Small form factor (SFF) PC specialist Shuttle has rolled out a new compact PC and barebone system dubbed the XPC slim DH810. This sub-1.4 liter system packs in a tiny Intel H810 chipset motherboard, and is ready for your choice of Intel Core Ultra 200 series (Arrow Lake-S, LGA1851) CPU with up to 65W TDP, dual DDR5 SODIMMs, plus SATA and M.2 storage options. It is described as “semi-ruggedized” but we don’t see any related specifications or certifications shared by Shuttle.

With Shuttle’s assertion that this system is capable of handing any Arrow Lake-S chip up to 65W, you could conceivably spec it up to a very capable Intel Core Ultra 9 Processor 285. These are currently on a ‘limited time deal’ for $520 on Amazon.com. For the money you get a total of 24 cores at your disposal (8 P-cores and 16 E-cores), running at up to 5.6 GHz, and aided by 36MB of Intel Smart Cache. It also features four Intel Xe cores in the Arc iGPU (max 2.0 GHz), and a dedicated NPU for 13 TOPS AI boost.

Arrow Lake CPUs, like the one highlighted above are a good choice for edge applications which need a little extra processing power, and from Shuttle’s blurb it is indeed targeting such applications. Specifically, it highlights the potential use of the XPC slim DH810 in automation, surveillance, digital signage – as well as for general office computing. The presence of serial ports (COM ports) and dual Ethernet also hint at this device’s targeting of industrial markets. This device can also be VESA mounted behind a screen.

Shuttle doesn’t discuss the cooling system that comes built-into the XPC slim DH810 at any great depth, but we can see the chassis looks well vented, there are two 70mm system fans placed above a chunky heatpipe threaded heatsink that covers perhaps 70% of the motherboard area.

Popular PCs and components maker MSI has a curious new promotion for buyers of its barebones PC kits. The firm is attempting to lure budget buyers by offering to bundle a free 500GB hard disk drive (HDD) with its chassis, motherboard, and PSU combos. Who is going to be drawn in with the offer of a half terabyte of spinning rust in 2024?

The 500GB SATA drive is offered with a range of Intel and AMD barebone machines priced from $180 to $340. The lowest cost machine being the MAG Kit Intel H610 Barebone System based around the PRO H610M-G WIFI DDR4 motherboard, CHASSIS MAG FORGE 112R case and a MAG A650BN 650W PSU. You'll need to bring your own DDR4 RAM and an Intel CPU from the 12th to 14th gen, but at least you've got a drive to boot from, if that's one of your concerns. Personally, we'd utilize the onboard M.2 slot, or use a SATA SSD with the four SATA ports.

At the top end of the barebones range is the MPG Kit Intel Z790 Barebone System which is based around a Z790 GAMING PLUS WIFI motherboard for Intel 12 to 14th gen CPUs and DDR 5 RAM. We get a GUNGNIR 210R gaming case and an AG A850GL PCIE5 850W PSU. Lets not forget that we get to pair this beast of a barebones unit with our free 500GB drive!

According to MSI, "Your PC, Your Rules!" My personal rule since the Haswell era has been never to fit any HDDs in my desktops, and to upgrade any older device with an SSD. It was such a relief to get rid of the last HDD from my DIY desktop, maybe a decade ago, when I fitted a decent-capacity SSD to partner with my boot SSD. The last mechanical drive I had spoiled the almost silent performance I enjoyed with my cool running Haswell T-series chip and good-mannered Sapphire Radeon. Working on a nearly silent system into the small hours, the seemingly random ticking, clicking, and spinning up of the hard disk platters was, of course, unwelcome.

In addition to the spectre of irksome mechanical noise, consumer HDDs like the Seagate freebie that MSI is offering aren't great performers. Some might even see the 500GB Seagate Barracuda 2.5-inch drive as a waste of a SATA port, offering about half the transfer speed of a cheap 2.5-inch SATA SSD if you are lucky, and being far less responsive due to the mechanical technology's access times.

The utility value of a storage device with 500GB capacity is also diminishing, fast. That's only enough for two modern PC titles like CoD: Modern Warfare III and God of War: Ragnarok if you want to put these titles on a spinning drive for some reason. More and more titles (and applications) require SSDs as a minimum or recommended specification. One of the last remaining advantages of HDDs, their affordability in far higher capacities than SSDs, simply doesn't apply here.

This offer from MSI gave some of the team the opportunity to reminisce about the days when owning a system with an HDD of this size would make friends and colleagues green with envy.  Some of the older Tom's Hardware editors recall HDDs that offered just 10MB of storage and were built like bricks. We are also aware of older and much physically larger devices - with similarly meagre capacities - used by mainframe systems of old.

MSI's free 500GB HDD offer isn't a great deal. If you want the best deals on storage, we have a page dedicated to the best SSDs. But this paltry 500GB of spinning rust could be a useful option for builders on a budget, who just need to get a machine up and running. With 1TB NVMe drives going for very little money, you'd be best pushing your budget a little further for faster and double the storage.

Chinese PC manufacturer CWWK has released an interesting Mini PC design that mainly seems to be composed of an elevated heatsink and a sideways, open PCIe x8 slot. The CWWK Mini PC, spotted by Liliputing, is dubbed the "Magic PC" by its maker and has garnered attention for its unique design. 

Of note before proceeding is that the gap created by the stand at the bottom is the only protection provided for the motherboard beneath the heatsink, and of course, any PCIe extensions will also need to live in the open air. You'll want to take some precautions with your setup and environment if you plan on running just about anything this way. Liliputing recommends the usage of some kind of stand beneath any expansion cards you mount to this thing, and we agree with that assessment.

That said, the device certainly looks pretty unique and could end up turning out to be a fun pet project. It comes in Green, Black, and Blue color variations. You can also choose to buy it in a "barebones" configuration with just the chassis, motherboard, and CPU, if you have your own compatible RAM/storage/etc to use with it.

Additionally, you have three Intel 12th Gen Alder Lake CPUs to pick from (relevant AliExpress listings linked below):

• Intel N100 CPU — Starts at $214 for a barebones kit. The N100 is a 4-core, 4-thread 12th Gen CPU with a TDP of 6 Watts and a max clock of 3.4 GHz.
• Intel N200 CPU —  Starts at $261 for a barebones kit. The N200 is a 4-core, 4-thread 12th Gen CPU with a TDP of 6 Watts and a max clock of 3.7 GHz.
• Intel Core i3-N305 CPU — Starts at $320 for a barebones kit. The Core i3-N305 is an 8-core, 8-thread 12th Gen CPU with a TDP of 15 Watts and a max clock of 3.8 GHz.

As far as other specs go, the CWWK Magic Computer can be outfitted with up to 2TB SSD storage and up to 32GB of DDR4 RAM. The maximum RAM speed supported by any of the CPUs listed above is 4,800 MT/s, though the board itself apparently supports up to 5,600 MT/s.

If a mini PC design like this interests you, we recommend checking out the original listing. Beyond the details we've discussed here, there are some nifty graphics included showing different ways to use the PCIe slot, as well as an optional fan attachment for those who don't trust passive cooling like that.

Before you get too ambitious with this one, though, be mindful that that PCIe slot everyone's been talking about is only a PCIe Gen 3 x8 slot... restricted to x4 bandwidth. If you want to go mad with power and plug a GPU into this one, be sure that it's still a low-power design that can function on x8. Just as a general rule of thumb, don't expect to play anything above 60 FPS on this, regardless of the attached GPU— the bandwidth limitations are simply too severe for most modern cards to enable high frame rates.

It's the end of the line for the NUC Extreme line, an Asus spokesperson confirmed to Fudzilla. making the NUC 13 Extreme the last of its kind. Asus, which took over the NUC line from Intel, has started making proactive changes to the NUC lineup and based on how things are looking like currently, the company trimmed this lineup down to NUC, NUC Pro and the recently announced ROG NUC.

This decision makes sense for a few reasons, one being the fact that ROG NUCs technically succeed NUC Extreme while having ROG-inspired designs, cooling and features. NUCs (whether it's made by Intel or Asus) devices are usually small, compact and well-packed with the best possible barebone options for different uses. The Raptor Lake-based NUC 13 Extreme looks anything but compact with desktop CPU options ranging between Intel Core i9-13900K, Core i7-13700K and the Core i5-13600K in an Intel Compute Unit with a triple slot for a graphics card and a lot more function inside its 14-liter case. In comparison, the ROG NUC looks more compact but relies on mobile graphics cards.

Asus has a prebuilt PC lineup including the 10-liter Asus ROG C22H with up to an  Intel Core i9-14900KF and RTX 4090 GPU while providing tool-free design. The NUC 13 Extreme is still sold through certain retail outlets depending in some regions. 

The State of Mini PC Barebone Market

The barebones market is competitive, but is fragmented in certain regions sold through local retailers and online regional sellers. This is where Asus has an advantage, as a company that sells globally. Since its takeover, Asus has been selling Intel NUC SKUs and covering its warranty. Now, it is inevitable Asus will begin upgrading the currently available NUCs with more variations. 

Meanwhile, companies like Gigabyte have Brix lineups and ECS has been making mini PCs for different types of users and industries, though none of them have gaming-specific barebones, yet. Zotac has been making barebones mini PC for many years, such as the Magnus One. 

We recently visited Cooler Master's headquarters in Neihu, Taipei, as the team prepared to send piles of hardware to Las Vegas for CES 2024. The company discussed the latest trends in the PC market, including a broad industry move to support motherboards that have all of the connections on the rear and the rise of more powerful passive power supplies. The company had all of its latest products, and more, on display at its headquarters.

It is easy to know when you have arrived at the Cooler Master HQ — pulling up at the curbside in a taxi, you immediately see the substantial office block, which has been built to look like a colossal passive CPU cooler. Though we arrived and left in the daytime, we were informed  that the building is lit up with RGB at sundown.

Entering the building, which has been Cooler Master’s HQ for nearly two years, you are greeted with an impressive atrium. On one side is the reception desk; on the other is a staged set of Cooler Master hardware highlighting PC cases, pre-builts, an immersive Orb X setup, and more. 

Right in front of you is a chandelier-type arrangement, which turns out to be an interactive artwork dubbed the Cyclonic Bloom. If you look closely, this sizable installation is made from articulated Cooler Master fans, and they also feature lighting. A touchscreen console in front of the Cyclonic Bloom lighting feature allows visitors to change lighting and animation presets.

After being greeted by our Cooler Master contacts, our first stop, naturally, was the Cooler Café to meet with executives from various key departments and to enjoy some refreshments and beef noodles. Interestingly, Cooler Café is open to the general public, though employees rightly get a discount on food and drink. The café also features free-to-play arcade machines, a pinball table, and other geek-friendly distractions.

You may wonder how a humble PC “cases and cooling” company can afford such a prestigious HQ. The answer surprised us. We were given the impression that the Cooler Master that we know as PC enthusiasts and DIYers is just a small cog in a big machine that has extensive business interests in industrial solution areas such as AI and cloud computing, 5G telecoms, automotive and renewables, and smart manufacturing. 

Some of the images below, from the firm’s fifth-floor exhibition area, show that Cooler Master heatsinks and fans turn up in all sorts of unexpected places like automobiles, e-car chargers, refrigeration devices, and, of course, servers.

Cases (CPT = Case, Power, Thermal)

One of the most important consumer-facing divisions within Cooler Master looks after PC system case design and development and oversees power and thermal operations. The managers in this department were proud to showcase three existing and new designs, namely the Ncore 100 Max, which is a Mini ITX tower with pleasing aesthetics, the Qube 500 Flatpack DIY case design, and a traditional but imposing PC tower case called the TD500 Max. 

You might have seen these devices before at Computex, for example, but the Ncore 100 Max will actually hit retail in January, and the TD500 Max should be purchasable soon, in 2024. The Qube 500 Flatpack cases are already available to purchase in three colors, and you might even find them discounted at Amazon.com, for example, priced from $85 at the time of writing.

We examined each product's design, features, and construction during some hands-on time. The Ncore 100 Max is quite large and heavy for a Mini ITX case, but it still has a small footprint and is probably pleasing to the eye for those with PCs in view in their living space. 

To minimize the footprint, it has to be quite tall for those who might want to fit a long triple-slot GPU. It can fit up to 3.9 slots wide GPUs, but the case side expansion option beyond 3.2 slots wasn’t ideal in the test sample, as it seemed to encroach on the back panel connectors. This $379.99 product isn’t just a case; you also get an SFX 850W PSU plus a 38mm radiator liquid cooler and riser cable in the box.

Cooler Master’s TD500 Max is impressive thanks to the capacity, flexibility, PSU shroud with built-in screw-keeper, and pre-routed cables, making this an airflow-friendly mid-tower case for DIY. Moreover, it seems very easy to build a very slick and tidy PC from this foundation which again features a pre-installed 360mm / 38mm liquid cooler and 850W Gold-rated PSU. Cooler Master doesn’t have pricing to share at this time, though. 

Cooler Master has interesting ideas about the latest and upcoming PC case trends and some thoughts about trends that are sliding out of fashion.

The departmental managers told us that several trends are in the ascendancy: aquarium-style cases with lots of glass, integrated display cases, high-end showcase chassis, plus designs with tasteful RGB lighting. Case trends on the wane include designs featuring ‘old school’ RGB, classic towers – due to modern component sizes, and pure workstations due to the host of attractive alternatives now available.

Cases: the back-plug tide is coming in

The positive trend predictions also include back-plug motherboard-compatible cases. Bruce Kao, the general manager of the CASE BU, had quite a lot of thoughts to share about the impending wave of back-plug motherboards. Asus calls these the DIY APE motherboards, MSI refers to them as Project Zero motherboards, and Gigabyte calls them Project Stealth motherboards. 

