MNT Station: the modular mini-PC you can rebuild from scratch

Berlin's MNT Research has put its new MNT Station up for order on Crowd Supply, pitching it as a compact desktop built to last through multiple processor generations. The case starts at $299, but a fully loaded system with the top-end Rockchip RK3588 module climbs to $1,627 or more. Orders placed today ship January 24, 2027.

The idea

The MNT Station is a fanless aluminum box — CNC-milled, 279×133×26 mm, 680 g — that mounts flat on a desk, stands vertically, or attaches to a monitor via a standard VESA bracket. The whole point is the 200-pin modular connector inside: you pick a compute module now and swap it for something faster later, without replacing the enclosure. Available modules include the Raspberry Pi CM4, NXP LS1028A, and the flagship RCORE RK3588 V2 — an eight-core ARM chip (four Cortex-A76 + four Cortex-A55, up to 2.4 GHz) with Mali-G610 MP4 graphics and up to 32 GB of RAM. More than ten module options are listed in total, including FPGA configurations. Average power draw sits around 20W, which is why there are no fans at all.

MNT Research already shipped the open-hardware MNT Reform laptop on the same philosophy. The Station is the desktop follow-up.

Ports and expandability

For a slab this thin, the port selection is reasonable: three USB-A, one USB-C with power delivery, full-size HDMI, gigabit Ethernet, a 3.5 mm audio jack, and an SD card slot. Inside there's a Mini PCIe slot and an M.2 Key M slot with up to four lanes of PCIe 3.0 for a fast NVMe drive. That combination makes it viable as a home server, a router, or a lightweight media center.

The right-to-repair angle — and the cost reality

MNT publishes full schematics; everything is open-source hardware. That positions the Station neatly against planned obsolescence at a time when the FTC has shown growing interest in repairability. The comparison most buyers will reach for is the Framework Desktop Case — also $299 for the enclosure, but built around x86 and more widely available through retail.

The MNT Station is only sold via Crowd Supply; there's no listing on Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk. The case-only tier is affordable enough, but the $899 RK3588 processor module alone costs more than many complete mini-PCs from Beelink or Minisforum. There's no discrete GPU, which rules it out for gaming or GPU-accelerated creative work. The software ecosystem is Linux-first — Debian primarily — so Windows users need not apply. First-batch production is limited to 90 units, and MNT's previous Reform campaign ran into delays, so early adopters should factor that in.

For a certain kind of homelab builder or open-hardware enthusiast, this is exactly what they've been waiting for. For most people, the price-to-practicality ratio is a harder sell.