The mini PC market in 2026 is fiercely competitive. Brands like Minisforum, Geekom, and BOSGAME all offer compelling machines — but they typically come with premium price tags to match. The Peladn HO5 takes a different approach: give you everything the flagship competition offers, at a price that makes them look overpriced.

For $940, you get AMD’s Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 — the same chip found inside systems costing $1,100–$1,300. Add an OCuLink port for full PCIe 4.0 eGPU support, Wi-Fi 7, USB4 at 40 Gbps, and dual 2.5G Ethernet, and you have a machine that is genuinely hard to argue against on paper — and in practice.

We tested the HO5 extensively: CPU and GPU benchmarks, real gaming sessions, storage speeds, thermals, and daily productivity use. Here is everything you need to know before buying.

A spec sheet that belongs in machines costing $200–$300 more.

The Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 (Strix Point) — 12 cores (4× Zen 5 + 8× Zen 5c), 50 TOPS NPU, up to 54W sustained TDP.

The HO5 is compact without feeling cheap. At 129 × 129 × 54 mm and just 575 grams, it sits effortlessly behind any monitor using the included VESA mount. The plastic chassis is sturdy and well-ventilated. A magnetic lid gives tool-free access to the second M.2 slot — storage upgrades take under a minute.

Rear I/O: USB4 (40 Gbps), USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 (20 Gbps), OCuLink eGPU, dual 2.5G Ethernet, HDMI, and 2× DisplayPort.

Local AI — Mistral 7B at 35 t/s

The 32GB LPDDR5-7500 and Radeon 890M are well-suited for local LLM inference via Ollama. In our tests, Mistral 7B Q4_K_M generates 30–40 tokens/second — fast enough for interactive use. The 50 TOPS XDNA 2 NPU also unlocks the full Copilot+ Windows AI feature set (background blur, Live Captions, Windows Recall) running in the background without impacting LLM inference speed. For a full breakdown of local AI performance across all mini PCs, see our best mini PC for local AI 2026 guide.

Wi-Fi 7 — Real-World Results

The MediaTek MT7925 Wi-Fi 7 module supports 2.4/5/6 GHz tri-band with Bluetooth 5.4. In testing, throughput reached 1,802 Mbps TX / 1,757 Mbps RX on the 6 GHz band. The absence of HDMI 2.1 is a minor omission worth noting for users targeting 4K@120Hz on a single display.

All tests at factory defaults: 54W sustained TDP, 2 GB dedicated VRAM for the Radeon 890M. The BIOS exposes TDP adjustments for enthusiasts who want to push further.

CPU Performance

The HO5 matches the Geekom A9 Max (same chip, similar TDP) and outscores the Minisforum AI X1 Pro in PCMark 10 — a machine priced $150 higher.

GPU & 3DMark Graphics

Gaming — 1080p (Radeon 890M, iGPU only)

The Radeon 890M handles 1080p gaming at Low–Medium settings; High settings are playable in most titles.

■ 60+ fps — Smooth   ■ 30–59 fps — Playable   ■ <30 fps — Demanding

Storage & Wireless

The included Crucial P3 Plus SSD delivers sequential read/write of 4,258 / 4,162 MB/s. Wi-Fi 7 throughput peaked at 1,802 Mbps TX / 1,757 Mbps RX at 6 GHz. An ADATA SE920 connected via USB4 hit 3,150 MB/s sequential read.

Thermals & Acoustics

At idle, the HO5 is completely silent with surface temperatures below 35°C. Under sustained CPU+GPU load, the fan ramps to 35–40 dB. CPU temperature peaked at 95°C during stress tests with no measurable performance throttling.

If you want flagship-tier mini PC performance without the flagship price tag, the Peladn HO5 makes the competition look overpriced. The Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 delivers top-tier CPU and iGPU performance, the connectivity suite is class-leading at this price point, and OCuLink provides a genuine and future-proof upgrade path to discrete GPU power.

The only meaningful limitation is the soldered 32 GB RAM. If your workload requires 64 GB or more, the Beelink SER9 Pro AI 64GB or ACEMAGIC Retro X5 (upgradeable to 128GB SO-DIMM) are better choices. For everyone else: this is the most compelling value in mini PCs right now. It also handles local AI inference (Mistral 7B at 30–40 t/s via Ollama) out of the box, with the 50 TOPS NPU unlocking full Copilot+ features alongside your LLM setup.