Minisforum MS-02

[caplam]

Hello,
should we dedicate a topic to this new mini pc ?
On the paper it's very interesting.
I received mine yesterday and so far i haven't done much.
It's very tiny and servicing it is not very convenient: small screws in tiny spaces.
For now i have installed:
- 4x64Gb sodimm ddr5 5600 micron CL41
- 2x4Tb samsung 990 evo plus on the pcie card
- 1Tb WD SN580 on the motherboard
- 1 LSI hba 9400 8e attached to a 8 bays sas 12G das

I installed promox 9 with no problem and for now only using i226-LM 2,5Gbe interface.
It comes also with 1 10Gbe interface and 2 SFP28 intel E810.
It's installed in my office and after some more tests and setup it will go in the basement with my ms-01 where i have more interfaces.

Do you think i could use the sfp28 with a dac to connect a SFP+ interface in a switch ?

 

[JaxJiang]

Compatible with SFP+. I have already tested it.

 

[kevinz]

I would love coverage of the ms-02 ultra here. Anyone using the optional oculink pcie card or external gpu above 32gb of vram? How did you you get the hba set up? I have been struggling with intel AMT remote access stability.

 

[JaxJiang]

I would love coverage of the ms-02 ultra here. Anyone using the optional oculink pcie card or external gpu above 32gb of vram? How did you you get the hba set up? I have been struggling with intel AMT remote access stability.

PCIE TO OCULINK： MINISFORUM EOP4A
OCULNK DOCKING: MINISFORUM DEG1/DEG2

Intel AMT remote access stability:
1. For System should 100% not turn off VPRO NIC(If turn off will cause vpro cannot connect)
2. Using static ip addr

 

[caplam]

I'll buy a gpu later and probably connect it with usb4 dock.
For the hba i simply plugged it in the pcie port (of course it has to be in it mode) and it was detected.
For now amt seems to work as expected. I set it up with dhcp (with reservation) and dedicated fqdn.
In the ms01 it doesn't work but i have to review the parameters. I think i deactivated the nic in the os.
For now i haven't done anything fancy with my mms02. Just installed proxmox, setup storage (proxmox on a single ssd with lvm and a zfs mirror on 2 ssd) and a bunch of lxc.
I'm waiting for HDDs to setup a zfs pool (i already have some enterprise sas ssd). And then i'll run some tests to try to determinate what's my better option for organizing storage on my das.

I guess Patrick will publish a review soon as it seems they have one ms02 in sth labs.

 

[caplam]

I had a strange issue.
After shutting down the ms02 i couldn't power it up neither with WOL nor AMT nor the button. I had to physically unplugged it.
I see that there is a known isue with 10GBe realtek port. Perhaps it's that but in my case the port isn't used. Anyway i'll try as suggested to install the DKMS driver.

 

[kevinz]

I had your exact issue. On my ms-02, it did not matter if the 10GBe Realtek port was in use. Installing the r8127-dkms_11.015.00-1_all.deb driver fixed mine. Find better instructions than listed in the minisforum known issues and be sure to verify the install succeeded before testing.

 

[Chas]

I am just getting my new MS-02 working with my NVIDIA RTX Pro 4000 Blackwell SFF.
@caplam I attached my MS-02 power to a switched PDU. I can power cycle that port, and it will restart.

 

[JaxJiang]

I had a strange issue.
After shutting down the ms02 i couldn't power it up neither with WOL nor AMT nor the button. I had to physically unplugged it.
I see that there is a known isue with 10GBe realtek port. Perhaps it's that but in my case the port isn't used. Anyway i'll try as suggested to install the DKMS driver.

@Chas
Upgrade RTL8127 driver to lastest one. or upgrade kernel to Linux6.18

 

[caplam]

i have proxmox installed with linux kernel: Linux 6.17.4-2-pve
But i installed the dkms driver provided on minisforum github and i even disabled the realtek device. But still once the ms02 powered off i need to unplug the cord to be able to power it up.

 

[SlowmoDK]

So does anyone have any issues to report now 2 month on ?

Personally I got mine (235HX Barebone) turned it on and haven't had any noteworthy events beyond software issues with RTL8127 (all should be solved with kernel 7.0)

Ubuntu 26.04 LTS ! this should be the go to disto for years at least for this unit !

I am running this as a docker host not proxmox, for simplicity and lower idle with prober ASPM

x710-DA4 installed in x16 slot. I've contemplated the 25Gb NIC but decided against it so far



Any reports, good or bad, from fellow MS-02 enjoyers welcome

 

[doubletaco]

I'm trying to build my super dense node with a 235HX system. My goal is to use the "special" slot for a 9300 8E HBA, and use the 2-port area for a dedicated GPU. Naturally, squeezing an HBA into a space that tiny is presenting cooling issues.

