I really like the idea of shrinking gaming desktops from their previously huge full tower cases to something a lot more shipping and desk space friendly. I see ASRock includes WiFi, but in the images there don't appear to be any antennas. Are those three circular breakouts near the power input the locations where wireless antennas would end up being installed?
Also, the storage arrangement in the demo unit strikes me as sort of odd. Why not just go with a single ~500GB SSD? I'm guessing it'd cost less and offer the user more capacity. Since its a gaming box and modern games can get pretty big, I could see end users having a hard time finding a place to store a few titles without removing something to replace it. Even 500GB is probably a little bit lean/cramped for a gaming system these days.
It would be if Nvidia is going to continue to support MXM. There have been murmurings for some time now they don't really like it. It's expensive vs soldered to board, application specific (niche) and expensive to the end consumer, more so than the desktop equivalent. The percentage of people who actually upgrade is not enough to warrant supporting it.
Micro-STX is slightly larger than mini-STX to support the MXM module, the motherboards also look to be a weird shape (L-Shaped from the photo above). It is ASRocks own motherboard form-factor.
No, mini-ITX is not more suitable. To build the equivalent performing mini-ITX system, you need double the case volume. The only reason small form factor enthusiasts build mini-ITX systems over something like the ASRock system here is because there’s almost no MXM module availability or motherboard options to choose from. Beyond that, there really is no technical advantage to the mini-ITX factor over STX, especially now where GPU power requirements are so low that you can have 1080 MXM modules with no cooling issues.
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PeachNCream - Friday, January 19, 2018 - link
I really like the idea of shrinking gaming desktops from their previously huge full tower cases to something a lot more shipping and desk space friendly. I see ASRock includes WiFi, but in the images there don't appear to be any antennas. Are those three circular breakouts near the power input the locations where wireless antennas would end up being installed?Also, the storage arrangement in the demo unit strikes me as sort of odd. Why not just go with a single ~500GB SSD? I'm guessing it'd cost less and offer the user more capacity. Since its a gaming box and modern games can get pretty big, I could see end users having a hard time finding a place to store a few titles without removing something to replace it. Even 500GB is probably a little bit lean/cramped for a gaming system these days.
jab701 - Friday, January 19, 2018 - link
Argh....micro-stx, I was hoping for some Coffee Lake Mini-STX Motherboards....if it had thunderbolt 3 too it would be great...Samus - Friday, January 19, 2018 - link
So the MXM is upgradable!? That's awesome!jtd871 - Friday, January 19, 2018 - link
Definitely maybe. If you can find one. And you'll want to ensure that you get the module and cooler both upgraded.jab701 - Friday, January 19, 2018 - link
Yeah, it is from a certain point of view but I needed something as small as mini-stx...(Maybe mini-itx would do).It doesn't need to be fully upgradable, provided it has some M2 slots of various types, thunderbolt 3 would be a bonus....
nerd1 - Saturday, January 20, 2018 - link
Mxm gpu is technically upgradeable but you have to shell $1K for downclocked 1080.peterporker - Monday, January 22, 2018 - link
Well considering current gpu prices, it'll be a good deal T_TQuestor - Saturday, January 20, 2018 - link
It would be if Nvidia is going to continue to support MXM. There have been murmurings for some time now they don't really like it. It's expensive vs soldered to board, application specific (niche) and expensive to the end consumer, more so than the desktop equivalent. The percentage of people who actually upgrade is not enough to warrant supporting it.jtd871 - Friday, January 19, 2018 - link
It is Mini-STX. Anton, please fix.jtd871 - Friday, January 19, 2018 - link
Well, maybe not...the form factor looks wrong for 5x5...jab701 - Friday, January 19, 2018 - link
Micro-STX is slightly larger than mini-STX to support the MXM module, the motherboards also look to be a weird shape (L-Shaped from the photo above). It is ASRocks own motherboard form-factor.Samus - Friday, January 19, 2018 - link
It's shaped like that because the MXM module is mated to the back. It would normally be a rectangle.edzieba - Friday, January 19, 2018 - link
It IS a rectangle. For some reason the MXM card is just sitting next to the demo board, not mounted in the MXM slot.t.s - Friday, January 19, 2018 - link
If one wants to use 1080, mini-itx is more suitable IMHO. As for mini-stx, use something like atom processor or the like, or AMD APU.nissefar - Saturday, January 20, 2018 - link
No, mini-ITX is not more suitable. To build the equivalent performing mini-ITX system, you need double the case volume. The only reason small form factor enthusiasts build mini-ITX systems over something like the ASRock system here is because there’s almost no MXM module availability or motherboard options to choose from. Beyond that, there really is no technical advantage to the mini-ITX factor over STX, especially now where GPU power requirements are so low that you can have 1080 MXM modules with no cooling issues.n13L5 - Sunday, August 5, 2018 - link
Has anything come of this yet?