A few days ago I wrote up GMKtec’s EVO-X5 Pro as the first mini PC to break the 128GB unified-memory ceiling, using AMD’s new Gorgon Halo chip. It now has company. Minisforum has announced the MS-S1 Max-P495, built around the same Ryzen AI Max+ PRO 495 with 192GB of memory, and for anyone who liked the Minisforum MS-S1 Max for its expandability, this is the more powerful version of that machine. Details are on Minisforum’s site.
The same chip, a different machine
The processor is identical to the GMKtec: AMD’s Gorgon Halo, the Ryzen AI Max+ PRO 495, with 16 Zen 5 cores and Radeon 8060S graphics, paired here with 192GB of LPDDR5X-8533 unified memory. Minisforum quotes 131 TOPS of AI performance.
What’s interesting is that this isn’t a rebadge of GMKtec’s box. It’s the P495 version of the MS-S1 Max, the machine I rated earlier in the year as one of the few compact PCs you can genuinely expand rather than replace, thanks to its internal PCIe slot and 10-gigabit networking. So where the GMKtec EVO-X5 Pro is the sealed, cluster-focused option, the Minisforum keeps the expansion that made the original MS-S1 Max stand out, now with the 192GB memory ceiling on top.
Why the memory matters, and who it’s really for
I’ll be as honest here as I was about the GMKtec: for editing photographs and cutting 4K or 6K video, 192GB is far more than anyone needs. The 128GB machines already handle Lightroom, Photoshop, Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve without breaking sweat, and the extra memory does nothing for those tasks.
Where it earns its place is running large AI models locally, entirely on your own hardware. On this unified architecture a huge slice of that memory can be handed to the GPU, which is what lets the machine hold very large language models or generative tools in memory at once. For a photographer, the relevant version of that argument is confidentiality: if you want AI-assisted culling, keywording or generative editing without sending client images to a cloud service, a machine that runs it all offline has genuine appeal. And the Minisforum’s 10GbE means it can also sit at the centre of a studio, editing 4K straight off a NAS, which the sealed alternatives can’t.
The catch is the price
And it’s a big one. Minisforum hasn’t confirmed final retail pricing, but its teaser points to $7,000 or more. That is workstation money, well above the GMKtec EVO-X5 Pro’s expected positioning and multiples of what the 128GB machines cost.
At that price this stops being a photography purchase in any normal sense. It’s a local-AI workstation that happens to edit beautifully, aimed at developers, studios and businesses in fields like healthcare, finance or legal that can’t put sensitive data in the cloud. For the photographer or video editor, my advice is unchanged from the GMKtec piece: the EVO-X2 remains the value benchmark, the EVO-X3 is more than most need, and a 192GB Gorgon Halo machine only makes sense if running large AI models locally and offline is a real, funded part of your work.
Still, it’s worth knowing the 192GB tier now has more than one option, and that the expandable one carries a Minisforum badge. If you were already eyeing the MS-S1 Max, this is the ceiling-raised version of a machine you already liked.
Minisforum MS-S1 Max-P495: Specifications
Processor: AMD Ryzen AI Max+ PRO 495 (Gorgon Halo), 16 Zen 5 cores / 32 threads.
Graphics: AMD Radeon 8060S, RDNA 3.5.
AI: 131 TOPS.
Memory: 192GB LPDDR5X-8533 unified.
Expansion: internal PCIe slot (carried over from the MS-S1 Max), for a discrete GPU or high-speed networking card.
Networking: 10 Gigabit Ethernet plus 2.5 Gigabit.
Note: this is the P495 version of the existing Minisforum MS-S1 Max; full storage, port and cooling specifications should be confirmed against Minisforum’s product page.
Minisforum MS-S1 Max-P495: Price and availability
Minisforum announced the MS-S1 Max-P495 at IFA 2026. A retail date hasn’t been confirmed, and the company’s teaser points to a price of around $7,000 or more. UK pricing and availability are to be confirmed — we’ll update this story once details are announced.
