Minisforum UM780 XTX review – Our fastest gaming mini PC reviewed so far

In our Minisforum UM780 XTX review with high speed 7840HS processor and Oculink support, we will find out how it performs, and compare with other models with some system and gaming benchmarks.

Minisforum UM780 XTX review video

Unboxing the Minisforum UM780 XTX

We start our Minisforum UM780 XTX review with an unboxing. First out of the box is the Minisforum UM780 XTX small form factor gaming PC, we will take a closer look at it shortly.

Underneath is the user guide which is in English and Chinese. Next we have the power supply and cable. We will include the correct plug adapter for your country. There is a HDMI cable to connect to your TV or monitor. Next there is a base plate and mount to keep your mini PC on a stand.

Following that is a VESA mount and some screws to attach it. Inside the small box is a PCIe to Oculink port adapter that we will show soon. And last but not least is an etched sheet with a design that we will also show shortly.

Minisforum UM780 XTX Overview

Next in our Minisforum UM780 XTX review we take a closer look at this powerful mini PC for gaming. The Minisforum UM780 XTX measures around 5.11 x 5.11 x 2.3 inches (13 x 13 x 6 cm) and weighs around 740g.

On the front is a 3.5mm headphone port, a USB 4 port and two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, followed by the power button.

On the back are the two additional USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports for peripherals. There is a DisplayPort and an additional USB 4 Type-C port. Next is a HDMI port and a space for the OcuLink port which requires the adapter to be fitted. Next we have two 2.5 gigabit Ethernet ports for fast wired data transfer.

The top lid of the mini PC for 4K gaming is attached by magnets and allows you to replace the etched sheet. It comes with a tiger design, there are none other available, but I guess you could get some other designs made up somewhere online.

If you are planning to use the UM780 with OcuLink, you will first need to install the adapter. It requires removing the lid, unscrewing the four screws holding the LED component and then you install the adapter into the PCIe slot and screw it down. See our separate install PCIe to Oculink adapter guide here for the full steps.

Minisforum UM780 XTX Technical Specifications

As part of our Minisforum UM780 XTX review we list the technical specifications for reference, and perform some tests on the power usage, fan noise and temperatures.

CPU	AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS Processor, 8 Cores/16 Threads(16M Cache, up to 5.1 GHz)
GPU	AMD Radeon 780M
RAM	DDR5 Dual channel (SODIMM Slots×2, Up to 5600MHz, Max 96GB)
STORAGE	2×M.2 2280 PCIe4.0 SSD
COMMUNICATIONS	M.2 2230 WIFI Support (Wi-Fi 6E，BlueTooth 5) 2x 2.5Gbps ethernet
VIDEO OUTPUT	HDMI 2.1 ×1；DP 1.4 ×1；USB4 ×2
AUDIO OUTPUT	HDMI ×1；DP ×1；Audio Jack ×1
POWER	DC 19V (Adapter Included)
OS	Windows 11

In our power consumption tests we got around 11W power usage while idle on the desktop, the fan noise is barely audible in an average work environment.

And while running the Cinebench benchmark, we got a peak power usage of 97W. We got a highest fan noise of 62 db and highest temperature of 53°C.

Minisforum UM780 System Benchmarks

Next in our Minisforum UM780 XTX review we perform some system benchmarks so that we can compare the performance with other similar gaming mini PCs.

PassMark

We will start the system benchmarks with Passmark which performs general system tests including the processor, memory and storage.

We got a score of 8136.7 which is our highest in our tests. 

PCMark

PCMark is a more day to day benchmark series of tests for tasks such as web browsing, working with large office documents, image editing, rendering and so on.

The Minisforum got a score of 10,838, again the highest in our tested compact gaming computers.

3DMark

3DMark tests the CPU and GPU working together for its performance.

In the Time Spy test we got 3209, for Fire Strike 7585 and for Night Raid we got 29063. While not the highest scores overall, they are the highest for an integrated GPU and not using a dedicated GPU such as the NUCX models.

Cinebench

Cinebench tests the CPU single and multi-core performance.

For Single core we got 1790 and for multi-core we got 16682. The scores are the highest we have on our tested miniature gaming desktops.

