Asrock Dishes New Details On DeskMini Mini-STX PC

Status
Not open for further replies.

bit_user

Polypheme
Ambassador
Lol, that thing looks like a big dust trap.

I'm still hoping for separate cases & mobos. Seems to me that's the whole point of having a standard form factor. Then, I can get a nice case to go with an ARM-based mini-STX board.
 

robodan918

Commendable
Apr 21, 2016
26
0
1,530
This thing looks like a taller version of the Mini-box M350 (ITX case - possibly the smallest available). It's been out since at least 2009 and is still my favourite case. Waiting for next gen ITX boards with thunderbolt 3 so I can just run the board, i7, RAM, & M.2 SSD off a 120W pico PSU + eGPU case for graphics card.
 

Lutfij

Titan
Moderator
This is a potential product for small living room,s, compact office spaces and ofc people who would like to make a small NAS provided they have a spare Skylake CPU in their spare parts bin :p

Wonder what sort of network connectivity we're going to see on this little pug...?
 
I believe Asrock is opting for an external power brick on this system. With the space, I doubt there would be room for one internally.

It might be taller than the Mini-Box M350, but it is still overall smaller. The M350 is a 2.5 L volume case, while this one is less than 2 L.
 

norseman4

Honorable
Mar 8, 2012
437
0
10,960
Finally a better version of the NUC!! The NUC and Gigabyte BRIX are nice, but they always have overheating issues. At least you get good cooling with this kind of form factor.

So, what conditions cause a NUC to overheat? So far mine hasn't, though it's just HTPC, media consumption and some light gaming. (Though the last wasn't a very long session.)
 

robodan918

Commendable
Apr 21, 2016
26
0
1,530
I believe Asrock is opting for an external power brick on this system. With the space, I doubt there would be room for one internally.

It might be taller than the Mini-Box M350, but it is still overall smaller. The M350 is a 2.5 L volume case, while this one is less than 2 L.
2L without the external power supply (which is not pictured, funnily enough)

Whereas the M350 can handle a Pico PSU up to 150W
Assuming you're running a newer i7 at 65W, M.2 SSD and RAM on the mobo (along with maybe 1-2 USB peripherals assuming you haven't gone full bluetooth) your power draw will be comfortably below that.

Both the ITX in M350 and STX in the asrock case will require a Thunderbolt 3 port for an eGPU to be mildly versatile and useful.

I want to like STX, but it's not adding any value vs ITX so far
 

bit_user

Polypheme
Ambassador
Right. I'm pretty sure the Mini-STX standard dictates an external PSU.

Hopefully, the connector is standard, so that we can buy higher-quality / higher-power aftermarket PSUs.
 

bit_user

Polypheme
Ambassador
There are plenty of things that don't require an eGPU. In fact, the only thing typical users are likely to do that really benefits from one is gaming.

If you're expecting to use a discrete GPU, then I think mini-STX is not the form factor for you.
 

Lutfij

Titan
Moderator
II74,
Ofc it will be since you can't cram in a PSU without also taking out some components off the board. Dell tried it and ended up with a muffin which isn't exactly a swissarmyknife but a small system nevertheless. A similar system to the Asrock was released by Loneindustries under the L series. Came under L1, L2 and L3 as well. There is a new version of the series due for fab late this year but it sin't set in stone.

https://loneindustries.com/products/3
 
Status
Not open for further replies.