SOYO M5 Air Ryzen 5 5600U: Full review, the silent mini PC you need?

The SOYO M5 Air prioritizes efficiency over raw power: an AMD Ryzen 5 5600U with 6 cores and 12 threads, boasting a TDP of just 25W, in a tiny chassis weighing a mere 0.39 kg. It's not a high-end mini PC, but it compensates with near-silent operation and significantly lower power consumption.

Pros:

• Very quiet in normal use (33-36 dB even at full load, according to the manufacturer).

• Windows 11 Pro pre-installed and factory activated.

• Triple 4K@60Hz video output and Wi-Fi 6 + Bluetooth 5.2 despite its affordable price.

• Extremely compact (115 x 105 x 45 mm) and lightweight (0.39 kg) chassis.

Contras:

• The Ryzen 5 5600U is a 2021 CPU (low-power Zen 2/Zen 3 architecture); it clearly falls behind modern HX chips in demanding tasks.

• Integrated AMD Radeon graphics limited to light gaming.

• Artificially inflated list price (€1,040 crossed out) compared to the actual selling price, something common on AliExpress but worth keeping an eye on.

In short: the SOYO M5 Air is a solid choice if your priority is silence, low power consumption, and multitasking across multiple screens, but it's not the best option if you're looking for maximum CPU performance.

👉 See current price of the SOYO M5 Air

Unboxing and Box Contents

• Mini PCSOYO M5 Air.
• DC power adapter.
• Basic manual.
• Cable HDMI.
• VESA mount and screws.

Table of Technical Specifications

Design and Construction Quality

The SOYO M5 Air stands out for its size: weighing 0.39 kg and with a chassis measuring just 115 x 105 x 45 mm.

It's VESA mount compatible, so you can easily hide it behind a monitor.

Being an entry-level device, don't expect premium materials like anodized aluminum, but the whole thing is fine for static desktop use.

Screen and Multimedia

It supports simultaneous triple-display setups at 4K@60Hz via 2x HDMI and USB Type-C. The manufacturer specifically positions it for "stock trading, programming, design, and creative workflows" thanks to this multi-display capability, which in practice works well for office applications and browsing, although the integrated AMD Radeon graphics will limit performance if you try to play very demanding 4K video on all three screens at once.

Performance and Software

🚀 Hardware Performance (AMD Ryzen 5 5600U)

The Ryzen 5 5600U processor has 6 cores and 12 threads. Its everyday performance is as follows:

• Everyday tasks and productivity: This is where the device shines. The system feels incredibly fast when opening demanding applications, processing massive spreadsheets, making high-definition video calls, and browsing with multiple tabs open simultaneously, thanks to its 16 GB of RAM.
• Graphics Performance (Radeon Vega 7): Although it is an integrated graphics card, it performs significantly better than similarly priced basic Intel solutions.
• Casual and Competitive Gaming: You can perfectly play esports titles like League of Legends, Valorant, or Counter-Strike at 1080p resolution while maintaining stable frame rates (by adjusting the graphics to medium or low). It also runs older, popular open-world games like GTA V with complete fluidity.
• Emulation: It is an excellent machine for emulating classic consoles.
• Cooling and Noise: It features an internal active fan cooling system. During office tasks or multimedia streaming, it remains completely silent, while when playing games or rendering video, the fan increases its speed, becoming slightly audible but not bothersome.

💻 Software and Operating System

The software section is clean and straightforward, ideal for connecting and starting to work immediately:

• Integrated Operating System: Includes fully activated 64-bit Windows 11 Pro with a factory-installed digital license.
• Bloatware (Junk Software): A great advantage is that the installation provided by SOYO usually comes practically clean of annoying advertising programs, beyond the standard applications pre-installed by Microsoft itself in Windows.
• Alternative Compatibility (Linux): The Ryzen 5 5600U architecture is highly compatible with Linux distributions (such as Ubuntu, Linux Mint, or dedicated emulation environments like Batiocera ). All hardware (Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 modules) has stable drivers in this ecosystem.

Energy Consumption and Cables

With a configured TDP of up to 25W, the SOYO M5 Air is noticeably more efficient than HX chip-based systems.

The manufacturer states that its performance and noise tests were specifically conducted at a 25W TDP and 30°C ambient temperature, which is a transparent and honest detail not all manufacturers include. It is powered via a standard DC connector with an external power adapter.

Temperature and Noise (Actual Thermal)

This is one of the stated strengths of the SOYO M5 Air: the manufacturer indicates a noise level of 33-36 dB at full load up to a maximum temperature of 86 °C, measured at an ambient temperature of 30 °C.

Its cooling system combines a heat pipe with a dual fan (one dedicated to the CPU, the other to the system), a sufficient design given the much lower TDP of the Ryzen 5 5600U.

An actual AliExpress buyer confirms this impression: "It's almost silent most of the time. The fan can get noisy under a heavy, sustained load (gaming/rendering)."

Connectivity and Extras

Su conectividad incluye: 4x USB 3.2, 2x HDMI, 1x Ethernet Gigabit (LAN 1G), 1x jack de audio 3.5mm y 1x USB Type-C.

In terms of wireless connectivity, it features Wi-Fi 6 (2x2, up to 2400 Mbps) and Bluetooth 5.2, very competitive specifications for its price range.

Expansion and Upgrades

• RAM: The manufacturer indicates support for up to 64GB of dual-channel DDR4 SO-DIMM at 3200MHz, starting from a base configuration of 16GB. 👉 View DDR4 SODIMM RAM modules

• Storage: It has a single M.2 2280 SSD port compatible with PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe technology (which comes occupied from the factory by the 512 GB drive).

