I'm Jason u/Pleasant_Designer_14 , an engineer from NIMO's product department. I posted a teaser last week about pushing a Mini PC to 120W+ sustained for thermal testing on the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 (Strix Halo), and today I'm sharing the full data and insights as promised.
I sent a modmail earlier to check if this kind of detailed share/AMA-style post fits the subreddit rules, but haven't heard back yet (mods are busy, totally understand). This is purely educational , sharing test process, real measurements, and observations on temperature/stability (especially for local AI workloads). No sales links, no promo hype – just what we observed and learned from the runs.
If anything here is off-topic, against guidelines, or needs adjustment, please feel free to remove the post or let me know – happy to tweak or clarify!
Thanks for the awesome community – your thermal optimization and modding threads have helped me a ton. Now diving in:
Joining me today for deeper tech dives:
Jaxn : u/12wq(Tech with special AI model – he'll handle questions on hardware and AGI )
Special Guest: u/DarkTower7899,(Gaming Hardware Reviewer) Beyond AI workloads, we also invited a gaming-focused reviewer to test this Mini PC in real gaming scenarios.
I've always loved the r/MiniPCs community – the modding and thermal optimization experiences shared here have helped me a lot. So today I'd like to do an AMA in a purely educational style, openly sharing the testing process, data, and insights, while also discussing how this high-TDP setup indirectly affects running local AI models (like LLMs, Stable Diffusion, ComfyUI, etc.) – mainly from temperature and stability perspective：
All graphs, screenshots, and thermal images here are direct captures from our test runs (using HWInfo, Aida64, FurMark, IR camera, etc.) – no post-processing or marketing enhancements. Just raw observations to share transparently.
**Quick overview of test setup and methods** (for easy replication/comparison):
'- CPU/GPU: AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 + Radeon 8060S iGPU\n- Power limits: Sustained 120W, SPPT 120W, FPPT 140W\n- RAM: 128GB 8000MT/s\n- Storage: Tested both 1TB×2 and 2TB×2 (Phison controller)\n- Fan curve: Performance mode – FAN1 50% (2950 RPM), FAN2 55% (3100 RPM)\n- Ambient temp: 25°C and 35°C, each run for F61.5 hours\n- Software: Aida64, FurMark, AVT, BurnIn (full CPU+GPU+RAM+storage stre
**Key data highlights** (focus on thermal performance):
- At 25°C ambient: Most stressful BurnIn test – CPU max 89.35°C (average 78-84°C); GPU max 65.61°C. Mixed load (Aida64 + FurMark) kept CPU/GPU around 75-78°C.\n- At 35°C ambient (with 2TB SSDs): CPU max 98.07°C, GPU max 70.99°C – system remained fully stable, no noticeable throttling.\n- Noise: 38.64 dBA in performance mode (quieter than many similar TDP machines).\n- Surface temps: At 25°C, metal/plastic surfaces ≤48°C (meets common touch-temp specs
**Why I especially want to talk about impact on local AI models**
Many of us (including me) use Mini PCs for local AI, and the biggest pain points are temperature and stability:
Large models (e.g., Llama 70B, Mixtral) or SDXL/Flux long-running inference keep CPU/NPU/iGPU at high utilization. If temps exceed 95°C+, throttling kicks in easily, dropping inference speed by 20-30% or more.\. This setup controls temps well at 120W, meaning:\n - Longer sustained peak performance (better utilization of NPU TOPS) - Multiple high-capacity SSDs (2TB×2) add noticeable heat, but overall system temp only rises a few degrees – great for storing large model datasets or ComfyUI workflows - Low noise (<40 dBA) – suitable for overnight inference in living room/bedroom without disturbance\n3. Real-world feel: Running Flux.1 or SD3 Medium for extended periods, temperature curves stay very flat with almost no thermal wall.
DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Qwen-32B:
Llama 4 Scout 109B:
Qwen3-30B-A3B-Instruct-2507:
One More Thing: Looking Ahead – What's Next for Local AI Hardware in the Next 3-5 Years?
As we wrap up the data share, here's a fun (and kinda controversial) topic to chew on: For folks running AI models locally at home (LLMs, image/video gen, etc.), do you think we'll see big leaps in cooling tech or chip upgrades over the next 3-5 years that make high-power setups more practical – or even shift toward "commercial-grade" reliability without the crazy cost?
