. I had a great experience with the VC66, having used it stably for over three years without any issues, which keeps my faith in ASUS’s quality. This PN53 is also a product I look forward to; it has a minimalistic design and is even more compact, only the size of a palm. The performance of the AMD Ryzen™ 9 6900HX + Radeon™ 680M + DDR5 memory is powerful enough to meet daily usage or moderate productivity needs. It has two PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots and one 2.5-inch HDD slot for rich storage expansion. Notably, the device is equipped with two HDMI 2.1 ports and two USB 4 high-speed ports, one of which is a full-function port supporting single-cable connections (supporting 40Gbps transfer speed, DP 1.4, 100W DP charging), reducing desktop cable mess. Alright, that’s enough introduction; let’s dive into the unboxing section.
Desktop display.
The specific configuration includes an AMD Ryzen™ 9 6900HX CPU with 8 cores and 16 threads, a maximum frequency of up to 4.9GHz, an integrated Radeon™ 680M GPU with 12 cores and a frequency of 2400 MHz, and a single 16GB DDR5 4800MHz memory, which can be upgraded to dual 16GB for double the integrated graphics performance, with 512GB PCIe 4.0 storage.Below is the specific configuration specification list from the ASUS PN53 official website.
1. Unboxing section.The ASUS PN53 MiniPC packaging continues the simple design style of the ASUS MiniPC family, with a gray-white base color and a product rendering image on the right side, while the upper left corner prints the ASUS MiniPC PN series text. The overall packaging size is slimmer and more compact compared to the currently used ASUS VC66.
The back of the packaging is also in gray-white, with product specifications and other information. The energy consumption label in China is certified as the lowest energy-consuming level 1.
Opening the packaging box, the left side contains the PN53 body wrapped in foam paper, while the right side has the accessory box.
Taking out the accessories, the first is paper materials, including a quick start guide, VESA backplate installation instructions, safety notices, and other technical documents.
Four packs of screws were included, consisting of: 4 VESA backplate installation screws, 2 PN53 VESA backplate fixing screws, 1 M.2 screw, and 4 2.5-inch hard drive fixing screws.
A black VESA screen mount is included. It allows the PN53 to be mounted on the back of a monitor with a standard VESA interface, saving valuable desktop space.
The back of the bracket.
A complete external power adapter, with two cables that have Velcro for easy storage. The adapter is roughly the size of two stacked iPhone 13 Pro Max.
The surface of the adapter features a matrix texture design, with all corners polished, and the bottom right corner is engraved with the 150W label, indicating the maximum output power.
The power adapter model is ADP-150CH B, 20V, 7.5A, with a total maximum output capacity of 150W and a wide voltage range of 100-240V. This power adapter is the same as the one used for the ASUS ROG XG32UQ gaming monitor tested earlier.
The power cord has a plug head interface.
Next is the ASUS PN53 body. It features a simple black design, dimensions of 120 x 130 x 58 mm, and a weight of approximately 0.75 kg. The shell has a matte texture, and the side ventilation grilles have a striped glossy finish that reflects light differently under various lighting conditions. Below is a display of the main unit from various angles.
I personally also enjoy using NUCs. I’ve been using the ASUS VC66, which was the top configuration at the time, with an i7-9700 CPU, 32GB of memory, and a 1TB M.2 drive, along with two 2TB 2.5-inch SSDs.
The ASUS PN53 is noticeably smaller compared to its older brother, the VC66.
Its thickness is also only half as much.
Looking at the front of the PN53, from left to right: 1x hard drive indicator light (white light effect), 1 x 3.5mm audio jack (Line out/Mic in/headphone output), 1 x USB 4 Type-C (supports DP1.4), 2 x USB 3.2 Gen1, and a power button (white light effect). The upper left corner has the ASUS logo, the lower left corner has the HDMI certification mark, and the lower right corner has the Microsoft Windows laser logo. This NUC comes pre-installed with Windows®11 64Bit Home Edition, and the drivers are also installed, ready to use out of the box.
The left side features a striped ventilation grille, providing ample intake area to cool the internal hardware. The left bottom corner has a Kensington security lock hole.
The right side is the same as the left, also featuring a striped intake grille.
The upper back of the NUC is the exhaust vent, with an overall airflow design of side intake and rear exhaust. The bottom includes the main unit’s I/O interfaces, including: 1 x Padlock ring (anti-tamper lock ring), 2 x HDMI 2.13 (supports 4K@60Hz), 1 x Display Port 1.4, 1 x USB 4 Type-C (supports DP1.4, PD input, PD charging, supports 40Gbps transfer speed), 3 x USB 3.2 Gen1, 1 x 2.5G RJ45 LAN, and 1 x DC-in power interface, which is quite rich and fully meets daily usage needs.
Below is an interface diagram quoted from the official website, which is more intuitive. My favorite feature is the USB 4 Type-C one-cable connection to the display, which is incredibly convenient.
