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I always look forward to the annual announcements at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), with a specific eye toward new hardware platforms and innovations well suited for running VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) in a lab environment. This year is no exception, although acquiring affordable memory may require a few sacrifices given the skyrocketing prices driven by the insatiable demands of AI.

At CES 2026, Intel and AMD introduced their next generation consumer processors, Intel Core Ultra Series 3 (Panther Lake) and AMD Ryzen AI 400 Series (Gorgon Point), which will power many of the newly announced hardware platforms.

Most of the hardware vendors seem to have prioritized LPDDR5 (soldered memory), which offers higher bandwidth for AI workloads but it comes at a premium on top of the exploding prices. I was also hoping to see some announcements for systems supporting the new LPCAMM2 or SOCAMM2 memory standard, which could enable configurations with up to 256GB of memory. I suspect due to the supply chain constraint and overall costs, such platforms may only be reserved for AI focused systems in the future.

Whether you are refreshing a home lab, looking for an ideal AI platform for exploration, new gaming rig or general curiosity, I have compiled a comprehensive list of all the new Mini PCs and Small Form Factor (SFF) systems that should be arriving in 2026.

Acermagic

This is probably one of the most unique systems that was announced at CES. If you grew up with an NES or Playstation, this might give you some nostalgia while taking advantage of a pretty capable system.

• Platform: Board 3 Dual-C Retro Style
• CPU: AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 (12c/24t)
• Memory: 128GB DDR5 SODIMM
• Storage: 2 x M.2
• Networking: 2 x 2.5GbE

A slightly larger 4x4 system with a familiar look and feel to other systems on the market and main downside is the use of LPDDR5 and its cap is 96GB of memory, most likely due to cost.

• Platform: Performance Unleashed
• CPU: Intel Core Ultra X9 388H (16c with 4p,8E,4LPE)
• Memory: 96GB LPDDR5
• Storage: 2 x M.2
• Networking: 2 x 2.5GbE

AMD

AMD has launched their own mini desktop that is focused on AI development, which is also simliar to the recent NVIDIA DGX Spark.

• **Platform: **Ryzen AI Halo
• **CPU: **Ryzen AI Max+ 395 (16c/32t)
• **Memory: **128GB LPDDR5
• **Storage: **Unknown
• **Networking: **Unknown

ASRock

Here are another set of 4x4 systems that pack a punch in terms of memory, network and storage capabilities using the latest Intel processors.

• **Platform: **NUC Ultra 300 BOX
• **CPU: **Intel Core Ultra X9 388H (16c with 4p,8E,4LPE)
• Memory: 128GB DDR5 SODIMM
• **Storage: **2 x M.2
• **Networking: **2 x 2.5GbE (Intel)

ASUS

The classic 4x4 NUC continues to live on and I was actually surprised to see that only an LPDDR5 option was available for the Intel-based models, where as typically modular SODIMM would be the typical default.

• **Platform: **NUC 16 Pro
• CPU: Intel Core Ultra X9 388H (16c with 4p,8E,4LPE)
• Memory: 96GB LPDDR5
• **Storage: **2 x M.2
• **Networking: **2.5GbE (Intel)

I have been a huge fan of the AMD-based NUC-like models from ASUS, especially with SODIMM support, which will allow folks to go up to the maximum of 128GB (64GB SODIMM per slot).

• Platform: ExpertCenter PN55
• **CPU: **Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 (12c/24t)
• **Memory: **128GB DDR5
• **Storage: **2 x M.2
• **Networking: **2 x 2.5GbE

Beelink

These might be the most colorful systems you will find and nice to some companies get a bit more creative to provide some customization in the colors beyond the boring black, white or gray tones you typically find. Both have been upgraded from the previous Ser 9 models with 2 x 10GbE networking, which is perfect for VCF!

• Platform: Ser 10 Pro

• **CPU: **AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 (12c/24t)

• **Memory: **32GB LPDDR5

• **Storage: **Unknown

• **Networking: **2 x 10GbE

• **Platform: **Ser 10 Max

• **CPU: **AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 (12c/24t)

• **Memory: **128GB DDR5 SODIMM

• **Storage: **Unknown

• **Networking: **2 x 10GbE

GMKtec

I have been a fan of the GMKtec brand and I was surprised to see they had only announced a single system which is a following on from the original EVO-T1, which was also focused on running LLMs for AI development and exploration.

• **Platform: **EVO-T2
• **CPU: **Intel Core Ultra X9 388H (16c with 4p,8E,4LPE)
• **Memory: **128GB LPDDR5
• **Storage: **2 x M.2
• **Networking: **1 x 10GbE & 1 x 2.5GbE

Khadas

This is a vendor I have never heard of before, but apparently they have been around and have just announced a series of "Mind" product launches including the Mind Pro which will take advantage of the latest Intel CPUs.

• **Platform: **Mind Pro
• **CPU: **Intel Core Ultra X9 388H (16c with 4p,8E,4LPE)
• **Memory: **64GB LPDDR5
• **Storage: **2 x M.2
• **Networking: **Unknown

Minisforum

Both the EliteMini and AI X1 Pro have been refreshed with the latest Intel and AMD processors, the look and feel are mostly the same from earlier versions. If I had to pick between the two, I would definitely recommend the AI X1 Pro-470, mainly for the ability to customize the memory.

• **Platform: **EliteMini M2 Pro

• **CPU: **Intel Core Ultra X9 388H (16c with 4p,8E,4LPE)

• **Memory: **96GB LPDDR5

• **Storage: **Unknown

• **Networking: **1 x 10GbE & 1 x 2.5GbE

• **Platform: **AI X1 Pro-470

• **CPU: **AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX470 (12c/24t)

• **Memory: **128GB DDR5 SODIMM

• **Storage: **3 x M.2

• **Networking: **2 x 2.5GbE

As many of you know, I am a huge fan of Minisforum, especially with their MS-A2, which has been an ideal system for running VCF. Last year, they had already released the MS-02 Ultra, which is an Intel-based system and I was really hoping that they would have an AMD variant this year, but looks like that did not happen! At CES, they did announce a refreshed version of the existing MS-02 Ultra with a newer Intel Core Ultra 2 Generation CPU, which is not the latest generation but simply more powerful.

What makes the MS-02 Ultra interesting is the fact that it supports 4 x SODIMM enabling you to get up to 256GB of memory, now of course that will cost an arm and leg with todays pricing BUT if you have the memory already, this could be an interesting system. It also has a pretty unique design with PCIe card that contains 2 x 25GbE ports and 2 x M.2 ports on the same device. My only nit on this system is that it uses an Intel-based CPU with Hybrid Cores and I would rather they have an AMD version where we do not need to worry about that from a VCF perspective.

Finally, the refreshed MS-02 Ultra also won the CES 2026 Innovation Award, so congrats to the Minisforum team!

• **Platform: **MS-02 Ultra (Updated)
• **CPU: **Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX (24C with 8P,16E)
• **Memory: **256GB DDR5 SODIMM
• **Storage: **4 x M.2
• **Networking: **2 x 25GbE

MSI

Here is another 4x4 form factor from MSI with the latest Intel processor, it has support for configurable memory which is great for those who do not want to buy a fixed configuration. While it only has support for single M.2, this could still interesting for a smaller setup with network-based storage.

• Platform: Cube NUC AI+ 3MG
• **CPU: **Intel Core Ultra X9 388H (16c with 4p,8E,4LPE)
• **Memory: **128GB DDR5 SODIMM
• **Storage: **1 x M.2
• **Networking: **2 x 2.5GbE