Computer Systems

With Valve's Steam Machine announcement, the idea of a mini gaming PC that sits next to or underneath your TV like a gaming console is on the minds of gamers everywhere, and for good reason. Gaming on a couch with a big-screen TV is simply more comfortable than sitting at a desk. And with that, the new MINISFORUM AtomMan G1 PRO, which features a design inspired by the PlayStation 5 console, looks like a pretty impressive Steam Machine alternative.

The MINISFORUM AtomMan G1 PRO is powered by the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX, a mobile Zen 4 CPU with 16 cores and 32 threads and a Boost Clock speed of up to 5.4 GHz. It also features a low-profile desktop GeForce RTX 5060 graphics card that can run at its full 145W power draw, thanks to the AtomMan G1 PRO's integrated 350W PSU.

MINISFORUM notes that, with the RTX 5060, 25% more powerful than the RTX 4060 and featuring DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation support, the AtomMan G1 PRO can run Cyberpunk 2077 at 214 FPS at 1080p and several other titles at 200+ FPS.

We all know about the insane DRAM price increases that are affecting RAM prices in a massive way, but also GPU prices as they have a bunch of VRAM on them (up to 32GB for the RTX 5090), but now MAINGEAR CEO Wallace Santos has weighed in on the situation.

In a new chat between our friends at Wccftech and MAINGEAR CEO Wallace Santos, we get some more insight to the retail supply chain for PC gamers, and how it is affecting them. Wccftech asked Wallace: "With analysts projecting that memory shortages could extend into 2027, what advice would you offer consumers, whether building their first PC or upgrading an existing system, on how to navigate rising prices and potential component constraints?"

MAINGEAR CEO Wallace Santos explained: "We've already seen DRAM prices skyrocket due to the shortages and are holding off those price changes for our customers as long as we can. For consumers that are interested in getting a new PC or upgrading their current system's GPU, SSD or RAM, they should consider shopping now and looking for offerings that have not seen price increases yet. MAINGEAR is offering pre-built units for Black Friday right now that were sheltered from these price increases".

CyberPowerPC is one of the biggest names in pre-built gaming PCs and laptops, making it easier for those who aren't keen on shopping for individual parts or building a PC from scratch. And with the company's Black Friday Sales offering savings on its range of systems and gear, it has taken to social media to confirm that, as of December 7, the prices for 'all systems' will increase due to market conditions.

Due to memory (RAM) prices surging by 500% and even SSD prices rising by 100%, this has already impacted the cost of the PCs it has been building since October 2025. CyberPowerPC is making the announcement now to "remain fully transparent" with the PC gaming community and, given the timing so close to the holiday season, is aware it's "not ideal."

"Please know that CyberPowerPC will continue to strive to acquire the highest quality components at the best prices to ensure our customers continue to get top-performing systems with the best value on the market," the post concludes. Now, we're not posting this just to highlight that CyberPowerPC's system prices are about to increase, but also to warn that this may be indicative of a seismic wave of post-Black Friday Sales price increases set to hit the PC gaming market.

Dell is now offering AMD Ryzen 9000X3D processors inside of new configurations of its Alienware Area-51 desktop gaming PC, which launched with Intel Core Ultra 200 series CPUs earlier this year at CES 2025.

AMD versions of the Alienware Area-51 system weren't offered until today, with new Area-51 systems using an Alienware X870E motherboard and either the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D (8C/16T) or Ryzen 9 9950X3D (16C/32T) processors, providing even more gaming and multi-threaded performance over the flagship Area-51 system and its Intel Core Ultra 9 285K processor.

The overall design of the new AMD-powered Alienware Area-51 gaming PCs isn't changed, with a positive pressure cooling system consisting of dual 140mm fans, dual 180mm fans, and up to three 120mm intake fans. The cool air inside of the system is pushed towards the CPU and GPU, with warm air blowing out of the passive rear exhaust.

GMKtec has teased its new EVO-T2 Mini-PC at Intel's recent conference 2025 event in China, powered by the new Intel Panther Lake CPU with 12 Xe3 GPU cores.

The new GMKtec EVO-T2 Mini-PC had its spec sheet on display with some basic specs teased, listed with a Panther Lake-H processor (actually, it's spelled on the spec sheet "PatherLake" but whatever) with the chip fabbed on Intel's new in-house 18A process node, featuring 12 Xe3 GPU cores, and 128GB of LPDDR5X-10677 memory.

On the storage side the new EVO-T2 Mini-PC system has dual M.2 SSD slots with one of them wired to PCIe 5.0 and the other one wired for PCIe 4.0, with support for up to 16TB of SSD storage (hot damn). There are 3 x USB-A ports, 1 x USB-C port, and a 3.5mm combo audio jack which are all on the front, but we don't know the I/O for the rear of the PC.

