A New Contender in the Gorgon Halo Market

The specialized market for Gorgon Halo systems is expanding as Minisforum officially enters the fray with its latest workstation, the MS-S1 MAX-P495. During a limited-time promotional window, the company is offering a high-spec configuration—boasting 192GB of RAM and 2TB of storage—for $7,399, a significant reduction from its standard $9,249 retail price. This launch places Minisforum in direct competition with other recent market entrants, such as HP’s ZBook Ultra G3a and the GMKtec EVO-X5 Pro.


Technical Specifications and AI Capabilities

At the heart of the MS-S1 MAX-P495 lies the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ PRO 495 processor. This chip is engineered for demanding tasks, featuring 16 Zen 5 cores, 32 threads, and peak clock speeds of 5.2GHz. To support intensive computing, the device is equipped with 192GB of high-speed LPDDR5x memory (8,533MT/s) and a 2TB SSD.

Graphics and AI acceleration are handled by the integrated Radeon 8065S (RDNA 3.5) and a dedicated NPU. According to the manufacturer, the system provides a combined AI performance of up to 131 TOPS, with the NPU contributing up to 55 TOPS. Minisforum notes that users can pair two of these units to create a compact AI cluster, capable of running complex models like Qwen3.5 397B at roughly 16 tokens per second.


Connectivity and Expandability

Designed for professional environments, the workstation offers a robust suite of I/O options, including:

  • USB4 ports with DisplayPort and power delivery support.
  • Dual 10GbE networking ports.
  • Wi-Fi 7 compatibility.
  • A PCIe x16 slot and two M.2 slots for storage expansion or additional hardware.

Furthermore, the storage subsystem supports RAID 0 and RAID 1 configurations, allowing users to balance data redundancy against performance needs.


Advanced Design and Cooling

The MS-S1 MAX-P495 is built with versatility in mind, featuring a chassis that can be positioned horizontally or vertically. To maintain stability under a 160W power load, the cooling system utilizes copper heat management components, dual fans, and phase-change materials. The machine also includes four operational profiles:

«Performance, Balance, Quiet and Rack modes allow users to alter system behaviour, with the latter intended for deployment where rack integration is required.»

Additional features include a built-in noise-reducing microphone, a 320W power supply, and a removable board tray for easier maintenance. Minisforum expects to begin shipping these units to the US market around mid-October 2026.