What's new

Mini PC with 128GB ram?

The issue may be that most mainstream CPUs only support desktop RAM that tops out at 32GB per stick. So as small form factor boards tend to only support dual sticks, that explains the 64GB limit. So you are either looking for a board that supports 4 sticks or more likely one that supports 64GB sticks.
Not sure whether the later requires server class CPUs though. You have more chance of getting this via a custom build, rather than an off the shelf NUC style device I suspect.
 
The issue may be that most mainstream CPUs only support desktop RAM that tops out at 32GB per stick. So as small form factor boards tend to only support dual sticks, that explains the 64GB limit. So you are either looking for a board that supports 4 sticks or more likely one that supports 64GB sticks.
Not sure whether the later requires server class CPUs though. You have more chance of getting this via a custom build, rather than an off the shelf NUC style device I suspect.
Thanks for the input! Last custom build PC I made was in 2011, in mini-ATX size. But since I only build so seldom, it’s like coming back to technology all over with new standards and speeds, and I’m investigating the possibilities of mini PCs (or something of somewhat similar form factor), so avoid the whole process of finding compatible parts. But if I can’t find it, I’m open to building one myself again.
 
You may find a smaller manufacturer that makes something suitable.
It might be aimed at industrial usage or for specialised areas so might not be ideal.
Expect it to be expensive too.

I had a quick look on NewEgg and they stock a few mini ITX boards with the required RAM support.
But they seemingly only support up to 6 core CPUs and relatively older ones.
Some come with a Xeon D CPU included but the clock speeds are very low. The chip is probably soldered to the board
The ones without will take a faster CPU though.
E.g.
 
Here's a current gen AMD board:
Well, let's just say that the experience is like last time. Gotta learn the new standards all over again, but actually curious now. :)

$500-ish
Amazon product ASIN B08FBNPVNC
$370-ish for the first 64GB.
Amazon product ASIN B088CTJLHP
(assuming they fit the board)

... tried to find 1-2 TB SSD disk, but result were fuzzy. Same with CPU. Does it state that it actually supports (edit) eight disks?

Where would I land with this, you think, $12-1400?
 
My 2020 Intel Mini has 32 GB, which was the maximum Apple provided.
I thought this was the maximum for this machine (I7) or am I wrong?
Then I should consider upgrading to 64...
 
The first DDR5 consumer platform is due around October via Intel.
Not sure if they will actually be generally available at retail at that point.
Also, due to the new architecture, you will require Windows 11 to get the best out of it unless MS port the new scheduler to version 10 also.

No guarantee that the initial chips will support 64GB sticks as they may keep that for a later platform.
Higher density sticks are seen primarily as a server/workstation feature.
 
Where would I land with this, you think, $12-1400?
It depends on the exact configuration that you want as the price range will be vast depending on the components you choose.
The boards are expensive ($450+), the RAM will be around $550-600 and the current gen AMD CPUs start close to $300.
So that's ~$1,300 for just those 3 components.

I wouldn't suggest waiting for DDR5 as a new RAM platform is usually very expensive at launch.
So you may be paying twice as much for the RAM, or at the very least 50% more.
 
Ciao , very interesting post. Are you able to share a configuration of this MiniPC please? I need to compose one for my private lab and I only know that 128 256 GB RAM is desiderable....probably 8Core (at least)
 
@manorizz this was my "mini pc" set up that has 128gb ram before i rebuilt it into a server in my garage. I can only go down as low as itx.

The only consumer ITX motherboard that takes 4 slots of so-dimm (laptop) ram that i know of at the time (2 years ago) is Asrock X299e-itx and i have 32gb ddr-2666 on each slot making total of 128gb. It comes in two types, server and consumer. Currently both are expensive. Consumer version comes with 3 m.2 slots so that'll be more "mini". Supports 9th and 10th gen i9 extreme processors. For mine i use a i9-9980xe.

The challenge is cooling this sucker as its a 165w cpu. Dynatron has a few 1u coolers for low profiles and even a 1u water cooler. I use a dynatron r15 air cooler. With a fan on top. It was hot and loud most of the time. But it did not throttle.

The cpus for this board do not have integrated graphics. So you need a graphics card. And there are no displayport over type c connectors. So that'll add to your "size". In theory you have two options to avoid this, one is to use displaylink adapter. You'll need graphics card to do initial set up, but once you have it set up... And you are sure you dont need to mess with BIOS in the foreseable future, use a usb to hdmi display link adapter. It'll cost your cpu a small bit to do the video out but worth while for size imo. The other option is to make this computer remote only, not tje best option.

