This Windows PC can easily replace my Mac Mini when it comes to local AI performance

ZDNET Highlights

• The Minix ER937-AI PC is available on Amazon for $999.
• There’s a lot of extra power in this little PC.
• When hit with a really heavy load, fans can become noisy.

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If AI is your thing (especially local AI), you know: it takes a lot of power. I’ve used local AI (via Olama) on my System76 Thelio and found it adequate. So, when I got the small form factor, Minix Elite ER937-AI PCI thought there was no way it could compete with my desktop machine.

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Boy, was I wrong? This little computer packs a wallop and can handle almost every task you throw at it (within reason). Of course, you’re not going to be mining big data or rendering full-length movies with this machine, but as far as AI and other functions go, the ER937-AI has all the horsepower you need.

Let us know how my test went.

my experience

Okay, let me get this out of the way. Minix PC shipped with Windows 11.

I turned it on and started going through the Windows 11 setup process. An hour later, the upgrade download was at 6%. No, thanks. I burned Ultramarine Linux onto the USB drive, inserted it, booted the machine, and within ten minutes, I was logged in and ready to go.

Now that I had an OS I could actually work with, it was time to test the machine. The first thing I did was to set up Olama to use local AI. Installation on Linux is simple, and once it was complete, I extracted the ollama3.2 model and ran the query:

“What is Linux?”

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I’m used to it taking a few seconds for Olama to answer a question, but the Minix PC was quick with its answer and started spitting out text immediately.

Needless to say, I was impressed. The next step was to push the machine a little harder. This time, I installed BrowserOS and set it up to work with Olama and qwen2.5:7b models. With this in mind, I gave the agent the following instructions:

“Find a charging stand that supports the Pixel 9 Pro on Amazon.com.”

I would run the same agentive search on my Thelio and found that it took a lot longer to complete. On Minix, completion times were exponentially lower. Again, the color impressed me.

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While Agentic Browser did its job, Minix fans went ahead and did not stop. I could hear them in the next room, so I knew the machine was being pushed. Yes, the fans were loud, but they really only showed how loud they could be during agentic testing.

Beyond AI testing, what I found about Minix was that it ran Linux to perfection, and KDE Plasma was as smooth as butter. Even enabling all window effects didn’t slow down the machine.

Looking at the size of the ER937-AI, I never would have thought it was capable of delivering so much power. But then, if you look at the specifications (more on that in a bit), it becomes clear why this little machine can handle everything I throw at it. And with a price of only $999This powerhouse is a steal.

Apart from all this, the build quality of the ER937-AI is fantastic. You feel the weight of the aluminum chassis as soon as you pick it up, and it also includes a VESA mount, so you can attach it to the back of your monitor to keep it out of the way.

port, port, port

You’ll also find plenty of ports on the ER937-AI. It has two USB 4.0 ports, three USB 3.2 ports, one HDMI port, one DisplayPort, and two RJ45 Ethernet ports (2.5G).

The ER937-AI supports four-screen 8K@60Hz video output, so this little guy can be set up as a very versatile workstation.

The power button also serves as a fingerprint scanner, which I haven’t used on Linux (but I’ll see if I can set that up). If you stay connected to Windows (and enable Windows Hello), you’ll be able to unlock the PC by tapping the power button with the registered fingerprint.

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Overall, my experience with the Minix ER937-AI was wonderful. This was especially because I ditched Windows 11 in favor of Linux. Not everyone will do this, but I can assure you that getting Linux up and running on this machine is much faster than Windows 11.

ZDNET’s shopping advice

For anyone who wants to buy a small form factor PC but doesn’t want to save on power, Minix ER937-AI A great purchase. Attach it to the back of a monitor for a pseudo all-in-one, delegate whatever task you need, and enjoy watching the machine do it all with ease.

I’ve never been so impressed with a mini PC. My guess is that the only device to replace the ER937-AI will be the new Mac Mini, but that’s pure speculation on my part.

With the holidays on the way, the Minix ER937-AI will make a great gift for those who need plenty of power that won’t save on power.

Minix ER937-AI Mini PC Technical Specifications

• CPU – AMD Ryzen AI 9HX 370
• GPU – AMD Radeon 890M
• NPU – AMD Ryzen AI
• RAM – 32 GB DDR5-56000 MHz
• Storage – 1TB M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0×4 NVMe SSD
• Ethernet – 2xRJ-45 @ 2.5G
• Wireless Connectivity – Wi-Fi 7 Triple Band (2.4Ghz/5Ghz/6Ghz)
• Video outputs – 1 HDMI, 1 DP2.0, 2 USB-C4.0.
• Audio Output – 3.5mm combo jack