Gaming Benchmarks

And our Minisforum UM780 XTX review wouldn’t be a gaming mini PC review without some games benchmarks. We will be testing at 720P, 1080P, 1440P and 4K, with the 780M integrated GPU, as well as with the GPD G1 eGPU docking station via the Oculink port. And for comparison we are also including the AYA NEO Slide with 7840U benchmark results.

Forza Horizon 5 

For Forza Horizon 5 we are running on the Very Low graphics settings.

On the integrated graphics we see great scores on 720P, 1080 and 1440P, all above 60 FPS. Compared to the other Minisforum models, which have a dedicated GPU, they are decent scores. And with the GPD G1 via Oculink we see excellent scores, all in first place.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

For Shadow of the Tomb Raider we are running on the Lowest graphics settings.

We see good scores above 60 FPS for 720P and 1080P on the integrated graphics. We see mixed results with the GPD G1, at 720P it gets first place and the higher the resolution the lower it performs.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare III

For Modern Warfare III we are running on the default Minimal graphics settings with no FSR enabled.

On the integrated graphics we get above 60 FPS on 720P and 1080P which is good, they are noticeably higher than the 7840U counterpart. And with the GPD G1 eGPU connected, we get a massive boot in performance with 60 frames per second at 4K.

Street Fighter 6

And to really push the small gaming rig we are running the Street Fighter 6 benchmark on the Highest graphics settings.

At 4K we see very low performance, even on the GPD G1 eGPU. Things improve at 1080P but we are still below 60FPS without the GPD G1, the same for 720P. Do keep in mind this is on the highest graphics settings which is very demanding!

Emulation Performance

We know from the handheld gaming PCs that the 7840U is very impressive for emulation. As part of this Minisforum UM780 XTX review we will briefly cover how the emulators run. The Minisforum UM780 XTX can of course run all of the 8 and 16 bit systems just fine and this continues through to more modern consoles such as the PS1 and PS2. With this era you can upscale the rendering resolution for improved graphics.

Moving on to newer systems we see excellent performance on the PS3 for example. And with the Yuzu and Ryujinx emulators there is very good performance. You will get some more performance out of this mini PC for emulation when compared with the 7840U handhelds. So for games where you are not quite hitting full speed emulation, you will likely get it with this.

And of course, with Oculink and a GPD G1 eGPU docking station you can further increase the performance on the higher end emulators.

Final Thoughts

Time to sum things up in our Minisforum UM780 XTX review. The Minisforum UM780 XTX is currently the fastest mini PC with integrated graphics we have reviewed to date. We saw from the system benchmarks that the UM780 XTX took first place in all of the tests. While some of these other mini PCs for gaming are a bit old now, this is the latest model and the scores clearly show what is the best.

In the gaming benchmarks the Minisforum UM780 did very well. It beats all the integrated GPU models by a fair margin. It will of course perform lower than models with dedicated GPUs, but add a GPD G1 to balance things and it wins hands down in most cases.

The Ryzen 7 7840HS is an impressive processor. As a mini PC with Oculink for the home or office it makes your day to day workload a breeze. Working with large office documents, image editing etc are easy going. And while off the clock for gaming, we see very good performance with the integrated GPU. Combined with an eGPU such as the GPD G1, it can transform into a very high end PC, rivalling desktop PCs.

The Minisforum UM780 XTX is an excellent choice for whether you are using it for work or gaming or both. The size is excellent and having the option to have it flat on your workspace, on a stand, or mounted behind your monitor makes it ideal for any scenario. It is also very portable, easily fitting in a small bag when travelling for example.

There is not much to dislike. I personally find the LED lighting and etched design pointless. It should come with a couple of appropriate designs to choose from, not just a Tiger which looks out of place anywhere but in a tiger sanctuary. Thankfully you can switch off the lighting from the BIOS by navigating to Advanced -> Onboard Devices setting -> RGB LED.

But despite the whole lighting and etched design fail, the fact remains that the Minisforum UM780 XTX is an excellent performing mini PC. Definitely one you should consider over the others!

You can learn more about and buy the Minisforum UM780 XTX here. Use the discount code UM7805OFF for 5% off on the Checkout.

Thanks for reading our Minisforum UM780 XTX review, we hope you have found it useful. If you do have any questions please feel free to ask in the comments and we will be happy to help.