After the inevitable Mac Mini, what was the most-read PC review on Tweakers last year? It’s not Intel’s latest NUC nor even the first mini PC we tested with an AMD Zen 4 CPU. No, it was one of Minisforum’s amazing creations, the “strangely compact” Mercury EM680. This mini PC recently received a successor in the form of the EM780, with a new processor as the main change. Is the latest mini version absolutely adorable?

Upgrade to Zain 4

It’s a good thing there’s a sticker on the back of the box, because the look of the old EM680 and the new EM780 are identical. The biggest change lies at the heart of the mini PC: the Ryzen 7 6800U processor with Zen 3+ cores has been replaced by the 7840U processor with Zen 4 cores. It is, after all, eight percent faster per clock than the older type, and, moreover, it can boost a higher speed It’s 400MHz with this processor. In addition to the CPU cores, the integrated GPU also has a higher clock speed, improving performance in both areas. The 7840U only differs from the 7840HS in the previously tested Beelink GTR7 by its lower TDP. This is the standard 28W and is adjustable between 15 and 30W, while the 7840HS can be adjusted between 35 and 54W.

The hub comes with Ethernet

The connections on the EM780 have not changed. In general, there is nothing wrong with that; The number and speeds of connections are excellent for this form factor. However, Minisforum tried to resolve one of the negative points in our EM680 review. The device is powered via USB-C, so plugging in the adapter will cost you the full functionality of one of the two USB4 ports, unless you choose to power the mini PC via a docking station. The manufacturer provides a mini hub as standard with the EM780, which, in addition to the USB-C port for power supply, also has a 2.5 Gb/s Ethernet port. This way you can easily connect to a wired network and still use the USB4 port for something other than just power.

the prices

In addition to the new processor and included hub, there’s a third difference between last year’s EM680 and the new EM780: pricing. For starters, Minisforum has reduced the number of configurations from three to two. The 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD option has been discontinued: You now always get 32GB of RAM and can only choose between a 512GB or 1TB SSD. Even compared to the same configurations, the extra cost of the EM780 is 180 or 190 euros, but if you compare the completely entry-level versions, you pay up to 230 euros more. This represents a price increase of approximately fifty percent. This means that it is no longer a simple tool.