VZMORE AX9 Max AI: 30-second review
The AX9 Max instantly feels premium, with a full metal build and a huge array of ports on the front and back. However, as you look closely at the embossed detailing around the edges and a logo that seems to blend the old Cadillac and Ferrari logos, something about the aesthetics starts to looks a little less premium.
Aesthetics aside, the build quality is solid enough and well finished, with the most impressive aspect being the sheer volume of ports that have been fitted around the exterior. On the front, there’s a selection of USB Type-A ports and the usual headphone jack; around the back, there are even more connectivity options, including two USB4 ports.
To handle the potential power draw of the devices you can hook up to the box, it packs a powerful AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 processor which is supplied with the 120W power supply. The processor is relatively new, launched at the start of 2026, so it has had a good amount of time to bed in and now has a proven track record. This is supported by an integrated GPU and a dedicated NPU for all those new AI workloads.
As the evaluation progressed, the machine's speed in Microsoft Office apps and the Adobe Creative Suite highlighted its potential. During video editing, the internal SSD kept pace with high-resolution edits without issue. However, a little more headroom on the 1TB capacity would have been beneficial.
Storage and RAM are the two interesting points of this machine. While both are modest in the review sample, maxing them out could turn this from a powerful mini PC into something that will hold great interest for anyone looking to run offline AI and larger LLMs, although that potential does come at a huge monetary cost.
Throughout evaluation, the creative applications and handling of video and image files were limited by the 32GB of RAM and 1TB SSD. However, with two USB4 ports, the source reviewer could at least boost the storage capacity. For most HD and 4K edits, the machine handled rough cuts and transitions in Premiere Pro quickly and without issue, though more RAM would have helped.
The most interesting assessment involved running LM Studio and a few local models; while general performance was good, especially for models that utilised the NPU, the source reviewer observed where the 32GB RAM limit restricted what the machine could potentially achieve.
For gaming, at mid settings in most titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, the machine was more than capable of supplying the power needed for the action. However, a little more RAM would have smoothed some of the minor slowdowns in gameplay, especially in Cyberpunk 2077 where quality settings had to be lowered.
This is a machine with potential, and while undoubtedly expensive for a mini PC with a 1TB SSD and 32GB RAM, that money is invested in that powerful CPU, GPU and NPU combo and the ability to expand the storage to a far greater degree than seen on the vast majority of other mini PCs of this size and type.
VZMORE AX9 Max AI: Specs
Processor: AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 Graphics: AMD Radeon 890M NPU: AMD Ryzen AI, up to 55 TOPS Memory: 32GB DDR5 Storage: 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD Operating System: Windows 11 Pro Front ports: 5 × USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 3.5mm Audio Rear ports: 2 × USB4, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, USB 2.0 Type-A, 2 × HDMI 2.1, 2 × 2.5Gb Ethernet Wireless: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 Card Reader: SD 4.0 Power Modes: Silent 45W, Balanced 54W, Performance 65W Dimensions: Approx. 134.9 × 131.8 × 57.7mm Weight: 777.5g Power Adapter: 120W
VZMORE AX9 Max AI: Design
Unpacking the compact AX9 Max, the metal casing and detailed plastic base of this mini PC instantly reinforced its price point. Only after carefully checking the detailing and the large, shiny logo on top did the source reviewer start to question whether this was a premium machine or just one trying to look premium.
Checking the specifications confirms that the price point is justified, but there’s still something about the design that feels a little over the top. The rest of the design is solid, and at 134.9 × 131.8 × 57.7mm and 777.5g, it’s a great size and weight for this style of machine.
Around the casing, there are four USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports and a 3.5mm stereo headphone jack. On the left side of the casing is an SD 4.0 memory card slot, while the back has two USB4 Type-C ports, a USB 2.0 port, two HDMI 2.1 ports, two 2.5Gb RJ45 sockets, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, and the DC-in port.
Despite the number of ports, they’re well laid out, and evaluation with multiple accessories, SSDs, and other card readers showed the port selection offered enough space to easily plug in and remove cables when needed.
You access the inner workings of the mini PC through the base, and while it's designed to be upgraded, initial access proved tricky, but only because of the four small rubber plugs covering the screw holes.
Once these are removed, accessing the base is straightforward, and thankfully there are no easily detachable wires to get in the way of speedy progress.
VZMORE AX9 Max AI: Features
The aesthetics of this machine are quite run-of-the-mill despite the premium metal build. However, checking the specifications reveals plenty of impressive hardware, starting with the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 featuring 12 cores and 24 threads, plus Radeon 890M integrated graphics and a dedicated NPU rated at 55 TOPS.
To keep up with this processing power, the machine has a substantial cooling system; flip it over, and the base design suddenly makes sense, as it, along with the huge venting on the back, is designed to keep internal components cool.
VZMORE includes its proprietary V-Cooling system, which uses a vapour chamber and a 360º air intake on the base to provide 65W of sustained TDP output while keeping acoustics manageable. Source evaluation confirmed this cooling claim, noting the system remained quiet until subjected to heavy workloads.
