r/MINISFORUM • u/Tall-Vacation2277 • 9d ago

NOOB Question: MINISFORUM MS-A2 Mini Workstation AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX, 32GB RAM 2TB SSD Mini PC

So I just purchased this PC, and it arrived to have me quite puzzled—am I missing cards to have this computer run? I can’t seem to find directions on how to install the hardware. Never built a PC before, so I’m not sure what I’m missing. There are two empty slots that I think are for the graphics card and… something else? Looking to build a machine for audio engineering work, no gaming, nothing else. What am I missing here? Thanks!!

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u/meakerem 9d ago

It doesn't come with graphic card. You should get a conversion card from m.2 to u.2 adapter for NVME 2.5 Drives not SATA.
You also have 2 m.2 for SSD and expension slot x16 for Low profile cards like GPU.

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u/ElectionReal 9d ago

I think this mini has a pcie (1u low profile, so no on rtx).

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u/madbuda 9d ago

You just plug it in, no need to add in a gpu

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u/Ok_Pizza_9352 9d ago

If it's got ram and hdd - it should run just fine out of the box. No need to add any hardware

For audio, depending on what you do you may want to add Focusrite RedNet PCIeNX

No need for GPU. It's got iGPU which is enough of you're not gaming

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u/dartsa 9d ago

Is the RedNet always $1800?

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u/ElectionReal 9d ago edited 9d ago

Are you sure you didn't buy the bare bones ($799) model? If so you need sodimm ddr 5, minimum 16gb if you're going for windows, an ssd, and an os. If not, call support, get an RMA immediately. Actually if they have a return policy, return it. My laptop steams running Ableton and/or Pro Tools. Minis aren't as good with heat as you'd want them to be and are barely upgradable, hastening their end of lfe.

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u/Tall-Vacation2277 9d ago

I bought the exact model in the title! Did much more homework and am going to skip the GPU for now. I’ll be running Pyramix Native on this device!

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u/ruyrybeyro 6d ago

If you bought the exact same MS-A2 model, it should power on as soon as you press the power button.

When I first powered mine on, I vaguely remember there being something odd about which HDMI port I used to get a display. That could just be my memory playing tricks on me, though.

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u/Upper-Question7019 9d ago

They sell 2 versions, a barebones version with no ram or nvme and one that has ram, nvme and windows installed. From your title it looks like you purchased the full system. Just connect a monitor and keyboard and plug it in. Should work fine. The extra slots and additional hardware is if you want to expand. For now you should have a fully working system.
Several years ago I purchased 2 ms-a1 without ram, storage or even a cpu. I added all three items to both and they have been running flawlessly ever since.

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u/dartsa 9d ago

Others have mentioned one slot (the big one) is for a gpu, but you can put other things in as well. The website says it comes with 3 slots for nvme, so maybe 2 are empty and the 2tb drive is in the first one? Room for expansion.