Kao says that supporting back-plug motherboards will be very important in 2024. Cooler Master has over 100 case SKUs in its portfolio, and it would require a lot of work to re-tool for both traditional and back-plug motherboards. However, starting from CES 2024, all-new case designs will support all the latest ATX / mATX size back-plug motherboards from Asus, MSI, Gigabyte, et al.

Cooler Master is enthusiastic about making cases for the new back-plug motherboards as it is believes the PC build process will be made easier by the new DIY paradigm. Moreover, the simpler, cleaner, more beautiful, and improved airflow precipitated by back-plug motherboards is expected to reignite interest and consumer spending in PC DIY.

Cases: materials

We also talked about case design and materials. Today’s case and system customer wants more colors and customization options than ever. Cooler Master sees this trend, and you can already get more colors and select premium materials with some of its wide range of cases and systems. This movement can also be seen with rival brands, and it is a broad industry trend.

During our tour, we saw some interesting work being done with case materials and finishes. Based on what we saw, more exteriors featuring leather, wood, and bamboo alongside traditional PC case materials like metal, glass, and plastic are coming. There is also some momentum behind adopting more eco-friendly materials. Lastly, we are glad to see that imaginative materials won’t be limited to prestige-level products.

Power

The Power team wanted to show us some new and upcoming PC power supplies from Cooler Master. There appeared to be several trends pushing forward PSU development at the company, and these were: quieter and passive PSUs, delivering more watts for silent and SFF builds, offering more 12VHPWR connectors, and providing white versions of new and upcoming PSUs.

We reported on the Cooler Master X Silent models and X Mighty PSUs in early November. However, now we have more in-depth information about the trio of PSUs from this family, dubbed the X Silent Edge Platinum (850W and 1100W), the X Silent Max Platinum (1300W), and the X Mighty Platinum (2000W).

Some hands-on time with the fanless Cooler Master X Silent Edge Platinum 1100W, with its substantial metal cooling block threaded with heat pipes, really brought home its weighty design. It is claimed to be the first fanless 850W / 1100W PSU for totally silent computing. As well as the innovative aluminum PSU case with heat pipes pictured, Cooler Master implemented some custom modularized thermal components, which it is keeping out of public view for now.

The identical-looking X Silent Max Platinum 1300W has a similarly thick aluminum case, but it eschews the heat pipes as there is a fan in the design. Cooler Master says it still earns the ‘X Silent’ moniker thanks to its Mobius sub-20dB high-pressure semi-passive fan. Again, we saw some key cooling components from the modularized thermal structure inside.

The final member of this family, the X Mighty Platinum, again hides an advanced thermal structure inside. A large semi-passive fan is employed here, too. Buyers of the X Mighty Platinum will have two 12VHPWR connectors/cables available. 

All the members of this family include common features such as a digital monitor interface, integration with the MasterCTRL software, 80 Plus Platinum certification, ATX 3.0 support, plus purportedly durable 12VHPWR cable(s) with 90-degree connector to one side. Moreover, all these PSUs have long warranties: 15 years for the Silent models and ten years for the Mighty ones.

Cooler Master’s V Platinum series power supplies are also set for a revamp with a crop of V2 models. On trend, higher-power models will be on the way, with 1600W, 1300W, and 1100W models. The cooling performance will be boosted with ultra-quiet ring-blade Mobius fans featuring high-pressure characteristics, oil-bearing construction, and anodized heatsinks. 

Higher power models in this range will also be graced with twin 12VHPWR connectors, as pictured. Also, the images show the bundled twin-pack of angled 12VHPWR connectors with these PSUs. The Cooler Master V Platinum V2 family all come with 12-year warranties.

As mentioned above, white PSU options are also set to grow. Cooler Master showed us some attractive new white versions of the 80 Plus Gold rated GX III Gold family and the compact and bijou V SFX Platinum and Gold series PSUs delivering up to 1300W and sporting fetching white attire. 

All these new PSUs also feature anodized heatsinks, said to boost cooling by up to five degrees Celsius, plus color-matched 90-degree 12VHPWR connector cabling. Cooler Master provides 10-year warranties with these PSU families.

CMIMX

Cooler Master’s CMIMX business unit is concerned with delivering more immersive experiences. At present, the unit seeks to succeed in its immersion goal without stepping into the world of AR, VR, MR, XR, and similar technologies that require users to wear a display on their face. This more traditional PC monitor-based philosophy remains for now, but a future step into XR isn’t ruled out as a matter of policy.

During our visit, we got to test immersive experiences with hands-on time and sat inside the latest Dyn X Dynamic Racing Experience. Playing F1 22 in this setup was indeed immersive, as Cooler Master had equipped the simulator suite with some of the best peripherals, sound, and haptic feedback.

Readers should expect to see some interesting enhancements to the Dyn X in the coming months. If you’ve thought about ways this product might be improved, perhaps Cooler Master has thought of them too…

The immersive experience when sitting in the Orb X Gaming Throne was quite a contrast, and it was interesting to hear that this futuristic computing station isn’t all about gaming; it is quite an attractive and very comfortable pod for getting work done. Cooler Master’s Orb X is thus marketed outside the gaming sphere, aiming to attract remote workers and luxury high-tech consumers.

The last product we saw with the senior marketing manager at CMIMX was the Throne X drum stool. This is something of a curiosity, as far as PC enthusiasts go, as it is a haptic stool to help musicians keep perfect time, like a metronome in your seat.

Advanced System Products

Cooler Master’s Advanced System Products business unit handles the firm’s pre-built PC products. Though the unit might be best known for the designs that make a big splash at trade shows, like the Shark X and Sneaker X, it also has some sober and carefully designed premium mainstream PCs in its portfolio, like the HAF5 Pro and Cooling X systems. 

The business unit divides its attention across three portfolio areas, like 'Make it Yours,' which is the mainstream portfolio of advanced systems, 'Be Different,' which is the portfolio focused on more artsy designs, and 'Be Excellent,' which is focused on Performance and B2B solutions.

Visiting the Advanced System Products department, we saw all the above-named systems and various cooling components on display. We heard from the Advanced System Products marketing lead about upcoming refinements to designs like the Shark X. It was also notable that the creatives in this department continued to work on crazy new designs – one of which we couldn’t photograph and share. Stay tuned for CES 2024 next month.

Among the well-known but extraordinary Shark X  and Sneaker X systems, we were intrigued to see a similar quality motorbike PC, which you can see in the photo gallery below. This isn’t a consumer product, though. We were told that the Cooler Master boss commissions custom PCs occasionally in designs that tickle his fancy, and this is one of those projects. It is nice to know that custom PC design appreciation goes right to the top of the company.

Our visit to the Advanced System Products BU ended with a look around and inside the Cooling X workstation. We saw this at Computex, and only one configuration remains for sale at US$6,999. 

In the flesh, it is incredibly rigid and very heavy, but it exudes quality and is pleasingly compact (SFX PSU, Mini ITX). Remember, this design uses custom liquid cooling for the CPU and GPU (an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080), which attach to the thickly ridged aluminum sides to extract heat from inside the case. A pair of 120mm rear fans, positioned just above the 850W SFX PSU, pull air from the case.

Perhaps the Cooling X pre-built system didn’t make the splash it envisaged. The design team is convinced more interest can be spurred in this pre-built with a few spec changes and optimizations. Hopefully, with a refresh, they can democratize this design and perhaps edge it under $5,000.

Cooler Master interviews and personnel profiles

During our visit to Cooler Master HQ, we spoke to several of the people shaping the company and its most important products. To get to know some of the key people behind the brand, we asked two executives about their backgrounds, their interest in PC DIY and gaming, and the PC cases and components trends they expect to unfold in the coming months.

Carlos Villanueva, Head of Global Marketing

Carlos began his computer industry career in the media, working in the U.S. at outlets such as Fox, IGN, and MTV, but most recently, was in a role at electronics retailing giant Newegg. As a PC gaming enthusiast, Carlos is on the product side of the computing industry with Cooler Master as its Global Marketing Director.

The first PCs that Carlos owned were off-the-shelf Dell systems. In his early PC days, he replaced his pre-built systems with newer pre-builts when games started to get slow or too demanding. His head was turned in the noughties when he got into PC DIY. Carlos says that his first full pre-built system was completed in the Cooler Master Storm Trooper case. According to the Global Marketing Director of Cooler Master, the style and design of a PC are a high priority, and he will typically choose the case before any components.

Carlos predicts small form factor (SFF) systems will get stronger in the DIY segment, and consumers will grow more sophisticated with more diverse demands. Materials choices will be something that can help companies differentiate in 2024. Lastly, he predicts Cooler Master will continue to push PC experiences with systems like Sneaker X, Shark X, and more to come.

Bruce Kao, GM of CASE BU

Bruce has worked at other iconic PC brands, spending a large slice of his prior career as a product manager in the Asus ROG motherboard business unit, as well as developing various Asus ROG AIO liquid cooling series. After Asus, he worked for a spell as a Product Manager at Supermicro, working on the firm’s server products.

After completing an introductory few months at Cooler Master, Bruce became GM of CASE. Perhaps his introductory period provided some insight into possible synergies between Cooler Master departments. It probably isn't any coincidence that we are now seeing more full systems and barebone-style product bundles from Cooler Master.

While the GM of CASE at Cooler Master asserts he has been a “die-hard gamer” for as long as he can recall (with over 8,000 hours charted by Steam), he admits he wasn’t into PC building until he started working in the industry. In this chosen career, he felt duty-bound to deeply understand all the products in the businesses where he worked, and this drive became knowledge and experience. 

Of course, there was plenty of opportunity for PC building and refinement while working at Asus ROG. Before leaving Asus, he had certainly become a dedicated PC DIY enthusiast. Bruce’s PC-building skills were evident as he ended up being responsible for every showcase system built for prestigious trade shows like Computex, CES, and more.

Bruce’s product design philosophy is “I only make products that I want to spend money to buy.” This sounds like a no-nonsense foundation for products. But the GM of CASE also let it be known that he still frequently builds gaming PCs to work on innovations and refinements, which he hopes is reflected in all new Cooler Master brand products. 

In recent years, Minisforum has become well known as a purveyor of mini PCs but has expanded its portfolio to include motherboards. On its Weibo social media pages, the firm announced that its Eyertec AD650i Mini-ITX motherboards are now on sale (h/t VideoCardz). In July, Minisforum first showcased these motherboards at a company event in China.

It wasn’t a massive step for Minisforum to add motherboards to its mini PC and barebones systems portfolio. We note that boards like the new AD650i are available in an industry-standard Mini ITX form factor, easing the transition. Therefore, people can fit them in an extensive range of existing PC cases without limiting their plans to custom solutions.

Looking closer at the AD650i, it is evident that Minisforum uses a processor intended to be shipped in PCs such as laptops and AiOs. This is why the motherboard is bundled with a processor – it is soldered onto the PCB, like a laptop. Many Minisforum mini PCs use this modus operandi. We don’t know the CPU cooler fitting if you want to source your own, but the product comes with a low-profile heatsink and fan pre-installed as standard.

The Minisforum Eyertec AD650i is currently only available with the Intel Core i7-12650H. This Alder Lake mobile chip has six performance cores and four efficiency cores to deliver a 10C / 16T configuration. It has a max clock of 4.70 GHz, 24 MB of Smart Cache, and runs at a base power of 45W, rising to 115W at max turbo. The integrated graphics features 64 EUs running up to 1.40 GHz and offers Intel Quick Sync Video support.

Minisforum’s Weibo post suggests users looking to build a home server or NAS consider its AD650i closely. The reasoning behind this recommendation is clearly the sheer amount of storage options this mini-ITX setup provides.

If our understanding of the machine translation of the Weibo post (and diagrams) is correct, the AD650i offers a single M.2 SSD and twin SATA 3.0 HDD ports. An MXM card bundled with the board also provides connectors for up to three further M.2 2280 PCIe3.0 SSDs.

Buyers are left to buy and configure their own M.2 / SATA drives, which can be set up in RAID0, RAID1 and RAID5 modes. Another critical component left up to buyers to sort out are the memory modules, which apparently need to be DDR4-3200 rated.

Minisforum doesn’t write about the I/O panel support, but in the images, you can see the rear I/O panel has connectors for a Wi-Fi antenna, USB 4 (40 Gbps) Type-C, 2x USB 3.2 Gen2, 2x USB 3.2 Gen1, 2x HDMI, 2.5G LAN, and 19V PSU. Meanwhile, there is a front panel header for USB 2 and 3.2 Gen 1.

The only current advertised outlet for the Minisforum Eyertek AD650i is the firm’s TikTok store, where the board sells for 2599 Chinese Yuan (about $355).

A mini PC packing an off-roadmap Alder Lake-N chip has been spotted by Liliputing. The new Intel Processor N95 chip was found in a mini PC sold on AliExpress with a barebones version available starting at $190 and a fully populated model (32GB RAM, 1TB storage, and Windows 10 or 11 activated) for under $350. What is this mystery N95 processor? We have dug around to find out.

If you are looking for a quiet and compact PC which will be used for light workloads, Intel’s Alder Lake-N processors have recently started to appear in barebones and pre-built systems. These Intel 7 fabbed chips all feature four Alder Lake ‘Gracemont’ efficiency cores (4C/4T) running at up to 3.7GHz, and accompanied by Intel UHD Graphics with 4K/60 Hz support for up to three displays.

If you click though Intel’s Ark database you will find just two of these processors are supposed to be in the family; the Intel Processor N100 and Intel Processor N200. However, some searching of the database paid dividends and surfaced a specifications page for the Intel Processor N95. Putting all three chips in Intel’s comparison tool made it a cinch to see that the Intel Processor N95 was somewhat different.

