Is it a revolutionary design or a textbook example of what not to do?
In today's mobile PC market, it seems increasingly rare to come across truly innovative two-in-one tablet products, especially with Microsoft's own Surface lineup losing momentum and slowing down in updates. The market's attention is now shifting towards ultra-thin laptops, dual-screen laptops, foldable screen laptops, and other new form factors.
But each form of product has many loyal users, especially in the current market where there is a lack of high-performance Windows tablets that can meet user needs. Many users are eagerly calling on major manufacturers to bring a more cost-effective Windows platform 2-in-1 tablet product. This year in the market, we have indeed seen some domestically produced high-performance Windows 2-in-1 tablet products with different positioning.
Today at the PChome review lab, we are looking at the Mingfan V3, a three-in-one Windows tablet PC created by the well-known mini PC manufacturer Mingfan in China. Equipped with the Ryzen 8000 series APU, this product has gained popularity in the past two years. What sets it apart is its innovative feature of being used as a portable extended screen, making it the center of attention even before its release. Many users, including myself, had high expectations for this product. However, after its launch, the relatively high price and mixed reviews have deterred some potential buyers. So, is the Mingfan V3 a "reverse textbook tailored to gamers' needs" or a "groundbreaking product leading industry innovation"?
· Creative Design with Some Drawbacks
In terms of appearance, the Mingfan V3 features a 14-inch design, making it relatively large among two-in-one tablets. With dimensions of 318mm213.8mm9.8mm and a weight of 946g, it feels slightly heavy when held, but considering its 14-inch size, it is still manageable.
In terms of appearance, the borders of the Mingfan V3 are not particularly narrow, with two pairs of borders being symmetric, giving it a decent visual appeal. The front camera is placed on the long side, with a resolution of 2 million pixels, and also supports Windows Hello facial recognition. There are also two front microphones on both sides, which, combined with the front camera, work well for video conferences.
The MingFan V3 features a magnesium alloy die-cast integrated body design for the casing, helping to further reduce the weight of the device. However, the issue of poor magnesium alloy texture is also evident, with both the touch and feel appearing somewhat "plastic-like." The back design is relatively simple, with a large area dot matrix design on the back hiding two heat dissipation air inlets. At the top is the MINISFORUM printed logo, while in the top left corner is the rear camera, with a 5-megapixel specification that should suffice for scanning codes.
The Mingfan V3 does not have any ports at the top. Instead, the heat dissipation vent is located there. If you opt for the stylus pen, it can also be magnetically attached at this spot. However, this design choice means that after a period of high-performance operation, the heat generated for cooling may heat up your stylus pen to a temperature akin to a warm winter or scorching summer, which may not be very user-friendly.
The buttons and ports on the MingFan V3 laptop and 2-in-1 devices are quite rich. On the right side of the device, there is a power button integrated with a fingerprint sensor and two full-featured USB4 ports. On the left side, you'll find volume buttons, a 3.5mm audio jack, a UHS-II SD card slot, and a USB-C port solely for display input. With such a range of ports, the device can easily meet the needs for device expansion and storage expansion. However, users with more extensive expansion requirements may still need to use a docking station.
At the bottom of the Mingfan V3, there are connection points and a magnetic slot for extending with an external keyboard. Simply bring the tablet close to the keyboard connection area to easily complete the magnetic connection. The connection is strong, and unless shaken with great force, it will not come loose.
The keyboard is entirely powered by the device itself, with no built-in battery. It features a layout without a numeric keypad and includes the newly introduced Copilot key by Microsoft in the bottom right corner. The keyboard has a good tactile feel. The accompanying touchpad is not very large, providing a noticeable tactile response when pressed, but its craftsmanship is somewhat lacking, making it prone to a slight seesaw effect.
However, the Mingfan V3 also has a design issue that many users have criticized. Unlike the Surface Pro and Go series, it does not come with a built-in stand on the back. Instead, it only includes a magnetic leather stand in the separately purchased keyboard package, which is not very convenient to use.
Although the tablet itself weighs only 946g, which seems acceptable, once you add the keyboard, stand, and stylus, the weight immediately exceeds 1.6kg. Compared to the increasingly lighter 14-inch ultrabooks available today, the Mingfan V3 lacks any significant advantages apart from its detachable keyboard design. Overall, the Mingfan V3 compromises significantly on design for performance and battery life, but its versatile form still makes it one of the few choices for users looking for a 2-in-1 product.