The bottom of the main unit also has ventilation holes, with rubber feet at the four corners, and two screw holes for installing the VESA screen mount screws. The bottom also has production information and energy-saving star stickers.
Below is the installation process for the PN53 with the included VESA screen mount. It is important to note that this installation method is only suitable for monitors that are in a free VESA state, meaning that the monitor’s stand does not occupy the standard VESA interface. If the monitor’s stand (or a third-party stand, such as a VESA mount) occupies the interface, the backplate cannot be installed. First, install the 2 PN53 VESA backplate fixing screws into the screws at the bottom of the main unit.
Secure the VESA screen mounting backplate with the barcode facing outward and the arrow facing up using four screws at the VESA interface on the back of the monitor.
The horizontal block is the NUC installation locking mechanism; pulling it to the left unlocks it, allowing the NUC to be removed and installed; pushing it to the right locks it, preventing the NUC from falling and breaking due to monitor angle changes.
Hang the NUC according to the backplate locking hole position onto the VESA backplate and push the safety lock to the right to lock.
The end of the safety lock also has a fixing screw to tighten it, preventing the lock position from sliding.
2. Disassembly section.The structure of the ASUS PN53 is relatively simple; loosen the four corner screws to remove the bottom plate.
The four fixing screws are long screws fixed through the board and cannot be removed to prevent loss.
Because there are connection cables in the center of the upper and lower shells, be careful when removing the bottom plate. Let’s look at the internal hardware situation of the main unit.
The motherboard is fixed to the upper shell, with one 2280 M.2 solid-state drive slot supporting PCIe 4.0 X4 protocol. It comes pre-installed with a Micron 512GB PCIe 4.0 M.2 solid-state drive, which can be replaced later if needed.
The motherboard is connected to the bottom shell’s expansion sub-board via data cables. The expansion sub-board is also equipped with one 2280 M.2 solid-state drive slot for expansion, also supporting PCIe 4.0 X4 protocol, with thermal pads on top (the right side thermal pad can provide cooling for the motherboard’s M.2 solid-state drive when the upper and lower shells are combined).
Remove the M.2 solid-state drive from the motherboard. Unlock the lock on the cable with tweezers to separate the cable, allowing the upper and lower shells to be separated.
The memory installation slots on the motherboard have thermal stickers to aid in memory cooling.
Using tweezers, remove the wireless antenna terminal, and the motherboard can then be taken off from the top cover.
The two WiFi-6E wireless antennas are integrated into the top shell.
The memory slots have two, with a stacked installation method, supporting a maximum of 16GB x2 and a maximum of 4800MHz. The version I selected is a single-channel 16GB DDR5 4800MHz notebook memory, with only one installed from the factory, produced by Hynix. The additional 16GB DDR5 memory I ordered has not yet arrived due to the pandemic. With dual-channel memory, the performance of the integrated graphics card can nearly double.
The opposite side of the memory slots features the Intel AX211 wireless network card, supporting WiFi 6E wireless network and Bluetooth 5.2 protocol, adding a 6GHz band, capable of providing a transmission speed of 2400MHz, with a detachable design for easy future upgrades.
Removing the memory reveals the ASUS PN53 label at the bottom of the memory slots.
Looking at the other side of the motherboard, the cooling fan module covers almost the entire motherboard. The fan module at the top is secured with three screws; loosen the screws and unplug the fan cable from the motherboard to remove it.
The turbo fan module has been optimized for performance, operating based on centrifugal force principles to effectively push away dust and other particles moving along the circulation path, directing them into a dust exit channel to avoid accumulation on the fins.
Removing the fan reveals the entire cooling module, with full-sized heat sinks and a flat heat pipe at the fan outlet, providing cooling assurance for the 6900HX processor.
Dual heat pipes with direct contact copper base cooling module.
Extending to the rear aluminum fin matrix, the fin density is very high.
The fin module has a black coating treatment.
Now let’s look at the bottom shell’s sub-board situation.
The expansion of one 2280 M.2 solid-state drive slot is also available for expansion, supporting PCIe 4.0 X4 protocol, with thermal pads on top.
The motherboard’s M.2 solid-state drive auxiliary thermal pad.
The bottom of the bottom shell also has a reserved 2.5-inch hard drive expansion slot, allowing for the installation of a 2.5-inch HDD or SSD to maximize storage needs.
I added an XPG Gammix S50 Pro 2000GB PCIe4.0 SSD to the secondary slot. This SSD adopts the NVMe 1.4 standard, with continuous read and write speeds reaching 5000/4000MB per second. The 2000GB capacity meets various usage scenarios and can also provide an upgrade for the PS5.
Lock the motherboard to the sub-board’s expansion M.2 hard drive slot with screws.
I have an idle Western Digital 2.5-inch 1TB Blue HDD, which I installed in the hard drive slot.
3. Testing section.The factory system comes pre-installed with ASUS MyASUS, which provides product registration, warranty extension, and other services.
