I want the motherboard only to mod my own case around it (ATX PSU case mods are great). 150€ is just too much, unfortunately, especially for that "non-chipset" A300. 100€ and I'd think about it.
A side by side comparison of the Intel and AMD desk mini would have been nice. @AT: Could Asrock also supply you with the AMD based desk mini system ? Would be interesting since that is a first for them.
Can you please review the possibilities for passively cooling the CPU in this case? I feel this is a device that could really be a hit in the low noise HTPC market. Interested in Arctic Alpine AM4 Passive cooler and the like.
The Arctic Alpine AM4 heatsink won't fit in the A300 case. Max supported CPU cooler height is 46 mm, while the Alpine is 70 mm. That said you can of course run with the case open but that's not an option for most people. Possibly move the motherboard to another case?
Could you review 2400GE/2200GE at the same time, those are very interesting SKU, but solid reviews are nowhere to be found, especially with power consumption numbers.
Check youtube for at least 2 reviews of the deskmini A300, with a Ryzen 2400G. They really should have focused on the A300 review as intel NUC hardware has been around for years & other options are available. Price is usd $149 on newegg
I find the AMD-oriented DeskMini A300 Series much more interesting in this little sub-segment. I'm tempted to grab one to play with but I'll probably just wait until summer and the Ryzen 3000's and do a full build.
Basically Microsoft's monopoly and ridiculous Windows pricing (Microsoft just raised the price to $212 after tax in Canada, no freaking joke) can wreck any builder's day. Steal it or get a grey market $20 dollar copy from India. No remorse whatsoever. Who honestly thinks a price of $212 is warranted??? Government should have stepped in and limited the price to $50 a long time ago.
Alistair, what's your day job? Because I'm entirely sure the government should have stepped in and limited your income to 25% of whatever you're making now a long time ago. Governments should do that you know...
I don't get it. This thing costs 150€ for a mainboard, case, PSU and WiFi. The cheapest 1151v2 ITX mainboard start at 75€, plus an ITX case with a PSU is another 50€ at least. So that is at least 125€ and no WiFi. It is also a helluvalot larger, but has better upgradeability. But you probably don't care about that, since you mention NUCs as a comparison. The cheapest current i3 (15W) NUC starts at (German prices) 260€. The DeskMini with a (much more powerful) i3-8100 (65W) costs 270€. And this thing actually can take a 6C/12T i7-8700. So it is not much more expensive, but definitely more versatile and powerful than a NUC. Don't look at the "as configured" bit and compare it to what you would buy or bought a while ago. Ganesh uses the same things for everything for comparison sake and did not look for deals or what makes sense for the individual build. You can shave a lot of costs off by using M.2 SATA drives and other RAM for example. My config with brand new parts would be 420€ wtih 2x8GB DDR4, 500GB MX500 and a i3-8100.
For SFF machines like this, the industry standard I/O backplane needs to be replaced with a much more modern solution, sized appropriately for modern ports. Such an eyesore and a terrific waste of space.
The STX form factor will become more interesting in the years to come, considering Intel's tech roadmap (better integrated graphics, 3D chip stacking).
Assuming Intel ever figures out how to make chips in quantity again. I can't decide if the ongoing supply issues are sad, funny, or a sinister ploy to get people used to higher processor prices in advance of a new suggested retail cost plan.
I have a question about these "65W max" motherboards. What limitations have they put in place for 95W CPUs? Does the BIOS simply reject them, or will it fry the board at some point? I was thinking if it's possible to plug in a 95W -K processor but undervolt and underclock it so that it stays within 65W, but hopefully at a higher frequency than a stock 65W CPU thanks to the manual undervolting.
"The enabling of the M.2 SSD slot with PCIe lanes directly from the CPU gets around the bandwidth constraints imposed by the PCIe 2.0 links in the H310 PCH."
Not like there's anything else to use those lanes... it would've been a massive waste if ASRock *hadn't* used the CPU PCIe lanes for something.
