Minisforum MS-A2 PCIe/RAM/Hardward Compatibility And GuideThread

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JaxJiang

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Jan 10, 2023
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There is a Thead: 《Minisforum MS-01 PCIe Card and RAM Compatibility Thread》 For MS-01's hardware compatibility.
However, There is no thread for MS-A2 hardware compatibility.
So I create this thread.
If anyone reply this thread for tested supported or not support hardware. I will update it in this thread.

NEW BIOS 1.02 Updated.
Include idle tempture optimise,
Manual Fan control.
Power LED Lighting level control.
Check: https://www.minisforum.com/pages/product-info

DDR5 SODIMMs Tested
(Notice: MS-A2 bacause of using none-PRO CPU only can boot up with ECC memory, But cannot Enable ECC Feature)
  • 64Gx2: Crucial CT64G56C46S5T(Not Offical Support)
  • 48Gx2: Crucial CT48G56C46S5.M16B1
  • 48Gx2: KINGBANK KN556F2442
  • 32Gx2: CT32G56C46S5.M16D1(Y52K)
  • 32Gx2: SK Hynix HMCG88AGBAA095N
  • 24Gx2: Crucial CT24G56C46S5.M8B1 24GB
  • 32G+16GB: 1*32GB CT32G56C46S5 + 1*16GB CT16G56C46S5(Thanks @netswitch)


PCIe Cards Tested

Worked
  • Intel X710-DA2
  • Intel E810-XXV-2(Thanks @bugacha )
  • PCIe X8 Bifurcation X4+X4 NVME Card.
  • PCIe TO 10G+2xNVME(ASM2812+AQC113)
  • PCIe TO 2x10G+2xNVME
  • PCIe TO 4x2.5G(ASM1806+Intel I226V)
  • PCIe TO 4x2.5G(ASM1806+RTL8125B)

PCIe Graphrics Cards Tested

Worked
  • Sparkle Intel Arc B310 4GB ECO GPU - Part #: SA310C-4G(Thanks @MadFerIt)
  • RTX 4060 Mobile
  • RTX 4070 Mobile
  • RTX 2000 ADA Mobile
  • RTX 3050 6G
  • RTX A2000 Mobile
Mobile Graphrics Cards: https://www.newegg.com/Seller-Store/Abovetop


How to get cooler temperture when LOW LOAD
The problem is AMD's desktop cores have very high turbo frequency. With high single core frequency cause hot when low load.
This way sacrificing single-core performance get better low load tempurture
  1. Advanced->AMD Overclocking-> Accept->Precision Boost Overdrive
  2. CPU Boost Clock Override: Enabled(Negative)
  3. Max CPU Boost Clock Override(-): 500 (If not enough you can setting to 1000)

Kernel Version Cause Differnet idle power consume
I tested PVE System with Linux 6.8 and Linux 6.11 Kernel.
Linux 6.8 idle power: 38W
Linux 6.11 idle power: 18W
Windows idle power: 18.3-19.6W
Tested with one nvme and no other devices.
 
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nicoska

Member
Feb 8, 2023
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JaxJiang said:
PCIe Graphrics Cards Tested

Worked
  • RTX 4060 Mobile
  • RTX 4070 Mobile
  • RTX 2000 ADA Mobile
  • RTX 3050 6G
  • RTX A2000 Mobile
Click to expand...
About the GPU, I can only find double slot that would not fit into the MS-A2. Can you share the links of those you tested?

thanks
Nico
 
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MadFerIt

New Member
Jun 29, 2025
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This specific 2000 Ada card supports the MS-A2 out of the box, all power from PCIe slot and does not require a third-party cooler to fit inside the chassis:

  • PNY RTX 2000E 16GB Ada Generation GPU - Part #: VCNRTX2000ADAS-LLP

Another GPU I've personally tested in the MS-A2 and works perfectly (great Media Transcoding card):

  • Sparkle Intel Arc B310 4GB ECO GPU - Part #: SA310C-4G
 
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MadFerIt

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Jun 29, 2025
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nicoska said:
about this card, have you tested it under Linux or Windows?
I need to run it under Proxmox and using Jellyfin.
Thank you
Click to expand...
I'm using it under proxmox just fine. At first I had it pass-through to a Windows 11 Pro VM, but now I'm using it with a Plex LXC.

It does have a known issue of constant fan ramping up and down while idle, I have it around other systems / fans that help mask it but if I didn't it would be very annoying.

EDIT: Just a note on the fan noise, if you have the GPU on a Windows box or passthrough to a Windows VM you can use the Intel GPU software to adjust or set a fixed fan curve to avoid this spin up/down issue. But on any Linux based system as far as I've been able to search there is no way to control the fans on an Intel Arc GPU, which is ridiculous. But there really is no alternative for a incredibly cheap but also incredibly powerful transcoding card that fits in the MS-A2, I paid $150 CAD for mine. I don't exaggerate when I say this cheap card does a better job at transcoding than my RTX 4070 Ti Super that runs on my gaming system which was previously my Plex server.
 
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nicoska

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Feb 8, 2023
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MadFerIt said:
EDIT: Just a note on the fan noise, if you have the GPU on a Windows box or passthrough to a Windows VM you can use the Intel GPU software to adjust or set a fixed fan curve to avoid this spin up/down issue. But on any Linux based system as far as I've been able to search there is no way to control the fans on an Intel Arc GPU, which is ridiculous. But there really is no alternative for a incredibly cheap but also incredibly powerful transcoding card that fits in the MS-A2, I paid $150 CAD for mine. I don't exaggerate when I say this cheap card does a better job at transcoding than my RTX 4070 Ti Super that runs on my gaming system which was previously my Plex server.
Click to expand...
Just ordered mine from Amazon (EU), 100€... I think it's worth trying.
Thank you
 
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