CPU generation
AMD A-series PRO (Bristol Ridge) mini PCs
Bristol Ridge is AMD's last pre-Ryzen APU family. In tiny PCs it appears as 35 W E-series PRO chips, for example the PRO A6-9500E, A10-9700E and A12-9800E options in Lenovo's first-generation ThinkCentre M715q. The A6 has only two cores, Windows 11 is not supported, and the video engine predates 10-bit HEVC and AV1 decode. These machines suit Linux thin-client or kiosk duty and very light services. For a media server, Home Assistant with add-ons, or anything running Windows, a Ryzen-based M75q or an Intel 8th-gen tiny PC is the better used buy.
- Released
- 2016
- In mini PCs
- Excavator cores: 2 (A6) or 4 (A10, A12); 35 W E-series chips in tiny PCs; GCN 3 graphics with 4 to 8 CUs; dual-channel DDR4.
- Windows 11
- Not on Microsoft's supported list. No A-series chips appear on Microsoft's Windows 11 AMD list, which starts with Zen-based Athlon and Ryzen parts. Unsupported installs aren't guaranteed updates.
- Media engine
- Pre-VCN media block (UVD/VCE generation): H.264 decode and encode and at most 8-bit HEVC decode; no HEVC 10-bit or AV1 decode. Jellyfin lists HEVC 10-bit decode only from Polaris-era Radeon GPUs onward.
- Frigate OpenVINO
- No (not an Intel iGPU, or too old)
- Memory
- DDR4
2 models with AMD A-series PRO (Bristol Ridge)

Lenovo
Lenovo ThinkCentre M715q Tiny (1st Gen, AMD A-series)
- AMD A-series PRO (Bristol Ridge)
- 1L tiny
- up to 32 GB
Good for: Home Assistant, n8n / automation, Proxmox homelab, Network services
$90–$160 typical eBay ask

Lenovo
Lenovo ThinkCentre M715q Tiny (2nd Gen)
- AMD Ryzen 2000/3000 APUs (Raven Ridge / Picasso)
- AMD A-series PRO (Bristol Ridge)
- 1L tiny
- up to 32 GB
Good for: Home Assistant, n8n / automation, Proxmox homelab, Network services
$95–$170 typical eBay ask
Deciding between generations? See Windows 11 eligibility by CPU generation and Quick Sync transcoding by generation.
Other CPU generations
- Intel N-series (Alder Lake-N / Twin Lake)
- Intel 4th Gen (Haswell)
- Intel 6th Gen (Skylake)
- Intel 7th Gen (Kaby Lake)
- Intel 8th Gen (Coffee Lake / Whiskey Lake / Kaby Lake-R)
- Intel 9th Gen (Coffee Lake Refresh)
- Intel 10th Gen (Comet Lake / Ice Lake)
- Intel 11th Gen (Tiger Lake / Rocket Lake)
- Intel 12th Gen (Alder Lake)
- Intel 13th Gen (Raptor Lake)
- Intel Core Ultra Series 1 (Meteor Lake)
- AMD Ryzen Embedded R1000 / V1000
- AMD Ryzen 2000/3000 APUs (Raven Ridge / Picasso)
- AMD Ryzen 4000 (Renoir)
- AMD Ryzen 5000 Mobile (Lucienne / Cezanne / Barcelo)
- AMD Ryzen 6000 / 7x35 (Rembrandt)
- AMD Ryzen 7040 / 8040 (Phoenix / Hawk Point)