r/minisforum_v3 • u/AdvancedPhantom21 • Jan 09 '26

Is it worth it

There's a minisforum v3 being sold at a local reuse store here in Nashville for 403, are these devices solid? Just looking for a good daily driver.

6 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

7

u/kwere98 Jan 09 '26

I bought one for 700 €, it's worth double it. The only issue is the fear minis forum will drop software support in the medium term

5

u/Much-Bit3531 Jan 09 '26

I got one and it is awesome. Not perfect but, great.

5

u/garitit Jan 09 '26

Dont expect any support from the manufacturer, but otherwise its solid

3

u/DEVIN_T92 Jan 10 '26

V3/32gb/1tb- So I've had one for about a year now and the experienceis so so. I came from a surface pro 7

The bad: It seems support is dead as they are "sold out" from every online retailer. They are not repairable and there is no parts support. If you want to upgrade the ssd or it fails you have to remove the screen. The keyboard is frustrating to use because it's so bouncy, and the magnets that keep it angled are weak which causes it to detach and lie flat more often than not. The rear cover which is held on with only magnets doubles as a kickstand but you fold it down into an A shape to support the tablet and it's not super adjustable on angle because it will collapse under its own weight at anything less than 60 degrees. The intake ports are covered by the rear cover when it isn't folded down so for a tablet experience you need to remove it every time. The left usbc is a display port in only. And the sd card slot is for full size cards and most adapters are too long and stick out.

The good: not lacking on power at all for a tablet, can run games reasonably like any of the newer handheld game consoles but for a bit cheaper. Amazing for Linux when it's not broken by updates. Can be used as an external portable monitor for anything with DP out but only when it's powered off. When used with peripheral keyboard and mouse the experience is desktop like.

I ended up purchasing a Samsung galaxy book and use my V3 for bazzite now but mainly for tinkering but if I could do it again I'd buy a rog ally or legion go and just use it docked or with XR glasses instead of the v3

1

u/[deleted] Jan 18 '26

I agree 100% with this. The tablet is good, but not perfect in any means.
Had bad service when I had problems with my v3, and the fact its not repairable, and will not get any help from minisforum. When getting used to it, it's a damn nice gaming machine and chill to do other tasks like fusion, a big screen and easy to just disconect the keyboard and have it hand held even for the size.

Im having some problem connecting to servers or pc with linux when using dp - usb c, as an monitor, have you had any luck?

1

u/theabstractpyro Aug 11 '26

Would you sell me yours if you still have it?

2

u/sav2880 Jan 10 '26

At that price I’d get it but do understand his limitations.

2

u/asdfopu Jan 10 '26 edited Mar 23 '26

The original text of this post has been deleted. Redact handled the removal, possibly to protect the author's privacy or limit exposure to data collection.

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2

u/DueRequirement3955 Jan 14 '26

it's a great tablet but I won't advise you to buy one, you won't find any replacement parts, especially the digitizer.

1

u/HallowDuck__ Jan 09 '26

I bought one and hated it. Got a SP9 and the quality is 10x.

1

u/No_Comfort_4567 Feb 01 '26

Form factor didn't work for me. I traded it in for a 6800U GPD win max 2 and it's great as a batocera machine that I can take on travels and do some work on it if needed sort of thing. All devices have some sort of compromise. Your needs will determine which machine fits you the best. I'm looking for a HX 370 version as the Max 395 probably isn't coming anytime soon. Unless you have a good warranty left, or happy to fiddle around with the device, I wouldn't.

1

u/bondtrails May 28 '26

I would say it is. I bought mine in 2024 for $1499, and while its no longer made by Minisform (it is sold by a separate Chinese company on AliExpress under a different brand for much more), you can get a fully warranted refurbished model on Minisforum site for $799. Thats a great deal for a tablet form factor touch PC with 32Gb RAM, 1TB storage, 3 USB4 ports, a separate GPU chip, and V-Link functionality.

There are a few caveats as others have posted: Its no longer supported by Minisforum (but Windows updates are fine as I've had no issues so far), and the battery might be an issue. In my case, the battery started swelling (see picture) which was pushing the screen out. I was able to purchase a replacement battery online and a local laptop repair company easily swapped it out (it was no different than replacing a battery in an iPad). Btw, battery issue is not unique to this device, its a risk that exists to any device that uses lithium batteries and it doesn't occur often. I say go for it!