Minisforum Mercury EM680 Review – A Very Strange Mini Computer – Conclusion

When you first hold the Mercury EM680, you get a somewhat unreal feeling. An entire computer in such a tiny form factor? Minisforum shows that nowadays this is possible, even with powerful hardware and the necessary connections on board.

One of the main differences with ordinary mini PCs is that the processor in the EM680 comes from a low tdp class. In practice it would consume around 30 watts, which is often at least 15 watts with larger competitors. Therefore, the level of performance is slightly lower, but thanks to the eight cores it is still quite good in the absolute sense, especially for this form factor. Moreover, due to the low consumption, the noise production remains within limits.

In addition to cooling, the number of connections is also quickly hacked if you try to make your computer smaller. With the EM680 this isn’t so bad. You still have a total of five USB ports, a separate HDMI output, and even a card reader. It’s unfortunate to lose one of the power adapter’s fast USB4 ports, but the replacement, a dedicated power connector at the expense of one of the two USB4 ports, might have been worse.

In terms of upgradeability, you can also take a step back, because Lpddr5 memory is soldered to the circuit board. Fortunately, Minisforum simply uses a replaceable SSD, albeit in a rather odd M. 2 2230 format, and the extra prices it charges for 32GB of RAM are manageable.

The price is really great. Many manufacturers apply a huge exclusivity tax to such a compact system, but at the time of writing you’re only paying €469 for the tested version. The Venus UM690, in a more regular format, with eight Zen 3+ cores and the same amount of memory and storage, now costs €659. Even for a buyer who isn’t necessarily looking for the smallest possible computer, the Mercury EM680 can be a reasonable purchase. With the unique feat of cramming so much hardware into such a small box, Minisforum deserves an innovation award.