MINISFORUM announced the MS-R1, a compact 1.7-liter workstation based on the ARM CIX CP8180 processor. It is touted as the first ARM-based mini workstation with UEFI boot support and a full-size PCIe x16 slot.
The model is aimed at users who want a compact desktop ARM system with real expansion options and local AI acceleration.
The promotional images don’t do it much justice, but with the litre, the device is smaller than a 2L Coca-Cola bottle. This does not influence the weight, as the measurement is volume, that is, referring to size. Clearly, this is a compact device that fits in a bag.
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Features
The MS-R1 is built around the CP8180 12 cores and 12 threads running at 2.6 GHz with a TDP of 28 W. It also comes with an Arm Immortalis-G720 MC10 GPU and an NPU rated at 28.8 TOPS, for a combined total of 45 TOPS of AI compute.
The platform supports up to 64 GB of 5500 MHz LPDDR5 memory with ECC. Storage is managed by a PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 2280/22110 slot and an additional NVMe slot via an M.2 E-key transfer card, with support for up to 8TB.
For connectivity, the system offers two 10 GbE ports (RTL8127), Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.
A key feature is the internal PCIe x16 slot (x16 physical, x8 electrical PCIe 4.0)which can be used for dedicated GPUs, high-speed network cards, or U.2 adapters.
This makes the MS-R1 one of the first compact ARM desktop systems to support a dedicated graphics card for computing, AI inference, or data visualization. At this point, support for this type of technology is becoming the standard for new releases.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| CPU | CIX CP8180, 12 núcleos / 12 threads, 2,6 GHz, TDP de 28 W |
| NPI / he | Up to 45 total TOPS, including 28.8 TOPS from NPU |
| GPU | Immortal Arm-G720 MC10 (integrated) |
| Memory | LPDDR5 up to 64 GB, 5500 MHz, LinkECC and Inline ECC compatible ECC enabled: capacity reduced by 1/8 |
| Storage | 1 × slot NVMe SSD M.2 2280/22110 (PCIe 4.0 x4) 1 × NVMe SSD M.2 2280 slot with E-key adapter support Support up to 8TB total |
| Expansion | 1 × PCIe x16 slot (physical x16, electrical x4) 1 × 40-pin GPIO connector eDP connector |
| Network | Power loss switch, UART1/UART2 pins, BIOS button 2 × portas RJ45 10 GbE (controlador Realtek RTL8127) Wi-Fi 6E + Bluetooth 5.3 (M.2 2230 E-key, módulo RZ616) |
| Video outputs | 1 × HDMI 2.0 (at 4K @ 60 Hz) 2 × USB Type-C with DP 1.4 Alt mode (up to 4K @ 120 Hz) |
| Audio | 1 × HDMI audio output 1 × 3.5mm combo jack (4 in 1: input/output) |
| USB and Inputs/Outputs | Front / Side: 1 × USB Type-A (USB 3.2 Gen2) 2 × USB Type-A (USB 2.0) 2 × USB Type-C (modo DP 1.4 Alt) 1 × 3.5mm combo jack Rear: 2 × USB Type-A (USB 2.0) 2 × USB Type-A (USB 3.2 Gen2) 1 × HDMI 2.0 2 × LAN ports 10 GbE (RJ45) |
| Cooling/Noise | Three copper heat pipes, dual fan, vortex airflow and phase change thermal paste Noise below 35 dB in 28 W turbo mode |
| Energy | USB Type-C 20 V / 10 A input via 200 W adapter |
| Format | Approximately 1.7 L chassis |
| OS support | Debian 12 (UEFI boot), suporte a KVM, containers Docker e VMs Android |
Availability and price
The system is already on sale with a starting price of US$504 (R$2,680.37) and, apparently, the device is not compatible with Windows on ARM as it does not mention. For the first ARM-based workstation, the product should be cheaper, considering that the market for this type of product is still small.
It’s also scary to think about the price beyond the conversion. A Lenovo Thinkstation P3 costs R$ 12,759.12 and comes with Intel core i7-14700, 32 GB of RAM and 1x 512 GB M.2 SSD. And a Concordia (Core I5 ​​14400, 16 GB of DDR4 RAM and 480 GB SSD) costs R$6,152.62.
The device comes with 4 configurations, changing the amount of memory (32 or 64 GB) and the presence or absence of 1 TB of SSD storage:
- CP8180, 32 GB of RAM, 0 TB of SSD — US$ 503.90 (R$ 2,679.84)
- CP8180, 32 GB of RAM, 1 TB of SSD — US$ 575.90 (R$ 3,062.75)
- CP8180, 64 GB of RAM, 0 TB of SSD — US$ 599.90 (R$ 3,190.39)
- CP8180, 64 GB of RAM, 1 TB of SSD — US$ 695.50 (R$ 3,698.81)
Source: Minisforum.
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Source: https://www.adrenaline.com.br/hardware/ms-r1-minisforum-apresenta-a-primeira-mini-workstation-arm-com-pcie-4-0-x8-e-design-compacto/
