Posts Tagged ‘mini’

Part 2: Building a DIY NVMe NAS with the Intel NUC 11 Extreme (Beast Canyon) – Testing hardware with Windows 11 (and When Things Go Pete Tong!)

Sunday, November 16th, 2025

Welcome back to Part 2 of our DIY Unraid NAS adventure!
In Part 1, we unboxed the hardware, checked the spec, and got ready to build a tiny but mighty home-brew NAS around the Intel NUC “Skull” chassis.

Before committing this machine to Unraid full-time, I wanted to run a quick hardware test — and what better way than to throw a Windows 11 installation at it? Simple, right?

Well… maybe not.
As usual, things went a bit Pete Tong along the way! ?

Booting the NUC – and Immediate Problems

The video starts with the NUC firing up nicely… until I discover the mouse isn’t working.
Not ideal when you’re trying to install an OS.

After poking around, I realise the issue is down to the NanoKVM I use for remote access.
The trick?
Switch the KVM to HID mode only — suddenly the mouse returns from the dead.

Lesson learned:
Tiny KVMs can cause BIG installation headaches.

Ventoy + Windows 11 ISO = Let’s Try This Again

Once the input devices were behaving, I booted Ventoy from USB and selected the Windows 11 ISO.

This part should be smooth.
Except it wasn’t.

Windows 11 booted fine…
The setup loaded…
Language and keyboard selected…
Version chosen…
Installation begins…

Then:
“Windows 11 installation has failed.”

No reason.
No explanation.
Just a failure screen and a shrug.

Excellent.

If At First You Don’t Succeed – Install Again

Time for round two.

Ventoy ? Windows 11 ISO ? Setup ? Install
Copying files…

YES!
It finally completes.

That warm feeling of success lasted a whole ten seconds before Windows restarted to continue configuration — and hit me with another set of “what now?!” delays.

Still, persistence wins.
Eventually we get to:

  • Keyboard setup

  • Feature selection

  • Updates

  • Account creation

  • Security questions

  • More updates

  • Even more updates

Whoever said installing Windows 11 only takes 10 minutes was telling porkies.

Finally… Windows 11 Desktop

After the second attempt, repeated reboots, KVM issues, updates, and the bizarre initial failure, we finally land on a clean, working Windows 11 desktop.

Why bother with all this before Unraid?

Because hardware burn-in testing NOW can save hours (or days) of pain LATER.

And, despite the chaos, the system:

  • Booted reliably

  • Handled disk I/O without any red flags

  • Passed the Windows installation stress test

  • Proved the RAM and NVMe are behaving

  • Survived the “Hancock Troubleshooting Gauntlet”™

So we can move into Part 3 with confidence!

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Posted in All, computing, ExpertsExchange, Hancock's VMware Half Hour, intel, vExpert, Virtualisation, Virtualization, VMware | Comments Off on Part 2: Building a DIY NVMe NAS with the Intel NUC 11 Extreme (Beast Canyon) – Testing hardware with Windows 11 (and When Things Go Pete Tong!)

Minisforum MS-A2 Can it Play DOOM: The Dark Ages? Minisforum MS-A2 Series Part 8 Ultimate #homelab

Friday, August 8th, 2025

 

Minisforum MS-A2 Can it Play Doom The Dark Ages Minisforum MS-A2 Series Part 8 Ultimate #homelab

DOOM: The Dark Ages Demo on a Minisforum MS-A2 + RTX 3090 eGPU!? ?

You read that right — I’ve upgraded the tiny Minisforum MS-A2 with a serious punch: an OcuLink-connected eGPU dock and a NVIDIA RTX 3090. Now the question is… can it finally handle DOOM: The Dark Ages?

In this video, I run the DOOM: The Dark Ages demo on this mini PC beast-hybrid and test just how much performance you can squeeze out of a small form-factor PC when paired with high-end external graphics.

?? System Setup:

Minisforum MS-A2 (Ryzen AI Mini PC)

Minisforum eGPU Dock with OcuLink

NVIDIA RTX 3090 GPU

128GB RAM, NVMe SSD

Windows 11

? What You’ll See:

Full DOOM: The Dark Ages demo gameplay

Performance stats, FPS, temps

Commentary on eGPU setup, compatibility, and bottlenecks

Was it worth upgrading the MS-A2 with an RTX 3090?

? Have questions about the eGPU dock, OcuLink, or the MS-A2? Drop them in the comments!

