ASUS NUC 14 Pro Plus vs Minisforum MS-01 i9
Minisforum MS-01 i9 is the more capable pick; ASUS NUC 14 Pro Plus is the cheaper one - which wins comes down to the job below.
The verdict
- CPU
- Minisforum MS-01 i9 has 1.1x the CPU throughput (26,658 vs 24,538 PassMark).
- Idle power
- ASUS NUC 14 Pro Plus idles lower (8W vs 30W) - cheaper to run 24/7.
- Networking
- Minisforum MS-01 i9 has more NICs (4 vs 1) - better for a firewall or VLAN trunk.
- Local AI
- Minisforum MS-01 i9 has a PCIe slot for a low-profile GPU - the other needs a DIY build for local LLMs.
Which wins for each job
| Job | ASUS NUC 14 Pro Plus | Minisforum MS-01 i9 |
|---|---|---|
| Plex / Jellyfin | ~8 streams | ~8 streams |
| Frigate NVR | ~6 cameras | ~6 cameras |
| Proxmox / VMs | 24,538 PassMark | 26,658 PassMark win |
| Firewall / router | 1 NICs | 4 NICs win |
| Local AI / LLM | no slot | PCIe GPU slot win |
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 | ASUS NUC 14 Pro Plus | Minisforum MS-01 i9 |
|---|---|---|
| Price (list) | $730 | $730 |
| CPU | Intel Core Ultra 7 155H | Intel Core i9-12900H |
| Cores / threads | 16 | 14 |
| PassMark | 24,538 | 26,658 |
| iGPU | Arc (Xe) Iris Xe class | Intel Iris Xe |
| NICs | 1 | 4 |
| NIC model | Intel I226-V | Intel X710 + I226-V |
| RAM max (GB) | 96 | 96 |
| M.2 free | 2 | 2 |
| PCIe slot | none | x8-lp |
| Idle (W) | 8 | 30 |
| TDP (W) | 28 | 45 |