To make this awesome little mini PC absolutely perfect I just wish there was a single extra fan header.

 

[egn]

To make this awesome little mini PC absolutely perfect I just wish there was a single extra fan header.

For now I use GPU PWR for 2 extra fans. But I don't use a GPU.

1st phase:
https://www.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/1rcw0ub
2nd phase:
In 2nd phase I have moved HBA to external Dual PCIE slot. I now have 2x U.2 15.36TB drives in the MS-02 and additional 2x U.2 drives in the free external slot. I will 3D print a slightly higher case to close the housing again.

 

[doubletaco]

For now I use GPU PWR for 2 extra fans. But I don't use a GPU.

1st phase:
https://www.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/1rcw0ub
2nd phase:
In 2nd phase I have moved HBA to external Dual PCIE slot. I now have 2x U.2 15.36TB drives in the MS-02 and additional 2x U.2 drives in the free external slot. I will 3D print a slightly higher case to close the housing again.

Ah, that's an interesting evolution of what I'm trying to accomplish. I like it.

I did get my HBA working in the special slot, I used a 12v 4010 blower fan that I hooked up to a PCIe power extender cable by crimping ferules to the end of, and connecting them to the live and ground wires of the basic 2 pin fan using wago connections. It's not the most space-efficient, but it's working fantastically.

I'm eyeing either the Intel Pro B50 SFF or an RTX SFF A### card for the slot which won't take additional PCIe power, so I think I'm almost there.

My recommendation if anyone comes across this and has similar goals: Get yourself a cheap set of ferule terminals that comes with the crimper. It makes it very easy to power fans with the PCIe +12v connection.

 

[HardwareTherapy]

I am just getting my new MS-02 working with my NVIDIA RTX Pro 4000 Blackwell SFF.
@caplam I attached my MS-02 power to a switched PDU. I can power cycle that port, and it will restart.

How has performance been, and what workloads are you throwing at the card?

I'm running the ever-popular 3x Minisforum MS-01 cluster. I had the foresight of throwing 128gb of ram in each of them when they were (somewhat) affordable. Recently picked up a single top spec MS-02U in the 192gb/2tb configuration to replace one of the MS-01 nodes. It's running a 4000 Blackwell SFF as well, although I haven't yet dropped it in to replace one of the MS-01 nodes, so I'm not sure where performance is going to land. The MS-01's iGPU has been pretty capable with transcoding and small Ollama models.

My plan is to pick up two more barebones MS-02U units and move the 128gb of ram from the remaining MS-01s into those units to end up with a full MS-02U cluster. The MS-01 node that the bleeding edge MS-02U is replacing is where I'm running Plex, Jellyfin, and my Ollama install, which is where the 4000 Blackwell will have the biggest impact.

Also considering throwing new thermal pads on the CPU; MS-01 had some thermal issues that I want to get ahead of with the MS-02U, especially that Blackwell-based node. Almost considering throwing a 5060 in one of the other MS-02Us for transcoding, and just dedicating the Blackwell node to local models.

 

[Inferno68]

Do you guys are as well impacted by the fan of the PSU ? Pretty sure it's a fixed speed and not variable... A variable fan would have been nice as when doing simple web browsing it's all I hear.
PC going full blast when doing intensive work is not my issue and I do not care.

Any FlexATX PSU options which are may be a bit better ?

 

[egn]

I am using own settings for fans and I am happy so far. Instead of starting cooling late I start earlier at lower level and increase the levels progressively. This avoids in my setup this constant up and down. I have no issue with the PSU fan.

 

[Inferno68]

I am using own settings for fans and I am happy so far. Instead of starting cooling late I start earlier at lower level and increase the levels progressively. This avoids in my setup this constant up and down. I have no issue with the PSU fan.

Thanks for the answer. Do you have the values you put in the BIOS by any means ? Thanks

 

[egn]

Sorry for the late answer. I didn't have a monitor setup at the MS-02.

The Parameters are:
Fan Mode: Quiet
DeepS5: Enabled
CPU Fan User Mode: Enabled
T1: 50
T2: 60
T3: 70
T4: 80
PWM1: 50
PWM2: 100
PWM3: 150
PWM4: 250
Sysfan: Enabled
PWM: 100
PCIE Fan: same as CPU Fan

Install the sensors package to see what the temperaturs are at your typical workloads. You may then tune the values to lower the pwm to an acceptable level.

I hope this helps.