Ryzen Ai 9 HX 370 Meets 890M iGPU: SOUYO S9 Mini PC First Impressions!

The arrival of AMD’s Ryzen AI-powered devices is set to bring about a big boost for the Mini PC market. One of the first products of its kind to hit the market is the SOUYO S9 Mini PC, which comes with the Ryzen Ai 9 HX 370 APU. I got the honor of using this prototype machine, and despite its early stages of development, the performance it offers is already remarkable.

Hardware Overview

Driven by the Ryzen Ai 9 HX 370, a 12-core, 24-thread APU based on the Zen 5 architecture, the SOUYO S9 Mini PC is a powerful machine. This CPU can easily perform a wide range of tasks thanks to its base clock of 2 GHz and boost clock of up to 5.1 GHz. The incorporation of AMD’s Radeon 890M iGPU, which is built on the RDNA 3.5 architecture and has 16 Compute Units (CUs) with a clock speed of up to 2900 MHz, is what makes it unique. The S9 is a flexible Mini PC thanks to its combination of powerful AI processing and gaming features.

The device has non-user upgradable LPDDR5x RAM, which runs at 7500 MHz and is available in 16GB and 64GB models. Fast memory is essential for maintaining seamless operation, particularly in AI and gaming applications where memory bandwidth can greatly affect results.

Performance Testing

The SOUYO S9 is a prototype, however it performs exceptionally well. Thanks to the Radeon 890M iGPU, every game tested on this little PC has run at 1080p resolution and continuously maintained over 60 frames per second. This is achievable even in more demanding titles because to the sophisticated RDNA 3.5 architecture and fast clock rates.

The AI processing power of this mini PC is one of its primary characteristics that sets it apart. With AMD’s xDNA AI engine, the Ryzen Ai 9 HX 370 can achieve up to 50 TOPS of AI performance. For developers and other professionals working with AI-driven applications, this opens up a world of possibilities, even though it may not be the main emphasis for most gamers.

Design and Connectivity

Remarkably for a Mini PC of this size, the SOUYO S9 has a 120W power supply built into its small design. Moreover, it supports three M.2 SSDs; however, the sample device I received did not work with the middle slot. Furthermore, there was a malfunction with the front USB 4 port, which needs to be fixed by the manufacturers prior to the official release.

Numerous USB 3.2 connections, a 2.5 GB Ethernet port, two HDMI outputs, and a USB-C port on the back are just a few of the many I/O possibilities available. It’s important to keep in mind, though, that the USB-C connector isn’t currently operating at 40 Gbps, which is another problem that needs to be fixed in the finished product.

It’s time to run some game tests and real-world benchmarks to examine its performance in more detail. The outcomes are very remarkable, particularly considering that the system is dependent on an integrated GPU (iGPU).

Benchmark Performance

Using synthetic benchmarks, the Radeon 890M iGPU and Ryzen Ai 9 HX 370 were tested to determine their overall performance. This is how it functioned:

1. 3DMark Fire Strike: 9,469 points
2. 3DMark Steel Nomad: 625 points
3. 3DMark Time Spy: 4,199 points

These results show a notable improvement in performance over the 780M iGPU from the previous generation. These results are excellent for an iGPU system, even at 65W TDP, and they establish a new benchmark for this market.

Real-World Gaming Tests

Benchmarks are important, but the ultimate test is how well a game works in the actual world. The S9 performed as follows in a number of well-known games:

1. Cyberpunk 2077: The Radeon 890M averages more over 80 frames per second while running at 1080p on modest settings with balanced FSR. Compared to the 780M, where comparable settings would only yield about 74 FPS at a lower resolution scale, this is a notable gain.
2. Starfield: The S9 averages about 78 frames per second at 1080p on low settings, 50% resolution scale, and enabled built-in frame creation. Given that the game is notorious for being hardware-demanding, this performance is good.
3. Mortal Kombat 1: This fighting game maintains a consistent 60 frames per second at 1080p medium settings with FSR balanced. The SOUYO S9 does a great job managing the fast-paced action of the game, making for a flawless experience.
4. Horizon Forbidden West: Possibly the best result, this graphically demanding game runs at 1080p high settings on the S9 with frame generation enabled and FSR 3.1 set to balanced. The 890M iGPU outperforms the 780M, which has trouble even with this game at lower settings, providing a playable experience at higher settings.
5. Red Dead Redemption 2: The S9 averages 76 frames per second at 1080p low settings, FSR balanced, and no frame creation required. The fact that the 890M manages to run this demanding game—which is still a classic—so well is a testament to its power.

Final Thoughts

With its Ryzen Ai 9 HX 370 and Radeon 890M iGPU, the SOUYO S9 Mini PC is proving to be a powerful gaming device—especially for an iGPU system. It continuously beats earlier models and provides playable 1080p frame rates in some of the most demanding games.

This Mini PC can now perform activities that were previously beyond the capabilities of integrated graphics solutions thanks to the addition of advanced technologies like frame generation and FSR 3.1. It’s intriguing to think that this technology might be used in future Mini PCs and perhaps handheld gaming devices, as it could enable high-performance gaming in more compact and portable form factors.

Regarding the cost, the SOUYO group is now assessing the market. They want to provide a lower-end variant with the HX 365 APU along with a range of options, including 16GB to 64GB of RAM. It will be interesting to watch where this Mini PC ends up in the market, even though the precise pricing points are still being considered.

The SOUYO S9 should be on your radar if you’re thinking about getting a Mini PC with the newest Ryzen AI 9 processor. Even at this early level, its performance is rather promising, and it has the potential to redefine the limits of what is feasible for small PCs.

Please let me know in the comments what you think this Mini PC should be priced at, as well as any other games or benchmarks you would like to have tested with it. Thank you for reading as usual, and check back soon for more SOUYO S9 Mini PC news!

Video review of SOUYO S9 Mini PC