The most immediate difference visible is that the N95 has a TDP of 15W, significantly higher than the 6W of the other chips. However, its max turbo clock at 3.4 GHz is tied for last place with the N100. Many other specs are the same until we hit the graphics section, where we see that the iGPU on the Intel Processor N95 runs significantly faster at 1.20 GHz, vs 750 MHz for the other members of the Alder Lake-N family. It has the disadvantage of fewer EUs though; only 16, compared to 24 and 32 for the Intel Processor N100 and N200, respectively.

The Intel Processor N95 thus looks like some spare silicon that Intel couldn’t get to run as efficiently as the other Alder Lake-N chips but saved them from e-waste by upping the TDP and selling them to Chinese OEMs for mini PCs and suchlike.

Within the AliExpress mini PC, the N95 chip is cooled by a ‘copper fan’. Other components in the 113 mm x 106 mm x 42 mm (4.4 x 4.2 x 1.7-inches) chassis include a DDR4 SO-DIMM slot, PCIe 3.0 M.2 2280 and M.2 2242 slots for up to two SSDs and built-in Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 4.2. The ports selection is adequate with 2x HDMI 2.0, a 2.5GbE port, 4x USB 3.2 Type-A ports, as well as an audio jack and 12V/4A DC-input. This particular mini PC weighs 240 grams (8.5 ounces) and can easily be fitted to the back of a monitor or a wall.

Earlier in the week Liliputing also spotted the similar size, spec and feature-packing Morefine M9 mini PC with 6W Intel Processor N100, though it still featured a cooling fan. The Morefine M9 is a $199 barebones offering at AliExpress.

Mechanical keyboards aren’t cheap (though you can find some decent budget-priced mechanical keyboards if you look), and custom mechanical keyboard kits are a money pit — there’s no other way to put it.

No matter how “worth it” a keyboard kit feels, spending $500 or even $863 on a custom keyboard kit is tough — especially when plenty of mass-produced mechanical gaming keyboards feel good and won’t break the bank. But there are some custom keyboard kits that truly stand out, and show us why keyboard enthusiasts are willing to spend more on custom kits over pre-built planks.

The IRISLabs JRIS65 is one such stand-out: A 65 percent gasket mount barebones mechanical keyboard kit with a gorgeous exterior in a range of colors, spectacular build quality, and excellent value — starting at $165 (with certain colors topping out at $180).

Specs

Design of the IRISLabs JRIS65

The JRIS65 is a gasket mount barebones mechanical keyboard kit that comes with almost everything you need to get started with your first board  except switches, keycaps, and stabilizers. The JRIS65’s starting price of $165 is pretty generous to begin with, but I would have appreciated a set of clip-in Cherry stabilizers, which are included with other similarly-priced custom kits such as the CannonKeys Bakeneko.

The JRIS65 may not come with stabilizers, but it does come with just about everything else, including a carrying case, IXPE foam, PCB tape, gasket jackets/socks, shims, rubber feet, PCB, POM plate, screws, poron plate and case foam, a coiled Type-C to Type-A cable, a cleaning cloth, a clear sheet to protect the chrome finish on the weight, and a silicone battery compartment cover if you get the wired version (the wireless version just comes with a battery).

Gasket mount mechanical keyboards have grown in popularity over the last year, but many of them barely meet the mark. Most gasket mount boards take poron foam pads, slap them onto the switch plate and call it a day — which works, to a degree, but can be a bit disappointing. However, the JRIS65 does things differently by adding flex cuts to the PCB as well as two different build methods.

The JRIS65 can utilize either gasket socks or jackets; after trying both, I much prefer the latter. The gasket socks wrap around the tabs on the PCB, like the name entails, whereas the jackets just go on the edges. While the socks are the same material, I found that the socks provided a firmer rebound. IRISLabs also only included nine gasket socks (10 are needed), so when I tested them I had to use a set of jackets on one of the tabs.

Now that I have the internals out of the way, we need to discuss the exterior of the JRIS65 because it is gorgeous. The bottom case of the JRIS65 features a steel chroma PVD weight, which meshes beautifully with the anodized pink chassis. If you’re not a fan of pink, the JRIS65 will also be available in E-white, yellow, black, milky white, maroon, titanium grey, navy blue and a few multi-colored options. The rainbow chroma PVD weight isn’t your only option here either, as IRISLabs also offers this board with anodized aluminum, featuring black, silver, and gold. More options, along with plate materials can be found in the Geekhack thread.

Like most custom boards, the JRIS65 features QMK and VIA support, allowing you to explore your wildest dreams in key configurations.

Assembling the JRIS65

Assembling the JRIS65 was pretty simple; I only hit two bumps in the road. I decided to use the following configuration: case foam, PCB, case foam, switch plate, and gasket jackets instead of socks. The JRIS65 did include two other pieces of foam, but I didn’t deem them necessary. My review model was pink, so I decided to use my C3 Equalz Banana Split switches, which matched the case perfectly.

Since my review sample shipped with the incorrect amount of gasket socks, I used the jackets on the remaining gasket tab (it’s the same material, so it’s close enough). Because the socks covered the entire tab, I found that the sound and bounce was too tame for my liking. The jackets, on the other hand, felt more responsive and satisfying to type with. After trying both builds, the socks came off but the jackets stayed on.

Installing the switches was easy enough, but the flex from the POM switch plate made switch installation a bit clumsy. I recommend that you keep fine nose tweezers nearby in case switch pins end up bending.

Because the JRIS65 utilizes a daughterboard, a JST cable is needed — and boy, was it a pain to connect. The JST cable was oddly short and the installation was so awkward that I didn’t want to take the board apart again. However, once the board was assembled, all of my frustrations were thrown out the window because it was worth the hassle.

Typing and Gaming Experience on the IRISLabs JRIS65

Despite being a gasket mount board, the JRIS65 had less bounce than others that I’ve tried, such as the CannonKeys Bakeneko — but that’s okay. It’s hard to explain, but the typing experience felt very controlled and the flex wasn’t overwhelming. Each keystroke had the right amount of bounce and, well, it’s just so satisfying to type with.

After taking the JRIS65 apart, I installed the new Drop (Gateron) Holy Panda X’s, along with its new DCX profile keycaps. While typing on the JRIS65 was already very enjoyable with linear switches installed, the tactile bump from the Holy Panda switches added some oomph to the typing experience.

Again, the overall typing experience with the JRIS65 felt controlled, and managed to perfectly bridge the gap between bouncy and stiff.

The JRIS65 doesn’t have an overwhelmingly high polling rate, nor does it have RGB — this keyboard wasn’t exactly designed to participate in a Valorant tournament. However, it is a mechanical keyboard kit: with the right switches, it can still play ball. Because it’s a barebones kit, you can use any MX-style switch you want — whether it’s something fast, such as Kailh Speed Silvers, or heavy, such as Gateron Oil Kings.

My game of choice was Call of Duty: Vanguard, since the new zombies map was recently released. The JRIS65 worked fine in-game, but I wouldn’t pick this over a gamer-oriented 65 percent keyboard such as the Asus ROG Falchion NX.

Software for the IRISLabs JRIS65

Like most custom mechanical keyboards (both kit form and not), the JRIS65 is supported by open-source firmware/software QMK/VIA. QMK is a bit dated and requires fairly extensive coding, but VIA is more accessible, and is one of the best keyboard configuration softwares for remapping keys, customizing layout, and recording macros (as well as configuring lighting, but the JRIS65 has no RGB).

My full-time job consists of a lot of data entry within Excel, so it’s a bit hard to get to know a board when I’m working. However, because VIA is so quick and easy, I set up a numpad in the second layer. Was it practical? Not really, but it was better than the standard number row. The JRIS65 has onboard memory and can store up to four profiles in QMK/VIA.

Bottom Line

The IRISLabs JRIS65’s starting price of $165 leaves you with enough bread to buy more expensive switches or caps, but, aside from the C3 Equalz Banana Splits, I built mine using relatively affordable parts. My keycaps are GMK Peach Blossom clones (I missed the group buy, OK), which I bought on Amazon for $45, and the stabilizers are Cherry clip-ins — which are killer, once modded. This ends up being less than $300 for an amazing custom keyboard.

The custom mechanical keyboard hobby, with its long group buy wait times and not-insignificant prices, isn’t for everyone. But if you’re looking to get started, the JRIS65 is a beautiful, well-built, and relatively affordable custom barebones kit. However, if you’d rather stick with something pre-built, Keychron’s Q-series, which includes the 65 percent Keychron Q2 and the 75 percent Keychron Q1, is packed with enthusiast features and is relatively affordable.

Taiwanese tiny-PC company Shuttle has announced via its EU site a new model in its XPC Barebone line, capable of accepting Intel Xeon W processors, sporting four Ethernet ports, and the first Shuttle PC compatible with error-correcting RAM.

The SW580R8 isn't going to win any prizes for its name, but it's innovative in other ways. Extremely compact, as is the Shuttle way, the case comes with just the motherboard and PSU included - it's up to the customer to provide their own CPU, RAM sticks and graphics. It's small, but not as small as some we've seen.

The included chipset is Intel's W580, a product aimed at workstations and capable of housing Intel's 10th and 11th gen Xeon W processors, which in their Rocket Lake incarnation have six or eight hyper-threading cores, turbo speeds up to 5.3GHz, and draw up to 125W. Of course, you don't have to accept this much processing power; however: anything down to a Celeron G5905 can also be fitted.

The Xeon W chips all come with an Intel UHD P750 integrated GPU, but the case can accommodate a PCIe 4.0 x16 dual-slot AIB. There are four RAM slots, for a maximum of 128GB of ECC RAM, and a plethora of ports, including one HDMI 2.0b, two DisplayPort 1.4, four 10Gbit USB 3.2 plus a 5 Gbit USB 3.2 Type C. There are three USB 3.2 and four USB 2.0 Type-A ports too, audio around the back, and four Ethernet sockets (two of which are 2.5Gbps and the others plain old gigabit). One supports vPro and AMT, Intel's Active Management Technology, which can provide remote management even when the PC is switched off.

Inside, you can fit six drives by exploiting every port, and the case comes with a cooling system designed to keep it all cool. Accessories include wireless upgrade kits, an installation frame for hard drives, and an uprated 850W power supply should the built-in 500W unit prove insufficient. This is a small black cube with a lot of power inside, measuring just 33.2 x 21.5 x 19.0 cm (13 x 8.5 x 7.5 inches).

The recommended price is 483 Euros, which converts to $495 thanks to the current closeness of the two currencies. The case should be available from specialist retailers imminently.

EVGA's open air PC case, the E1 Chassis Frame, is now ready to purchase. The company first took the wraps off its E1 design back in January. In brief, it is an open-air case made of carbon fiber, with the motherboard suspended via steel cables. 

This kind of design and innovation doesn’t come cheap, but the starting price of $1,600 for the most basic kit (the chassis and a VGA vertical kit) is pretty breathtaking. EVGA isn’t scared of premium pricing — other EVGA E1 kits with more system components included are priced as high as $4,999.

It's worth noting that the E1 series is created with premium materials. EVGA says that the E1 structure is built entirely with 3K plain weave carbon fiber. This is, apparently, the same material used to construct high performance supercars, because it has an excellent combination of light weight (chassis weighs 2.76lbs) and strength. It looks pretty good too — you might mistake the frame for polished tubular steel from a distance, but the underlying woven carbon fiber becomes evident up-close.

There are three EVGA E1 kits on sale. In the intro we highlighted the ‘cheapest’ kit, dubbed the EVGA E1 KIT 2. EVGA’s fullest offering costs $4,999 and is called the EVGA E1 Bare Bones. Paying this much and still getting a barebones system is definitely...extraordinary. On top of the initial $4,999 outlay for the top-end kit, you'll also need to buy (or migrate) a CPU, memory, storage, and an operating system. 

Potential purchasers of the $4,999 EVGA E1 can check out expansion options by pondering over our EVGA Z690 Dark KingPin E-ATX motherboard review from earlier this month. This well-rounded overclocking–focused motherboard should satisfy most enthusiasts as long as they don’t care about RGB (it’s Dark), and as long as three M.2 storage sockets are sufficient.

Another big-ticket component in the EVGA E1 Bare Bones model is the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti KingPin GPU. We have yet to get this premium overclocking GPU in the labs.

Those interested in the EVGA E1 kits can make their orders today, but even for the simplest and cheapest model there is said to be a build-to-order lag of three to four weeks. This delay is a little strange given these are all self-assembled products. EVGA is currently bundling a premium shipping case with the $4,999 kit; the company claims this bonus would normally cost $800.

The Viper v2 Pro is the latest mouse offering from Razer. It builds off its predecessor,  the Viper Ultimate, and streamlines the design with esports players in mind. Things like the side buttons and side grips have been optimized, while other features such as RGB lighting have been stripped away altogether in the name of lightness. Previous highlights, such as the optical sensor, mouse switches, and even the battery, have been improved. In addition, the Viper V2 Pro has a multitude of new intelligent functions via the Razer Synapse software. 

Virtually everything about the Viper v2 Pro is an improvement over the previous Viper Ultimate, easily making it a contender for our best gaming mouse list. However, despite the functionality of the Viper v2’s weight-saving measures, something about its lightness and material makes the mouse feel a little cheap. 

Razer Viper V2 Pro  Specs

Design of Razer Viper V2 Pro

The Razer Viper V2 Pro is similar in appearance to its Viper Ultimate Wireless predecessor sans the lighting, with an all-matte black design akin to Razer’s DeathAdder line. However, a few key things, including the lighting within the tri-skelion branding, have been jettisoned to make the mouse lighter. For instance, there are only two buttons on the right side of the mouse, removing the other two buttons on the left for ambidextrous users. The small compartment underneath most Razer’s mice used to store the 2.4GHz proprietary dongle has been removed and was replaced with an adapter that can hold the USB-shaped dongle. However, a button to cycle through the mouse’s 30K DPI is located underneath and also serves as the power button.

