German brand VZMORE debuts four mini PCs — including an unusual Strix Halo chip

A new mini PC brand has arrived, and unusually it is European. VZMORE, a German-owned company focused on quiet, high-performance desktop computing, made its global debut at ShowStoppers during IFA 2026 with four machines — and one of them uses a Strix Halo chip we have not seen before. Why a German brand is worth noting The compact PC market is dominated by direct-from-China brands. That is not a criticism of the hardware, which is frequently excellent, but it does mean warranty, support and returns are handled at distance, and for a machine you intend to earn a living on that is a genuine consideration. A German-owned brand changes that calculation, at least in principle. Whether VZMORE's support proves better in practice is unproven — it is a debut, and nobody has tested them yet — but European ownership at least puts consumer protection and returns on a more familiar footing. The four machines The one that interests us most is the AX9 Ultra, which uses an AMD Ryzen AI Max 388 with Radeon 8060S graphics. That is a Strix Halo part we have not covered — the machines in our mini PC coverage almost all use the flagship Ryzen AI Max+ 395 — so the 388 sits a step below while retaining the 8060S graphics that make this family capable for editing. VZMORE pairs it with what it calls V-Boost Max, allowing performance tuning to 120W. Power ceiling is one of the things that genuinely separates otherwise identical Strix Halo machines, so a manufacturer being explicit about it is welcome. The AX9 Max uses the Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 with Radeon 890M and a 55 TOPS NPU — the same chip as GMKtec's EVO-X1 Pro. On the Intel side, the iX9 Ultra runs the next-generation Core Ultra X9 378H with Arc B390 graphics and a 50 TOPS NPU, while the iX9 Max pairs a Core Ultra 9 185H with Arc graphics, aimed at content creation and multi-display work. The thermal claim VZMORE's stated differentiator is a proprietary V-Cooling thermal architecture, and quiet operation is central to its pitch. That is a sensible thing to compete on, and an underrated one for photographers. These chips draw serious power in a small box, and the difference between machines is frequently how well they shed heat — a well-cooled system holds its clocks through a long export where a poorly cooled one throttles. It also matters if the machine sits on a desk next to a microphone. We would want to see independent thermal and acoustic testing before taking the claim at face value, since every manufacturer in this category says something similar. But a new entrant competing on cooling and quietness rather than raw specification is at least addressing the right problem. VZMORE has not announced pricing or availability for any of the four. VZMORE mini PC range: Specifications AX9 Ultra: AMD Ryzen AI Max 388 with Radeon 8060S graphics; V-Boost Max performance tuning to 120W. AX9 Max: AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470, Radeon 890M graphics, dedicated Ryzen AI NPU up to 55 TOPS. iX9 Ultra: Intel Core Ultra X9 378H with Intel Arc B390 graphics and NPU up to 50 TOPS. iX9 Max: Intel Core Ultra 9 185H with Intel Arc graphics, aimed at content creation and multi-display workflows. All models: proprietary V-Cooling thermal architecture. Company: German-owned. Pricing and availability: not announced.