The H310 chipset used here is kind of a dog and the case is nothing special. At a mere 3.7-liters volume, the Antec SK110-U3 case seems like a better choice and fits a B360, Z370, or Z390 chipset Mini-ITX mobo:
In the '80s and most of the' 90s, PC desktops only ... Gaming on mobile devices has surpassed that threshold, even ... There's another factor in the display that makes gaming phones ... Most models currently on the market have dual stereo speakers, the Razer Phone has ...
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guidryp - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
They really need to do one of these with AMD APU chips for a decent mix of CPU/GPU performance.Ashinjuka - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
They do. It supports Raven Ridge.https://www.asrock.com/nettop/AMD/DeskMini%20A300%...
guidryp - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
Thanks.Death666Angel - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
I want the motherboard only to mod my own case around it (ATX PSU case mods are great). 150€ is just too much, unfortunately, especially for that "non-chipset" A300. 100€ and I'd think about it.Lcs006 - Monday, March 18, 2019 - link
Here U go!https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=583127994911
Irata - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
A side by side comparison of the Intel and AMD desk mini would have been nice.@AT: Could Asrock also supply you with the AMD based desk mini system ? Would be interesting since that is a first for them.
ganeshts - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
The DeskMini A300 came into our testbed just yesterday. I hope to have the review up in the next 3 - 4 weeks.voodoobunny - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
Squeeee!PixyMisa - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
Great, looking forward to it!AdditionalPylons - Saturday, March 16, 2019 - link
Yes!!! Very much looking forward to that review!skpetic - Saturday, March 16, 2019 - link
Can you please review the possibilities for passively cooling the CPU in this case? I feel this is a device that could really be a hit in the low noise HTPC market. Interested in Arctic Alpine AM4 Passive cooler and the like.AdditionalPylons - Saturday, March 16, 2019 - link
The Arctic Alpine AM4 heatsink won't fit in the A300 case. Max supported CPU cooler height is 46 mm, while the Alpine is 70 mm. That said you can of course run with the case open but that's not an option for most people. Possibly move the motherboard to another case?SaturnusDK - Saturday, March 16, 2019 - link
The stealth cooler that comes with a 2200/2400G does fit though.skpetic - Sunday, March 17, 2019 - link
Do you know if the 2400G will throttle badly if you disable the fan on that / can the chip be under volted to remedy it somewhat?guidryp - Tuesday, March 19, 2019 - link
Just dremel the case and let the Arctic Alpine fins stick out.vithrell - Monday, March 18, 2019 - link
Could you review 2400GE/2200GE at the same time, those are very interesting SKU, but solid reviews are nowhere to be found, especially with power consumption numbers.IGTrading - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
Is there an AMD Ryzen based version ?I'll wait for that.
toliman - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
Check youtube for at least 2 reviews of the deskmini A300, with a Ryzen 2400G. They really should have focused on the A300 review as intel NUC hardware has been around for years & other options are available. Price is usd $149 on neweggdeil - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
I want one. Only reason I checked this article.....m.2 drive, amd apu, 3200 ram, vesa mount. mini-gaming-god.
Ashinjuka - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
I find the AMD-oriented DeskMini A300 Series much more interesting in this little sub-segment. I'm tempted to grab one to play with but I'll probably just wait until summer and the Ryzen 3000's and do a full build.imaheadcase - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
$523 (no OS). That is the problem with these type of things. It ends up being expensive that you could build own without investing in a SFF like that.At that price be better off getting a intel NUC
Alistair - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
Basically Microsoft's monopoly and ridiculous Windows pricing (Microsoft just raised the price to $212 after tax in Canada, no freaking joke) can wreck any builder's day. Steal it or get a grey market $20 dollar copy from India. No remorse whatsoever. Who honestly thinks a price of $212 is warranted??? Government should have stepped in and limited the price to $50 a long time ago.Alistair - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
Windows 10 Home OEM $212 after taxes:https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/p/windows-10-home/...