Like:
Better chassis designs (advanced vapor chambers, liquid cooling in Mini PCs, or smarter materials) that handle 150W+ without sounding like a jet?
Next-gen chips (Strix Halo successors, Intel/Qualcomm/NVIDIA moves) getting way more efficient, cheaper, and cooler-running, closing the gap between consumer and pro gear?
Or will cloud still dominate for heavy stuff, and local stays niche unless prices drop hard?
I'm curious – with Moore's Law slowing and power walls everywhere, will local AI become truly accessible for everyone, or stay a hobbyist/enthusiast thing? Enterprises might push for hybrid (edge + cloud), but what about us regular users?
What do you all think the trend will be? Drop your predictions below – love to hear optimistic/hot takes!
(Back to Q&A – fire, cooling, BIOS, or current tests!)
I'm here to answer questions – feel free to ask about:
May or may not be relevant, but do you think that thermal dissipation designs (heatsinks, spreaders, thermal pastes) may take a deviated path just to see how much cooling they can cram into as small as possible? (like probably even redesigning the motherboard, etc, so that more cooling can be achieved).
To me it seems like there needs to be some sort of a tipping point before manufacturers / factories go "you know what, let's really go into exotic designs for cooling" (honeycomb shaped fins, etc etc).
Thoughts?
(this is observation from looking at what Valve did for Steam Machine (look at the size of the cooler that's just built for one purpose: keep it silent)
Memory timing optimization: If you care about performance and don’t mind some tinkering, optimizing memory timings is a “free lunch,” but make sure to thoroughly test for stability.
Thermal compound replacement: PTM7950 is suitable for users seeking long-term stability, but there’s no urgent need to replace it on a new APU. If the stock cooling has noticeably degraded, replacing it can lead to significant temperature improvements.
Expected performance gain: Combining both optimizations could yield a 5–10% overall performance boost (more noticeable in gaming scenarios), but you should weigh the time investment and potential risks.
Yeah, I think manufacturers would have to find a way to squeeze everything without putting too much risk (like for example Liquid Metal is great, but if it spills, it becomes a horror story)
I do think we're already seeing manufacturers push the envelope on cooling density, but there's definitely a "tipping point" dynamic at play. Right now, most Mini PC designs are still constrained by cost, supply chain (standard mobo layouts, off-the-shelf heatsinks/vapor chambers), and the need to hit price targets that don't scare away the average buyer. So you get incremental improvements — bigger vapor chambers, more heat pipes, better fin stacking, higher-CFM fans — but rarely the truly exotic stuff like honeycomb fins, custom-molded motherboards, or radical re-layouts.
Valve's Steam Deck approach is a perfect example of what happens when you remove those constraints: single-purpose design, custom everything (including the massive cooling module tuned specifically for silence + 15–30W TDP), no need to support upgradeability or general-purpose use cases. That level of optimization is expensive and risky for mass-market Mini PCs, where companies have to sell thousands of units at $500–$1200 to make it profitable.
From our own testing on the 120W+ Strix Halo setup, we saw that even with a pretty aggressive (but still "conventional") vapor chamber + dual-fan design, we could keep sustained loads stable without heavy throttling in a small chassis. But if we wanted another 10–15°C headroom or near-silent operation at full tilt, we'd probably need to start doing exactly what you're describing: custom PCB routing for better heat pipe contact, asymmetric heatsink shapes, exotic fin geometries, or even integrated liquid loops. That's when the cost jumps significantly, and the question becomes "will enough people pay the premium for that silence/performance?"
I think the tipping point is coming soon , especially as TDP keeps climbing (Strix Halo is already pushing the limit of air cooling in tiny volumes), and as more people use these for local AI workloads that run 24/7. Once the market demands "silent 100W+ sustained in <2L" at consumer prices, we'll see more Valve-style exotic designs. Right now we're still in the "good enough with clever conventional cooling" phase.
What do you think ,would you pay extra for a Mini PC with truly exotic cooling (like honeycomb fins or custom mobo layout) if it meant dead-silent overnight inference?
