The Pinnacle of Mini PC Servers - Minisforum MS-01

We review the most anticipated Core i9 mini PC of the year the Minisforum MS-01 with SFP+ 10GbE networking, a PCIe slot, and 3x M.2 slots. This has almost everything for the Windows, Proxmox VE, Ubuntu, and Linux users. VMware users may take pause. We tested a ton of cards in this system as well to see how it would work in a homelab. STH Main Site Article: https://www.servethehome.com/minisforum-ms-01-review-the-10gbe-with-pcie-slot-mini-pc-intel/ STH Forum Thread for Compatibility: https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/minisforum-ms-01-pcie-card-and-ram-compatibility-thread.42785/ STHLabs: https://www.youtube.com/@STHLabs STH Top 5 Weekly Newsletter: https://eepurl.com/dryM09 #homelab ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Become a STH YT Member and Support Us ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Join STH YouTube membership to support the channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCv6J_jJa8GJqFwQNgNrMuww/join STH Merch on Spring: https://the-sth-merch-shop.myteespring.co/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Where to Find The Unit We Purchased Note we may earn a small commission if you use these links to purchase a product through them. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - Minisforum MS-01: http://shrsl.com/4dewc - 64GB Crucial Memory Kit: https://amzn.to/3tNiBY6 - 48GB Crucial SODIMM: https://amzn.to/3HiGLwx - QNAP 8-bay JBOD Kit: https://amzn.to/3He4rlU - QNAP 4-bay JBOD Kit: https://amzn.to/48PLulr - WD UltraStar HC550 18TB HDDs: https://amzn.to/3NXWG7s - Cheap SFP+ Optics: https://amzn.to/3NX8czN - NICGIGA 10Gbase-T NIC: https://amzn.to/3tP07GH - Broadcom LSI SAS 9300-8e: https://amzn.to/3vvFr79 - Example 4K HDMI Dummy: https://amzn.to/4aQRwE8 - Mellanox ConnectX-4 Lx 25GbE: https://amzn.to/3UbtPAD ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Where to Find STH ---------------------------------------------------------------------- STH Forums: https://forums.servethehome.com Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ServeTheHome Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/servethehome-com/ Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ServeTheHome/ Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/servethehome/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Other STH Content Mentioned in this Video ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - Intel C3758 Fanless 10GbE Server: https://youtu.be/AKUTzjA1grE - CWWK Fanless Desktop System: https://youtu.be/mZBmgRgY2bc - New 8x 2.5Gbe and 4x 2.5GbE and 2x 10GbE Firewalls: https://youtu.be/kCDEb94bnQU - R86S Pro Review - https://youtu.be/azU5kpxyu1s - R86S Review - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-YLy-RRZnM - iKoolCore R1 N6005 Review: https://youtu.be/evbuR8WvA6s - Intel Core i3-N305 Fanless: https://youtu.be/bM6Ivy_KLR4 - Intel N100 and N200 Fanless: https://youtu.be/58nVTNYrJ3E - Intel Alder Lake Fanless: https://youtu.be/6rtRwKlJTgU - Beelink EQ12 Pro with i3-N305: https://youtu.be/69ZsA_QToBE - Example of setting up Proxmox VE with OPNsense/ pfSense: https://www.servethehome.com/topton-intel-j4125-4x-i225-fanless-virtualized-firewall-appliance-review-pfsense-opnsense-proxmox-ve/3/ - ASRock 4x4 AMD Ryzen 7 5800U: https://youtu.be/oqwnD5zKXqQ - Three 6x 2.5GbE Fanless Systems: https://youtu.be/tZK1l9bXDgs - Two Fanless N5105 Systems: https://youtu.be/xExmvIHEQao - VMware ESXi and pfSense on a 6x 2.5GbE Core i7 Fanless System: https://www.servethehome.com/topton-fanless-intel-core-i7-1165g7-box-running-vmware-esxi-veeam-and-pfsense/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Timestamps ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Introduction to the Minisforum MS-01 02:11 External Hardware Overview 05:12 Internal Hardware Overview 05:53 Intel Core i9 and DDR5 Area 07:01 The Low Profile PCIe Plot 08:13 3x M.2 Storage Options 10:49 U.2 Storage in a M.2 Slot and the Switch Warning Label 13:24 Performance with Intel Core i9-13900H 16:29 Power Consumption and Noise in Proxmox VE 20:00 Key Lessons Learned as a Windows Mini PC 20:29 Networking PCIe Card Plug Fest Testing for making a Firewall 24:49 Storage PCIe Card Plug Fest Testing for Making a NAS or VM host 26:34 Adding 8x 18TB Hard Drives for 144TB of Storage 26:54 PCIe Card Challenges 28:20 Wrap-up