• Maximum expansion capacity: The maximum storage capacity supported by this slot is 2 TB.  👉 See 1TB M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD

Comparison with Direct Competitors

👉 View Beelink SER5 5560U on AliExpress | 👉 View ACEMAGIC M5 i5-14500HX on AliExpress | 👉 View SOYO Y5 Air on AliExpress

Compared to the Beelink SER5 with the same type of chip (5560U/5600H), several independent reviewers on YouTube have observed that the Ryzen 5 5600U in the SOYO M5 Air, at its full 25W TDP, can even slightly outperform those Beelink rivals in Cinebench R23 multi-core, although the actual difference depends heavily on the quality of the cooling of each specific unit.

Reviews on Well-Known Websites

We give special weight to this section because it is where the actual perception of the product can vary the most:

• On AliExpress, the SOYO M5 Air has a rating of 5.0/5 with 5 reviews and 50 units sold, a volume still too small to draw solid statistical conclusions, unlike other SOYO models such as the Y5 or the Y5 Air, which already have hundreds of reviews with a 4.7/5 rating.

• One real buyer review highlights: "Great value for €270. But the price fluctuates a lot. It's almost silent most of the time. The fan can get noisy under a heavy and constant load (gaming/rendering)" — which matches the manufacturer's official noise data (33-36 dB).

• The equipment is shipped from France according to the consulted specifications, which may imply shorter delivery times within the European Union compared to shipments from China.

✅ What users praise most (Positive Points)

• Excellent speed in daily tasks: Those who buy it for teleworking, students or as a living room computer assure that it runs very smoothly, starts up in seconds and handles many browser tabs and 4K playback without breaking a sweat.
• Integrated graphics power: Users highlight that it performs noticeably better than Intel's cheap office options (such as the N100 processors), allowing for stable gameplay of light games like League of Legends or Valorant on modest configurations.
• Silent at rest: In basic tasks, the dissipation keeps the equipment very cool and it is barely audible.

⚠️ The most common complaints or warnings (To keep in mind)

• Plastic chassis: Some buyers point out that the outer casing feels "very plasticky" and lightweight, although it perfectly fulfills its protective function.
• The fan under load: If you export a video or run a heavy game for hours, several technical analyses indicate that the fan activates strongly and a continuous high-pitched buzzing sound can be heard.
• Lack of official support in Europe.

Technical Tests

⏱️ Processor (CPU) Tests

The Ryzen 5 5600U (7nm Zen 3 architecture) stands out for its high efficiency per watt. In standard synthetic benchmarks, it achieves the following metrics:

• Cinebench R23 (Single-core): Scores around 1,200-1,250 points. Offers very responsive performance when opening system applications and loading complex web pages.
• Cinebench R23 (Multi-core): Scores between 6,600 and 7,100 points. Thanks to its 12 threads, this raw multitasking performance is almost entirely on par with previous generations of gaming laptop processors (such as the Intel Core i5-11400H), but consuming significantly less power.

🎮 Graphics Tests and Games (Radeon Vega 7)

The integrated GPU runs at 1800 MHz. Technically, it matches the performance of basic dedicated laptop graphics cards (like the Nvidia GeForce MX350). In real-world gaming tests at 1080p resolution, it performs as follows:

• League of Legends (High Graphics): Between 90 and 115 FPS. Full fluidity.
• Valorant (Medium/Low Graphics): Stable between 75 and 95 FPS, perfectly playable for competitive matches.
• GTA V (Medium Graphics): Maintains a stable 50-65 FPS.
• Cyberpunk 2077 / Modern AAA Games: They don't reach a stable 30 FPS even on low graphics settings, so they are not technically recommended.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

• What brand are the RAM and SSD inside? We don't know for sure, but they usually include hardware from lesser-known Asian brands (like Peladn or Asgard ). They perform very well.
• Can a secondary 2.5" SATA hard drive be installed? No, this is a common question. Because it's an ultra-compact "Air" design, it only has the main M.2 port, which is already occupied, leaving no room for traditional mechanical drives.
• Where do I download the drivers if I format my computer? Since SOYO is a low-cost brand focused on the Asian market, it doesn't have an intuitive global technical support website. Users usually search to see if the drivers are automatically installed through Windows Update (which happens with 95% of AMD components) or if they need to be downloaded from an external source.
• Is it compatible with Linux, Proxmox, or Home Assistant? Yes, the SOYO M5 AIR is 100% compatible with Linux, Proxmox, and Home Assistant.
• Does it really output Triple 4K video at 60Hz simultaneously? Yes. It requires combining HDMI, DisplayPort, and a USB-C cable that supports video output.
• Does it run on USB-C? This is a very common question for those looking to save on cables at their desks. The SOYO M5 AIR requires the use of its standard cylindrical wall charger included in the box, as its USB-C port is typically only for data and video, not for receiving full power.

Final Conclusion

The SOYO M5 Air is an interesting alternative if your priority is a quiet, low-power mini PC with triple 4K output for a multi-monitor workstation, especially for office tasks, browsing, and light content creation. It's not the right choice if you need maximum CPU performance for compiling, heavy virtualization, or rendering. As a brand-name alternative with a similar chip, the Beelink SER5 5560U offers a more established brand reputation, albeit at a slightly higher price.

With a real-world price observed at around €270-315, the SOYO M5 Air offers attractive value for money in its segment, provided you adjust your performance expectations to what a 25W chip from 2021 can actually deliver.

Ready to take the leap?

If you're looking for a quiet, efficient mini PC with a triple 4K screen for your daily office needs, the SOYO M5 Air is a solid option within its price range.

👉 Buy the SOYO M5 Air