There’s no grip on the side of the mouse, but there are varying pieces of grip tape that come in the package for people that prefer some customization. There are two wide grips for each side of the mouse and two slimmer grips, one that is rounded with three edges and another with five edges like the Batman symbol. Although using these grips improved how the Viper V2 Pro felt in my hand, I disliked the materials used. They smell like an Auto Zone as soon as you open its packaging. And after applying the sticky grip to the mouse with the surgeon-like precision, they feel like tire rubber grinding against your thumb in practice. The grips peel off like snakeskin and are not fun to interchange on the fly.

A grip really should have been a part of the ergonomics of the Viper V2 Pro. The material used for the mouse is quite slippery, and a contrasting material would make my hold feel more secure. Unfortunately, these grips don’t feel nearly as premium or part of the overall design as the built-in grip on the DeathAdder V2. 

The Viper V2 Pro is only 1.49 inches (37.8mm) tall, and its height may be a hindrance for folks with larger hands who prefer a claw grip. I could only rest my meaty claws comfortably on the mouse with a palm grip.

The Razer Viper V2 Pro weighs an astonishing 58g, cutting 16g from the original Viper Ultimate Wireless. While I understand the functionality behind the featherweight design, the mouse may feel too hollow to use daily outside of esports purposes, where swift motion is paramount. 

Below the wheel is an LED light that blinks and changes color depending on the status of the Viper V2 Pro. The status indicator blinks red twice in repeated intervals when the battery is less than 5%. From there, the light pulses orange, yellow, and finally a static green once it's fully charged. When cycling between DPI, the LED light changes accordingly to indicate each setting. Red is 400, green is 800, blue is 1600, cyan is 3200, and yellow is 6400 DPI.

Performance of Razer Viper V2 Pro

The Razer Viper V2 Pro charges via the threaded USB-C to USB-A cable included in the package. It can also connect wirelessly via its 2.4-GHz USB-A dongle. The Razer Viper Pro has six programmable buttons, one fewer than the Viper Ultimate, and two fewer than the original Razer Viper 8K. Razer also upgraded the 5G Advanced Optical Sensor to a 70G sensor.

Razer boasts that the Viper V2 Pro is the first gaming mouse to track accurately on glass. And although I can’t say if its “world’s first” claim is true or not, the mouse can absolutely track well on just about anything, including my glass table. I was able to use the mouse on everything from my bedsheets to my sweatpants with no difference in performance.

The Razer Viper V2 Pro has extremely snappy optical switches, introducing its Gen 3 switches that promise 20 million more clicks than previous designs. The switch zones are generously large and tactile, ensuring you’ll never click down on a switch by mistake. When playing BioShock Infinite, every click felt like the squeeze of a trigger in Booker’s hand. The scroll wheel also felt much more tactile and ridged on the finger than the scroll wheel on the DeathAdder V2. When I used both mice to scroll, the ridges on the Viper V2 Pro felt satisfying on my finger, and like I had more control over the wheel’s motion. I seamlessly switched between guns in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, and I smoothly cycled through the three guns fast and with precision. 

Although I usually prefer playing games with a mouse set around 1600 DPI, 3200 DPI feels amazing. I played Mass Effect: Legendary Edition on my 48-inch LG CX and everything felt responsive, movements were snappy, and it made my firing that much more effective in-game. I quickly changed my perspective over and over, going in circles, and never encountered microstutters. However, the maximum 6400 DPI sensitivity felt like overkill. My movements were all over the place, I couldn’t focus my line of fire, and there was no precision to be found under these circumstances. It doesn’t seem useful in any practical circumstances, but then again, I’m no esports player. 

On the subject, the two side buttons are hair-trigger sensitive. Although I can see situations where that sensitivity would be useful, it felt like I could press one by mistake when I meant to press the other. The DeathAdder’s side buttons are bigger and more defined. When I click them, they need more pressure to confirm inputs, whereas the buttons on the Viper V2 Pro were thinner and easier to push with my thumb.

Although the lightweight design of the Razer Viper V2 Pro bothers me in practical use, it does serve for faster movements in-game. Paired with an extremely high DPI count and very responsive optical switches, the Viper V2 Pro could be a game-changer and a determining factor in your playing efficiency, especially if you often play competitively. However, at the same time, the folks who need a bit of density to their gaming mice may be thrown off entirely by its lack of weight or built-in grip.

Synapse 3 Software on Razer Viper V2 Pro

Razer Synapse 3 is a finicky program that you’ll need to install to utilize the Hypershift function, which allows you to apply shortcuts and dual functions to its seven buttons. You’ll also need Synapse to utilize the Hyperspeed Multi-Device Pairing function. This allows for improved latency across wireless Razer products akin to wired connections. The performance tab of the Viper V2 Pro’s settings lets you adjust the DPI on the fly by choosing one of its five settings. You can even change each setting’s X/Y axis at your discretion and reduce the number of settings from five down to two. The polling rate can also be adjusted from its default 1000 Hz, to 500 Hz, down to 125 Hz.

The next tab is for mouse mat surface calibration, which allows you to adjust the tracking distance of the optical sensor. There’s also an Asymmetric Cut-Off function you can enable to adjust the lift and landing sensitivity of your mouse if it's having tracking trouble on whatever surface it's touching. However, I never had much need for it, since the mouse tracked well on every surface I encountered.

Finally, a power tab allows you to tweak wireless power-saving and make the mouse sleep after being idle for anywhere between one and 15 minutes. There’s also a low-power mode that will enter such mode after the battery percentage hits whatever number you set.

Bottom Line

The Razer Viper V2 Pro is a strong choice for a gaming mouse, depending on how you intend to use it. I can only recommend this mouse to serious competitive gamers or those that are part of the esports community. Only they would be able to appreciate and notice the performance enhancements the mouse delivers. Even then, I would not recommend it as an all-purpose mouse. This is something you whip out during competition exclusively, as its lithe frame and ergonomics may throw off non-competitive players. 

That being said, for the price of $150, I wish the separate grips were of better quality, or better yet, part of the overall design. The optional grips made my hold feel better when grasping the mouse, but the friction of its material began to annoy me during use. 

Something like the DeathAdder V2 would much better serve an all-purpose gamer who wants a mouse that is usable throughout all aspects of their computer life. It’s much cheaper, feels more dense , and has a max 20K DPI setting.

Small form factor and embedded PCs specialist Shuttle Computer has launched a new barebones PC, ready for a 12th Gen Intel Core Alder Lake processor of your choice (up to 65W). The new Shuttle XPC Slim DH670 measures just only 190 x 165 x 43mm, and 1.3 liters capacity. It uses laptop DDR4 memory, and you can expand the storage using the two M.2 slots and one 2.5 inch drive.

One of the first things you will decide, if you take the plunge and buy one of these barebones, is your choice of processor. You are limited to a maximum of 65W TDP, to fit within the thermal capacity of the design. In other words this is the limit of Shuttle's heat-pipe cooling system with smart fan. That isn't the only restriction, you will also have to pick a processor with integrated graphics (so, not an F suffixed part). Having laid out those provisos you can still fit a chip with up to 16C/24T and which has Intel UHD graphics capable of supporting up to 4K/60P and up to four separate displays (2x HDMI 2.0b, 2x DP).

For memory you have two SO-DIMM slots for adding DDR4, up to a maximum of 64GB at 3,200 MT/s. Storage expansion comes via a single SATA 6.0Gbps interface for a 2.5 inch device, and an M.2 2280 (which we presume is a PCIe 4.0 x4 slot). One of the smaller M.2 2230 slots is present too, with a type E connector most commonly purposed for a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth card. This is the limit of the internal expansion options you will use, everything else, including the power, will dangle from one of the ports.

For its diminutive stature Shuttle has added quite a few ports to the XPC Slim DH670, both front and back. You can refer to the ports table below for exactly what is featured.

The unit is powered via a19V DC jack on the back panel. Shuttle provides a 120W PSU to plug into this in its barebones kit. Another feature of note is the twin RS232 connectors, most commonly used for serial connections (typically machinery still found in some workplaces.)

A couple of specs we haven't mentioned yet, that should be highlighted are the use of the H670 chipset from Intel, and the onboard Realtek ALC662/897/888S High Definition Audio solution. 

Shuttle hasn't shared any pricing details for its XPC Slim DH670 Alder Lake barebones but it says that it is "coming soon."  

The specs of the motherboard in Shuttle's new barebones appear at first glance to line up pretty closely to the Asus Pro H610T ITX which hits retail this week. However, a comparative inspection of thee small form factor motherboards shows the size and layout of the two boards varies quite significantly, and the port selection is different too. Shuttle's barebones aims more at "enhanced imagery in digital signage, design automation, kiosks, FIDS (Flight Information Display System), and other text- and graphics-intense applications." but this doesn't mean it can't be the home of your small form factor build.

PCs and components maker ASRock has designed a couple of interesting new 8 liter barebones systems ready for your choice of 12th Gen Intel Core Processors (Alder Lake-S, ADL-S), or AMD AM4 socket APUs or CPUs. ASRock's DeskMeet B660 is the firm's new barebones for Intel ADL-S, and the DeskMeet X300 works with modern AMD Ryzen 2000 series or newer APUs and CPUs. Both barebone systems share the same case / design, and despite their compact footprint are able to fit discrete graphics cards up to 20cm in length. As barebones systems, in addition to your choice of CPU, you will also have to bring along your own DDR4 RAM and storage.

The ASRock DeskMeet B660 and X300 have a lot in common, as you may have already noted from our intro. To be clear these 8 liter barebones are Mini ITX based systems, but ASRock asserts that it has put work into optimizing the melding of motherboard, chassis and power supply. Such systems and components synergy is one of the charms of barebones systems, and rightly so. Thanks to design synergies, the benefits of this barebone are claimed to be minimal cabling, improved cable management, and improved airflow.

One of the key attractions of the ASRock DeskMeet series are that they allow users to fit their choice of discrete GPU up to 20cm in length, should they wish to go down this route in their build, or at a later date. At the time of writing, the most powerful GPUs that could fit in the sub-20cm constriction of the DeskMeet is probably the MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Aero at 17.2cm in length, requiring up to 200W. On the topic of power, these new barebones come with 500W PSUs and the CPU/APU you choose should have a TDP of 65W or lower.

Mini ITX systems are sometimes the hardest to work on, due to the obvious constraints, so barebones systems, and the extra thought put into such foundational system designs, are particularly welcome.

Micro Center has partnered up with Asus to provide a new PC Builder Tool that gives novice PC builders an easy way to assemble the parts for a new gaming PC by doing most of the part selection for you. More importantly, it's a way to guarantee getting an RTX 30-series graphics card, one of the best graphics cards, though at a rather high price. Think of it as another form of bundling, similar to the Newegg Shuffle, but without the lottery aspect.

You have the option of choosing one of three tiers: Value, Performance, and Ultimate. There are options for either Intel or AMD platforms on each tier. However, each system comes configured as a barebones system, meaning it's missing the CPU, Storage, RAM, and even the OS. You will have to add those system components separately, which quickly bumps up the price. You can also have Micro Center build the system out for you for $200, if you select all the extra components and OS, or you can do it yourself.

Effectively, what Asus and Micro Center are shipping to you is a DIY barebones kit, or potentially a complete system. What's interesting about this idea is that you can choose the major system components yourself, from a limited selection. The included parts naturally all come from Asus, but you can pick the CPU, RAM, and storage. But on the downside, these options aren't selected for you by default, and you have to pay full price for the OS. That's something the best prebuild desktops and DIY kits like NZXT's BLD kits already do.

It'll be interesting to see how this strategy plays out. Micro Center does have a different build tool that allows a far greater selection of components, but that may not guarantee you a graphics card. We suspect this is a way to get new GPUs into the hands of DIY PC gamers who are trying to put together a new system. But that could mean fewer standalone GPUs for sale, which could make it even harder to grab a GPU on its own from Micro Center if some of the company's graphics card allocation gets prioritized toward Asus' barebones systems — or at least, most of the Asus graphics card allocation.

Graphics Card Pricing Strategy

With how serious the graphics shortage has become, and the rather horrible GPU prices for cards being sold online, we priced out each build to see if Micro Center is giving you a price that's close to MSRP on the graphics card. Spoiler alert: It's absolutely not.

The barebones systems are by no means cheap and start at $979 for the AMD Value kit, and $999 for the Intel version. Each build comes with Asus-themed components, so the Value build for example includes an Asus Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Dual V2 graphics card, TUF Gaming 650W Bronze PSU, and an Asus TUF GT301 tempered glass ATX chassis. You also get either a Z590-A Prime motherboard for Intel builds (starting at $1,000) or a B550-F ROG Strix Gaming motherboard for AMD (starting at $980).

Pricing things out, we found that Micro Center is charging around $575-$600 for the RTX 3060 Ti graphics card. That's $200-ish over Nvidia's base MSRP, though Asus cards often get sold at a premium, though the company's "Dual" line of graphics cards is about as barebones as you can get. There's no RGB and very little in the way of other extras. If we weren't in a severe GPU shortage, these would likely be sold at Nvidia's base MSRP.

The performance PC steps things up a bit by going with a GeForce RTX 3070 KO V2 graphics card, Asus ROG Strix 240mm RGB liquid cooler, Asus TUF Gaming GT 501 RGB case, and a 750W TUF Gaming Bronze PSU. The Intel option includes a Z590-E ROG Strix motherboard and starts at $1,700, while the AMD build includes an Asus B550-F ROG Strix motherboard and starts at a far less painful $1,500.

Unfortunately, graphics card pricing with the Performance setup is pretty rough. Based on our estimates looking at the other components, Micro Center charges a whopping $950–$975 for the Asus RTX 3070 KO. The KO line at least isn't quite as far down the pecking order, as it does include some RGB lighting and a modest overclock, but that's still basically double the theoretical Nvidia RTX 3070 MSRP.

