Minisforum Venus Series UM690 desktop review: small office PC with Ryzen 9 6900HX and USB4

Miniforum has already established itself well as a manufacturer of highly compact desktop systems. Right now, the Venus series features very powerful mini PCs with AMD’s latest Rembrandt SoCs. The UM690 is the current flagship model in the lineup, but there are also slightly cheaper and less-powerful devices such as the UM450 and UM590.

Spoiler: we can tell you now that we are impressed by the performance and versatility of the UM690. The PC is based on the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX , which is an efficient and yet very fast CPU with powerful integrated graphics – namely the AMD Radeon 680M . The APU is flanked by 16 GB of DDR5 memory, which is the latest standard, and a 512 GB SSD.

The Minisforum Venus Series UM690 is also available as a barebones kit without RAM and storage. Users will have to purchase a Windows licence separately. Prices of the UM690 currently start at €559 (US$499), and our review model will set you back €719 (US$649).

The Minisforum Venus Series UM690 can be configured with up to 64 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD. In this review, we are going to compare the UM690 with other highly compact desktop PCs. The following table will give you an overview of the devices in the comparison.

The Minisforum Venus Series UM690 is mainly made of plastic on the outside. Inside, though, you’ll find metal built into the system to boost the chassis’ overall sturdiness. The device feels premium, and there is nothing to complain about its workmanship.

We didn’t find any imprecise gaps or sharp edges on our review unit. The device can be placed flat on a desk or mounted vertically on the included stand. You won’t need any tools to insert the UM690 into its sturdy stand, which (unlike the chassis) is made of aluminium and perfectly complements the overall look of the UM690 colour-wise.

Due to its compact dimensions, the Minisforum Venus Series UM690 doesn’t take up much space on a desk. The device can, for example, also be installed on the back of a monitor using the included mounting kit (VESA). What’s more, the UM690 is amazingly lightweight at just 621 g (1.

36″). Weighing 449 g (0. 99 lb), its power adapter is just as heavy as those included with competing devices.

Despite being so compact, the Minisforum Venus Series UM690 has all the necessary interfaces. The total of six USB ports should be enough for most users, even if two of them are USB-C ports. Furthermore, one of the USB-C outputs supports Thunderbolt, which massively widens the potential applications of the tiny computer.

You can connect up to three monitors to the UM690 at the same time – two via the HDMI ports on the back and one via the USB-C on the front. Minisforum has included a Mediatek Wi-Fi 6E module in the UM690. The computer managed to achieve good and stable transfer rates in a real-life test with our reference router (Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE11000).

However, the Mediatek chip is unable to match the performance of an Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX210, though you won’t notice this in everyday use. Alternatively, the LAN port can be used to establish a faster network connection. It can transmit data at up to 2.

5 Gbit/s. Besides device itself, other items in the box include a robust stand, a 120-watt adapter and a VESA mount for attaching the UM690 directly to a monitor. Generally, the Minisforum Venus Series UM690 can be opened up to allow users to install or replace various components, such as RAM and SSD.

But the screws are hidden underneath rubber feet that need to be removed first. The device looks very neat on the inside, and all important components can be accessed quickly. If the cooling unit requires cleaning, though, you’ll have to take apart the device further.

But Minisforum has included an explicit warning to advise users against dismantling the cooler because the system uses liquid metal as thermal paste. Minisforum has equipped the UM690 with AMD’s new Ryzen 9 6900HX processor. This is a good choice because the device benefits overall from the performance provided by the new SoC in all kinds of applications.

And the SoC features a fast iGPU ( Radeon 680M ). The company also offers this Venus Series model with less-powerful SoCs under the names UM590 ( Ryzen 9 5900HX ) and UM450 ( Ryzen 5 4500U ). We used the “High performance” power plan for all performance tests in this review and only deviated from this when measuring power usage and noise levels, in accordance with our test criteria.

CPU and cooling performance were left unchanged in the BIOS. The AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX is an eight-core Rembrandt processor and can execute a total of 16 threads in parallel. The SoC in the UM690 is allowed to draw up to 65 watts of power for a short burst before the 45-watt limit kicks in.

Nonetheless, our review unit did very well in our comparison and is on par with an Intel Core i9-12900H , which is found in the Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 . To give you a general idea of the performance of the Venus Series UM450 and UM590, we have added their respective SoCs in our comparison table. You can refer to this page for more processor benchmarks.

Running Cinebench R15 in a loop over a prolonged period gave us a good look at how effective the cooling solution is in the UM690. There was indeed a small performance drop after the fourth run, but it wasn’t as severe as with the Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9, for example. Our review unit managed to take the top spot with an average score of 2,111.

The overall system benefits from the snappy SoC paired with DDR5 memory. The Venus Series UM690 can handle day-to-day work exceptionally well. The memory’s higher data rate became apparent during the AIDA64 tests, where the competitors couldn’t keep up with the UM690.

That said, the latency of the included RAM isn’t amongst the shortest. The Minisforum Venus Series UM690 slipped up slightly in this regard, but you are unlikely to notice it in everyday use. LatencyMon already indicated a minor increase in latency when we kept several tabs open in Microsoft Edge.

But playing back our 4K demo video and running Prime95 didn’t cause latency to rise any further. Our review sample of the UM690 comes with a 512 GB Kingston SSD. We have already seen the same model used in the Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 .