Apple is reportedly no longer cooking up a new high-end Mac Pro desktop, with an insider saying that the system has been put on the "back burner".

We all remember the Apple Mac Pro system that looked like a trash can, but its unique design didn't do so well, and in the end Apple apologized about it. There was a bigger issue with the Mac Pro at the time, as Apple executives later admitted that the design backed the company into a "thermal corner", meaning it was close to impossible to upgrade the processor without causing the Mac Pro to overheat.

Apple changed things up big time with its totally redesigned Mac Pro desktop that had a traditional design over the oh-my-gosh unique style of the one from 2013. Apple promised at the time that the Mac Pro family would be updated regularly, and would remain an important part of the Mac family... but we all know that didn't happen.

If you thought just a single NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 had some power, this Redditor has installed not just one, but four of ASUS's new flagship ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 graphics cards into a single monster battlestation PC.

In a Reddit post by user u/Zestyclose-Salad-290 posted of his new battlestation, he showed off some of the innards of the massive case that has four gigantic ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5090 graphics cards inside. He used some PCIe 5.0 riser cables to get the graphics cards connected to the second chamber, providing space on the motherboard and other components.

ASUS's new ROG Astral RTX 5090 is a bloody thick card, taking up close to 4 slots inside of a system, but with 4 of them, they take up a hell of a lot of space. The PSU choice by the user is questionable, as it's a 2400W power supply and each one of the GPUs will chow down on 600W of power: 4 x 600W = 2400W of power from the GPUs alone.

SignalRGB has just built a new custom PC that is inside of an actual microwave, with the RGB-blinged PC components sitting inside of the microwave, spinning on a turntable, and a Stream Deck on the side as the keypad. Check it out:

The company installed a small monitor into the door of the microwave, by the turntable, with the graphics card -- the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB -- mounted on the wall, instead of inside of it. SignalRGB's new Microwave PC costs $2000 and features a customizable LCD screen where the microwave display used to be, in the upper right-hand corner. You can interact with the display through the built-in Stream Deck pad below it.

Inside, SignalRGB's new Microwave PC features an Intel Core Ultra 5 225 processor on an MSI MPG Z890I EDGE TI motherboard, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB graphics card, 48GB of Patriot Viper Xtreme 5 M DDR5-6000 memory, a Patriot Viper VP4300 Lite Gen4 SSD, and an 1100W SFX power supply.

Chinese manufacturer MOREFINE has just launched its new H1 Mini-PC, powered by AMD's flagship Ryzen AI Max+ 395 "Strix Halo" APU, 128GB of RAM, and 2TB Gen4 SSD storage for $2199.

The new MOREFINE H1 Mini-PC has a small chassis that measures 248.5 x 188.4 x 97.5mm and weighs around 3kg, with the 16 cores and 32 threads of Zen 5 processing power from the AMD Strix Halo APU, a powerful RDNA 3.5-powered integrated GPU, 128GB of RAM, and 2TB of Gen4 which is expandable.

There is 128GB of LPDDR5X-8000 memory that has 96GB allocated to graphics memory, which is fed into the RDNA 3.5-based Radeon 8060S GPU with 40 GPU cores (16 GPU cores on the Strix Point APU). The MOREFINE H1 system supports display output of up to 4K 160Hz, with HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4, and USB4 connectivity for displays.

SAPPHIRE has just launched its new EDGE AI Series of AI-powered Mini PCs, powered by AMD's Ryzen AI 300 Series processors, which feature a built-in NPU alongside integrated Radeon 800M graphics. This includes the powerful 'Strix Point' AMD RyzenAI 9 HX 370, a 12-core 24-thread CPU with a max boost clock speed of 5.1 GHz and Radeon 890M graphics with 16 RDNA 3.5 Compute Units.

With models also featuring the AMD Ryzen AI 5 340 and AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 processors, there are plenty of options to suit productivity, local AI performance, and PC gaming, with all three offering 50 TOPS of AI performance. When it comes to gaming, the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 will likely be the go-to option, as it's a chip capable of delivering a solid and fast 1080p gaming experience for modern games. Which is impressive when you realize SAPPHIRE EDGE AI Series Mini PCs are the size of a drink coaster.

With dimensions of 117 x 111 x 30 mm, the SAPPHIRE EDGE AI Series is compact enough to fit almost anywhere, and with its black and gold look, it's also one of the more stylish mini PCs we've seen in a while. The design features a tool-free magnetic top cover, providing easy access to storage and memory for quick configuration and upgrades.

