Mini PC Minisforum UN100P in the test

The Minisforum UN100P offers a huge amount of equipment for under 200 euros. Our test shows whether performance and cooling can keep up.

The UN100P is appearing in big steps, because so far the Mini PCs from Minisforum have impressed us very much. Only we are not in the upper class as usual, but in the low-end range. The Intel N100 is used here with a generous 16 GB of main memory (RAM) and 512 GB of SSD storage. The real highlight, however, is the USB-C port, which supports both DisplayPort and PD output – and that for 189 euros. Our test shows whether you have to make unwanted compromises for the strong features.

As usual for the price range up to 200 euros, a CPU from Intel is installed in the Miniforum UN100P – the twelfth generation Intel N100. This quad-core with four threads is extremely economical with a TDP of 6 watts. The clock rate is up to 3.4 GHz and the graphics unit uses Intel UHD Graphics.

Although the CPU supports DDR5 RAM, we only chose LPDDR4 RAM with 16 GB and a transfer rate of 3200 MT/s. The individual RAM bars can be replaced, but according to the manufacturer, the maximum RAM capacity is 16 GB – unfortunately we were unable to check this. An M.2 SSD in form factor 2280 is used as mass storage. This offers a capacity of 512 GB and is connected via PCIe x 1. In Crystaldiskmark it achieves 855 MB/s when reading and 853 MB/s when writing – a bit faster than the typical SATA SSD. This can also be retrofitted; there is also a holder for 2.5-inch hard drives in the housing. While a maximum of 1 TB is officially supported for the M.2 SSD, the capacity of the SATA hard drive can be up to 2 TB.

The good features of the UN100P go even further. In addition to 2.5 Gigabit LAN, the mini PC can control three monitors at the same time. There are two HDMI versions 2.1 and one USB-C with Displayport Alt Mode – i.e. support for the Displayport protocol – on the front. In addition, this PD-out function also offers independent power supply for connected devices, up to 15 watts. However, in our case this was not enough for an external monitor. However, the system can only meet its own power requirements via a round plug and unfortunately not via USB-C. However, this is not to be expected with such a cheap system.

Wirelessly, the mini PC is excellently positioned for the price range with the Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 standards.

A mini PC of this performance class is good for exactly one thing: office. With a TDP of 6 watts, no performance miracle can be expected here. But especially in the low-end range, the identical CPUs often have significantly different performance due to the manufacturer's adjustments. The Intel N100 achieved an average of 2890 points in the UN100P miniforum on PCmark 10 – rather low in a direct comparison. The CPU also only achieved 341 points in the 3Dmark Timespy, of which 305 were graphics points and 1091 were CPU points.

In the cross-platform benchmark Geekbench 6, the CPU achieved 942 points in the single-core benchmark and 1631 points in the multi-core benchmark. This means that this N100 is significantly below the comparison value and is roughly on a par with a Raspberry Pi 5. The graphics unit received a rating of 2905 points in the Open CL test. Finally, a run in Cinebench R24 results in 33 points in single-core and 86 points in multi-core.

So it's safe to say that the UN100P isn't suitable for much more than Office, email and web browsing. However, we didn't miss the opportunity to test Counter-Strike 2 as a representative of e-sports titles. The game is unplayable even with the cheapest settings, activated FSR in “Performance” mode and the maximum reduced resolution of 1280 × 720. Here we achieve frame rates of around 15 FPS with very inconsistent frame times (time interval between the individual images).

Measured with a smart socket, the entire mini PC consumes around 10 watts when idle. When the CPU is under full load, consumption increases to around 16 watts. The required 3.4 GHz is never achieved. The maximum is 2.8 GHz, but the temperatures read shoot up to the maximum value of 105 °C under load in an update cycle. This causes the CPU clock speed to drop significantly. In addition, the temperatures read in both HWinfo and AIDA64 are extremely erratic even when idle.

That's why we dismantled the entire cooling system to replace the slightly dried thermal paste. The high temperatures helped, but the clock speeds did not increase as a result. Although these are still very erratic, especially when idling, with changes of up to 10 °C in one cycle, they are still significantly more stable than before. In addition, these now always remain below the 55 degree mark under full load.

The intervention only had a performance-increasing effect on applications that put a lot of strain on both the graphics and the CPU at the same time. The average clock speed of the CPU is around 1.4 GHz under full load with 6 watts of power consumption. This can even rise to 12 watts for a brief moment. We find it very surprising how the thermal paste on a new device can be so bad, but we may have just deleted a Monday device.

Thanks to the CPU's low power consumption, the cooling system doesn't have to do too much work. This is usually reflected in a low operating volume – and this is also the case here. Before we intervened in the cooling system, the fan was already audible when idle, but still very quiet. Since then he has become even quieter. The fan is now inactive without load; it only turns up a little under load. With the smartphone we briefly measured a maximum volume of around 25 dB(A), the typical volume is 22 dB(A). The temperatures are also very low, which shows that the cooling works perfectly with the appropriate thermal paste.

Although the BIOS offers a lot of setting options, there are no different fan modes that could potentially enable more performance.

The housing of the Minisforum UN100P is made entirely of plastic and is impeccably manufactured. The matt black surface is only alternated with a slight pattern on the top. With just a white lettering of the manufacturer's name, the look is kept very simple. The case has external dimensions of 127.5 × 112.4 × 43.2 mm and is somewhat difficult to open.

The four screws on the bottom are embedded very deeply, which means that most screwdrivers can no longer reach them. The lid also has small holders, which means it has to be pry open. However, with the right tools, upgrading or retrofitting the hardware is not too much of a challenge. At 332 g, the mini PC quickly becomes a flyweight and is therefore extremely portable.

Also worth mentioning is the button on the front of the device, which allows you to reset the BIOS in an emergency without having to disconnect the CMOS battery.

You can purchase the UN100P for 189 euros in the Minisforum online shop. The mini PC is also available from Amazon for 196 euros.

Aside from the thermal paste issue, the N100's performance is below average in the Minisforum UN100P. However, the performance deficit of around 10 percent should only be noticeable to very few people in everyday life unless games are being played. The remaining features with USB-C and 2.5 gigabit LAN are definitely above the average in this price range. Rounded off with lots of RAM and storage, the mini PC is an insider tip for the classic office user. If the heat dissipation is just a problem in our test device and not the norm, the Minisforum UN100P for 189 euros is definitely worth recommending.