The first review of a mini PC with AMD’s novel Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor has appeared about two months before the expected launch of this petite desktop computer. It’s the Soyo S9 AI mini PC, one of several such products in the pipeline. YouTube creator ETA Prime got his hands on a prototype of the computer and put it to the test.
The Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 Strix Point processor in the Soyo S9 AI uses AMD’s novel Zen 5 architecture, with a total of 12 cores. Four of those are Zen 5 cores, and eight are slightly denser Zen 5c cores. Testing confirms that the novel processor has 16 compute units (up from 12), which helps with performance.
The Soyo S9 AI Mini PC features two USB-A ports and one USB-C port on the front. However, at the time of review, the front USB-C port was not functional. The back of the PC features two HDMI ports, an Ethernet port, two more USB-A ports, and a USB-C port. ETA Prime could not verify whether the rear USB-C port will support the USB 4 standard, but was told that the front port should (when it is functional).
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Among other highlights of the upcoming mini PC, according to ETA Prime, the computer has a total of three M.2 NVMe PCIe 4 SSD slots. One of them didn’t work in the test prototype, but that’s an issue that will surely be fixed before production begins.
The computer uses LPDDR5X RAM and is available with 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB. The downside is that you won’t be able to upgrade the RAM because the LPDDR5X is soldered to the motherboard.
It’s crucial to note that this mini PC doesn’t have a discrete GPU, but that doesn’t mean you should discount its capabilities. The graphics have been upgraded from RDNA3 to RDNA 3.5, and ETA Prime found several AAA games running at impressive frame rates at 1080p resolution. The reviewer tested games like Cyberpunk 2077, Ghost of Tsushima, Horizon Forbidden West, and more. As Prime said, “With the new Radeon 890M iGPU, this mini PC can run AAA games like a BOSS.”
| Game | Settings | Frame rate in frames per second |
|---|---|---|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 1080p, Low, Balanced FSR | 74 average FPS |
| Star Field | 1080p, low, 50% resolution scaling, frame generation | 78 average FPS |
| Hogwarts Legacy | 1080p, Low, Balanced FSR | 72 average frames per second |
| Mortal Kombat 1 | 1080p, average, balanced FSR | 60 average FPS |
| Horizon Forbidden West | 1080p, Low, Frame Generation | 60-70 frames per second |
| Spirit of Tsushima | 1080p, Medium, FSR 3.1 Balanced, Frame Generation | 62-73 frames per second |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 1080p, Low, Balanced FSR | 76 average FPS |
Sure, it couldn’t hit those frame rates at the highest graphics settings, but it also wasn’t forced to lower everything to the bare minimum. Prime noted that the last-gen series required either lower-quality FSR profiles or lower resolutions.
The exact release date and price of the Soyo S9 AI mini PC remain unannounced, but the computer is expected to arrive in mid-October. Soyo is apparently undecided on the price and asked Prime to survey viewers on how much they would be willing to pay for such a PC.