With official support for Windows 10 ending and the popular operating system reaching end-of-life, not everyone is making the jump to a new Windows 11 rig. But, people are buying new PC and laptops, with a new report from Counterpoint Research showing that global PC shipments grew 8.1% year-over-year in Q3 2025. The report cites "end-of-support for Microsoft Windows 10 in October 2025" and evolving US tariff policies as the main drivers of growth.

As Windows 10 support ends, both enterprise and consumers are replacing older systems with new ones, and this process will continue to serve as a "catalyst for PC market growth" in the years ahead. However, once you take a closer look at the OEM data, it appears that one of the biggest winners from Windows 10's departure is Apple. Apple's Mac and MacBook shipments for Q3 2025 grew 15% year-over-year, second only to Lenovo.

On the PC side, ASUS, HP, and Lenovo experienced double-digit growth, while Dell's shipments saw a slight decline. Naturally, part of Apple's continued growth in the PC and notebook sector comes down to the company releasing new MacBook models; however, like others, it's benefiting from ex-Windows 10 users buying something new.

ASUS has just launched its first-ever AMD-powered ROG NUC Mini PC, packing the flagship Ryzen 9 9955HX3D processor, and offering up to NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop GPU. Check it out:

ASUS announced earlier this month that its deal with Intel was over, and that it had taken over the ownership and responsibility for Intel's NUC (Next Unit of Computing). This means that ASUS no longer needs to manufacture and market its NUC systems on Intel 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th Gen CPUs... and the first thing it did was unleash a new AMD Ryzen-powered NUC.

The new ROG NUC 9 Mini PC is the first-ever AMD Ryzen CPU-powered system, with ASUS opting to use the flagship Ryzen 9 9955HX3D processor which packs 16 cores and 32 threads of Zen 5 processing power, and 128MB of L3 cache and AMD's innovative second-gen 3D V-Cache for even more gaming performance.

MAINGEAR, which is all about custom gaming PCs that you can customize and buy off-the-shelf, has just released a batch of limited edition DOOM EDITION desktop gaming rigs. And by limited edition, they mean it, as only 50 units will be available for purchase - starting today.

The star of the show here is the HAVN HS 420 DOOM: The Dark Ages Limited Edition Chassis, which is based on the award-winning HAVN HS 420 case. We recently reviewed the HAVN HS 420 VGPU variant, where it earned an Editor's Choice award for being "one of the best looking cases available, packed with features and great build quality." The case is paired with the TRYX 360 Panorama SE AIO cooler, featuring a curved LCD pre-configured with animation showcasing DOOM gameplay.

It's a fantastic-looking rig, thanks to the limited edition case and DOOM-themed cooling, and it's available in a few different configurations. The Hurt Me Plenty version, available for $2,999, includes a GeForce RTX 5070 GPU and Ryzen 7 7800X3D CPU. The Ultra-Violence version, available for $3,999, includes a GeForce RTX 5080 GPU and the newer Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU, while the Nightmare version, available for $5,999, features the beastly GeForce RTX 5090.

MaxSun has just unveiled its new AI workstation PC that has a quad-GPU setup, featuring 4 x Intel Arc Pro B60 48GB Turbo graphics cards inside of an interesting inverse case.

Chinese hardware maker MaxSun and its new AI workstation system features its W790 motherboard, and a bunch of PCIe x16 slots for graphics cards for intensive AI workloads, with 7 x PCIe x16 slots. MaxSun teamed with PC case manufacturer, Abee, to make sure MaxSun's flagship AI workstation PC components were installed easily, while keeping the great functionality and thermal performance of a high-end system with a row of GPUs installed.

Inside, the new MaxSun AI workstation PC can use up to 4 x Intel Arc Pro B60 48GB Turbo GPUs, which provides a gigantic performance uplift across the board, not to mention the massive pool of 192GB of combined VRAM, one of the key aspects of AI workload performance. High-end content creators and enterprises will also make use of that 192GB of VRAM.

Qualcomm has unveiled its next-generation Snapdragon X2 Elite processors at its Snapdragon Summit 2025 event, teasing a super-ultra-thin fanless Mini-PC that puts the Apple Mac mini to shame. Check it out:

On the ground at the event were our friends from HotHardware, who have a video of the new Snapdragon X2-powered Mini-PC systems, where Qualcomm even showed off its Mini-PC concept that would slot directly into the base of a monitor. It looks great, has fantastic functionality, and a helluva lot of mobile horsepower under its TSMC 3nm process hood.

The two new Mini-PC systems that Qualcomm showed off are incredibly thin and are passively cooled, with no fans to keep thermals under control. One of them is a wicked disc-shaped design that looks as thick as a small handful of CDs or DVDs, with the full-fat Snapdragon X2 Elite processor inside and capable of driving an external monitor over its USB-C/DisplayPort connector.

