MINISFORUM UM890 Pro Review: A Ryzen 9 Mini PC With Dual USB4 and OCuLink
The MINISFORUM UM890 Pro is a compact desktop built around an 8-core AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS with Radeon 780M graphics, 32GB of dual-channel DDR5 that can grow to 96GB, a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD in one of two M.2 slots, and a genuinely useful port set led by two 40Gbps USB4 ports, dual 2.5G Ethernet and a 120W external supply that can also run over USB Power Delivery. It suits home offices, developers and always-on home-server duties, and the trade-offs are its external power brick, its plastic top and bottom panels, and OCuLink that costs one of the two M.2 slots.
- Home offices
- Developers and light gaming
- Home servers and virtualisation
- Compact desks
Pros
- 8-core, 16-thread Ryzen 9 8945HS with a 70W performance mode
- 32GB of dual-channel DDR5-5600, upgradable to 96GB across two SO-DIMM slots
- Two M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 slots with 1TB fitted, up to 8TB total
- Dual USB4 ports at 40Gbps carrying video and up to 100W Power Delivery
- Dual 2.5G Ethernet plus Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3
- HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 for up to four displays
- OCuLink option for an external GPU
- Quiet Cold Wave 2.2 cooling with a dedicated DDR and SSD heatsink fan
- Windows 11 Pro preinstalled and licensed
- VESA mount and HDMI cable in the box, with a two-year warranty
Cons
- External 120W power brick rather than an internal supply
- Plastic top and bottom panels over an aluminium body
- OCuLink uses one of the two M.2 slots
- No Thunderbolt certification and no USB-C on the front
- No USB 2.0 ports
- No SD card slot, fingerprint reader or Kensington lock
- No built-in speakers or documented microphone
- No discrete GPU for serious gaming
Who is the MINISFORUM UM890 Pro for?
This is a mini PC for people who want a small, quiet desktop that still behaves like a full machine. The 8-core, 16-thread Ryzen 9 8945HS and 32GB of dual-channel DDR5 make office work, browsers, photo editing and coding comfortable, while the Radeon 780M iGPU handles lighter gaming and 1080p video work at reduced settings. Its low idle draw, quiet cooling and VESA mounting make it a natural fit for a tidy desk or for hiding behind a monitor, and the dual 2.5G Ethernet ports and two M.2 slots suit an always-on home server, NAS-style storage or a virtualisation box. Buyers who want an external GPU can add one over OCuLink, at the cost of one of the two M.2 storage slots.
What the UM890 Pro offers
The core is an AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS, a Zen 4 Hawk Point part with 8 cores and 16 threads, 16MB of L3 cache, up to 5.2GHz boost and a configurable TDP up to 70W in performance mode, paired with an AMD Radeon 780M iGPU and an XDNA NPU for light AI work. Memory is 32GB of DDR5-5600 in two replaceable SO-DIMM slots, upgradable to 96GB, and storage is 1TB in one of two M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 slots, each able to take a 4TB drive. Connectivity is generous: two USB4 ports at 40Gbps that carry data, video and up to 100W Power Delivery, four USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, one HDMI 2.1, one DisplayPort 1.4, two 2.5G Ethernet ports, a 3.5mm audio jack, Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. Up to four displays can run at once, and the chassis is cooled by MINISFORUM's Cold Wave 2.2 system of heat pipes, a blade fan and a dedicated DDR and SSD heatsink fan. The configured trims ship with Windows 11 Pro preinstalled, and a 120W adapter, HDMI cable and VESA mount are in the box.
What to know before you buy
The first caveat is power: the UM890 Pro runs from an external 120W brick over a DC 19V input rather than an internal supply, so there is a power adapter to hide, though the machine can also be powered over USB Power Delivery. The chassis is an aluminium body with a plastic top and bottom, which keeps the price down but does not feel as premium as an all-metal case. The OCuLink port is not built in: it arrives as an M.2 adapter card, so using an external GPU leaves only one M.2 slot for storage. Ports are a mixed bag, with no USB 2.0 at all and no USB-C on the front, and there is no Thunderbolt certification, no SD card slot, no fingerprint reader, no Kensington lock, no built-in speakers and no documented built-in microphone. There is also no discrete GPU, so serious gaming is out of scope.
Is the MINISFORUM UM890 Pro worth it?
For its size, the UM890 Pro trades materials and a longer port list for performance, quietness and upgrade headroom that few machines this small offer. The two memory and two storage slots mean it can grow rather than be replaced, and the dual USB4 ports make a single-cable desk setup or a fast external drive possible. What you give up is an internal power supply, an all-metal body, Thunderbolt, extra USB-C ports and a card reader, so a buyer who wants those should budget for a higher tier. As a compact, quiet desktop for work, coding, home-server duties and casual gaming, with Windows 11 Pro included and a two-year warranty, it is a sensible pick.
Frequently asked questions
Does the MINISFORUM UM890 Pro come with Windows?
Yes. The configured trims with memory and storage ship with Windows 11 Pro preinstalled and licensed. The barebone SKU ships without memory, storage or an operating system.
Can the UM890 Pro use an external GPU?
Yes, through the OCuLink port, but it is not built in: it arrives as an M.2 adapter card, so using it leaves only one of the two M.2 2280 slots free for storage. There is no discrete GPU inside the machine.
How much memory and storage can the UM890 Pro take?
It ships with 32GB of DDR5-5600 in two dual-channel SO-DIMM slots and supports up to 96GB. Storage is 1TB in one of two M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 slots, each of which can take a drive up to 4TB, for up to 8TB in total.
How many monitors can the UM890 Pro drive?
Up to four. It has one HDMI 2.1, one DisplayPort 1.4 and two USB4 ports that also output video, supporting resolutions up to 8K at 60Hz or 4K at 144Hz.
Does the UM890 Pro have Thunderbolt?
No. Its Type-C ports are USB4 and are not certified Thunderbolt, so Thunderbolt-specific docks and devices are not guaranteed to work. The USB4 ports do carry data, video and up to 100W Power Delivery.
Does the UM890 Pro have an SD card slot or a fingerprint reader?
No. Its ports are USB, Ethernet, HDMI, DisplayPort, USB4, OCuLink and a 3.5mm audio jack, with no card reader, fingerprint sensor or security lock slot.
