"Inside is an ASRock mini-ITX 8-series motherboard and Haswell CPU. ASRock will sell the chassis as a barebones PC including motherboard and PSU." This seems rather ambiguous. It seems to indicate that ASRock will sell the chassis with a motherboard and PSU. But the sentence before it states that the case has a motherboard and a CPU inside. However, that might just refer to the one on display, not one being sold.
You're right. It's ambiguous. But if it doesn't include the CPU, then it vs. a complete $600 Apple Mac Mini Haswell is an absurd idea for all but the wildest enthusiasts. That Mac Mini will have at least 4GB RAM and 500GB HD and OS all for only $100 more. Asrock can't compete that way.
And to clarify, for most enthusiasts that are gaming and small focus, a small MicroATX or even Shuttle ITX will be a far better deal without an included CPU. For reference, you can easily buy Ivy Bridge Shuttle ITX barebones w/ case, PSU, and motherboard for <$150-250.
It's not ambiguous. There is one on display with a Haswell . ASRock will be happy to overcharge for a barebone case, motherboard, and psu combo. I will be happy to overpay if the PSU will power a titan.
It's pricey because it's a limited run item. They're not going to be selling thousands of these. It's also high end and they have little competition. $499 of motherboard, PSU and case at this form factor isn't too bad.
The case itself reminds me of Apple's old G4 towers, just smaller. More industrialized with the bits of metal instead of plastics.
Internally it seems a bit odd. The AC cable seems to run around a lot judging by the pictures. The PSU could have been made larger. I've been under the impression that PSU's for mini-ITX systems can be a bit proprietary depending on the case so why not make this one fit a bit better?
"Apple's old G4 towers" -> All the pics Google's picture search shows me are nothing like this thing. They are all covered fully with no mesh anywhere, the curves at the corners are exactly opposite etc. I also don't think the AC cable looks funny. And of course you can make PSUs are proprietary as you want, this might be proprietary for all we know, but it might also just use a standard TFX/SFX PSU. Which should be the first priority, in order to cut down on cost.
I didn't see any pictures showing how the AC cable was routed around the GPU, but placing it somewhere other than along the back panel and routing an internal AC cable itself isn't unheard of in SFF designs.
If I was going to comment on any part of the cabling shown it would be that despite the PSU being placed right next to the edge of the mobo where the 24pin connector is located it still appears to have a full length 24pin cable. The layout seems ideal for a short (4-6") cable; and an optional extension if you need to install a board with a weird layout. It also made me wonder if the other power cables are equally oversized for the form factor but just routed to hide where they're bunched up.
I hope this trend continues and major case manufacturers like silverstone, Antec, coolermaster, etc. start making cases this small. This case in particular sounds pretty awesome and if I were in the market to upgrade I'd have no qualms paying the premium to get a case just like this.
The only real downside is that Nvidia cards are best suited for this kind of case because their blower coolers are vastly superior to AMD when it comes to noise while under high load.
Can you guys seriously take your pictures in RAW. Boost shadows and blacks and crush whites so we can actually see something here. There's 0 excuse for these quality of pictures when my RX100 pocket camera can take pictures more usable then this.
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Kepe - Monday, June 10, 2013 - link
I like the design, but isn't $499 a bit steep for a mini-ITX case with a motherboard and a PSU?meacupla - Monday, June 10, 2013 - link
I'd hazard a guess with: mobo $150, psu $80~100, case $80~100yeah, I guess it's a bit pricey.
Joel Kleppinger - Monday, June 10, 2013 - link
We all missed the "and Haswell CPU" part. Of course, then it's a matter of which CPU.And I think your estimated prices are on the high side. I'd guess the Mobo is more around $100 and PSU around $50, which leaves $250 for the CPU.
kkwst2 - Monday, June 10, 2013 - link
The write up seemed to indicate that no CPU is included in the barebones system.Death666Angel - Monday, June 10, 2013 - link
"Inside is an ASRock mini-ITX 8-series motherboard and Haswell CPU. ASRock will sell the chassis as a barebones PC including motherboard and PSU."This seems rather ambiguous. It seems to indicate that ASRock will sell the chassis with a motherboard and PSU. But the sentence before it states that the case has a motherboard and a CPU inside. However, that might just refer to the one on display, not one being sold.