For computer case, i had a dan A4 case, which is smaller than most desktop builds but if you really want to go mini, look into j-hack pure for case and hdplex for power. J-hack pure also have their own kit with mean well power supply too which is more compact than hdplex. This will make this computer be powered without a brick power cable as the brick is inside.

I believe asrock came out with another itx with 4 slots of ram and is AM4 mentioned earlier in the thread... it is called ASROCK X570D4I-2T. And it comes with a VGA output so no graphics card or workaround needed. And AM4 have a wider array of CPUs to choose from.

Alternatively, there are a sleuth of AMD EPYC itx with 4 slot rams from supermicro and asrock that are geared towards server use. But many of these are SoC so you can't choose cpu, and are normally clocked lower.
 
Last edited:
Well, this was fun.. would be cool to have a tiny VEP sample server pc.



not sure if all the rcomponents are the best choice but around $2k.

which basically means you could get two mac minis w 64gb of ram and stack them up each other. have less noise.
It's a bit of an unfair comparison given that the 4TB you selected drive is around 45% the cost of the total build, it's also wasted as it's PCIE gen 4 and the board is gen 3. And the storage is a cost you'd incur if you were to purchase that on a mac mini as well. With the itx board, you can split that 4TB into 3 smaller-sized ones that are generally more favorable in terms of cost not to mention higher bandwidth availability than a single drive. And I wouldn't count of mac mini's being less noise.

Given that VEP is not available on Mac Mini M1s yet and the m1's don't have more than 16gb memory, it can only be compared to a 2018 mac mini and to match the 64gb and 2TB drive on each mac mini, a single mac mini would cost $2900 according to Apple's website. Two mac mini's would cost close to 6K.
 
It's a bit of an unfair comparison given that the 4TB you selected drive is around 45% the cost of the total build, it's also wasted as it's PCIE gen 4 and the board is gen 3. And the storage is a cost you'd incur if you were to purchase that on a mac mini as well. With the itx board, you can split that 4TB into 3 smaller-sized ones that are generally more favorable in terms of cost not to mention higher bandwidth availability than a single drive. And I wouldn't count of mac mini's being less noise.

Given that VEP is not available on Mac Mini M1s yet and the m1's don't have more than 16gb memory, it can only be compared to a 2018 mac mini and to match the 64gb and 2TB drive on each mac mini, a single mac mini would cost $2900 according to Apple's website. Two mac mini's would cost close to 6K.

ah interesting about the ram. i used park picker and didnt see other options for 128gb ram. maybe there are.

yes mac mini 2018, used.. about $1,200k or so maybe less installing your own ram.
 
ah interesting about the ram. i used park picker and didnt see other options for 128gb ram. maybe there are.

yes mac mini 2018, used.. about $1,200k or so maybe less installing your own ram.
Mac mini 2018 do not have user upgradeable ram and storage, they are soldered. You are at the mercy of the preconfig prices.

[Edit] looks like only storage is soldered

I think a better comparison would be 2 x Minisforum HM90, which would be around 900 each after nvme and ram upgrades after. Comes with windows license. And still have room to add more ssds. It also does not use a blower style fan, so there will be less noise.
 
Last edited:
Mac mini 2018 do not have user upgradeable ram and storage, they are soldered. You are at the mercy of the preconfig prices.

[Edit] looks like only storage is soldered

I think a better comparison would be 2 x Minisforum HM90, which would be around 900 each after nvme and ram upgrades after. Comes with windows license. And still have room to add more ssds. It also does not use a blower style fan, so there will be less noise.
yes, only the storage. the ram in the mac mini is upgradable to 64gb of ram and buying used for this purposed would be 64gb or ram one one computer for about $1200. maybe less. I guess 128gb would be $2400 (buying tw0) but its a little cumbersome to have 2 units plus i think vep charges per server now. Or have one for sequencing and the other for samples would be a neat setup as its small.

so its a decent system for 64gb ram sampler/vep. Hopefully someone can figure out a 128gb PC version at decent prices. mini itx or something that even older i5/i7 will be enough. Soon all macs will have soc/apple silicon processors and ram might be extremely overpriced past the 32/64gb ram as apple likes to do it.
 
Top Bottom