The first review of a mini PC using AMD’s new Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 CPU has arrived, roughly two months ahead of the expected release of the tiny desktop computer. It’s the Soyo S9 AI mini PC, one of several such products in the pipeline for release. YouTube creator ETA Prime got his hands on a prototype of the computer and put it through its paces.
The Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 Strix Point CPU in the Soyo S9 AI uses AMD’s new Zen 5 architecture, with a total of 12 cores. Four of those are Zen 5 cores, while eight are slightly denser Zen 5c cores. Testing confirms the new CPU has 16 Compute Units (up from 12), which helps with performance.
The Soyo S9 AI mini PC includes two USB-A ports and a single USB-C port on the front. At the time of review, however, the front USB-C port was not functioning. On the rear of the computer are two HDMI ports, an Ethernet port, two more USB-A ports, and a USB-C port. ETA Prime could not verify if the rear USB-C port would support the USB 4 standard, but was told the front port should (when it's made functional.)
Among other positives for the upcoming mini PC, according to ETA Prime, the computer has a total of three M.2 NVMe PCIe 4 SSD slots. One of those wasn’t working on his review prototype, but that’s an issue sure to be resolved before production.
The computer utilizes LPDDR5X RAM and is available with 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB. The downside here is that upgrading the RAM won’t be a possibility, since the LPDDR5X is soldered to the mainboard.
It’s important to note that this mini PC lacks a discrete GPU, but that doesn’t mean you should discount its capabilities. Graphics are upgraded from RDNA3 to RDNA 3.5, and ETA Prime found several AAA games played with impressive frame rates at 1080p resolution. The reviewer tested gaming titles like Cyberpunk 2077, Ghost of Tsushima, Horizon Forbidden West, and more. In Prime’s words, “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, FSR balanced | 74 average FPS |
| Starfield | 1080p, Low, 50% resolution scaling, Frame Gen | 78 average FPS |
| Hogwarts Legacy | 1080p, Low, FSR Balanced | 72 average FPS |
| Mortal Kombat 1 | 1080p, Medium, FSR Balanced | 60 average FPS |
| Horizon Forbidden West | 1080p, Low, Frame Gen | 60-70 FPS |
| Ghost of Tsushima | 1080p, Medium, FSR 3.1 Balanced, Frame Gen | 62-73 FPS |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 1080p, Low, FSR balanced | 76 average FPS |
*data in table compiled by VideoCardz
Granted, he couldn’t achieve those frame rates with the highest graphics settings, but neither was he forced to dial everything down to the bare minimums, either. The last-generation series, Prime pointed out, needed either lower-quality FSR profiles or reduced resolution.
The exact release date and pricing for the Soyo S9 AI mini PC remain unannounced, but the computer is anticipated to drop by mid-October. Soyo is apparently on the fence about pricing and asked Prime to poll his viewers for their thoughts on what they’d be willing to pay for such a PC.
EIDT 8/25/2024 11:50am PT: Added correct attribution.
