Minisforum N5 vs Minisforum UM690
Minisforum N5 is the more capable pick; Minisforum UM690 is the cheaper one - which wins comes down to the job below.
The verdict
- CPU
- Minisforum N5 has 1.2x the CPU throughput (28,854 vs 24,000 PassMark).
- Idle power
- Minisforum UM690 idles lower (15W vs 28W) - cheaper to run 24/7.
- Networking
- Minisforum N5 has more NICs (2 vs 1) - better for a firewall or VLAN trunk.
- RAM ceiling
- Minisforum N5 takes more RAM (96GB vs 64GB).
- Local AI
- Minisforum N5 has a PCIe slot for a low-profile GPU - the other needs a DIY build for local LLMs.
Which wins for each job
| Job | Minisforum N5 | Minisforum UM690 |
|---|---|---|
| Plex / Jellyfin | ~5 streams | ~5 streams |
| Frigate NVR | add a detector | add a detector |
| Proxmox / VMs | 28,854 PassMark win | 24,000 PassMark |
| Firewall / router | 2 NICs win | 1 NICs |
| Local AI / LLM | PCIe GPU slot win | no slot |
Approximate - capacity estimates from curated specs, the same logic as the recommender. Verify against your exact setup. Prices move; check the retailer.
Full specs
| Spec | Minisforum N5 | Minisforum UM690 |
|---|---|---|
| Price (list) | $510 | $499 |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 7 255 | AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX |
| Cores / threads | 8 | 8 |
| PassMark | 28,854 | 24,000 |
| iGPU | Radeon Graphics (RDNA2) | Radeon 680M |
| NICs | 2 | 1 |
| NIC model | Marvell AQC113 10GbE plus Realtek 5GbE | Realtek RTL8125 |
| RAM max (GB) | 96 | 64 |
| M.2 free | 3 | 2 |
| PCIe slot | x16 | none |
| Idle (W) | 28 | 15 |
| TDP (W) | 65 | 54 |