The distinctive ASUS Instant Connect allows for easy file transfers.
Audio AI noise reduction and wireless hotspot management are intuitive and adjustable.
The ASUS App Store allows for direct searches for essential software.
System diagnostics can facilitate initial troubleshooting, even for users without a computer background, and provide corresponding solutions. The driver software sub-option can be easily updated with one click, without the need to download from the official website. Data migration can save the hassle of changing computers or reinstalling the system.
CPU-Z information and single-core/multi-core benchmarks. The AMD Ryzen™ 9 6900HX specifications include: 8 CPU cores, 16 threads, maximum boost clock frequency up to 4.9GHz, base clock frequency of 3.3GHz, total Level 1 cache of 512KB, total Level 2 cache of 4MB, and Level 3 cache of 16MB, with a default TDP/TDP of 45W. In CPU-Z, the 6900HX test reached a single-core score of 623.9 and a multi-core score of 6012.5, which is already quite powerful for a mobile CPU.
GPU-Z information. The AMD Ryzen™ 9 6900HX features an integrated AMD Radeon™ 680M GPU with 12 cores and a frequency of 2400 MHz, with 512MB of dedicated video memory, which can also use shared memory for additional video memory. Increasing the memory capacity can provide a better performance experience.
AIDA64 Cache & Memory tests. This is the test score for a single 16GB, and adding a second 16GB will achieve around 68000MB/S in memory read/write copying.
AIDA64 GPU Benchmark test.
TXBench hard drive read/write test. The Micron 2450 SSD has a basic read/write limit of about 3500MB/S, which is generally sufficient for daily use. If you want faster speeds, you can replace it yourself.
CINEBENCH R23 test.
Lu Master entertainment benchmark for reference: CPU 583614 points, GPU 81552 points, memory 100380 points, hard drive 164211 points.
Time Spy benchmark. With a single memory configuration, it is sufficient for daily use, and running games that do not demand much from the GPU is not an issue. However, single-channel memory significantly affects the 680M GPU. With dual 16GB, the actual score in Time Spy is around 2700, while the Fire Strike test score is over 6700, and the Night Raid test score for the GPU is around 29000. Increasing the memory results in nearly double the performance improvement for the GPU, so I strongly recommend adding another memory stick for optimal performance experience. Below are the default single-channel test results.
Fire Strike test.
CPU PROFILE test.
NIGHT RAID test.
PCMARK10 EXTEND test, basic common functions score 9501, productivity score 9797, digital content creation score 7809, gaming score 3014. It can meet the needs of most applications and moderate intensity productivity.
V-RAY Benchmark test, score 8146 points.
Video decoding supports AV1, VP9, H264, and other mainstream transcoding formats. In tests, 4K AV1 60FPS (8K AV1 60FPS not supported), 8K VP9 24FPS, and 8K VP9 60FPS can be played smoothly, providing a good experience for playing 4K and 8K high-definition videos or productivity applications.
At room temperature 24°C, running Aida64 FPU for 10 minutes, the surface temperature of the 6900HX is around 72°C.
At room temperature 24°C, running dual Aida64 FPU and Furmark for 10 minutes, the surface temperature of the 6900HX is around 75°C, and the 680M is around 58°C. Overall, the temperature performance is good.
Next, let’s look at the overall noise and power consumption performance of the machine. All tests used the QFAN QUIET fan strategy. First, the standby noise test; my device can only test noise above 40 dB, as the noise is too low to display. The actual noise is very low, almost inaudible.
The overall standby power consumption is about 7.18W.
When playing an 8K video, simulating a more intensive application, the noise is about 43.5dB. The decibel meter was tested close to the intake, but the actual distance from the desktop to the ear is about 70cm, making it very quiet.
At this point, the overall power consumption is at 24.58W.
Finally, during the Aida 64 FPU stress test, simulating maximum noise performance, the actual measured noise is about 51.8dB.
At this point, the overall power consumption is about 63.65W. After a series of tests, under the QFAN QUIET fan strategy, the PN53 overall noise performance is quite satisfactory, and the temperature is not high. If you don’t have a temperature obsession, I recommend using this set strategy for a very good experience.
Conclusion: The ASUS PN53 MiniPC packs powerful performance in a compact size, with rich interfaces and strong expandability. The USB4 single-cable connection is more convenient, reducing desktop cable clutter. With the AMD Ryzen™ 9 6900HX + Radeon™ 680M + DDR5 memory, it is sufficient for daily use, whether for 4K/8K H264, VP9, 4K AV1 high-definition video decoding, or some productivity applications, it performs well. As an integrated graphics card, it is close to the performance of a 1050Ti, making it suitable for occasional gaming as well. I strongly recommend adding another memory stick to achieve dual-channel configuration, which nearly doubles the performance of both the 680M GPU and memory. This concludes the article, and the above represents my personal views. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment and discuss. Thank you for your patience in reading!
