It's important to highlight that there's almost no way a 9900K in this system will be allowed to run at PL2 (all core turbo clocks), at least not for more than a handful of seconds. While it's impressive to get a high clocked 8C/16T CPU in such a tiny form factor, it's going to be pretty constrained. You won't get the sort of performance out of it that we've seen from most 9900K launch reviews on high end motherboards with less constrained power settings.
Not to mention that it'll scream like hell if you try to use that performance. I mean, they haven't even published the noise measurements - which is really important if you're placing it anywhere near you.
Considering that it is a barebones kit and thus doesn't include a CPU, RAM, boot drive or CPU cooler, noise measurements would have been rather hard to get a hold of ...
The only thing there adding noise would be the CPU cooler and the external PSU, so.. just provide a recommended configuration ( considering that the cooler needs to fit.. ) and measure that. Not hard.
My problem with these types of mini-barebones/prebuilts is that they usually include a large external power supply brick, which somewhat defeats the purpose of having a tiny system in the first place. Manufacturers, find a way to build a small custom power supply into the case! The whole reason for these to exist is to save on space and clutter.
Well there's a clear trade off, the box will grow in size. Having an external power brick allows the box which actually sits on the desk to be tiny, which in some sense is more important than a brick hidden under the desk. Also, by separating heat caused by the power supply the load on the computer's cooling might be reduced.
This. Trying to dissipate that hat effectively from within a small chassis will require more fan noise, too, so you pay twice in terms of system size and noise levels. There's a reason most manufacturers go with this approach!
I find it hard to believe that a passively-cooled external power brick would perform better on thermals than an actively-cooled internal one (perhaps with a shroud and separated intake/exhaust grills). Yes, obviously the case would have to be a little bigger, but it seems worth it to me. Those external power bricks are incredibly clunky and much more of a pain than just adding slightly more volume to the case.
A very good area of innovation. Everyone wants to go smaller. The question is how. The key innovation will be external power supplies, keep the heat away from heat producing chips, common sense. Many of these systems will go under a desk, fairly quiet, with the power brick sitting on the floor. Corporations do not want large boxes anymore. Small businesses will follow. This is a clear trend. If you saw the new MacMini, you can see the compromise. By not having an external power supply, they have no GPU. Despite a fairly powerful CPU, the computer becomes constrained in terms of managing creative platforms (adobe suite, etc), and also gaming. A GTX 1080 8 GB is an excellent GPU, and the tend will continue, go smaller. The only area we are not seeing smaller is better is the GPU. Memory. SSD. CPU. WIFI. These have centimeter footprints today. The GPU is still large and produces considerable heat.
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romrunning - Monday, November 26, 2018 - link
Get a TB3 port in it, and you've pretty much covered all of the connectivity bases.Still, have to say - I like it!
rhysiam - Monday, November 26, 2018 - link
It's important to highlight that there's almost no way a 9900K in this system will be allowed to run at PL2 (all core turbo clocks), at least not for more than a handful of seconds. While it's impressive to get a high clocked 8C/16T CPU in such a tiny form factor, it's going to be pretty constrained. You won't get the sort of performance out of it that we've seen from most 9900K launch reviews on high end motherboards with less constrained power settings.igavus - Tuesday, November 27, 2018 - link
Not to mention that it'll scream like hell if you try to use that performance. I mean, they haven't even published the noise measurements - which is really important if you're placing it anywhere near you.Valantar - Tuesday, November 27, 2018 - link
Considering that it is a barebones kit and thus doesn't include a CPU, RAM, boot drive or CPU cooler, noise measurements would have been rather hard to get a hold of ...igavus - Tuesday, November 27, 2018 - link
The only thing there adding noise would be the CPU cooler and the external PSU, so.. just provide a recommended configuration ( considering that the cooler needs to fit.. ) and measure that. Not hard.OremLK - Monday, November 26, 2018 - link
My problem with these types of mini-barebones/prebuilts is that they usually include a large external power supply brick, which somewhat defeats the purpose of having a tiny system in the first place. Manufacturers, find a way to build a small custom power supply into the case! The whole reason for these to exist is to save on space and clutter.CharonPDX - Monday, November 26, 2018 - link
Yeah, 270W power brick will be gigantic.firewolfsm - Tuesday, November 27, 2018 - link
Well there's a clear trade off, the box will grow in size. Having an external power brick allows the box which actually sits on the desk to be tiny, which in some sense is more important than a brick hidden under the desk. Also, by separating heat caused by the power supply the load on the computer's cooling might be reduced.Spunjji - Tuesday, November 27, 2018 - link
This. Trying to dissipate that hat effectively from within a small chassis will require more fan noise, too, so you pay twice in terms of system size and noise levels. There's a reason most manufacturers go with this approach!OremLK - Wednesday, November 28, 2018 - link
I find it hard to believe that a passively-cooled external power brick would perform better on thermals than an actively-cooled internal one (perhaps with a shroud and separated intake/exhaust grills). Yes, obviously the case would have to be a little bigger, but it seems worth it to me. Those external power bricks are incredibly clunky and much more of a pain than just adding slightly more volume to the case.garygech - Monday, November 26, 2018 - link
A very good area of innovation. Everyone wants to go smaller. The question is how. The key innovation will be external power supplies, keep the heat away from heat producing chips, common sense. Many of these systems will go under a desk, fairly quiet, with the power brick sitting on the floor. Corporations do not want large boxes anymore. Small businesses will follow. This is a clear trend. If you saw the new MacMini, you can see the compromise. By not having an external power supply, they have no GPU. Despite a fairly powerful CPU, the computer becomes constrained in terms of managing creative platforms (adobe suite, etc), and also gaming. A GTX 1080 8 GB is an excellent GPU, and the tend will continue, go smaller. The only area we are not seeing smaller is better is the GPU. Memory. SSD. CPU. WIFI. These have centimeter footprints today. The GPU is still large and produces considerable heat.