By Martin Jansen, Owner of Jansen-PCINFO
In part one of this series, I made a rare purchase of a new computer that was capable of running Windows 11. Although the computer was advertised as MINISFORUM it came as a COOFUN, same computer, same company.
In part two, I upgraded to Windows 11 from Windows 10 and dual booted Ubuntu Linux. I discuss the positives of both operating systems.
In the conclusion of this series, I disassemble the COOFUN mini-computer to look at possible upgrade opportunities. This article will be mostly pictures with some remarks, because, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.
I start with this picture of the computer as it is set up in my office. I have my HANNS-G 24” monitor setup on a HDMI switch which allows me painlessly switch between the COOFUN and my main computer an old Dell Optiplex 7010:
I also have an Anker non-powered USB 3.0 Hub to extend the number of available ports to seven. I have a Jelly Comb USB and bluetooth switchable mouse and bluetooth keyboard as inputs to the COOFUN.
I disconnect all cables from the COOFUN and turn the box over to see the bottom of the case:
I remove the rubber feet to access the screws:
There’s a small gap between the upper case below the DP slot and bottom panel that must be pried to access the motherboard.
The tools used to open the case are bludgers and a magnetic mini-screw driver.
All the user replaceable parts are here.
One last picture, this one I’ve annotated to identify components and possible upgrade paths:
As expected, I see a M.2 256GB SSD which can be upgraded. I also see an empty slot for a 2.5 inch SSD or Hard Drive. Terabyte SSD drives can now be purchased for under $100.
It is a well thought out, clean design that allows for minor upgrades. I didn’t remove the top part of the case since there are no replaceable parts for the CPU and fan assembly.
I was slightly disappointed to see the 8GB RAM was soldered onto the motherboard. It would have been nice to see SODIMM memory slots instead which potentially could be upgraded to 32GB. For now, 8GB is good enough to run most operating systems.
Reassembly was pretty easy and I used the same rubber feet. COOFUN did supply extra feet if disassembly is needed multiple times.
This completes the three part series of the COOFUN mini-computer that I purchased for under $200. Do you agree that the computer is a good deal?