AMD launched its Ryzen Mobile 4000 ‘Renoir’ processors in January, and one of our questions was around the appetite for AMD to push mini-PC designs. Processors that have both high performance and low power are ideal for small form factors, and there has always been a dedicated community to this hardware segment. As we’ve seen in previous launches, sometimes these sorts of machines come before laptops, or very quickly after. At the time, AMD said that the focus was on the laptops, however there would be nothing to stop one of its partners going ahead with a mini-PC design. So we waited, and waited…

The ASUS PN50 is going to be one of the first mini-PCs on the market with the new Renoir hardware in a mini-PC design. Much like the PN60 chassis the company has used with Intel 15 W processors, the unassuming polished grey size and small footprint will ensure that an AMD powered version will fit seamlessly into that vision – with four times the cores and beefier graphics as well.

ASUS will offer the PN50 with four different APUs: the Ryzen 3 4300 and the Ryzen 5 4500U are coming to the UK market on September 7^th, while the Ryzen 7 4700U and Ryzen 7 4800U will be available on September 21^st.  The kit will be a barebones system, requiring the user to add in memory and a storage drive. The PN50 supports dual DDR4-3200 SO-DIMMs, up to 64 GB, along with an M.2 2280 SATA/PCIe drive and a single 2.5-inch SATA drive.

The Vega graphics on the mobile APU means the PN50 will support a single 8K display at 60 Hz or up to four 4K60 displays through HDMI, DisplayPort, and dual USB-C ports. On the front there is a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port with battery charging support, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port, a 3-in-1 card reader, and an audio jack. On the rear is a USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C port, two USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A ports, the HDMI 2.0 port, a ‘configurable’ port (DP1.4/COM/VGA/LAN depending on region), gigabit Ethernet, and the DC-in connector. Inside the system is an Intel AX200 Wi-Fi 6 module for wireless connectivity. The system includes a VESA mount kit in the bundle.

The four variants are as follows:

Availability will vary depending on region. The UK has pre-order listings at several retailers, including Amazon.

Source: ASUS

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