· Good Screen with Touch Function, but Some Regrets in Viewing Experience
After discussing the appearance and form design, let's take a look at the screen used in the Mingfan V3. Looking at the specifications alone, this screen can be considered one of the best among current tablet products, with a high resolution of 2560x1600, an impressive 165Hz high refresh rate for daily use scenarios, 100% P3 wide color gamut, 500nit high brightness, and even touch support. It gives off a feeling of being unbeatable. However, in reality, many users have some criticisms about this screen. Let's also take a look at its performance through practical testing to see if it lives up to its specifications.
In terms of brightness, the measured peak brightness at the center of the screen of the Mingfan V3 is 526.7 nits, with a contrast ratio of 870:1. The brightness performance exceeds expectations, while the contrast performance is also decent. This level of brightness and contrast ensures that the screen content is visible outdoors, making it a good performance for a Windows tablet product.
In the screen uniformity test, the maximum brightness of this screen was measured to be 532.2 nits, located in the middle of the left side of the screen. However, the uniformity performance is average, with areas of brightness deviation exceeding 10% both above and below.
In terms of color gamut coverage, the MingFan V3 achieves 100% coverage of sRGB, 97% coverage of P3 color gamut, 87% coverage of Adobe RGB color gamut, and 85% coverage of NTSC color gamut. It performs well, with good coverage across mainstream color gamuts.
In terms of color accuracy, the maximum deviation of this screen was measured at 4.21, with an average color deviation ΔE of 1.37. The color performance is not as significantly deviated as some users' tests have shown, but this situation may also indicate that Mingfan's performance in quality control is somewhat inconsistent. However, for a small factory, this is understandable.
From the current benchmark testing, the Mingfan V3 screen in our hands performs well, showing stability in brightness and color, basically meeting or even exceeding the specified standards.
In addition, this screen also supports a 4096-level MPP 2.0 touch pen. We also had a brief experience with the touch pen jointly launched by Mingfan. It feels quite responsive during writing, with good latency performance. The pen tip also has a nice feel on the original matte screen. However, since this screen does not natively support touch pens and instead uses a surface-covered touch layer, it does have some impact on the display quality, resulting in a slight decrease in clarity.
· Powerful Performance for AAA Gaming - It's Really Hot
Next, let's take a look at the performance of the Mingfan V3. After all, its Ryzen 7 8840U processor can be considered one of the most powerful mobile processors below 28W. Whether it's the 8-core 16-thread specifications or the impressive maximum 5.1GHz frequency, it dominates the competition among low-voltage processors and is a top choice for many gaming handhelds. So, how does this processor perform within the compact body of a tablet? Let's continue to use testing software to evaluate the performance of this processor.
According to the CPU-Z test scores, the Ryzen 7 8840U scored 673 points in single-core performance and 5755 points in multi-core performance. In the CineBench 2024 test, the Ryzen 7 8840U also performed well, scoring 102 points in single-core and 753 points in multi-core, demonstrating sufficient capability for various tasks such as daily office work and gaming entertainment.
In terms of graphics card, the Mingfan V3 is equipped with the Radeon 780M integrated graphics from the Ryzen 7 8840U, which shows stronger performance compared to its predecessor. We also conducted a simple performance test on this integrated graphics using 3DMark. In the Time Spy benchmark, the graphics card scored 2776 points, with an overall score of 3087. While its performance is slightly lower compared to standard voltage processors using the same integrated graphics, it still ranks among the top performers in integrated graphics currently available.
In terms of memory, the top-of-the-line MingFan V3 in our hands is equipped with 32GB of LPDDR5 6400MHz memory, offering a larger capacity that is sufficient to meet gaming and productivity needs. In the AIDA64 Cache & Memory Benchmark test, the memory read, write, and copy speeds are 50167MB/s, 927296MB/s, and 66365MB/s respectively, showcasing impressive speeds. The latency performance of 117.4ns is also considered to be at a normal level.
In terms of storage, CrystalDiskInfo shows that the Mingfan V3 is equipped with the Kingston OM8PGP41024Q-A0 PCIe 4.0 SSD designed for OEM customers. Several models of Mingfan mini PCs also come with this solid-state drive. We have tested the read and write speeds of this SSD using CrystalDiskMark.
From the test results, the hard drive has sequential read and write speeds of 4805.62MB/s and 3928.30MB/s respectively. Its 4K random read and write speeds reach 58.69MB/s and 163.75MB/s. While its performance is average, it is more than sufficient for a Windows tablet. In fact, the Mingfan V3 allows for self-replacement of the solid-state drive, but accessing the M.2 2280 slot underneath the screen requires screen removal, making this task challenging for most users.