The Ultimate trim level is Micro Center's highest offering in the lineup, giving you a Z590 ROG Maximus XIII Hero for the Intel version, an Asus ROG Ryujin 240 RGB AIO liquid cooler, a tempered glass RGB GX601 ROG Strix gaming case, and an ROG Strix 850W Gold power supply. For the graphics card, you get one of the fastest GPUs around, the ROG Strix RTX 3080 Ti — the triple fan variant, not the RTX 3080 Ti ROG Strix LC that we recently reviewed.

The total price for the barebones kit comes to an eye watering $3,499.99. For the AMD platform, the Z590 board gets swapped out for an Asus X570-E ROG Strix gaming motherboard — no Crosshair X570 Hero, unfortunately. That system starts at $3,299.

Based on those components, we can get a good estimate of the graphics card price, and it's a doozy. According to our calculations, Micro Center is charging users a whopping $2,330 for the Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti ROG Strix found inside this model. Granted, it can be a bit difficult to find those cards in stock, but Newegg currently has it listed for $2,178.88. And you don't even need to buy other parts alongside it.

Here's our price estimates for the various kits, based on the cost of the other components when purchased online (not necessarily from MicroCenter), with the GPU covering whatever's left. In short, despite guaranteeing customers that each Asus barebones kit will come with an Asus RTX graphics card, the prices are borderline outrageous for the mid-tier Performance and top-tier Ultimate builds. You might even be better off buying an RTX 3080 Ti or RTX 3070 from a scalper on eBay for a lower price (maybe).

The Value kit is more reasonable with a cost of "just" $100-$200 over MSRP. However, you are still getting one of Asus' lowest-end RTX 3060 Ti models, making this offer quite distasteful. And don't forget that these are barebones kits, meaning you need to pour an additional $400-$800 to make the systems usable with a good CPU, memory, storage, and operating system.

It reeks of greed, in other words. Newegg's Shuffle already left a sour taste in many potential shoppers' mouths, and MicroCenter's Asus Build options are effectively just as bad, if not worse. You also have to pick up the PC at the store, which means it's still limited to people who live near a MicroCenter.

But don't worry: You can only order one system from MicroCenter (per month), to ensure everyone can get a chance at a graphics card. That's the same deal as purchasing a GPU on its own, likely at a better price, provided any are in stock. And that's what we would recommend you do, assuming you can find a card that's in your budget.

Zotac just announced the ZBOX M Series MA621 Nano, a small form factor (SFF) barebones system powered by AMD Ryzen processors.

Specs include a Ryzen 3 3200U dual-core CPU clocked at 2.6G Hz with a boost frequency of 3.5G Hz, support for 32GB of RAM up to 2,400 MHz and, for storage, a single M.2 SATA slot, plus a 2.5-inch hard drive / SSD.

In terms of I/O, the MA621 Nano is pretty loaded. The mini PC comes with four USB 3.0 ports (1 in the front, 3 in the rear), mic and headphone jacks, an SD card reader (that supports SD/SDHC/SDXC formats), 2 gigabit Ethernet ports. For video output, you get both DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0.

Still, considering Zotac announced the MA621 Nano today, it's disappointing to see it arrive with only  a 3rd Gen Ryzen option. Ryzen loves high-speed memory, but you don't get support for the best RAM at 3,200 MHz. However, for much of the target audience this system should be fast enough.

If you are looking for a simple, SFF barebones that gets the basic, like video playback and word processing done, Zotac's latest should be worth a look. Plus, with its dual Ethernet ports it can serve in more professional environments.

No word on pricing or availability yet, but we expect to see it on shelves soon. 

It looks like a slightly beat-up NIntendo GameCube, but it can run Smash Brothers. No, not Super Smash Bros. Melee from 2001 -- the more recent Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii. Yes, it looks like an obsolete gaming console, but it can also play Far Cry 5 and Fortnite. That's because this GameCube was modded by a YouTuber known as Tech by Matt and turned into a sleeper gaming PC.

Shared on YouTube and spotted by The Gamer, Tech by Matt employed an AMD Ryzen APU and other PC components to turn an old GameCube in to a PC build that specializes in packing modern power into modest chassis, rather than the best PC cases, often taken from pre-built computers. It's primary focus is emulation, eSports and looking perfectly retro (is the early 2000s 'retro' yet?). 

Instead of flaunting RGB, sleeper gaming PCs are about looking as unassuming as possible, nd making machines that outperform expectations. Matt specializes in this kind of build, and his latest experiment is a direct hit to PC gaming elitists.

Half case mod and half cannibalization, the GameCube sleeper PC is complete with working controller ports. Built inside a modified GameCube case, space is at a premium, meaning that while its power is leagues above an actual GameCube and  it can technically run more modern AAA games, it’s not going to run games smoothly at 4K specs anytime soon. Still, it's a unique approach to playing both your old favorites and your less demanding recent titles.

Components

Parts for the build are half original and half salvaged from the ASRock DESKMINI A300W. Original parts are an AMD Ryzen 3 3200G, 16GB of laptop-style SODIMM DDR4 RAM, a single 500GB NVMe SSD and a 50mm fractal design fan. Parts salvaged from the ASRock DESKMINI include an “almost comically small” A320 mini-STX motherboard, a cooling fan, an M.2 Wi-Fi card and a 150W power brick. 

Matt also bought a broken, slightly scuffed up (for that rough aesthetic) GameCube off eBay, along with a generic USB Gamecube controller adapter and a Gamebit screwdriver for removing the GameCube’s proprietary screws.

Tallying these parts together, we estimate a total cost of $420 for this build, though Matt mentioned that you could upgrade the Ryzen 3 to a Ryzen 5 if you want, and that the motherboard has room for another SSD. However, the parts listed suited his needs.

The Building Process

Matt’s task was split into two parts: disassembling the GameCube and building the new PC. 

For disassembly, Matt first used the GameBit screwdriver to open up the GameCube, easily removed the controller port and back panel, unscrewed 12 Phillips head screws to take out the combined side fan and power button. Then, with a bit more unscrewing, he was able to take out the disk drive, mainboard, power supply and a “few more metal pieces.” For the most part, Matt reported this was the easier part of the project, though he noted that the GameCube’s original heatsink had “a ridiculous amount of thermal paste.”

Assembly was trickier, especially because Matt wanted to use the GameCube’s original controller ports and power button in the new build. This meant hollowing out useless space-consuming indents that Nintendo left for expansions and cables from the GameCube’s bottom, making a custom metal tray to fill in the holes they left behind, installing his own motherboard standoff, and modding the original side fan bracket to fit with his new fan. 

Matt also had to solder jumper cables to the original power button to plug into the new motherboard's power slot, as well as solder the Gamecube’s original controller port board to his adapter’s board, then connect the adapter’s board to his motherboard’s USB slots. He also considered adding a top-loading disk drive to the system, but abandoned the idea as fitting a disk drive into the case would have interfered with the power button, eject button and original disk drive hinge mechanism.

It’s more work than we make it sound like, and definitely enough to bump up the system’s cost a few hundred dollars if you don’t already have the tools and materials to do it, which include a dremel, soldering iron with cutting tip and low grit sanding wheel (Matt's video provides detailed instructions).

At the end of the build, though, Matt achieved what almost looks like an untouched GameCube from the outside, with enough power inside to run the Dolphin GameCube/Wii emulator and eSports titles without issue. 

He didn't provide any emulation stats, but after testing the system with The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Super Smash Brothers Melee and Super Smash Brothers Brawl, he said they all “ran perfectly fine.” Fortnite, meanwhile, averaged 60 frames per second (fps) at 1080p on the game’s relatively low competitive settings, while CS:GO was able to reach an average fps in the lower 100s at 1080p on its own similarly low-spec competitive settings.

The PC...console...system...can also run more graphically intensive AAA games, though Matt warned that it “isn’t really meant for AAA gaming,” as it was only able to hit an average frame rate of 25 fps on Far Cry 5’s low settings. Matt also tried to emulate The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on the machine, and while the game didn’t crash, he did run into enough lag spikes to render it borderline unplayable. He noted, however, that Breath of the Wild is notoriously difficult to emulate, meaning that the system itself might not be behind these problems.

For someone like me, who’s recently gotten into emulating my GameCube and Wii collection on Dolphin to take advantage of its higher resolution options and convenience features, like save states, this is an appealing nostalgia build. It’s also more portable than your typical gaming PC, and the GameCube case even gives it a cute handle for carrying to your next LAN party.

Matt’s still taking requests for games to emulate on it, so stop by his YouTube channel if you’d like to see him try your personal favorite.

There's a wide range of inexpensive cases available this Cyber Monday, but this DIYPC case stands out as one of the lowest-priced models at $39.99. That's all-time low pricing from its standard $69.99 price point, but the case comes with surprisingly  strong capabilities. 

The case comes with a 4mm-thick tempered glass sidepanel, measures 17.88 x 8.40 x 15.60 inches, and the steel frame weighs in at 12 pounds. The front panel has an angled LED light strip that runs up its face, but these RGB lights only have manual control, so you won't be able to sync up with the motherboard utilities that come with most modern ATX/Micro-ATX/Mini-ITX motherboards supported by the case.

 The case comes without fans, which we would expect given its ultra-low price point, but the image above shows the eight possible mounting locations for 120mm fans. You can also drop a 240mm radiator into the front of the case.  

The case has two USB 2.0, one USB 3.0, and audio in/out ports on the upper front and ha a magnetic dust filter for the top-mounted cooling solutions. The case can support two 3.5" drives, along with three 2.5" SSDs. 

DIYPC covers the case with one-year warranty. If you're interested in other case deals this Cyber Monday, check out our Best Cyber Monday Tech Deals.

DeskMini A300 Design Features

Most of us can think of a few places where a tiny PC might come in handy. The first AMD-based Mini STX (a tiny 147x140mm motherboard form factor that supports socketed CPUs) desktop from ASRock, the DeskMini A300 offers users a combination of AM4 (Ryzen and presumably Athlon) processor support and relatively expansive storage in a reasonably priced package (about $140 / £151). Our biggest problem is figuring out which of those many places we’d like to put a compact PC would be best for this potentially fairly versatile AMD-based model.

Barebones PCs go back as far as any of us have been involved in the business. The combination of case, power supply, and motherboard was once used by discount merchants to foist their cheapest hardware upon value-seeking neophytes. Barebones systems eventually grew to encompass custom-designed high-end configurations, but the basic definition remains: You’ll have to pick your own processor, memory, and storage.

Roughly the size of a full-sized power supply, the DeskMini’s uncanny resemblance to a point of sale (POS) terminal boils down its shape, front-panel design, and mini VESA mount. The hardware gets a little more interesting, as there are no legacy serial or parallel ports for those old security dongles often required in the POS market. Builders instead get support for AMD’s AM4 CPUs up to 65W, along with whatever onboard graphics and memory support these CPUs provide. Of course, there being no room for a dedicated graphics card will cut down your CPU options quite a bit. Details on what's supported can be found in the specs table below.

ASRock DeskMini A300 Specifications

ASRock’s official dimensions don’t include the affixed security tabs, so our measurements differ from theirs. Another exception is that you may be seeing the price for the Wi-Fi version (A300W), since the more-basic version we tested wasn’t in stock at the time of this writing. The Wi-Fi version includes an Intel AC-3168 Wi-Fi module and installation hardware that the builder must install themselves, and likely adds $10 to the retail price.

Designed to lay either on its bottom or right side, the DeskMini A300 has only two USB ports on its front (one Type-C at 5Gb/s) and two on is back (one USB 2.0). The front panel also has the case’s only two audio jacks, headphone and microphone, while the back adds DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI 2.0, and a WUXGA-compliant analog video connection. An RJ-45 for Gigabit Ethernet, a power jack for the 19V adapter, a Kensington Lock slot, and two security cable tabs are also on the back, while the previously-mentioned mini VESA mount is found on its right panel.

ASRock says that its included CPU cooler is optional, but with only 46mm of mounting space (we measured 48mm with our CPU installed), alternatives are limited. Every kit we’ve seen has included this option, which has a 70x15mm fan with raised corners that extend frame depth to 20mm. Other system-specific small parts include four self-adhesive rubber feet that are sliced around the edges to peel away from the scrap and backing, to be fit on recesses on either of the two supported sides, and two SATA cables with special notebook-style motherboard ends.

The included AcBel 120W power adapter certainly shouldn’t become overloaded by a system that supports only a 65W CPU, two SATA drives, two SODIMMs, and two M.2 SSDs.

ASRock DeskMini A300 Enclosure

Photo Credits: Tom's Hardware

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Internal Hardware and Installation

Four screws secure the DeskMini A300’s motherboard tray and back panel to its outer casing, which slips off like a sleeve. Located directly behind an unused beep-code speaker header, a nine-pin header connects a proprietary cable for the power button and activity LEDs to the bottom-front corner of its A300M-STX motherboard.

Front-panel ports and jacks are permanently affixed to the A300M-STX motherboard. Other connectors include dual CPU fan headers in the lower-rear corner, a USB 2.0 header in the upper-front corner, dual SODIMM slots, a Key-E slot for notebook Wi-Fi modules, and a PCIe x4 M.2 slot for NVMe SSDs.

Buiders who would like to add a second M.2 drive will need to remove the motherboard, as its slot is located on the board’s underside and covered by the two 2.5-inch drive trays that are integrated with the motherboard tray. Motherboard removal is also required to access the screw holes of the two 2.5-inch drive trays that cover the second M.2 storage slot, though the proprietary SATA headers for the included 2.5” drive cables are accessible via the oval hole seen above.

Hoping to find some way to push our CPU past its stock settings, we attempted to install our lowest profile wide cooler, the Gamer Storm Gabriel by DeepCool. The heatsink only fits in the orientation shown, and its 20mm-thick fan was 13mm too thick to clear the casing, so we used the clip-on cooler provided within the DeskMini A300’s installation kit.