Joel Kleppinger - Monday, June 10, 2013 - link
You're right. It's ambiguous. But if it doesn't include the CPU, then it vs. a complete $600 Apple Mac Mini Haswell is an absurd idea for all but the wildest enthusiasts. That Mac Mini will have at least 4GB RAM and 500GB HD and OS all for only $100 more. Asrock can't compete that way.Joel Kleppinger - Monday, June 10, 2013 - link
And to clarify, for most enthusiasts that are gaming and small focus, a small MicroATX or even Shuttle ITX will be a far better deal without an included CPU. For reference, you can easily buy Ivy Bridge Shuttle ITX barebones w/ case, PSU, and motherboard for <$150-250.mcbowler - Tuesday, June 11, 2013 - link
It's not ambiguous. There is one on display with a Haswell . ASRock will be happy to overcharge for a barebone case, motherboard, and psu combo. I will be happy to overpay if the PSU will power a titan.MattKatz - Thursday, October 9, 2014 - link
I fully agree. /Matt from http://www.consumertop.com/best-desktop-guide/meacupla - Tuesday, June 11, 2013 - link
Well, I estimated my prices from equivelant parts, like so:asrock Z87E-ITX: $175
Silverstone ST45SF: $80
Fractal Node 304: $80 (BMW tax: $20)
Flunk - Monday, June 10, 2013 - link
It's pricey because it's a limited run item. They're not going to be selling thousands of these. It's also high end and they have little competition. $499 of motherboard, PSU and case at this form factor isn't too bad.This thing is really begging to be water cooled.
rhx123 - Monday, June 10, 2013 - link
Shame it's kinda gaudy because I've been looking for a tiny mini itx chassis for a while.EVGA Mini-Box is looking most hopeful so far.
Kevin G - Monday, June 10, 2013 - link
The case itself reminds me of Apple's old G4 towers, just smaller. More industrialized with the bits of metal instead of plastics.Internally it seems a bit odd. The AC cable seems to run around a lot judging by the pictures. The PSU could have been made larger. I've been under the impression that PSU's for mini-ITX systems can be a bit proprietary depending on the case so why not make this one fit a bit better?
Death666Angel - Monday, June 10, 2013 - link
"Apple's old G4 towers" -> All the pics Google's picture search shows me are nothing like this thing. They are all covered fully with no mesh anywhere, the curves at the corners are exactly opposite etc.I also don't think the AC cable looks funny.
And of course you can make PSUs are proprietary as you want, this might be proprietary for all we know, but it might also just use a standard TFX/SFX PSU. Which should be the first priority, in order to cut down on cost.
Computer Bottleneck - Monday, June 10, 2013 - link
I've read elsewhere that is a 450 watt SFX PSU.DanNeely - Monday, June 10, 2013 - link
I didn't see any pictures showing how the AC cable was routed around the GPU, but placing it somewhere other than along the back panel and routing an internal AC cable itself isn't unheard of in SFF designs.If I was going to comment on any part of the cabling shown it would be that despite the PSU being placed right next to the edge of the mobo where the 24pin connector is located it still appears to have a full length 24pin cable. The layout seems ideal for a short (4-6") cable; and an optional extension if you need to install a board with a weird layout. It also made me wonder if the other power cables are equally oversized for the form factor but just routed to hide where they're bunched up.
tviceman - Monday, June 10, 2013 - link
I hope this trend continues and major case manufacturers like silverstone, Antec, coolermaster, etc. start making cases this small. This case in particular sounds pretty awesome and if I were in the market to upgrade I'd have no qualms paying the premium to get a case just like this.The only real downside is that Nvidia cards are best suited for this kind of case because their blower coolers are vastly superior to AMD when it comes to noise while under high load.
littlebitstrouds - Monday, June 17, 2013 - link
Can you guys seriously take your pictures in RAW. Boost shadows and blacks and crush whites so we can actually see something here. There's 0 excuse for these quality of pictures when my RX100 pocket camera can take pictures more usable then this.hat1324 - Friday, August 9, 2013 - link
I think Ill wait for Azzatek's new MITX offering coming out soon.