A €7,799 Mini PC Arrives — and Buyers Say Skip It

WHAT HAPPENED: Minisforum, a company that makes tiny desktop computers, has listed its new MS-S1 MAX-P495 for €7,799 in Europe, with shipping expected in mid-October. That's about $8,500 for a box smaller than a shoebox. It's a machine built for people who want to run AI models on their own desk rather than paying a monthly subscription to a cloud company.

The problem, according to a reviewer on a hardware forum, is the price. They note that the machine costs roughly double what a recently released rival compact desktop costs, but delivers only about 50% more memory and 5–10% more performance. Memory prices have risen, and this is newer hardware, but the reviewer argues that still doesn't justify doubling the price for such a modest jump.

WHY YOU CARE: This is a useful lesson even if you never buy one. Companies selling "AI hardware" are betting that you'd rather own the machine than rent the intelligence. When that hardware is priced badly, it's a signal that the market for home AI computers is still expensive and unsettled. If you or your employer are considering buying a machine to run AI locally — for privacy, for cost, or to avoid cloud limits — this is exactly the kind of comparison worth doing first. More often than not, a cloud subscription still wins on price for the next year or two.

THE CATCH: The original post is one person's opinion on a forum, not an independent review with measured results. Performance claims are estimates, and prices in Europe include taxes that US buyers wouldn't pay. Also, this machine isn't for you unless you actually run serious AI software — for everyday use, a $700 laptop does the same job.