- A Compact Power PC for Work and Play
- Technical Specifications
- Performance and Benchmark Results
- Photo and Video Editing
- Gaming Performance
- Noise and Cooling
- Upgradability and Connectivity
- Power Consumption in Daily Use
- Price-Performance Verdict
- Glossary
A Compact Power PC for Work and Play
In the summer of 2024, I purchased the Minisforum Neptune HX99G directly from the manufacturer as a refurbished model.
It came equipped with an AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX, 64 GB DDR5 RAM, and a 1 TB SSD for around €679.
My goal was to find a quiet yet powerful mini PC for photo and video editing, web development, Docker containers, and occasional gaming — all in a small, stylish package.
Delivery via DHL Express was fast, and right out of the box, the premium aluminum case and compact form factor (205 × 203 × 69 mm, 1.2 kg) made a great first impression.
Technical Specifications
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX (8 cores / 16 threads, up to 4.9 GHz)
- GPU 1: AMD Radeon 680M (integrated)
- GPU 2: AMD Radeon RX 6650M 8 GB GDDR6 (dedicated GPU)
- RAM: 64 GB DDR5 Crucial 5600 MT/s (2 × 32 GB)
- SSD: 2 × Kingston NV2 4 TB NVMe (PCIe 4.0)
- LAN: Intel I226-V 2.5 Gbit
- Wi-Fi / Bluetooth: MediaTek Wi-Fi 6E & BT 5.3
- Motherboard: Shenzhen Meigao Electronic F7BAA (BIOS v0.18)
- Operating System: Windows 11 Pro 64-bit
Performance and Benchmark Results
In the PCMark 10 Extended benchmark, the HX99G achieved an overall score of 8661 points.
The detailed sub-scores highlight how balanced this compact system really is:
👉 You can view the full results of the PCMark10 Extended test here as a PDF.
| Category | Score |
|---|---|
| Essentials | 8784 |
| Productivity | 7968 |
| Digital Content Creation | 12341 |
| Gaming | 17605 |
In everyday use, that translates to fast application launches, smooth multitasking, and strong 3D performance.
I often run multiple browsers with over 100 tabs open, alongside Docker containers, Nextcloud sync, and VS Code, all without noticeable slowdowns.
Photo and Video Editing
I use Adobe Lightroom Classic and DaVinci Resolve Studio on a daily basis.
Editing 42MP RAW files from my Sony A7R II pushes the HX99G a bit, but overall performance is excellent.
When switching between images or adjusting sliders, there’s a small delay — expected at this resolution and file size.
Video editing was more interesting:
With the stock DDR5-4800 memory, I noticed heavy playback stuttering in DaVinci Resolve, even at 1080p.
After upgrading to Crucial DDR5-5600, those issues disappeared completely.
Since then, Resolve has run flawlessly, performing on par with my former HP Omen 16 Notebook (Ryzen 7 5800H + RTX 3070 Mobile).
Rendering with OpenCL acceleration shows that AMD GPUs now receive much better optimization and stability than in the past.
Gaming Performance
Even though the HX99G isn’t marketed as a gaming PC, its performance is surprisingly strong.
The Radeon RX 6650M, based on AMD’s RDNA 2 architecture, offers 8 GB of GDDR6 VRAM, which is more than enough for modern 1080p gaming and even light 1440p workloads.
The integrated FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution) technology upscales lower-resolution images to higher resolutions, providing a significant FPS boost.
FSR 2 and FSR 3 deliver sharp visuals with slightly softer edges compared to native resolution — an excellent trade-off for the performance gain, especially on 4K displays.
In addition, I use RSR (Radeon Super Resolution) — AMD’s driver-based version of FSR.
The difference is simple:
- FSR is integrated directly into supported games.
- RSR works globally through the Radeon driver — even in games that don’t include FSR support.
RSR renders the game at a lower resolution (e.g., 1440p) and upscales it in hardware to 4K.
It works impressively well, especially in single-player titles.
The only downside: the game must run in fullscreen, and some UI elements may scale slightly larger.
I also experimented with Lossless Scaling (LS1), a third-party Windows tool that enables windowed upscaling and frame generation.
The image quality is excellent, though setup is more complex.
Since AMD RSR 2.1, I’ve mostly stuck with the built-in Radeon upscaler — it’s simpler and more stable.
Noise and Cooling
During normal workloads, the HX99G is nearly silent.
Under sustained load, fans ramp up briefly but remain far quieter than most laptops.
After a few months, one of the fans began to rattle slightly — a known issue with some batches.
Replacing it requires fully disassembling the case, which I plan to do later.
Upgradability and Connectivity
The HX99G is impressively modular for its size:
- 2 × M.2 NVMe (PCIe 4.0 x4)
- 2 × SO-DIMM DDR5 slots
- 2 × HDMI + 2 × USB-C (DisplayPort)
- 2 × USB-A 3.2, 2 × USB-A 2.0
- 2.5 Gbit LAN
- Wi-Fi 6E & Bluetooth 5.3
I currently run three 4K monitors — two via HDMI and one via USB-C — and everything works flawlessly.
Both RAM and SSDs are easy to access, which is a huge plus compared to many competing mini PCs.
Power Consumption in Daily Use
Using Home Assistant and a smart plug, I measured the HX99G’s power usage:
- Idle: 40–60 W
- Office / Browser / Docker: ~63 W
- Gaming: 100–180 W
- 24h Operation: ~1.3–1.5 kWh per day
That’s highly efficient for a system of this power level — perfect for home office or 24/7 server setups.
Price-Performance Verdict
For about €679 (refurbished), the Minisforum Neptune HX99G delivers:
- Strong CPU performance (Ryzen 9 6900HX)
- Solid GPU power (Radeon 6650M)
- Excellent expandability
- Quiet operation
- Compact, premium design
Minor drawbacks such as the fan noise issue or RAM compatibility are manageable.
For web development, photo/video editing, or light gaming, this mini PC is a fantastic alternative to bulky desktops or noisy gaming laptops.
Glossary
FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution):
AMD’s upscaling technology that renders games at a lower resolution and upscales them algorithmically to higher resolution, increasing FPS with minimal quality loss.
RSR (Radeon Super Resolution):
A driver-level version of FSR that works globally with almost any game.
Lossless Scaling (LS):
A third-party Windows tool that adds upscaling or frame generation for games running in windowed mode.
Proxy Files:
Low-resolution copies of video clips used for smoother editing in professional video editors.
OpenCL:
An open computing framework that enables the GPU to accelerate rendering and complex calculations.
NVMe:
A high-speed SSD interface using the PCI Express standard for maximum throughput.