Mr Perfect - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
Oh, yeah, don't buy direct from MS. Newegg Canada has it for almost half that. https://www.newegg.ca/Operating-Systems/SubCategor...close - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
Alistair, what's your day job? Because I'm entirely sure the government should have stepped in and limited your income to 25% of whatever you're making now a long time ago. Governments should do that you know...isthisavailable - Sunday, March 17, 2019 - link
Or just run insider preview builds in the slow ring for free?close - Monday, March 18, 2019 - link
No! It has to be stable. And free.Qasar - Sunday, March 17, 2019 - link
i agree... dont buy direct from microsoft... 2 comp stores here.. have win home 64 but for 140 cdn or less, even as low as 120 when on sale...Death666Angel - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
I don't get it. This thing costs 150€ for a mainboard, case, PSU and WiFi. The cheapest 1151v2 ITX mainboard start at 75€, plus an ITX case with a PSU is another 50€ at least. So that is at least 125€ and no WiFi. It is also a helluvalot larger, but has better upgradeability. But you probably don't care about that, since you mention NUCs as a comparison.The cheapest current i3 (15W) NUC starts at (German prices) 260€. The DeskMini with a (much more powerful) i3-8100 (65W) costs 270€. And this thing actually can take a 6C/12T i7-8700. So it is not much more expensive, but definitely more versatile and powerful than a NUC.
Don't look at the "as configured" bit and compare it to what you would buy or bought a while ago. Ganesh uses the same things for everything for comparison sake and did not look for deals or what makes sense for the individual build. You can shave a lot of costs off by using M.2 SATA drives and other RAM for example. My config with brand new parts would be 420€ wtih 2x8GB DDR4, 500GB MX500 and a i3-8100.
sudhansu9dm - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
Thanks for the reviewing this! I think this is a fantastic form factor held back by the use of older and nerfed chipsets.ciparis - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
For SFF machines like this, the industry standard I/O backplane needs to be replaced with a much more modern solution, sized appropriately for modern ports. Such an eyesore and a terrific waste of space.Death666Angel - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
"waste of space" What would you put there to use up the space? It seems to me that the cooler might interfer with higher stacks of sockets.Hixbot - Friday, March 15, 2019 - link
You really need to add noise measurements to your SFF reviews.zodiacfml - Saturday, March 16, 2019 - link
The STX form factor will become more interesting in the years to come, considering Intel's tech roadmap (better integrated graphics, 3D chip stacking).zodiacfml - Saturday, March 16, 2019 - link
Forgot the most important, 10nm chips which could allow 10core CPUs in 65w TDPLord of the Bored - Saturday, March 16, 2019 - link
Assuming Intel ever figures out how to make chips in quantity again. I can't decide if the ongoing supply issues are sad, funny, or a sinister ploy to get people used to higher processor prices in advance of a new suggested retail cost plan.ajp_anton - Saturday, March 16, 2019 - link
I have a question about these "65W max" motherboards. What limitations have they put in place for 95W CPUs? Does the BIOS simply reject them, or will it fry the board at some point? I was thinking if it's possible to plug in a 95W -K processor but undervolt and underclock it so that it stays within 65W, but hopefully at a higher frequency than a stock 65W CPU thanks to the manual undervolting.ajp_anton - Saturday, March 16, 2019 - link
Especially since that 65W CPU never really uses 65W anyway. With a -K CPU it might be possible to create your own custom CPU that hits 65W max.MoreloveXXX - Sunday, March 17, 2019 - link
A real man will find a girl in a couple of minutes. =>> http://newgirlworld.gaThe_Assimilator - Sunday, March 17, 2019 - link
"The enabling of the M.2 SSD slot with PCIe lanes directly from the CPU gets around the bandwidth constraints imposed by the PCIe 2.0 links in the H310 PCH."Not like there's anything else to use those lanes... it would've been a massive waste if ASRock *hadn't* used the CPU PCIe lanes for something.
Motorazr - Tuesday, March 19, 2019 - link
The H310 chipset used here is kind of a dog and the case is nothing special. At a mere 3.7-liters volume, the Antec SK110-U3 case seems like a better choice and fits a B360, Z370, or Z390 chipset Mini-ITX mobo:https://pcpartpicker.com/b/Xq29TW
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Could someone explain why not having HDMI 2.0 rules out usage as an HTPC?hansara911 - Sunday, April 21, 2019 - link
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