Labthrift Labthrift Buy the boring upgrade. Skip the rest.

Notes / Used vs new

Editorial, 22 Aug 2026. Specs from maker pages and recent street reports. We have not burned these units in. Affiliate tags are not live.

Minisforum MS-A2: Ryzen 9 9955HX, dual 10G, still not a 1U

ServeTheHome already called the MS-A2 “an almost perfect homelab system.” Labthrift’s cut is the closet: same 10G pizza-box idea as the MS-01, newer AMD CPU, a fan, more money. We have not burned one in.

AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX, 16C/32T. STH: Intel X710 on the two SFP+ ports; one 2.5G Intel i226-V and one Realtek RTL8125 — three NIC drivers from two vendors. USB-C on the rear is USB 3.2 Gen2 10 Gbps, not USB4, not Thunderbolt. That last bit matters if you wanted MS-01-style Thunderbolt clustering. Chassis is just over 1.7 L. Top and bottom vents: do not stack them. Small workstation fans. Not silent. Still not a 1U.

STH’s fetched review page did not publish a single idle watt. NAS Compares / storagediskprices commentary puts load well above the MS-01. Treat watts as unmeasured by us. We will not invent a closet idle.

The short list

BoxWhat it isStreet, 22 Aug 2026Buy if
MINISFORUM MS-A2Ryzen 9 9955HX, dual 10G SFP+ (X710), 2.5G i226-V + RTL8125, PCIe x16, ~1.7 L.store.minisforum.com barebone $799 (was $999). minisforum.com US page showed $839.90 and sold-out configs when fetched. Amazon 32 GB / 1 TB ASIN B0G7H72Z1H snap $1,239. 96 GB / 2 TB B0FGJD9Y7N snap $2,079.90. VideoCardz launch: Amazon barebone $799, 32 GB / 1 TB $1,199.You want the AMD 10G pizza box and you will live with a fan and three NIC drivers.
MINISFORUM MS-01Intel 12th/13th-gen sibling. USB4. Sold out 22 Aug 2026.Maker from $439.90 when it existed.You wanted Thunderbolt / lower street and can wait.

Skip

Skip a used 1U “because it also has 10G.” See 1U vs pizza box and used vs new. Skip stacking two MS-A2s on top of each other — STH called the heat bleed. Skip treating the rear USB-C as USB4.

Sources

STH MS-A2 review (“almost perfect”; X710 / i226-V / RTL8125; ~1.7 L; no idle watt on the fetched page). Minisforum store MS-A2. Amazon B0G7H72Z1H. Amazon B0FGJD9Y7N. VideoCardz launch note. Street moves.

Also in this lane

Protectli VP2420e: four Intel 2.5G ports, fanless, 24 W ceilingFanless aluminum Vault, four Intel I226-V, a 12 V brick. MikroTik CRS305-1G-4S+IN: four 10G SFP+, no fans, a 24 V brickFour 10G SFP+, no fans, a 24 V brick. QNAP QSW-2104-2S: four 2.5G and two 10G SFP+, 12 W, fanlessNew pizza box for a 10G NAS and 2.5G PCs. Used-Cisco angle.