Beelink SER8 vs Minisforum UM790 Pro
| Field | Beelink SER8 | Minisforum UM790 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS | AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS |
| Cores | 8C / 16T | 8C / 16T |
| Form factor | 0.6 L mini-PC | Mini PC |
| Measured idle power | ~7–10 W system idle (package 3.5–4.7 W) wall-measured · Wall meter (package + system idle) · source · 2024-08-12 | 25–45 W idle wall-measured · Wall measurement (buyer's-guide aggregate) · source · 2025 |
| ECC memory | No cited source — left blank. | No (consumer Ryzen 7940HS; DDR5 SODIMM, non-ECC) source · 2025 |
| NIC chipset | 2.5GbE LAN (chipset not independently confirmed) source · 2024-08-12 | Not independently confirmed. |
| RAM ceiling | Dual DDR5-5600 SODIMM slots source · 2024-08-12 | 96 GB (2× DDR5 SODIMM) source · 2025 |
| IOMMU / passthrough | No sourced passthrough report yet. | Has Oculink for an external eGPU (cleaner than iGPU passthrough). RDNA3 780M iGPU passthrough hits the AMD reset bug. source · 2025 |
| AMD reset bug | — | RDNA3 (Navi-class) iGPU is subject to the AMD reset bug; Proxmox wiki: AMD Navi 5xxx/6xxx suffer the reset bug and need extra effort, may not be fully stable. vendor-reset may or may not cover newer APUs. source · 2025 |
| Price band | $500–600 | $500–650 |
| Proxmox fit (editorial) | good — Very low ~7–10 W idle on a Zen4 8845HS makes an efficient always-on Proxmox node, though the unnamed 2.5GbE chipset and unconfirmed ECC leave some homelab unknowns. | good — Most compute + 96 GB RAM here, but 25–45 W idle is the price. Use Oculink eGPU rather than fighting iGPU passthrough. |
| Where to buy | Amazon Newegg eBay | Amazon Newegg eBay |
Frequently asked questions
Does the Beelink SER8 or the Minisforum UM790 Pro use less idle power?
The Beelink SER8 idles at ~7–10 W system idle (package 3.5–4.7 W) (wall-measured); the Minisforum UM790 Pro idles at 25–45 W idle (wall-measured). On the cited lower-bound figures, the Beelink SER8 draws less. Idle varies with OS, 120 V vs 240 V mains and power tuning, so treat these as the third-party measured numbers, not a guarantee for your exact unit.
Beelink SER8 vs Minisforum UM790 Pro: which has the better NIC for Proxmox?
Beelink SER8 NIC: 2.5GbE LAN (chipset not independently confirmed) (rated unknown). Minisforum UM790 Pro NIC: not independently confirmed. Intel i226 is the chipset to want; i225 has a documented dropout history and Realtek RTL8125 works on Linux/Proxmox but not VMware ESXi. Confirm the silicon on the unit you receive with lspci -nn.
Which is the better homelab / Proxmox box, the Beelink SER8 or the Minisforum UM790 Pro?
Beelink SER8: Very low ~7–10 W idle on a Zen4 8845HS makes an efficient always-on Proxmox node, though the unnamed 2.5GbE chipset and unconfirmed ECC leave some homelab unknowns. Minisforum UM790 Pro: Most compute + 96 GB RAM here, but 25–45 W idle is the price. Use Oculink eGPU rather than fighting iGPU passthrough. These are our editorial verdicts derived from the cited fields above — not a spec.
Cited public information, not purchasing advice. Idle draw depends on OS, mains voltage (120 V vs 240 V) and power tuning (powertop); onboard NIC silicon can differ between production batches of the same model — confirm with
lspci -nn before relying on a NIC or passthrough claim. Full per-model detail and every source on the model pages.