G7 Ti Review: Tall & Powerful (Just Like Me)

The new MinisForum (AtomMan) G7 Ti is their latest flagship mini PC, with the most recent 14th Gen Intel Core processor, an RTX 4070 mobile GPU, and a reasonable price compared to the competition. But it is also the result of some head-scratching design decisions that don't fully match its potential (and price tag). Time to investigate!

This was a review unit sent to me by the manufacturer. All opinions are my own, they did not see this review ahead of time, and no money was exchanged in any way.

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Timestamps:
00:00 introduction
01:16 specs and pricing
05:39 unboxing and impressions
07:04 this thing is awkward
11:30 more design features
12:59 size comparisons
14:52 benchmarks and noise
17:53 video editing in 4K
19:10 PC game performance
22:23 emulation performance
26:24 summary (likes and dislikes)
29:31 conclusion

Theme song written by Jim Gray of Our Ghosts:

^^ use code "RGC10" for 10% off your order

This video is for entertainment and educational purposes only.

#MinisForum #miniPC #PCgaming #emulation

[Seamoorif]

Not really interested in mini pcs but here I am excited to watch a 30 minute retro game corps videos 😅

[Kraaketaer]

Seeing the inside of this confirmed a suspicion I had given the specs and design: this is clearly an ODM laptop motherboard, probably sourced essentially as-is from someone like Clevo or a similar entity that produces a catalog of semi-generic designs for others to specify to their desires and slap a case and badge on. There's unpopulated pads for a battery connector clearly visible directly next to the m.2 slots, and several other unused flex cable connectors that would make sense for a keyboard, touchpad and so on, and another unpopulated connector - this time clearly labeled EDP - between the SSD and heatpipes. My guess is the only input MinisForum had on this is the case design (which is likely still made by the ODM, but might be entirely custom), plus some firmware changes (adding their own boot logo, removing BIOS options for battery, keyboard and so on, possibly tweaking power limits).

Edit: watching more of the video I see you kind of addressed this, but it's clear you're not very familiar with these parts of the industry, but my description above is how a lot of this operates - a lot of mid-sized laptop brands offering large, high end gaming laptops use these ODMs for their hardware development. These aren't the Asuses, Acers, Dells or HPs of the world, but the Euorocoms, electronics store brands, and similar. Clevo is the most well known ODM, but there are several others too. It's entirely possible that this ODM is MinisForum's manufacturing partner for their own SFF PC designs as well, and that making use of these laptop boards is part of their contract in some way (whether as a requirement or an opportunity, who knows?). But design wise, this is very clearly a cost cutting move from MinisForum (and, to be fair, they might not actually be allowed to implement Nvidia GPUs in their own designs, as Nvidia is pretty restrictive in their partner agreements and what hardware configurations they allow, so it might be that this is a necessity for MinisForum to offer PCs with Nvidia dGPUs).

[mozolog]

I'm actually a fan of this form factor. Here's why I like it so much. First off in the living room you can easily run it on its side like a console. All you need is some rubber feet that allow sufficient airflow. White pencil erasers from a dollar store work just fine. Second, the main use case for this is to play modern games with a video card. If you try to buy a laptop the noise will will be way too high or the video chip will be under powered. If you buy a desktop you're paying a lot more money. For me this is a nice grab and go solution for the living room that lets me play new games as they come out.

[Mecha]

"Its got a top-of-the line 14th generation Intel Core processor..."

Naw, I'm good.

[MarsDCKC]

TBH hadn't questioned Russ was tall and powerful until he brought it up himself...

[E.Cristian]

Russ, you're our tall and powerful retro and tech stuff spokesman and we all love your work!

[keeweetv]

You are quickly becoming one of my favorite channels for this kind of content. All your videos are so helpful man, keep it up!

[sunnygalli]

I think the appeal of this would be a living room PC running Steam big screen mode. Or perhaps native Steam OS one day.

[WrackPharmd]

Russ, buddy, you’re our number one retro king, as powerful as they come.

[AlteredCarbons]

i wont be buying ANYTHING intel for a while. not till i know their quality control issues with there CPU's are fixed. spending 200-500 on a CPU to find out its got issues and intels like "sounds like you issue" response made me dump them without hesitation soon as they said the 13/14th gen cpu's have issues... all of them could... and they are going to do nothing about it but laugh is a slap in the face to anyone who bought or supported them.

[GroundCap]

Here’s a tip: You should also include an audio test where the microphone is at the height of your ears while you use the mouse and keyboard. This allows for a more realistic sound impression.

[Wunnabeanbag]

Finally someone reviews this thing. Im tired of YouTubers only catering to big companies. Im glad that you and the phax do what you do.

[kylesmith]

Russ you are on a review rampage dude!!

[PresidentIT]

Thank you for your thorough review. I was waiting for this to come out for a while now. I have been looking at the old NucXi7, but wasn't convinced. My use case for this PC is to replace my laptop that I use for work and casual gaming (big cyberpunk fan!). Currently I have my laptop open on my desk (on top of my printer) as a second screen to my 24 inch primary display. Take note: my desk is on only 50 cm deep by 150 cm long, so tiny. A small footprint would be ideal in my case to that I can get a proper second screen and give it room on my desk. Another option I was looking into is to build in a Crosair 2000D case, but then your talking a whole different price point and still a bigger footprint. So there is a place in the market for this design even though you personally don't like it and you've actually convinced me to get one. I do agree however with your points about the IO and the especially the position of the power adapter input.

[SSJQuin]

Honestly Russ, totally don’t mind other tests on PC reviews you do like practical video editing tests, etc. Keep them in! You’re the only one who consistently reviews these niched PCs so it’s all good data

[yensteel]

This is interesting for a frequent traveler and developer. Multiple devices had to be carried on board like ultra portable laptop, gaming laptop, ipads, and i was thinking about sff pcs to offload the weight.

So this.. could be an alternative.

I'm not kidding about the inconvenience. Once I had to carry 4 big devices because one is from the bank and i must have it with me. It was a pain to move from country to country.

[rhoadeswr]

Russ, you were made for this man. I really enjoy watching your videos and I'm not going to lie, I do a little dance every time I hear your intro music. 😅

Anyways I went back and forth on this and decided to buy the I7 version for 1199 during cyber Monday that comes with the Ram and Ssd. I usually play on my handhelds and I needed a portable desktop I can take with me. It works for me but I know it's not for everyone. Thanks for the video.

[jimmymyers]

Small correction, Grid came out in 2019

[infinty]

I've been looking to get a PC to connect to my television. I totally understand the appeal of a pre-built mini PC, but with these prices I think I'm just going to build a new rig.

[ivysaurplant]

These mini pcs are so interesting to me. I love the pc handhelds I have because of portability but I’ve been wanting more of a standard pc setup. Options like this give me the opportunity to bypass building a pc because I really don’t feel like researching all the info and buying all the prices or even wanting the footprint PC towers take up but get relatively similar power output. Hoping that as time goes on, this market becomes more accessible and affordable