Minisforum AtomMan G7 Ti Desktop Review: One Hell of a Laptop in Disguise

Minisforum AtomMan G7 Ti

$700 at Amazon

Pros

• Incredibly compact for a desktop
• Fast, sustainable performance
• Extra M.2 drive slot

Cons

• GPU is a slower mobile version
• Costs as much as high-end laptops
• Underwhelming storage

If you're looking for a powerful gaming system that takes up almost no space, the Minisforum AtomMan G7 Ti might just be it. This system packs powerful gaming laptop internals into an ultraslim tower PC form. Between its Intel HX-Series processor -- a desktop-class chip -- and its Nvidia RTX 4070 mobile GPU, it can keep up with office workloads and high frame-rate gaming. The CPU is properly fast, and the GPU does a decent job, though it lags behind desktop RTX 4070 GPUs by a bit. Its clever, compact cooling system effectively keeps thermals in check. 

The Minisforum AtomMan G7 Ti has a lot going for it, but its price is a bit of a sticking point. As tested, it retails for $1,799. On one hand, it's quite a bit cheaper than some gaming laptops it runs circles around, like the Alienware X16 R2, Razer Blade 14 (early 2024) and Acer Predator Helios Neo 14. On the other hand, it's much more expensive than Apple's new M4 Mac Mini, which is a performance powerhouse in its own right and a compact king. It's also more expensive than Lenovo's Legion Tower 5i Gen 8 with a desktop RTX 4070, though in fairness that PC is not nearly as slim as the AtomMan G7. Its Legion 7i Gen 9 laptop, complete with a screen, battery and keyboard, can alternately be had for $1,719 with the same CPU and GPU pairing as the AtomMan G7 Ti. 

So while it's a little on the expensive side, the form and performance of the AtomMan G7 Ti is an interesting proposition. If you can find it below that full retail price, even more so.

The Minisforum AtomMan G7 Ti doesn't come with many configuration options. You'll be choosing between a build with a 24-core Intel Core i9-14900HX, as reviewed here, or one with an Intel Core i7-14650HX. The Core i9 configuration starts at $1,599 as a bare-bones kit that doesn't include memory or storage (and therefore also lacks an operating system). For $1,799, you can get it with 32GB of DDR5 and a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD pre-installed. The Core i7 version gets a slight name change, "G7 Ti SE," and costs $1,449 for a bare-bones configuration or $1,659 for the same 32GB of memory and 1TB of storage. All configurations get the same RTX 4070 mobile graphics processor. 

If the CPU specifications hadn't already signaled it, the AtomMan G7 Ti is essentially a beefy gaming laptop stripped of its keyboard and display to serve as an ultra-thin desktop. To its credit, the HX-series processors are repurposed desktop CPUs, but the mobile variant of Nvidia's graphics processor means a lower tier of performance than the actual desktop versions.  

At the time of testing, all configurations had discounts between $290 and $360, which seemed sticky, bringing our test configuration down to $1,439. 

Plenty fast for a desktop, but with a laptop-class GPU

The Minisforum AtomMan G7 Ti is a powerful machine, all things considered. Its thinness doesn't really hold it back. The Intel Core i9-14900HX remains a proper beast, and gets largely unleashed in this form factor. It may not live up to the performance of a highly cooled, desktop Core i9-14900K, but it's also not terribly far off the mark. When it comes to CPU performance, it's just about second to none in the mobile space, ripping right past chips like the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS in gaming laptops in both single- and multi-core benchmarks. It even manages to top Apple's newly released M4 in multicore benchmarks, though the single-core performance of that new chip is hard to beat. 

That CPU performance helps the overall speed, but sadly the RTX 4070 is a mobile variant of the GPU and as such falls well shy of the performance of its desktop counterpart. The system can readily punch out high frame rates at 1080p, but this performance only narrowly led the desktop RTX 4060 found in the Lenovo Legion Tower 5i Gen 8. A desktop that, it's worth noting, is $400-$700 cheaper though roughly nine times larger. Thankfully, the performance headroom of the AtomMan G7 Ti is enough that you could jump up to 1440p if you wanted and still enjoy smooth frame rates. Plus, given that it's an RTX 40-series GPU, you have access to powerful DLSS enhancements to boost performance with just a minor hit to visual fidelity. 

Compact form factors can come with cooling concerns. Thankfully, the AtomMan G7 Ti doesn't appear to struggle terribly to keep its cool while operating at a high level. The air pulled into the system goes through two laptop-style fans and blows out across four small radiator stacks, one at the top of the system, two in the back and one at the bottom. With 3DMark's Steel Nomad stress test, which runs the benchmark 20 times in a row, the AtomMan G7 Ti offered consistent performance with scores ranging from 2,847 to 2,879 points. Systems that struggle with heat will see more of a decline in performance as the CPU and/or GPU thermal throttle. Even with the fans running at max speed, they're not overly loud or obnoxiously pitched. 

While the AtomMan G7 Ti's graphics performance is decent, it comes up lacking in regards to storage speeds. It performed considerably worse than many other drives in our benchmarks. To be clear, it is hitting PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD speeds (4,805 MB/s sequential reads and 3,919 MB/s writes), but it's not pushing the limits of the interface by any means. Fortunately, if this aspect becomes a bottleneck for you, you can upgrade with a second drive.

Big for a laptop, small for a desktop

Aesthetically, the AtomMan G7 Ti gives the PS5 Slim a run for its money. It's roughly as tall and deep as that console but is even thinner. It takes up just 2.88 liters of space and weighs only 5.67 pounds. However, some of the size is offloaded since the dainty build and high-power components require an external 280-watt power brick. The one Minisforum includes is over 1.6 pounds. 

The design of the AtomMan G7 Ti also means it has more in common with a laptop than a true desktop, especially when it comes to ports. You'll find a pair of USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports on the front of the system along with a full-size SD card reader and a 3.5mm audio jack. The rear adds one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port and a USB 4 Type-C port, which doubles as DisplayPort. It should also make for a good high-bandwidth connection if you need to add a USB hub. The rear also includes a Gigabit Ethernet port, HDMI 2.1 and the power input. You can probably get by without using Ethernet though, as the system supports Wi-Fi 7 with an Intel network adapter. It proved speedy enough in my testing. 

If you want to make upgrades to memory or storage, you can access the system's interior by removing three screws on the bottom of the case and prying the vented side panel off (a task more difficult than it should be). Inside, the SO-DIMM memory modules are covered by a metallic insulator. The SSD is covered, too. A second M.2 SSD slot is right on top of the installed SSD, so you can upgrade the storage without having to sacrifice the included drive.

In all, the AtomMan G7 Ti generally has the performance to back up its stylish looks, though it is expensive for the performance you get.

How we test computers

The review process for laptops, desktops, tablets and other computerlike devices consists of two parts: performance testing under controlled conditions in the CNET Labs and extensive hands-on use by our expert reviewers. This includes evaluating a device's aesthetics, ergonomics and features. A final review verdict is a combination of both objective and subjective judgments. 

The list of benchmarking software we use changes over time as the devices we test evolve. The most important core tests we're currently running on every compatible computer include Primate Labs Geekbench 6, Cinebench R23, PCMark 10 and 3DMark Fire Strike Ultra. 

A more detailed description of each benchmark and how we use it can be found on our How We Test Computers page.