The drive performs similarly well in the UM690 and is faster than the storage solutions in the rest of the comparison devices. However, the Kingston drive exhibited the same weaknesses under sustained load. The small heatsink isn’t enough keep the drive’s performance constant over an extended period.

The Minisforum UM690 can also be fitted with an extra 2. 5″ storage drive; the required cable is included in the box. You can refer to our storage drive comparison table more information and benchmarks.

The new Rembrandt SoC is accompanied by an appreciable boost in integrated graphics performance. The AMD Radeon 680M in the UM690 is a great iGPU that offers much more muscle than the Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 . Based on our testing, our review unit is 50 per cent faster than the Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 (with Iris Xe Graphics).

Those who need more 3D performance can connect an external graphics card via the Thunderbolt port. Using a Razer Core X and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti , we examined what kind of performance we can expect from an eGPU setup. The results for the dedicate graphics card have been included in the comparison table.

Head on over to this page to see more benchmarks for the AMD Radeon 680M. Although the new Radeon 680M is substantially more powerful than a Radeon RX Vega 8 , the iGPU is only marginally suitable for demanding games. That said, we can’t just completely dismiss the gaming performance of the Radeon 680M.

This is because there are absolutely games that can run smoothly on the iGPU, but you’ll often have to make do with medium or high presets in such instances. As previously mentioned, we additionally tested the UM690 with the Razer Core X and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti . The device’s 3D performance can be substantially upgraded with the right peripherals.

However, the review unit was unable to hold its own against the other devices that we tested with the same eGPU setup. For example, the Intel Nuc 12 Pro delivered considerably better performance in conjunction with the dedicated graphics card. Refer to our game list for GPUs for more information and benchmarks.

Until now, we’ve always been very amazed by how quiet Minisforum’s products run under load. Our measurements showed that the cooling unit in the Minisforum Venus Series UM690 is extremely quiet under load. However, the device is not completely silent.

Based on our measurements, the machine produced 34 dB(A) of noise under moderate load and didn’t get much louder under full load at 34. 4 dB(A). But the fan noise stood out much more to us than expected because of its high frequency.

The Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 did significantly better in this regard and was hardly audible under full load. There are many air vents all over the chassis of the Minisforum UM690 so that heat can be effectively expelled from the case. The built-in cooling unit consists of two heat pipes and a small fan.

Moreover, liquid metal has been applied to the SoC to ensure optimal heat transfer. In real-life use, the cooling solution works quite well, allowing chassis temperatures to stay cool throughout. In contrast, the SoC reached up to 76°C (169°F) under load during our testing, which is still far from the safe temperature limits for the laptop components inside.

The Minisforum Venus Series UM690 is one of the most efficient devices in the comparison. Looking purely at power consumption, our review unit is at the same level as the Minisforum Neptune Series NAD9 , but the AMD SoC is slightly more efficient. Our monitoring device reported only 8.

7 to 10. 5 watts of power usage at idle. The UM690 drew up to 94.

5 watts during the stress test, which the 120-watt power adapter can handle with ease. The Minisforum Venus Series UM690 is a cutting-edge mini PC that also offers a ton of performance. The AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX is a fantastic fit for the UM690 and can consistently deliver great performance without be held back by thermal limitations.

The new Rembrandt SoCs feature the latest iGPU in the form of an AMD Radeon 680M , which totally has what it takes to run less-demanding games smoothly and is able to blow away an Intel Iris Xe iGPU almost all the time in terms of performance. There is nothing to criticise about the device’s fit and finish. Every thing fits well together, and there are no noticeable gaps on our review unit.

However, we wish Minisforum had chosen better materials rather than relying on a mostly plastic construction. But at least the company has demonstrated it is capable of doing things differently with the Neptune Series NAD9 . Despite how compact the UM690 is, Minisforum didn’t skimp on external interfaces.

The many USB ports, including Thunderbolt support, make the device attractive and, in particular, future-proof. We tested out what more we can get out of the mini PC with an external graphics card. The result: the UM690 can be very quickly turned into a really good gaming rig capable of running the latest games smoothly.

Featuring an AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX, the Minisforum Venus Series UM690 offers superb performance without consuming too much power. We do have a minor gripe with the cooling unit inside the computer. Whilst it actually runs fairly quietly according to our measurements, our subjective impression is that the device is audible under load and much louder than a Neptune Series NAD9 .

It is laudable that the UM690 can drive up to three displays at once, though you probably wouldn’t see this use case very often in real life. Unfortunately, users are still limited to a 60Hz refresh rate when connecting the device to a 4K display. In our opinion, it is essential to provide [email protected] support in future.

You can order the Venus Series UM690 directly from Minisforum. The company is currently offering an attractive pre-sale discount: the review model usually costs €899/US$759 but will set you back just €719 / US$649 after discount. The cheapest barebones model starts at €559 / US$499 .

All prices shown include taxes. The product is currently dispatched from Hong Kong and usually takes around 2-3 weeks to deliver. In future, the product will be available in the German-speaking market, thus substantially reducing shipping time in the region.

The review sample was loaned to the author for free by the manufacturer for review purposes. The company has no influence on this review and didn’t receive any version of it before publication. There is no obligation to publish any article on the product.

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