ASRock A300M-STX Motherboard Features

Photo Credits: Tom's Hardware

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DeskMini A300 Firmware and Test Hardware

Dwelling in the enthusiast market has given us little exposure to AMD’s A300 Promontory chipset, so we really didn’t know what to expect of overclocking functionality. The DeskMini A300 lacks any CPU multiplier control, but does allow full DRAM overclocking within the limits of the CPU and motherboard stability, and offers similar flexibility to the APU’s integrated Radeon RX Vega graphics controller.

The system’s A300M-STX motherboard has only two DRAM voltage settings, 1.35V and 1.20V. And while either of those would get our memory to its DDR4-3000 rating, neither of those settings would keep it stable at higher settings. We also tried DDR4-3800 and DDR4-4000 modules from G.Skill and Corsair to no avail, so this appears to be the limit of board stability. Similarly, our graphics processor topped out at 1500 MHz using 1.20V, where 1.25V couldn’t push it to our next-higher 1600 MHz setting.

Users unable to reach their desired DRAM overclock are welcomed in firmware to optimize timings instead, via the A300M-STX’s expansive Timing Configuration submenu.

The A300M-STX’s CBS menu is similarly lacking in overclocking features, but users can choose a few power settings to optimize for better performance or lower power use.

The motherboard’s “Tool” firmware menu provides SSD Secure Erase and Instant Flash firmware updating, and its H/W Monitor menu offers manual fan configuration in addition to the expected factory-programmed curves.

How We Test

Unable to match the DeskMini’s exact configuration for a performance comparison, we built our comparison system using ASRock’s own Fatal1ty B450 Gaming ITX/ac as the baseline motherboard, and the DeskMini’s tiny CPU heatsink and fan as the baseline cooler. Differences include the larger board’s larger DIMMs and PS2 form-factor (aka full ATX) power supply, the later being the lowest-capacity 80 Plus Gold rated unit we had on hand.

Test Hardware

Here’s how the DeskMini A300’s A300M-STX overclock settings compare to those of the B450 Gaming ITX/ac.

Photo Credits: Tom's Hardware

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Benchmark Results and Final Analysis

We tested both boards at DDR4-2400 defaults, then enabled XMP and tested again. Since the comparison B450 Gaming-ITX/ac’s modules had tighter DDR4-2933 timings, it was then manually configured to match the DeskMini A300’s DDR4-3000 16-18-18-43 configuration.

Synthetic Benchmarks

The DeskMini A300 and the B450 Gaming-ITX/ac run neck-and-neck through 3DMark at DDR4-2400, and again at DDR4-3000, with both showing noticeable improvements. Things also seem likewise competitive through a slew of Sandra tests and even Cinebench and Compubench, though the latter gets a bigger push from the faster memory setting.  PCMark’s Creative score is the one place the B450 Gaming-ITX/ac stands out, but it’s difficult to determine the cause since nothing is askew in other tests.

3D Games

The B450 Gaming-ITX/ac gets a slightly better DDR4-3000 bump in F1-2015, which could indicate the use of better advanced memory timings. Performance differentiation in other games is insignificant.

Timed Applications

Less time means better performance in our non-gaming workloads, where the DeskMini A300 stands up to its Mini-ITX cousin in most metrics and even wins a few. The B450 Gaming-ITX/ac stands out in our longest tests, 7-Zip and Handbrake, and that combination likely indicates that it’s holding the CPU closer to its max frequency a little longer.

Power, Heat and Efficiency

The DeskMini A300 draws much less power than the B450 Gaming-ITX/ac, but the greatest problem with the bigger systems score is that it starts out with very poor idle power. While that could indicate a board that doesn’t make effective use of AMD’s power-savings, the tendency for inefficiency to taper off under higher loads is more likely indicative of its power supply having poor low-load efficiency.

Thermal measurements are impacted by the DeskMini A300’s small enclosure, so we took it out and measured temperatures a second time, in open air.

The open-air comparison doesn't help the B450 ITX/ac’s temperatures; they aren’t lower at all. Instead, we see that the CPU appears to pull more power when installed in the Mini ITX board, which is then turned into heat. So maybe the power supply chosen for that board isn’t so bad at low loads.

Even with the smaller casing keeping the DeskMini A300 toasty under heavy loads, it draws far less energy than its larger cousin. Since performance differences were far smaller, the result is far greater efficiency. DDR4-3000 increased the DeskMini A300’s performance far more than its power draw, giving this configuration the greatest efficiency by a rather large margin.

Overclocking

Since the DeskMini A300 didn’t have the overclock settings of its B450 cousin, and since it couldn’t use the overclock settings it had for memory, we decided to see what we could do with the APU’s integrated Radeon RX Vega graphics instead. Remember from our firmware description that it topped out at 1500MHz, up 36% from the stock 1100MHz.

The one game and setting that least-needed the extra performance of an overclocked GPU got the most benefit from this experiment: F1 2015 at our Medium preset. Other benchmarks crave faster memory, which is rather unfortunate given the board’s inability to push any of our high-speed SODIMM memory past DDR4-3000.

In case you’re wondering, we didn’t have much luck overclocking the CPU on the B450 Gaming-ITX/ac either, though it did push its memory to the board’s DDR4-3466 setting at 1.35V, thereby increasing Sandra Memory Bandwidth from 33.8GB/s (DDR4-3000) to 38.9GB/s (DDR4-3466).

But What About Noise?

The DeskMini A300’s sole fan is the 70x15mm unit that came with its CPU cooler. Our meter read 46 decibels (A-weighted) at 1/4-meter, dropping only to 44.7 decibels when mounted inside the case. Subtract 12 decibels to get an approximate SPL for the industry-standard one-meter distance, and you’re looking at around 33db under heavy load. While systems like these rarely encounter a load high enough to force full fan RPM, that occasional high noise level could lead to occasional work disturbance.

Final Thoughts

Though it resembles something a store employee might use to check out paying customers, ASRock’s DeskMini A300 is designed for the improved performance and storage mandated by the consumer market. Unfortunately, the lack of any rear-panel audio jacks makes it more of a professional office system than a general purpose “home office” PC. The scarcity of rear-panel USB ports has a similarly negative impact on home users. Digital audio available through its integrated HDMI 2.0 support could instead make it an attractive set top box, but only if your loads are low enough to avoid turning its somewhat noisy fan up to eleven.

Photo Credits: Tom's Hardware

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Update: ASRock clarified the system comes with a 120W power brick. We adjusted the text accordingly.

ASRock's suite at CES 2019 held a rare gem for small form factor enthusiasts: A new DeskMini A300 Series system that comes with an A300-STX AM4 motherboard that the company claims is the world's smallest. Surprisingly, the diminutive barebones system will retail for only $119 when it comes to market next month. 

ASRock's DeskMini A300 is yet another product in the company's line of DeskMini SFF systems, which also includes Z390 and B360 systems that come with MXM GPUs.

The A300 model comes with a custom A300-STX motherboard that adheres to the micro-STX form factor, meaning the board only measures 5-inches x 5-inches. Shrinking down the board to such a small size required eliminating a PCIe slot, and the board also doesn't support MXM graphics cards. That means you'll need an AMD processor that comes with integrated graphics, which limits your options to AMD's Raven Ridge and Bristol Ridge processors, albeit with a 65W TDP limitation.

Considering its small size, the board comes packed with quite a bit of connectivity. The board includes two M.2 sockets that support SSDs with the 2280 form factor, with one socket on the top of the motherboard and the other tucked away on the bottom. It also has two SATA 6Gb/s ports for traditional storage devices.

The two SO-DIMM memory slots support up to DDR4-2933 with Ryzen and DDR4-2400 with A-series processors. Display outputs consist of HDMI (4K @ 60hz), DisplayPort, and D-Sub. The board also sports USB 2.0 and USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A ports on the rear I/O section and two additional USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-C and Type-A ports on the front of the board. There are also accommodations for an M.2 Wi-Fi + Bluetooth module.

The board resides in the 1.9-liter DeskMini chassis that measures 155 x155 x 80mm. A 120W power brick feeds the five-phase power delivery subsystem through a rear DC-in jack, but the brick isn't as large as some of the beefier 225W models that come with GPU-equipped DeskMini models. The limited power budget, not to mention the limited cooling options in such a small case, takes overclocking off the table.

The barebones system comes without memory, storage, or a CPU, which explains the low asking price. ASRock also sells several accessories separately, like VESA mounts, low-profile CPU coolers, Wi-Fi ac kits, and audio cables. The DeskMini A300 comes to market next month.

Introduction & Product Tour

ASRock updated its Deskmini barebones mini PCs to a Z370 platform, and it’s one of the most capable and versatile systems of its kind. The Deskmini is the ultimate enthusiast mini PC with support for 8th generation (Coffee Lake) Intel desktop processors, options for GTX 1060 (in Taiwan) or GTX 1080 (in the United States) graphics, and more total storage drive capacity than any other mini PC we’ve ever seen. The GTX 1080 version sold in the U.S. will run for $1,529.99, while the GTX 1060 model we tested is around $900 USD (if you go by Taiwanese pricing). The new Z370 Deskmini is worth every penny if you need a seriously small form factor and like to build your own PC.

Specifications

Exterior

The ASRock Deskmini Z370 GTX isn’t designed to attract the eye - it could easily hide behind your attached display with its petite 213 x 154.5 x 81.9mm chassis. You certainly wouldn’t expect something this small to house a motherboard capable of supporting desktop processors and GTX 1060 or 1080 graphics, and the black steel and aluminum construction gives the tiny wonder a sturdy base and a clean, sleek look.

You could place the Deskmini horizontally, but the left, right, and top panels are all ventilated, and I preferred to leave them exposed by setting the PC upright. This gives the components inside considerable airflow and in theory, better cooling capability (which is critical at this small size). However, you have to start assembling the barebones PC before you even open the case - the rubber feet at the bottom panel that stabilize the upright chassis need to be peeled and attached (you’ll see the grooves where they go in each corner) before you place it anywhere.

The front panel features a black brushed aluminum finish with two off-center silver inlays that span from the top to the bottom of the device. The ports on the front panel are centered in between the two stripes and consist of  a USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C port and a Type-A port, as well as two audio jacks (one mic-in, one headphone-out/mic-in combo). The left side panel’s edge also has two USB 2.0 ports  that use a header on the motherboard.

The back panel doesn’t offer much more USB connectivity, with only four USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A ports. But the Deskmini can connect multiple displays via and HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4 and a mini-DisplayPort from the GPU or an HDMI 2.0 port on the motherboard.

Interior

As a barebones device, the ASRock Deskmini comes without a CPU, memory, storage or an operating system, so you’ll have to buy and install your own. To get to the components, you’ll have to remove the four Phillips-head screws at the back edge on the top and right side (two on each side) and slide the ventilated aluminum panel away from the front. The Deskmini’s Z370M-STX micro STX motherboard comes with a GPU (GTX 1060 or GTX 1080) pre-installed with a custom air cooler attached to the MXM card (this is much more commonly found in laptops). However, the board is also available by itself sans graphics.

You can access the Z370 motherboard’s LGA 1151 CPU socket and two DDR4 memory SODIMM slots without any further disassembly, but you’ll have to remove two screws (one on each side of the motherboard), unplug the front panel I/O cables and slide the board away from the front panel to get to the storage and Wi-Fi interfaces on the other side.

The opposite side of the device hides an impressive amount of storage interfaces. There’s a total of four M.2 slots - one for a Key-E WiFi module (which is included but not preinstalled) and three for 2280-sized storage devices. Two of the three M.2 slots support PCIe 3.0 and SATA 6GB/s drives, and the bottom (three-lane) interface can be equipped with a PCIe 3.0 x4 SSD or an Intel Optane memory module if you want to use the Z370 chipset to cache a secondary 2.5-inch HDD (why make a boot volume from an Optane-cached HDD with all that M.2 space?). Speaking of which, you can fit two 2.5-inch drives above the M.2 storage.

Software And Accessories

The ASRock Deskmini is shipped with a driver disk that also features RGB LED control software for the motherboard’s 4-pin RGB header, which helps if you want to install a flashy LED strip (not included) to illuminate the interior components. Since you have to install the operating system yourself, bloatware is not a factor.

ASRock provides a plethora of hardware to install your M.2 and 2.5-inch storage devices and Wi-Fi module (included). This includes two SATA power and data cables and the Wi-Fi antenna cables, both of which you need to install and run yourself. The antenna mounts can be installed by punching out two of the perforated holes at the back panel of the chassis, and the two 2.5-inch drives are attached with a combination of notches and screws.

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Benchmark Results & Conclusion

Comparison Products

We compared the ASRock Deskmini to a few recently reviewed barebones mini PCs, including the Zotac EN1060K-U barebones PC and the Gigabyte Brix Gaming VR. All of the systems in our tests feature a GeForce GTX 1060 6GB MXM graphics card, and the key differentiator between them will be CPU and cooling performance, the latter of which is critical for small form factor gaming PCs.

Test System Configuration

Because this is a barebones PC, we had to install the CPU, memory and storage on our own. We loaded the Deskmini with a Core i7-8700 processor (provided by ASRock) and our usual barebones components, including an 8GB (2 x 4GB) kit of Kingston HyperX DDR4-2400, a 256GB Toshiba OCZ RD400 M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD, and a 1TB Seagate HDD (to store the games). Since memory and storage are variable based on what you put in, we left out our storage and memory tests..

Fire Strike & Time Spy

The ASRock Deskmini  unsurprisingly dominates the Fire Strike and Time Spy benchmarks compared to the EN1060K and the Brix Gaming VR, because we used a more recent, powerful CPU. The i7-8700 we tested easily outperforms the the mobile i7-7700HQ inside the Zbox and Gigabyte systems. The Deskmini also takes top honors with graphics performance, indicating that its cooling performance is on point (the CPU and GPU never throttled or exceeded 75 degrees Celsius).

