AMD Ryzen – This AMD-Based, Palm-Sized Desktop is Upgradeable Despite its Size

T-Bao, a PC maker from China, has started selling its T.Book MN45 ultra-compact form-factor PC based on AMD’s Ryzen 5 4500U accelerated processing unit (APU) that can fit on a palm of a hand. Unlike most UCFF systems, the T.Book MN45 can be upgraded when you want memory, storage, or a faster network connection. 

Historically, ultra-compact form-factor PCs have had three major limitations: reduced performance, fixed configurations and lack of upgradeability. Modern CPUs have good enough performance for the vast majority of workloads, so UCFF PCs can be used to run most of popular apps. Fixed configurations are inseparable peculiarities of pre-built PCs, but this one is more upgradeable than most.

T-Bao’s T.Book MN45 measures 13.3 × 13.3 ×5 cm, yet can be upgraded at home. The PC is based on AMD’s Ryzen 5 4500U APU with six Zen 2 cores clocked at 2.30 GHz – 4.0 GHz and AMD’s Radeon RX Vega 6 GPU (with 384 stream processors) that is soldered down and cannot be changed. But the system has two slots for two DDR4-3200 SO-DIMM memory modules (up to 64GB is supported), one M.2 slot for NVMe SSDs, and one 2.5-inch bay for a SATA SSD or HDD.

The system has many relatively large openings to ensure heat dissipation. In addition, to ensure consistent performance under high loads, the T.Book MN45 has a relatively large heatsink with three heat pipes and a fan.

As far as connectivity is concerned, T-Bao’s T.Book MN45 has a Wi-Fi 6 + Bluetooth 5.0 adapter, two GbE ports (which is important for corporate customers), three display outputs (one DisplayPort, one HDMI, one USB-C, all support a 4Kp60 resolution), four USB 3.0 Type-A connectors, and one 3.5-mm audio port for headsets. To make the unit even more compact and ready to use, it comes with a 65W GaN power adapter.