The Snapdragon Summit 2025 is currently underway in scenic Maui, where I've been invited to attend as a Snapdragon Insider. Although the latest Snapdragon hardware announcements are scheduled for tomorrow, which Qualcomm President and CEO Cristiano R. Amon teased as being a game-changer for the AI era during his opening keynote address, there was one surprise reveal when he brought the Senior Vice President of Devices & Services at Google on stage.

During an informal fireside chat, where the two discussed the long history between Qualcomm and Google (they even brought the first, and still working, Android phone on stage), they teased and announced an exciting new project currently in development. And that is a new line of computers or PCs that will be Android-driven for the AI era.

Now, these won't be Chromebooks (which run on ChromeOS), but instead full PCs that bring the Android ecosystem, Gemini AI, and next-generation Snapdragon chips together in a way that has made Android one of the most popular operating systems for smartphones. Yes, these will be Android PCs.

MSI has just introduced its new MPG Infinite Z3 X3D desktop gaming PC calling it the "Best X3D Gaming Desktop" so far, with up to the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor, and ultra-fast GPUs including the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 graphics cards.

The new MPG Infinite Z3 X3D can be configured with either the Ryzen 7 9800X3D or 7800X3D processors, slotted inside of an AMD B850-based motherboard and the CPU cooled with a 360mm AIO liquid cooler. On the GPU side of things, MSI's new MPG Infinite Z3 X3D can be configured with NVIDIA's latest Blackwell-based GeForce RTX 50 series GPUs.

GPU offerings include the MSI GeForce RTX 5070 SHADOW 2X and 3X or VENTUS 2X or 3X, the MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti in either SHADOW 3X or VENTUS 3X, the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 in either SHADOW 3X or VENTUS 3X, or the flagship MSI GeForce RTX 5090 in either VENTUS 3X or GAMING TRIO variants.

Minisforum teased its MS-S1 MAX Mini-PC AI workstation not too long ago, but now the company has shared more details about its new Mini-PC which packs AMD's new flagship Ryzen AI Max 395+ "Strix Halo" APU.

The new Minisforum MS-S1 MAX Mini-PC AI workstation is the company's first Strix Halo APU-powered system, featuring a built-in 320W PSU, and will ship with four different performance modes that span between 110W and 160W. Inside, there's the Ryzen AI Max 395+ "Strix Halo" APU which packs 16 cores and 32 threads of Zen 5 processing power, an RDNA 3.5-based Radeon 8060S integrated GPU, and support for up to 128GB of LPDDR5X-8000 memory.

Minisforum handles cooling with a copper base and 6 heatpipes, dual fans, and phase change materials, with the MS-S1 MAX Mini-PC AI workstation handling thermal loads of up to 130W, with peaks of 160W, all without throttling performance. Minisforum includes dual USB4 v2 ports, dual 10GbE (such a great surprise), Wi-Fi 7, dual M.2 SSD slots, and more.

The new Commodore 64 Ultimate is a legitimate modern version of the classic computer, and the first release since enthusiasts and retro PC hardware aficionados acquired the iconic company. With production underway on the "first official Commodore 64 in over 30 years" and shipping expected to commence in November 2025, the Commodore 64 Ultimate is also set to arrive in a couple of stylish options.

On the high end, there's the Gold Founders Edition priced at $499.99 USD, inspired by the one millionth C64 gold PC that was created back in the day. For the Commodore 64 Ultimate, this includes 24k gold-plated badges, satin gold-colored keys, a translucent amber case, and a few additional goodies, such as a 24k gold 'dog tag' necklace.

On the more wallet-friendly side, there's the translucent Starlight Edition, priced at $349.99 USD, which includes a "game sound-reactive hidden-LED color-changing case" alongside the "world's first translucent mechanical keyboard PCB." For the purists, there's also a standard, old-school beige edition available for $299.99 USD.

Minisforum is preparing its new MS-S1 Max Mini Workstation, which looks to be the first Mini-PC system packing the new USB4 V2 standard which provides up to 80Gbps of bandwidth.

The upcoming Minisforum MS-S1 Max Mini AI workstation is powered by the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 "Strix Halo" APU that features 16 cores and 32 threads of Zen 5 processing power, and a powerful RDNA 3.5-based Radeon 8060S integrated GPU. Minisforum has its new Mini-PC workstation capped at 160W for peak workloads, all inside of a small 3.2L chassis.

If the RDNA 3.5-based Radeon 8060S GPU isn't powerful enough for your liking, the Minisforum MS-S1 Max Mini AI workstation features support for dedicated graphics cards through a PCIe x16 slot, but without knowing how much clearance is inside, we don't know what type of GPU will fit... but the RTX 5090 is definitely ruled out at this size and PSU limits, obviously.