Mini PC with Ryzen 7 and external GPU challenges traditional gaming desktops

ETA Prime’s review of the Minisforum X1 Lite paired with the OneXGPU 2 reveals a surprisingly capable compact gaming setup that could disrupt the perception of portable gaming performance.

ETA Prime has tested the Minisforum X1 Lite mini PC with an AMD Ryzen 7 255, 32GB of LPDDR5 memory and the OneXGPU 2 external graphics dock, and the results point to a surprisingly capable compact gaming rig. According to Notebookcheck, the all-AMD combination works particularly well with SteamOS, which appears to suit this type of setup when paired with OcuLink for the graphics link.

The standout component is the OneXGPU 2, which uses an AMD Radeon RX 7800M. In the benchmarks described by ETA Prime, it handled demanding titles at 1440p with high settings and often exceeded 60 frames per second. Forza Horizon 6 was especially strong, with the system reportedly clearing 70fps at 4K on Ultra without using FSR, which is a notable result for an external GPU solution.

Other games were more demanding, but the system still performed well. In Cyberpunk 2077, ETA Prime recorded more than 70fps at 1440p on Ultra with FSR 2.1 set to Quality. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart was said to run at more than 100fps on average at 1440p with Very High settings and no FSR. Crimson Desert also crossed the 100fps mark when frame generation was enabled.

There are, however, limits to the appeal. Notebookcheck noted that the Minisforum X1 Lite with Ryzen 7 255, 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage is priced at €729 on Amazon, while the OneXGPU 2 costs $960, or about €827. That brings the total to roughly €1,464, a level at which buyers could instead consider a more powerful pre-built gaming desktop, including systems with an RTX 5070 or RTX 5060 Ti from retailers such as Newegg. Still, related coverage suggests the X1 Lite is well suited to sustained performance in a very small chassis, and that its eGPU support is a major part of its appeal.