TechRadar review: VZMORE AX9 Max AI mini PC pairs strong CPU with premium price

TechRadar reports that the reviewed configuration costs £1,349 in the UK with 32GB of DDR5 memory and a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD. At review time, VZMore’s US site was down, the review said, while Amazon listed the machine at $1,399. VZMore sells it directly and through online retailers. TechRadar gave value a 4 out of 5.

The system uses an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 processor, which TechRadar says launched at the start of 2026, along with AMD Radeon 890M integrated graphics and an AMD Ryzen AI NPU rated at up to 55 TOPS. It runs Windows 11 Pro and ships with a 120W power adapter; power modes are Silent at 45W, Balanced at 54W and Performance at 65W. In the review, the AX9 Max produced excellent CPU benchmark results and fast SSD performance, and it handled Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Suite work well. Premiere Pro rough cuts and transitions at HD and 4K resolutions ran quickly, but TechRadar said more RAM and more than 1TB of storage would have helped.

Local AI testing with LM Studio showed good general performance, especially for models that used the NPU, according to the review. The 32GB memory ceiling still restricted what the machine could do with larger local models, TechRadar said. In games including Cyberpunk 2077 and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, the mini PC was capable at mid settings, though some minor slowdowns appeared and Cyberpunk 2077 required lower quality settings. The integrated graphics limit demanding GPU workloads, the review said.

The AX9 Max has a full-metal casing and what TechRadar describes as solid build quality. Its port selection includes five USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports and a 3.5mm audio jack on the front, plus two USB4 ports, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, USB 2.0 Type-A, two HDMI 2.1 ports and two 2.5Gb Ethernet ports on the rear. It also has Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 and an SD 4.0 card reader. TechRadar measured it at about 134.9 by 131.8 by 57.7mm and 777.5g. The review said the embossed detailing and logo made the aesthetics look less premium than the metal build initially suggested.

TechRadar described the AX9 Max as a machine with potential, noting that storage and RAM upgrades could make it more interesting for offline AI and larger LLMs. It listed premium pricing and integrated graphics as reasons to avoid, while citing CPU benchmark performance, SSD speed and connectivity as reasons to buy. The review said the money goes into the CPU, GPU and NPU combination and into storage expansion options that are rare among mini PCs of this size and type.