Cinebench R15

Performance in Cinebench R15 is entirely based on the CPU performance, which we know will vary based on what the user installs. However, the Core i7-8700 we used performs as you’d expect against the less-capable competition, with strong single, multi-threaded, and OpenGL rendering performance.

CompuBench

The Deskmini continues its dominance in the CompuBench Video Processing and Bitcoin Mining tests. Whereas the Video Processing test is again indicative of the CPU’s superior performance, the Bitcoin Mining results speak to the Deskmini’s GPU acumen.

PCMark 8 & PCMark 10 Extended

The Deskmini finished our productivity and synthetic tests strong with massive leads over the competing systems in  PCMark 8 and PCMark 10 Extended benchmarks. This can be attributed to the more powerful CPU, speedy storage, and memory performance, so the results will vary based on your configuration. However, we tested all the barebones PCs in the field with the same RAM and storage, so the gains are purely from the CPU in this case. PCMark 8 tests Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative workloads with the actual application, whereas the PCMark 10 results are purely synthetic.

Gaming Benchmarks

The ASRock Deskmini finds itself at the top of the performance heap among the other barebones mini PCs in the field. The GTX 1060 is adept for gaming at 1920 x 1080, but 4K will be tough to achieve with top-tier AAA game titles (Rise of the Tomb Raider, GTA V, The Division). However, you could still  play at 3840 x 2160 with older games (Bioshock Infinite, DiRT Rally) if you are willing to sacrifice  eye candy.

Configuration Options

The Deskmini Z370 appears in two forms, both of which are barebones PCs that come without a CPU, memory, storage, or an operating system. We tested the GTX 1060 version of the device (priced at around $900 USD, based on Taiwanese pricing), but ASRock said it has no definitive plans to release it in the US. However, there is also a GTX 1080 model for gamers that want the best GPU performance arriving, but the company has yet to announce pricing or release details.

The Bottom Line

The ASRock Deskmini is the king of the barebones mini PCs, offering more M.2 storage and 2.5-inch bays than any other system of its size. It’s also the ultimate enthusiast platform with options for GTX 1060 and 1080 graphics and a completely DIY approach, as you have to source and install your own CPU, storage, memory and OS.

ASRock presents an excellent PC product for a discerning PC hardware enthusiast by offering the Deskmini as a barebones PC that you equip with your choice of components. And you’d be hard pressed to find many cases that support the Z370M STX micro STX motherboard, even if you wanted to go the pure DIY route. You’d also have a difficult time finding a chassis this small that can pack as much storage space in it as the Deskmini. Simply put, it’s a true hardware enthusiast’s barebones PC.

You’re going to pay significantly more for the Deskmini than you would for a regular case, power supply, graphics card, and motherboard after all is said and done. However, your home-made system won't be as small, and for an enthusiast, the extra cash is worth the end result - a sleek and tiny powerhouse gaming PC.

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Introduction & Product Tour

Shuttle is known for its small form factor (SFF) barebones gaming PCs, so we were surprised to receive a fully configured mini PC with an Intel Core i7 processor and a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card. The Shuttle X1 is one of the smallest systems (barebones or configured) we’ve seen with true gaming chops. But can this minuscule machine make good on its promise of VR-ready gaming performance? It’s time to put the X1 to the test.

Exterior

The Shuttle X1 features a box-like chassis (5.6 x 5.6 x 3.4”) with a steel frame and a plastic top panel. The lid sports the company logo and sharp red accents. The design is typical for a PC marketed as a gaming device, except it’s considerably small. The size makes it an ideal pairing for a living-room TV or sitting on a small desk with a monitor.

The bottom and side panels sport vents to dissipate the heat, with the bottom vent acting as an intake with fan behind it. Copper heat sinks are visible through the vented side panels. (We’ll see what those are for later.)

The front panel I/O consists of the power button, an SD card reader, and two USB 3.0 ports. The backside of the X1 is more generous with its USB connectivity, with a USB 3.1 (Gen 1) Type-C, two USB 3.0, and four USB 2.0 ports. You can connect your monitor (or multiple displays) with a DisplayPort 1.3 interface and three HDMI 2.0 ports. An RJ-45 port (powered by a Realtek RTL8111G gigabit Ethernet NIC) will connect you to the internet, but the X1’s integrated 802.11ac Wi-Fi antenna is nowhere to be found. (There’s a good reason for this, so read on.)

Interior

The chambered interior makes accessing the primary components (CPU, GPU) difficult for the end user. The bottom panel sports four screws (one at each corner) that will free the metal base from the rest of the chassis to reveal the aforementioned intake fan and copper heatsink. They cool the GeForce GTX 1060 3GB MXM graphics card with two copper pipes and a small heatsink that exhausts the hot air out of the side panel.

A small circuit board with the bottom half of the rear panel I/O is also visible in the chamber, with two of the HDMI ports and the DisplayPort interface exposed. The Intel Core i7-7700HQ processor and HM175 chipset reside in the center chamber (between the top and the bottom) of the device, and end users aren’t meant to toil with it, or the bottom half of the machine.

The top panel can be detached to access the memory and storage by removing the four screws along the top edges of the side panels. To get to the screws, you first have to remove a magnetic sticker that hides them, which may require a small screwdriver to pick it off. Once the screws are out, the top panel lifts out, but it won’t go far. That's because the entire panel is an 802.11ac Wi-Fi antenna, attached to the Intel Wireless AC 3165 M.2 module with thin wires. You should take extra care when opening this panel so you don’t accidentally pull out the cables.

Another metal panel blocks access to the storage and memory, but removing the four screws (near each corner of the device) will set it free from the chassis. However, the metal panel also acts as a drive cage should you want to add a 2.5” storage drive to the system (which we would highly recommend). Any such additional storage was not included in this particular test model. We added our own HDD to get our game library loaded for testing, but we weren’t fond of the procedure, which involved a SATA connector with a tiny cable, and an even smaller retention clip to insert the cable into, requiring many attempts. (Thanks, giant hands.)

Once you are inside, the memory and primary SSD storage are easy to find. The 16GB (2 x 8GB) kit of DDR4-2400 is plenty of memory for a serious gamer. Although the 2,400MHz speed is standard for the CPU, the CAS latency (17-17-17-39) is less common than the usual CAS 16 kits found in many OEM systems. However, the off-brand memory (Goldkey, to be precise) should be adequate for gaming and light productivity workloads. A 256GB SATA 6GB/s Phison PS3111-S11 SSD is seated in the M.2 slot, and the mid-size capacity is ideal for a boot drive with a few light games on it.

Software & Accessories

The Shuttle X1 comes with Windows 10 Home 64-bit installed, with no bloatware or trial software to speak of cluttering up your low-capacity SSD. However, Shuttle includes a driver DVD in case you want to start over with your system by switching to a bigger SSD or an Intel Optane setup (say, with an Optane M.2 module and high-capacity 2.5” HDD). The external 180W AC adapter is adequate for the mobile components inside the X1.

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Synthetic & Productivity Benchmarks

The Shuttle X1’s Core i7-7700HQ and GeForce GTX 1060 3GB MXM graphics card put it into a similar box as other mini PCs (barebones or full systems) we’ve tested in both form factor and pricing, so we compared the X1 to the recently reviewed Gigabyte Brix Gaming VR and Zotac ZBox Magnus EN1060K barebones PCs. These mini PCs fall into a similar price category as the fully configured Shuttle X1 after purchasing the required storage, memory, and OS.

We also included the metrics from our H270 test bench, which is loaded with an Intel Core i5-7500, a Zotac GeForce GTX 1060 6GB graphics card, and a 16GB kit of Kingston HyperX Fury DDR4-2133, all running at stock settings. Although we anticipate that it will easily outperform the mobile-GPU-equipped systems in single-threaded CPU workloads, we’ve included it to show how much performance it costs you to get something much smaller, and how much multithreaded performance you could gain with more cores in a mobile Core i7 CPU. It will also give us baseline storage and memory-performance metrics to compare against the X1. (We excluded these benchmarks in our barebones-PC reviews.)

Comparison Products

H270 Test System Configuration

The Brix Gaming VR sports the same CPU as the Shuttle X1 (a Core i7-7700HQ), so it should provide comparable performance in CPU-intensive workloads. The Zbox sports a desktop Core i5-7500T, which will showcase the advantages of Hyper-Threading in the Core i7-equipped systems. However, the Zotac and Gigabyte offerings each sport a 6GB version of the mobile GeForce GTX 1060 MXM graphics card, which will put them ahead of the Shuttle X1’s 3GB GTX 1060 in games with settings that put a heavy load on the frame buffer.

3DMark

The Shuttle X1’s strengths and weaknesses are on full display in the 3DMark Fire Strike and Time Spy benchmarks, where the X1 manages to land itself between the Brix and Zbox in the 1080p (Fire Strike) and 1440p (Fire Strike Extreme) tests. Although the Shuttle X1’s CPU performance nearly matches the Brix and pushes it to a higher overall score against the EN1060K (and even exceeds the Physics score of our desktop H270 system’s Core i5-7500), the performance of the X1’s GTX 1060 3GB graphics card lags behind the GTX 1060 6GB GPU-equipped barebones systems.

At 4K (Fire Strike Ultra), the X1 is shuffled to the bottom of the heap as the bottleneck shifts to the GPU. Although the 3GB GTX 1060 inside the X1 sports the same clock speeds and CUDA core count (1,280) as the 6GB counterparts in the Zbox and Brix, the halved frame buffer has a negative impact on the graphics performance, especially as you turn up the resolution and any VRAM-hungry settings or effects.

Cinebench R15

The Shuttle X1 performs much better when the graphics card isn’t involved, with better scores than its most apples-to-apples competitor, the Gigabyte Brix Gaming VR. Both systems sport a Core i7-7700HQ, but the X1 pulls ahead in Rendering (both single- and multi-threaded) and OpenGL Shading portions of the Cinebench R15 tests, thanks to better thermal performance, an attribute we noted the Brix seemed to lack when we reviewed it a few months back. The X1 is simply able to maintain its peak CPU turbo frequency (which boosts in lightly threaded workloads) for longer durations because the thermal limits aren’t throttling it back down.

The multi-threaded Rendering results may put the X1 slightly ahead of the similarly equipped Brix, but the scores are nearly identical because the CPUs operate at the same base frequency without variation when all the cores are engaged.

CompuBench

Bringing the GPU back into play returns the Shuttle X1 to the back of the line in the CompuBench tests. Whereas the 6GB MXM GTX 1060-equipped systems (the Zbox and Brix) are within a small margin of each other, the smaller frame buffer of the X1’s 3GB GTX 1060 GPU puts a considerable dent in the performance, falling short by over 13 FPS and 53 MHash/s in the Video Processing and Bitcoin Mining tests, respectively (compared to the next competing system with 6GB of VRAM).

Storage Test

We didn’t benchmark the storage performance of the Gigabyte and Zotac barebones systems because we used the same hardware in each of them (and you have to buy it yourself), so we only compared the performance of the X1’s 256GB Phison PS3111-S11 SATA M.2 SSD to the 480GB Kingston HyperX Savage 2.5” SSD in our H270 test rig. The X1 is speedy, but it doesn’t have the fastest flash on the market, with the smaller-capacity Phison SSD falling significantly behind in 4K random and 128K sequential read and write performance at QD2. However, average consumers wouldn’t see much of a difference so long as it’s fast.

Sandra Memory Bandwidth

We also didn’t test the memory performance of the barebones systems we’ve reviewed, so the H270’s 16GB kit of Kingston HyperX DDR4-2133 will be the only base comparison for the Shuttle X1’s 16GB (2 x 8GB) kit of Goldkey DDR4-2400 SODIMM memory. The faster RAM wins out, with the X1 edging out our test rig thanks to a higher frequency (2,400MHz). The higher CAS latency (17-17-17-39) of the X1’s memory doesn’t let it pull too far ahead of our reference system (which was tested with CAS timings set to 15-15-15-35), but it should provide slightly better performance in memory-bandwidth-intensive workloads.

PCMark 8

The Shuttle X1 is able to upend the Zotac EN1060K in the PCMark 8 Adobe Creative application benchmark, thanks to its faster (and Hyper-Threaded) CPU and RAM. (We tested our barebones systems with DDR4-2133 SODIMM memory.) But it falls far behind the pack in the Office application tests. This is likely due to the storage we used in the barebones reviews, a PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD with considerably higher random read/write performance than a SATA device. The slower SATA SSD inside the X1 has a considerable impact in word processing applications.

PCMark 10 Extended

The Shuttle X1 lands in a similar spot in the PCMark 10 Extended results, besting the Zotac Zbox and falling behind our H270 test rig (and by an even larger margin, the Brix). The CPU’s Hyper-Threaded cores give it the edge against the Zbox in every benchmark, and it even steals a win against the reference desktop PC in the Productivity section of the test. Similar to the 3DMark Fire Strike results, the Gaming portion of the test (which is just Fire Strike on a different scale) put the X1 ahead of the EN1060K, despite the smaller frame buffer.

VRMark

The X1 is sent to the back of the line once again in the VRMark Orange and Blue Room benchmarks. Although it scores well above the minimum frame-rate target in the less-demanding Orange Room test (and is therefore VR-ready), it still falls behind by a considerable margin due to the GPU’s 3GB frame buffer. None of the GTX 1060-equipped systems (regardless of memory capacity) is able to handle the Blue Room benchmark’s demanding detail and effect settings.

