First Impressions running Linux
Like almost all non-barebone mini PCs, the M4 is supplied with Windows (Windows 11 Professional to be precise). I’m not a regular Windows user (quelle surprise), but I did have a few hours using it although most of the time was taken up with the laborious Windows update. This isn’t a criticism of the M4, merely Microsoft’s ineptitude.
Installing Linux on the M4 is an absolute breeze. Unlike some other mini PCs, you don’t need to turn off Secure Boot in the BIOS. I just booted the machine from my Ventoy prepated USB key (which has 30+ Linux distributions on it).
I’ve spent a few days testing Ubuntu 25.04 on the machine. It’s so quick installing Linux on the M4 — the whole installation is a tiny fraction of the time it takes the Windows updates just to complete.
All the hardware including WiFi and Bluetooth is automatically detected. Ubuntu performs beautifully on the M4.
I’ve also tested a few other Linux distributions including Manjaro and Fedora. Each distribution installs with zero issues; all the M4’s hardware works out of the box including picking the maximum refresh rates for a variety of monitors I’ve connected.
Let’s dive into the M4’s hardware in more detail.
Next page: Page 3 – Interrogation of the System
Pages in this article:
Page 1 – Introduction and Design
Page 2 – First Impressions running Linux
Page 3 – Interrogation of the System
Complete list of articles in this series:
| BOSGAME M4 Plus Mini PC | |
|---|---|
| Introduction | Introduction to the series and interrogation of the machine |
| Benchmarks | Benchmarking the BOSGAME M4 Plus |
| Power | Testing and comparing the power consumption |
| Cores | AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS |
| Noise | Comparing the machine's noise with other mini PCs |
did you know it has a npu.
i dident know this till recently i am useing it for ai now on ollama
You have ollama using the NPU under Linux. How are you verifying that?
That was mentioned on page 3 of this article
“The processor has AI engine capabilities with the AMD Ryzen AI rated up to 10 TOPS.”
10 TOPS is pretty useless
Depends on what you’re doing of course. With a single board computer there are practical applications for a lowish TOPS.
My GPU (RTX 5090) has an AI TOPS score of 3352, slightly higher than a score of 10 don’t you think? Of course it can be attached to a mini PC via OCuLink (albeit probably lose about 10%).
Well that card costs over 2 grand!
this is the problem i have only found out it has a npu
and i find great to learn on. i might just buy a bigger card later but for my needs now it’s fine