? Like, Subscribe, and turn on notifications if you love seeing small PCs pushed to the limit.

#Minisforum #MSA2 #DOOMTheDarkAges #eGPU #OcuLink #RTX3090 #GamingPC #MiniPC #CanItRunDoom #DOOM2025 #TechTest

Purchase a #homelab here
Barebone Minisforum MS-A2 https://amzn.to/3GEoiOA
Crucial DDR5 RAM 96GB Kit (2x48GB) 5600MHz SODIMM https://amzn.to/3Uatfl4
Crucial DDR5 RAM 128GB Kit (2x64GB) 5600MHz SODIMM,https://amzn.to/3Uhef4U
Samsung 990 PRO with Heatsink https://amzn.to/4ePjYsr
Crucial P310 NVMe 1TB 2230 M.2 SSD https://amzn.to/44x055Y
NFHK M.2(A+E Key) 2230MM to NVME M-Key Extension Card Adapter for Motherboard NVME SSD Hard Drive Port Extension 2230/2242/2260/2280MM https://amzn.to/3Ix7rxz
MINISFORUM DEG1 Docking Station, PCIe x16 (PCIe4.0x4), Force Power On, ATX/SFX Power https://amzn.to/41pIYAQ

Purchases made through some store links may provide some compensation to Hancock’s VMware Half Hour

? Enjoying the content? Support me with an espresso coffee! ? Buy Me an Espresso Coffee! – https://buymeacoffee.com/einsteinagogo
Donate – https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/Andre…
? Want to support British beekeeping? Get RAW PURE honey here! ?https://meltonbyhoney.com/ Sorry UK only, unless demand increases to international destinations!

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Posted in All, computing, ExpertsExchange, games, Hancock's VMware Half Hour, vExpert, Virtualisation, Virtualization, VMware | Comments Off on Minisforum MS-A2 Can it Play DOOM: The Dark Ages? Minisforum MS-A2 Series Part 8 Ultimate #homelab

Minisforum MS-A2 Can it Play DOOM? Minisforum MS-A2 Series Part 7 Ultimate #homelab

Thursday, August 7th, 2025


 

In today’s video, I ask the age-old question: Can it run DOOM?
Spoiler: Classic DOOM (1993)? Oh yeah — it runs great. Smooth, fast, and just as demon-slaying as ever.

DOOM: The Dark Ages though? ? …Well, that’s a different story.

I test out the Minisforum MS-A2, a compact mini PC powered by AMD’s latest tech, to see how it handles both the original retro shooter and the upcoming next-gen entry in the DOOM franchise. From pixelated corridors to modern hellscapes, how far can this tiny system go?

Specs Overview:

CPU: AMD Ryzen™ 9 9955HX

GPU: AMD 610 Radeon Graphics 2GB

RAM/Storage: 128GB RAM/Samsung 990 PRO 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD

What You’ll See:

Running Classic DOOM

Attempting to tackle DOOM: The Dark Ages

Honest performance impressions

A few laughs along the way

Purchase a #homelab here
Barebone Minisforum MS-A2 https://amzn.to/3GEoiOA
Crucial DDR5 RAM 96GB Kit (2x48GB) 5600MHz SODIMM https://amzn.to/3Uatfl4
Crucial DDR5 RAM 128GB Kit (2x64GB) 5600MHz SODIMM,https://amzn.to/3Uhef4U
Samsung 990 PRO with Heatsink https://amzn.to/4ePjYsr
Crucial P310 NVMe 1TB 2230 M.2 SSD https://amzn.to/44x055Y
NFHK M.2(A+E Key) 2230MM to NVME M-Key Extension Card Adapter for Motherboard NVME SSD Hard Drive Port Extension 2230/2242/2260/2280MM https://amzn.to/3Ix7rxz

Purchases made through some store links may provide some compensation to Hancock’s VMware Half Hour

Enjoying the content? Support me with an espresso coffee! ? Buy Me an Espresso Coffee! – https://buymeacoffee.com/einsteinagogo
Donate – https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/AndrewHancock
Want to support British beekeeping? Get RAW PURE honey here! ?https://meltonbyhoney.com/ Sorry UK only, unless demand increases to international destinations!

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Posted in All, ExpertsExchange, games, Hancock's VMware Half Hour, vExpert, Virtualisation, Virtualization, VMware | Comments Off on Minisforum MS-A2 Can it Play DOOM? Minisforum MS-A2 Series Part 7 Ultimate #homelab