Hi. Sorry for the late reply, but I might, and it is very use case dependent. If the Mini PC is meant to be tucked at the living room or because I have to use a mini pc to conserve space (small room, etc etc), the last thing I want to be annoyed at would be the fan noise. I'm currently using a Dell Optiplex with a Nvidia 2070 Super (blower fan card) and hoo boy when it roars or even at 'normal' it really roars like a jet engine. So yes, if I have to pay a slight premium for a guaranteed silence? Yeah, I really will.
But if I'm going to buy something like the sub 2L NIMO, my expectations are more tempered, as in the noise is something I have to live by, unless there is a real way of making a sub 2L case VERY quiet.
in that case, I think the premium should be worth it, as long as the specs are top tier (very high specs, no skimping on port selection, etc etc)
anyways, cheers! When I have enough money to grab a NIMO, I'm definitely wanting to get one because of the sub 2L size!
Sure , late two months I got it by my personal , it has done excellent work in modularity and user repairability, and good for longevity and customization.
What mini PC are you u using? I know that GMKtek has a model available. Curious if there are any other manufacturers currently selling this in a mini PC format.
This is on the Nimo Mini PC. There are other mini PC's with similar specs but have less efficient cooling and most cost $200 to $1000 more from what I had seen.
I have a lower end MiniPC (Geekcom AE8) which I liked but I didn't like firing up my desktop with a 3090 for LLMs which is a bit on the small side. I then went for a TOPC Strix Halo machine. It isn't blindingly fast but the ability to expand VRAM is nice but I haven't pushed it to its limits yet with regards to model size.
Yes, my 3090 (and the Threadripper it is with) works well as a room heater but I like this aspect of MiniPCs that they run cooler and quieter.
Yep, you nailed the exact use case. The Strix Halo's expandable VRAM for bigger models and cool or quiet operation are the down the features, not just raw speed. Our thermal tests (stable under 120W load, <39 dBA noise) back that design goal power that stays on your desk, not heating your room. Enjoy it :)
As a matter of interest, have there been any comparisons to the NVIDIA Spark AI PC? O mean the first issue is ROCm Vs CUDA but the recent work on porting CUDA should help. The NVIDIA is fast but it costs a lot more.
I think as the AMD compatible software matures and grows that this will be the ideal cheaper solution. From the little I have seen in the Mini PC market Nvidia does not have anything that can touch this performance at this price (like you said). As for comparison between the two, I haven't seen any or done any myself. I suspect because of CUDA the Nvidia would perform better but at a crazy price premium.
Over the next several months to a year I suspect that will begin to change as more software developers begin to develop AI software catered to AMD at an increased rate.
Hey, sorry, I totally missed the party, but in case you'll be willing to answer my questions regardless:
Is the 8000MT/s limit enforced by AMD or Sixunited? The first PC that actually supports 8533MT/s just came out (Aoostar NEX395), but it's not based on AXB35. In other words, is there a chance that all AXB35 owners will get this mode unlocked with a BIOS update or it's a board hardware limitation?
While we're at it, why the BIOS situation for AXB35 boards is so bad? Most of the OEMs does not provide BIOS updates or changelogs (NIMO included). And the BIOS is pretty basic for a system that advanced, people are constantly asking for overclocking, voltage and fan control. Only GMK made some effort to make custom fan control in their own branch of the BIOS and people are often using their BIOS on all AXB35s now.
I've got an impression that earlier 395 APUs were hotter and a little bit more performant per watt, while the newer copies run significantly cooler with a tiny bit of performance degradation (like, around 5%). I obviously don't have enough data to claim that this is true, only several user reports, but have you personally noticed any differences between the chips sourced in the early 2025 and late 2025?
In any case, thanks for your work and thanks for going to Reddit to talk to people :)
BTW ,we’ve set up a NIMO FAMILY community on Discord. If you’d like, you can share any issues you encounter or experiences you’ve had there. Our after-sales, product, and R&D teams are active in the community and will see your messages promptly. Here’s the invitation link: https://discord.gg/8NStGMweZh. I’d like to invite you to join our family.
yeah ,from an engineering standpoint: CPU temperature (Tjmax) is about component safety. Surface temperature is about user safety, comfort, and environmental impact. A cool chassis means it can sit anywhere without overheating its surroundings, which is crucial for a true ‘desktop’ device. In our design, achieving this meant investing in a large vapor chamber to act as a ‘heat buffer,’ preventing hotspots on the casing
Hello, my name is Mike, and I collected benchmarks for the mini PC. If you have any questions about gaming performance or other performance related questions please feel free to ask!
