MINISFORUMMotherboard BD795i SE Mini ITX NAS Motherboard, AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX, 16 C/32 T,PCIe 5.0 x16 Slot, Dual PCIe4.0 M.2 Support, DDR5,8K Triple Output(HDMI/DP/USB-C), RJ45 2.5G, USB 3.2

Perfect dual boot windows/linux gaming and dev board.Yep, you need to install an AX210 wifi/bt m2 E key if you want wireless stuffs. Yep, no ability to add sata hard drives for deep storage. Yep, only 2 M2 slots for nvme's. Yep, no ability to change the cooler. Yep, not a good amount of USB ports.For $380 its still 100% worth it. I have had 0 problems with this board, I currently boot windows 11 primary and dual boot into linux daily. This is super simple to setup and all works as needed. I paired this board with 96GB crucial sodimm kit for $180, set the speed to 5200mt/s in the bios, set a CO of -15. The fans are a bit goofy to control but you just need to set your min 'c' spin up values and your max pwm 'c' value, below that you will see a PWM number represented by 16bits, this will be your 'normal' fan speed. Its a 2 speed setup, one temp for how much you want to fan to run and one temp that runs at max. I set the 'normal' temp to 127 pwm and 25c so it always runs my silent wings 4 high speed at 1800rpm. The max fan speed temp is set to 68 and almost never hits that temp.I have paired this board with an asrock creator rx 7900 xtx and its just perfect. Gaming and machine-learning work perfectly.Gaming performance is great, you really wont miss anything here. This is essentially a 7950X light when running at 100w.

Pros:* Cheap* Powerful hardware (16c/32t)* Great sound quality on it's amp/dac (if anyone cares about that anymore)* Built-in intel wifi 6 card* Great support for linux out of the box.* Decent BIOS options* Incredible power efficiency compared to a full desktop chip (60w on desktop/330w while gaming)Cons:* No SATA ports* Only 1 usb header* No usb-c headers* Non-standard fan mount for board fan (uses m2.5 threads when most fans are mounted with m3)* Wireless antenna included is bulky and the pins are non-standard (they protrude from the antenna side going into the case, whereas other antennas expect the pin to protrude from the case) so you can't simply replace it with a small form factor antennaExtremely happy with this board! Very innovative and cost competitive. Literally wouldn't be able to build a mini itx in this price range.For context: I'm upgrading from an i7-5930k 6c 12t processor. This was a huge step up in performance and although there are some caveats (only 1 USB header, 2 m.2, no sata) these can all strategically be worked around in your build (use one m.2 slot for sata or buy 2 large m.2 drives, get a USB header splitter)I'm running on Linux exclusively and everything just works, and works well (USB c for display/USB is working with graphics offloading to a dedicated GPU). There are ways you can control the fans by installing custom firmware on Linux, I haven't done it yet. The fan curves are rough out of the box but they get the job done and I'm hoping to smooth them out.I have this paired with an hdplex 500w DC power supply and a 330w 20v dell power adapter. At the wall it measures 40-60w on the desktop and with my GPU (AMD 5700XT) set to a maximum of 180w, I am measuring 330w max while gaming with nothing getting too hot. This things a monster.

Short version: In summary, if you're willing to compromise by using irregular and nonstandard hardware in order to really chase down the best value, I see no reason why you shouldn't purchase this. Docked a star because it runs a little hotter than it needs to, but can be mitigated if you're willing to tinker.The details: This is probably the most bang-for-the-buck solution you can get. It's got 32 threads, can do PCIe 5.0, and you can even overclock with it. But you need to be aware of the cooling. I spent hours and hours looking into this and did eventually find a solution. The surface of the cooler that meets the CPU die isn't as flat/smooth as any other cooler out there, which results in substandard performance. It will cool the chip just fine, but you're going to hear that fan working and working often unless you change out the paste. And even then it will still be bouncing off TjMax (which is within spec for the chip, so it's fine). I definitely recommend repasting the CPU. Just use an excessive amount of paste to compensate for the cooler's imperfections. I, personally, replaced my paste with a pad of PTM7950, tightened the cooler onto the board as much as I could reasonably go, and my thermals have been great ever since. Alternatively, there does exist a water block for this exact board; but it's prohibitavely expensive (like 400 euros) and unless you can speak German you'll have a tough time getting it.Furthermore, there is a BIOS/UEFI update available for this board that improves the default fan curve and thermals, so do look into that. You can also use the overclocking menus to undervolt the CPU, further reducing temps and fan noise. It's a great chip and performs like others in its class, it just doesn't come out of the box "perfect." And that's ok, people buying this should be willing to tinker.