by Several reviews for the Minisforum HX90 (NOTE: these are affiliate links, but we don’t recommend buying this product at this time) miniPC powered by AMD’s Ryzen 5900HX mobile APU are appearing online, and there’s an unfortunately rising awareness of either severe quality control issues or misleading (i.e., false) marketing materials, or perhaps some combination of both. As incendiary as our title sounds, unfortunately we could not find another way to express the issues that were discovered accurately otherwise.
This is all the more distressing for us, an AMD-focused website, because Minisforums is one of the better-known miniPC makers that market AMD-powered systems. These issues will only serve to set back the gains AMD has made in this segment further. Hopefully lessons can be learned and mistakes not repeated. We proceed below.
Both Gamers Nexus and der8auer (main English channel) discovered in their review samples (sometimes multiple ones) multiple issues including plastic being passed off as Carbon Fiber and liquid metal thermal compound found splattered across the insides all over different components almost everywhere except actually between the APU and the heatsink.
After reporting the issues to Minisforum, GN received a second review unit that still demonstrated the same problems. Understandably, they are livid for having spent so much time on such a product reviewing it not once, but twice, with no resolution to the originally reported problems. Sadly, this seems to indicate a major quality control issue.
As a product, minus the marketing that is not at all aligned with the truth and the dangerously-applied liquid metal, all reviews acknowledge it’s an okay to good product, but the execution needs work. Unfortunately, again, marketing touts easy upgradability, but the HX90 ships with security Torx screws keeping the case together, items that, as GN put it, offer no end-value to the consumer except making it harder for them to get into their systems.
Unfortunately, despite more and more reviews highlighting these issues, the HX90 website has yet to be updated or corrected in light of these revelations.
As if the YouTube reviews aren’t bad enough, reviews on the actual HX90 store page are no better, with reviews replete with “scam”, “no liquid metal”, and “do not buy”. To say we are disappointed is an understatement. We were looking forward to a more detailed overview on our part that could highlight its performance and value and use cases, but at this time, these concerns are more pressing. Check back for more details as we find them.