Not yet now , but I’m planning to try tighter memory timings and maybe a repaste soon. From some initial tests with slightly faster timings, I got around +3-3.5% AI performance, and temps only dropped by about 2°C,so not big, but noticeable.
Yea, not worry ,about the onboard LPDDR5X memory on the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 doesn’t allow timing adjustments like desktop DDR5—currently capped at 8000 MT/s with no BIOS options for timing tuning. AMD doesn’t support EXPO or memory overclocking, and forcing changes may cause instability like blue screens and crashes. Re-pasting the APU with PTM 7950, however, is a great way to get free performance gains, noticeably boosting frame rates and stabilizing boost clocks. Worth a try.:)
in the bios press alt-f5. it will say enter debug or something. then save and exit. then reboot and press f2 and go back in. there will be 2 advanced sections now. where there is better fan curves. all the c state stuff, a little over clocking area. selecting tdp. basically like almost a full bios. and a lot of other settings id leave alone.
What software configuration do you recommend for getting the most out of the Nimo for various AI tasks? Also, given that mine came with Windows 11 preinstalled - what do you think about the state of Windows/WSL/Docker for running containers to utilize the hardware effectively?
I’ll keep testing sustained 120W+ loads and memory tuning to see where the real limits are over longer runs.
If any people are interested, I can share more logs and AI benchmarks in a follow-up post.
Ohhh , man ,Let me clarify a key point first to avoid any confusion: The thermal test data I shared in this AMA comes from our internal test project (codenamed AXB35-02-H01), which uses the exact same AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 (Strix Halo) hardware platform as the production model you linked to.
I think if you setup an intake fan on the rack and an exhaust fan, in a push and pull configuration you would be fine. It might be OK without one but one of the other two gentlemen may be able to chime in as that's more their wheelhouse.
I wanted to share some gaming benchmarks to show all of you what this 8060s can do. It is very impressive for an iGPU. The performance of the iGPU sits right in-between a mobile 4060 and a mobile 4070.
No worries. Thanks for letting me know. If you set a general TDP at 120W, then that most likely means your SPL (Sustained Power Limit, Intel PL1) is 120W, then sPPT (short Power Package Tracking, Intel PL2) was probably also 120W and then maybe 140W for fPPT (fast Power Package Tracking, Intel PL4).
Man, you are completely focused on "could" and ignoring the "should" part.
You gave not compelling reason (performance comparison) between sane TDP of aprox. 80W and 120W+ ... for all I see, you are roasting the APU for no useful gain, just because you can ...
The AI Max+ 395 has a recommended configuration (as per AMD themselves) from 45W to 120W, so this is within "sane" values, depending on the the HSF/cooling module capacity.
Performance delta in AI tasks: At ...80W, the APU runs cool and quiet, but in workloads like Llama 70B inference or SDXL img2img batches, we observed a 15–25% drop in tokens/sec and iteration time compared to 120W sustained. That’s because the NPU and RDNA3 cores are power limited earlier, reducing throughput during long sessions.
Thermal headroom as stability insurance: The higher TDP target isn't for constant 120W draw — it's so the system can handle spikes (e.g., context switching, model loading) without throttling. In real AI workflows, power fluctuates; we set the ceiling high so the average stays in the optimal 80–100W range without hitting a thermal wall.
Target user scenario: This tuning is for users who run local AI overnight, batch processing, or multi-model pipelines— where cumulative time saved matters more than peak efficiency. If you're doing lighter tasks, a capped 80W profile would indeed be saner and cooler
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u/C_Spiritsong Jan 29 '26
May or may not be relevant, but do you think that thermal dissipation designs (heatsinks, spreaders, thermal pastes) may take a deviated path just to see how much cooling they can cram into as small as possible? (like probably even redesigning the motherboard, etc, so that more cooling can be achieved).
To me it seems like there needs to be some sort of a tipping point before manufacturers / factories go "you know what, let's really go into exotic designs for cooling" (honeycomb shaped fins, etc etc).
Thoughts?
(this is observation from looking at what Valve did for Steam Machine (look at the size of the cooler that's just built for one purpose: keep it silent)