As mini PCs go, one of the first notable features is the sheer volume of ports across the body, complemented by wireless connection options including Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4.
There are also three selectable power modes, including 45W Silent mode, 54W Balanced and 65W Performance. The performance mode was selected for the duration of testing.
This machine is aimed at creatives, AI users, and gamers. Reviewing the specifications highlights that the internal SSD was limited to 1TB in the review sample, which feels modest given the overall price point.
The included PCIe Gen 4 x4 SSD provides ample speed, though a PCIe Gen 5 upgrade might be expected at this tier. The unit features two M.2 slots: one pre-installed with an M.2 2280 module and one M.2 2230 slot supporting up to 1TB.
Ultimately, the high-end CPU, GPU, and NPU combination accounts for the bulk of the system's cost.
The system includes 32GB of DDR5 SO-DIMM RAM in dual-channel configuration. Because AI is a major selling point, the memory is theoretically upgradeable up to 256GB, though sourcing high-capacity modules currently involves significant expense.
Evaluation workloads included running Qwen3.6-35B-A3B and Gemma-4-26B-A4B models through LM Studio.
VZMORE AX9 Max AI: Performance
CrystalDiskMark Read: 6047.65MB/s CrystalDiskMark Write: 5058.87MB/s Geekbench 6 CPU Multi: 15845 Geekbench 6 CPU Single: 2997 Geekbench 6 GPU: 44325 Geekbench 7 CPU Multi: 17377 Geekbench 7 CPU Single: 2723 Geekbench 7 GPU: 35288 PCMark Overall: 8910 Cinebench R23 CPU Multi (Threads): 21568 Cinebench R23 CPU Single (Threads): 2076 Cinebench 2026 CPU Multi (Threads): 5074 Cinebench 2026 CPU Single (Threads): 493 Fire Strike Overall: 9027 Fire Strike Graphics: 9842 Fire Strike Physics: 32446 Fire Strike Combined: 3340 Time Spy Overall: 4275 Time Spy Graphics: 3857 Time Spy CPU: 11109 Wild Life Overall: 24408 Steel Nomad Overall: 770 Windows Experience Overall: 8.2 Procyon: 1179
The machine arrives with Windows 11 Pro pre-installed. Once setup is complete, Windows runs smoothly, handling Microsoft Office applications like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint effortlessly.
In Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, application loading is fast, but the 32GB RAM limit becomes apparent during batch updates or heavy asset management in Adobe Bridge, where monitoring tools showed memory usage maxing out.
Premiere Pro handles HD and 4K video well, though complex 4K projects benefit from allowing the system brief rendering intervals. Connecting an external SSD to a USB4 port helps alleviate internal storage constraints during video projects.
Overall, the mini PC excels at heavy office workloads and benefits greatly from its comprehensive port selection for connecting external peripherals.
For creative applications, the system performs competently, though video editors would see marked improvements from upgrading to 64GB of RAM.
Gaming tests showed that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle runs smoothly at moderate settings. However, Cyberpunk 2077 required lowering resolution and quality settings significantly to achieve playable frame rates.
Running local LLMs (Qwen3.6-35B-A3B and Gemma-4-26B-A4B) produced mixed results. As tasks grew more intensive—covering technical writing, programming, and image understanding—the system slowed down as available RAM reached its limits.
LM Studio provided responsive chat interactions with answers returning in 2 to 5 seconds, though processing times increased alongside complexity and fan noise.
RAM usage consistently maxed out between 95% and 99% during AI queries. A 200-word technical writing task using the Qwen model took 316.7 seconds total, demonstrating that local offline processing is significantly slower than cloud-based alternatives.
Less complex models completed tasks much faster, albeit with reduced textual nuance.
A Python coding task processing a folder of 2,764 images successfully utilized the Qwen model, completing the script generation in 407.36 seconds while activating the system cooling fans.
Pushing more complex image-analysis models pushed the hardware to its limits, resulting in processing times exceeding ten minutes due to memory restrictions.
Local LLMs via LM Studio prove surprisingly capable, but they do not fully replace high-end cloud models.
VZMORE AX9 Max AI: Final verdict
The VZMORE AX9 Max AI Mini PC is a powerful compact system with substantial potential and a premium build, though certain aesthetic choices feel unsuited to its price bracket.
It easily handles standard office apps and light AI tasks, but local LLM processing in LM Studio frequently pushes the 32GB RAM configuration to its absolute limits, resulting in extended processing times.
While most games run smoothly, demanding titles like Cyberpunk 2077 necessitate graphical compromises to maintain acceptable performance.
Creative workflows are similarly constrained by memory limits during complex 4K video editing, reinforcing the need for external storage and hardware upgrades.
Although the machine technically supports up to 256GB of RAM, high-capacity modules remain exceptionally expensive, making maximum upgrades cost-prohibitive.
Ultimately, unlocking the system's full capability requires significant additional financial investment beyond the initial purchase price.
Score breakdown
Scored out of 10Price & Release Date
VZMORE AX9