As a compact product, the Mingfan V3 still utilizes a cooling design with four copper heat pipes and dual fans, supporting a maximum 28W power release. How does it perform in reality? During a 15-minute stress test in AIDA64, the CPU core temperature of the Mingfan V3 reached 76.1°C, with the CPU package power stable at 28W and the all-core frequency maintaining around 3GHz, showing a decent performance. However, such performance comes at a cost. At this point, the entire tablet is uncomfortably hot, especially the upper-middle part where the motherboard is located, reaching a level where it's too hot to touch. This means that if you intend to use this tablet for tasks requiring significant performance, it might be more prudent to place it on a desk for better stability.
Equipped with the APU commonly used in current handheld gaming devices, let's take a look at how the performance of the Mingfan V3 fares in actual gameplay. We tested it with "Forza Horizon 5" at a native resolution of 1920*1200, using the lowest graphics preset and enabling the FSR performance mode. Surprisingly, the average frame rate reached an impressive 96 frames, showing a very good performance. Even when plugged in, it can already meet the demands of playing major titles smoothly at low graphics settings.
Subsequently, we also tested the productivity performance of this tablet. In the PCMark10 overall performance test, it scored 10695 in essential tasks, 10569 in productivity, 8687 in digital content creation, and a combined score of 7126. The performance was quite impressive, and with ample memory, it can handle light productivity tasks effectively.
In the cross-platform CrossMark test, the overall score of Mingfan V3 is 1699 points. It performed well in tests on productivity, creativity, and responsiveness, with a particularly high score of 1833 in creativity, showing a commendable performance.
Finally, let's take a look at the battery performance of the Mingfan V3. It's worth mentioning that the Mingfan V3 comes with a 65W gallium nitride adapter with foldable prongs, making it smaller and easier to carry, which is quite user-friendly for a tablet product. In our charging test, it takes around 35 minutes to charge up to 50% and 75 minutes to reach 90%, showcasing a rather impressive charging speed.
The MingFan V3 packs a 50.82Wh battery into its slim body, comparable to some ultrabooks. In the PCMark10 modern office battery life test (screen brightness at 60%, with WiFi and Bluetooth on), the MingFan V3 achieved an impressive 6 hours and 39 minutes, showing excellent performance and ranking as a long-lasting product among Windows tablets.
One of the highlights of the MingFan V3 is its support for DP-in, allowing it to function as an external monitor for other devices. We briefly tested this feature. Using the included Type-C cable, the MingFan V3 can directly connect to any device that supports Type-C display output, making connecting to a computer effortless. We also tried connecting a smartphone, and screen mirroring worked seamlessly.
However, in the process of using it, the experience of the MingFan V3 as an external monitor is far from satisfactory. It only supports a 60Hz refresh rate during use, and there are no settings available at all. The only adjustment possible is using the volume keys to adjust brightness. Despite using Type-C as the display input interface, it does not support power delivery, meaning the MingFan V3 monitor and the display output device cannot power each other, and you cannot see the remaining battery life of the MingFan V3 when used as an external monitor.
Fortunately, the external keyboard and speakers work fine, with the speaker's performance being quite impressive. Overall, the experience of using the Mingfan V3 as an external monitor is not great. While it does support displaying input signals, it is limited to that. It does not support high refresh rates or touch controls, and lacks built-in display settings as an external monitor, which can be seen as a somewhat disappointing "highlight."
· Innovative but more regrettable first-generation product
As a product that I was eagerly anticipating, the Mingfan V3 does have its own highlights among the limited selection of Windows tablet products. Leading performance among similar products, a high-spec screen that exceeds expectations, usable touch and stylus experiences, and the icing on the cake of external display functionality seem to make it a very versatile Windows tablet worth considering.
However, after using it for a while, you will find that the sacrifices beneath the seemingly versatile surface of this product are quite apparent. The pursuit of performance leads to high heat generation, support for touch causing a decrease in screen quality, limitations in functionality when used as an external display, design issues and controversies, making the Mingfan V3 a product with mixed reviews.
However, in the current market where there is a clear lack of competitors, the MingFan V3 seems to be a rare choice for users seeking high performance, high-quality large screens, and a complete ecosystem of accessories in a Windows tablet. If you are not concerned about the issues we mentioned, or believe that the strengths of the MingFan V3 can better address your pain points, and budget is not a concern, then the MingFan V3 is clearly a choice that passes the grade.