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Gaming Benchmarks

Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation

We couldn’t run the Shuttle X1 at the usual Crazy settings we use in our reviews in Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation; the 3GB version of the GPU isn’t privy to the same presets that everything from GTX 1060 6GB graphics cards and up can access. Certain settings are just missing, so we couldn’t turn it up to match the preset manually. However, we foresaw this being an issue when we first started with our mid-range barebones and mini PC reviews, so we took data for all the systems we’re comparing today at the much less demanding Standard preset with MSAA x8 enabled.

With less-demanding settings, the Shuttle X1 is able to perform within 5 FPS and 1.5 FPS of the competition in the Ashes benchmarks at 1080p and 4K, respectively. The performance gap between the 3GB and 6GB versions of the GTX 1060 is minimal at these settings, but the Shuttle X1 still lingers behind the pack.

Bioshock Infinite

Bioshock Infinite is one of the least-demanding games in our suite even at the highest possible settings, and the Shuttle X1 doesn’t perform far behind its similarly equipped competition, the Brix Gaming VR. The X1’s halved VRAM doesn’t significantly stunt its performance compared to the Gigabyte barebones, with only a 2.16 FPS difference in average frame rate at 1080p and a negligible 0.68 FPS margin at 4K.

DiRT Rally

The highest settings in DiRT Rally saturate the frame buffer, which makes the Shuttle X1 fall behind the pack by a higher margin than the previous in-game benchmarks we’ve run so far at 1080p. It still puts out a playable 47.76 FPS average frame rate, but it falls behind the 6GB GTX 1060-equipped systems by about 9 FPS or a little more. At 4K, the Shuttle X1’s GPU simply can’t handle the workload, and it bricks the game to an unplayable 12.5 FPS. Turning down the AA and details will obviously net better frame rates at either resolution.

Grand Theft Auto V

GTA V is another game that uses a lot of VRAM at the highest settings, causing the Shuttle X1’s 3GB graphics card to fall slightly behind the 6GB GPU systems in the field at 1080p. However, the frame buffer is fast enough to handle the extra eye candy at this resolution without hindering performance in a significant way, and the X1 musters a playable 35.62 FPS average frame rate without sacrificing any of the effects.

Turning up the resolution to 4K at these settings makes the game utterly unplayable, with the benchmark unable to record a proper run because it continuously stutters. It’s no surprise; at these settings, the game demands more than double the VRAM the X1 has at its disposal (a whopping 7,616MB). Although it’s entirely possible to get an ideal 60 FPS at 1080p or playable frame rates at 4K if you don’t mind sacrificing the effects, we excluded the 4K charts and didn’t test the X1 at a lower setting because we didn’t do so for the other systems we reviewed, which were at least able to complete a benchmark without stuttering at 4K.

Hitman

The X1’s smaller frame buffer similarly impacts performance in Hitman, with the Shuttle sample falling behind the next leading system by a significant margin at 1080p and 4K. Whereas the 6GB GTX 1060-equipped PCs in the field all average above 60 FPS at 1080p, the X1 can only muster 48.59 FPS with all the settings at max. Switching up to 4K makes it worse, with the X1 shorting the Zbox by more than double the 11.23 FPS average it manages to put out.

Rise of the Tomb Raider

Rise of the Tomb Raider is a demanding game with all the settings at the maximum, and the smaller VRAM capacity of the X1’s GPU doesn’t do it any favors in the benchmarks. Although the PCs with GTX 1060 6GB graphics cards are able to keep their average frame rate above a playable 30 FPS at 1080p, the X1’s 3GB of graphics memory pushes the average down by more than 10 FPS. At 4K, the game is unplayable at the highest settings unless you significantly reduce the detail and effect settings. We didn’t put it in a chart, but we were able to pull the X1 above a playable 30 FPS on the Low and Lowest presets at 4K.

The Division

The Division is decidedly less critical of the X1’s 3GB GTX 1060, with Shuttle’s fully configured mini PC only giving up 3.8 FPS to the barebones Zotac Zbox EN1060K at 1080p with all the settings turned up. The X1 is also able to complete the 4K benchmark with the details maxed without crashing or stuttering, and it falls behind the pack by just 0.8 FPS. However, none of the GTX 1060-equipped systems reached the 60 FPS promised land at 1080p, or the 30 FPS playable barrier at 4K. You’ll definitely have to turn down the effects if you want smooth gameplay.

Middle Earth: Shadows of War

The Shuttle X1 finishes our benchmark suite in its familiar position at the bottom of the charts, averaging 40 FPS and 17 FPS at 1080p and 4K, respectively, in the Middle Earth: Shadows of War tests. Once again, it trails the other mini PCs that sport GPUs with a higher memory capacity. Although the gap is a considerable 9 FPS at 1080p, the margin shrinks to just 2 FPS at 4K.

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Price Analysis & Conclusion

The Shuttle X1 is an astoundingly small and powerful mini PC that’s ideal for the living room, with adequate performance for VR and AAA games running at 1080p with high (or, sometimes, "Ultra") settings. Although Shuttle slaps "4K Ready" on the package, the X1’s Core i7-7700HQ and GeForce GTX 1060 3GB graphics card are not an ideal pairing for a 4K display if gaming is the goal. And we don’t recommend pushing the resolution past 1080p if you desire a smooth 60 FPS without sacrificing too much eye candy in new AAA games.

The chassis is the smallest gamer we’ve reviewed recently, and the abundance of slots and ports (USB, an SD card reader, and multiple display outputs) is uncommon for such a tiny device. The concealed Wi-Fi antenna under the top panel gives it an even smaller footprint compared to other mini PCs with exterior antennas, and we’re impressed with Shuttle’s compact design.

The tiny design doesn’t come without a few sacrifices. The most obvious (and detrimental) drawback is the static storage configuration, which consists of a 256GB M.2 SATA SSD. Most gamers will find themselves running out of space rather quickly if their library consists of anything more than a handful of games, and the low-capacity SSD is simply not a good starting point for a gaming enthusiast’s library. The speedy load times are welcomed, but the storage space (or lack thereof) is a downer.

The low total storage capacity can be remedied by installing your own 2.5” drive, and a 1TB HDD is a good investment if you intend to purchase the Shuttle X1. However, we aren’t fond of the procedure to install it. The top cover screws are each covered with a sticker; that may make it look sleek, but the residue that remains after you crack the seal isn’t attractive. The top panel and drive cage are easy enough to detach (more screws), but the SATA ribbon cable is delicate and difficult to connect to the motherboard (or, at least, it was for these large hands). We’d be much happier with an additional storage drive already installed to save us the trouble, even if it increases the price a little bit.

We’d also have liked to see a 6GB version of a GTX 1060 MXM graphics card installed instead of the 3GB model, mostly because the halved VRAM buffer means the X1 takes a significant performance hit when memory-hungry effects are enabled. The performance difference is so severe in some games that the Shuttle X1 can’t produce a stutter-free benchmark run with the usual all-maxed settings we use in our reviews at 4K (even though 6GB models can complete the tests). And some games downright restrict certain high-end settings with the less-powerful 3GB GPU. If getting that 6GB of graphics memory means adding another $50 to $100 to the MSRP, we wouldn’t even complain.

The mini PC market is starting to see more of these tiny gaming systems, and Shuttle has been an innovator in the SFF space for quite some time. The X1 is a marvel in its own right for the performance packed inside, and although it doesn’t meet all of our enthusiast expectations, it is still an adequate starting point for a new PC gamer looking for a compact design, VR-ready performance, and a plethora of USB connectivity.

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ASRock updated its DeskMini small form factor (SFF) barebones gaming PCs with the latest Intel Z370 chipset, giving users the ability to equip them with 8^th generation Intel processors.

The new DeskMini barebones mini PC features the same chassis and connectivity as the previous Intel B250 version of the device, with a steel and aluminum construction measuring in at 8.38 x 6.08 x 3.22” (a 2.7L volume) and a plethora of USB and display connectivity. There are five USB 3.0 ports (one front, four rear), two USB 2.0 ports on the side panel, and a USB 3.1 (Gen 1) Type-C port on the front.

Inside, the Z370 motherboard (which will also be available by itself) can be equipped with any 8^th generation (Coffee Lake) Intel processor and up to 32GB (2 x 16GB) of DDR4-2666 SO-DIMM memory, but ASRock claimed it can also support RAM speeds over 3,200MHz. The board has an extended form factor (ASRock added 2” to the micro-STX form factor) so it can accommodate an MXM GPU slot and more M.2 slots. Speaking of storage, the tiny PC can fit three M.2 2880 storage devices (two PCIe 3.0 x4/SATA, one PCIe 3.0 only), and two 2.5” SATA drives. There’s also a M.2 slot for an included 802.11ac WiFi and Bluetooth module, which you have to install yourself. You can also get online with the board’s Intel I219V Ethernet port.

The DeskMini comes in two flavors--one with a GTX 1060 6GB MXM graphics card and one with a GTX 1080. Each version of the DeskMini comes with the GPU already installed, but the motherboard is available sans graphics card. The GTX 1060 model has a 220W AC adapter, whereas the GTX 1080 version sports a 270W adapter.

Pricing and availability of the new DeskMini GTX1060 Z370 and GTX1080 Z370 are currently unknown, but the previous Intel B250 versions of the barebones PC have an MSRP of $799 and $1,599, respectively. However, we don’t expect the upgraded Z370 motherboard to add more than $100 to the price tag, so we’ll likely see the GTX 1060 and 1080 Z370 DeskMini barebones PCs going for somewhere between $850-$900 and $1,650-$1,700.

Introduction & Product Tour

Zotac’s Zbox Magnus mini-PC lineup packs everything from lean muscle machines to world-class weightlifters into its small boxes. The SKUs include Intel processors ranging from Core i3 to i7, and Nvidia graphics starting at GTX 1050 and going all the way up to GTX 1080. Today, we’re taking a look at the midrange, with a barebones offering of the Magnus EN1060K, a Core i5- and GTX 1060-equipped gaming PC that offers VR-ready performance in a small form factor for under $1,000.

Is this barebones box worth the bucks to outfit into a full configuration, or is it the value equivalent of a brick?

Specifications

Exterior

The Zbox Magnus EN1060K is the usual Zotac fare, with a ring embedded in the lid of a small, boxy chassis, measuring in at only 210 x 203 x 62.2 mm. The small form factor (SFF) gaming PC’s black-plastic and metal chassis isn’t much to look at, and an orange LED around the power button is the only major nod to aesthetics on the device.

Vents line the four edges of the bottom panel, allowing fresh air to flow over the components. The top panel has vents on three of the four edges (the front edge is solid), exhausting hot air up and out of the chassis, and a copper heatsink is visible through the vent on the back panel. Cooling is always a significant factor with SFF PCs, and we’ll see if Zotac’s EN1060K can dissipate the heat properly in our benchmarks.

Given its small case, the Zbox Magnus EN1060K-U offers ample USB and display connectivity. On the front panel, you get two USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports (one Type-A, one Type-C) capable of data transfer speeds up to 10 Gbps, in addition to two USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports on the rear. Two DisplayPort 1.3 and two HDMI 2.0 ports give you plenty of options to connect a display (most likely a TV in your living room), and a card reader on the front panel makes it easy to transfer photos off of your camera.

The Zotac Zbox Magnus EN1060K-U also sports dual gigabit Ethernet ports powered by a Realtek RTL8168 controller, and a single antenna provides Wi-Fi connectivity via an Intel Wireless AC 3165 NIC.

Interior

As with all barebones PCs, you have to install some of your own components before you can boot the device. Zotac makes this process about as easy as it gets.

The rear edge sports two thumb screws that hold the bottom panel in place, and removing the plastic panel is as simple as sliding it away from the chassis with moderate pressure. There’s even a groove in the plastic into which you can place your thumb so that you can easily get a grip.

Zotac’s interior layout makes component installation a breeze, with the memory SO-DIMM, M.2, and 2.5” SATA drive slots all exposed and accessible without making you use any tools or remove more panels. The aforementioned Wi-Fi module (an Intel Wireless AC 3165) is positioned below the SATA connector, and a fan near the center of the device passes through the visible PCB to push air to the CPU and GPU, which are in the top half of the chassis. End users aren’t meant to toil with the primary components, and the lack of access to the processor and graphics keeps things simple.

Install the memory by lining up the grooves in the module and slot and pushing it in at an angle. Once it’s completely in, just push down toward the PCB, and the module will snap into place. The M.2 slot’s stud and screw are already configured for Type-2280 devices, so you just have to remove the screw, insert the drive at an angle, and tighten it back down to the stud.

The 2.5” drive tray can be removed by loosening the thumbscrew and pulling the plastic away from the PCB. You will attach your drive of choice using the four plastic pegs protruding from the tray’s inner sides, making sure to position the drive with the SATA connectors on the opposite side of the thumb screw hole. Replace the tray, slide the connectors into place, and tighten it back with the thumbscrew. We loaded the EN1060K with our usual barebones components (an M.2 NVMe SSD, an 8GB kit of memory, a 1TB 2.5” SATA HDD) that we’ll detail on the next page.

Software & Accessories

The Zotac Zbox Magnus EN1060K-U is a barebones PC, so it doesn’t come with an operating system or any software. However, the company gives you two options to load your drivers: a typical installation DVD, or a thumb drive. This is particularly useful, considering there’s no optical drive.

In addition to needing a Windows license key (about $100), end users of the barebones version will have to purchase their own memory and storage.  A minimalistic dual-channel kit of memory will cost you roughly $70; a moderate-capacity M.2 NVMe SSD goes for around $120; and a 2.5” HDD can run you $60 or so for 1TB of space. All said and done, you will spend anywhere from $350 to $600 (if you really go nuts) just to get the EN1060K-U up and running. There are ways to get in the door cheaper (even less RAM, less ambitious storage), but cutting costs will slice performance in ways we wouldn’t recommend.

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Synthetic & Productivity Benchmarks

We pitted the Zotac Zbox Magnus EN1060K-U against our H270 test bed, which is equipped with an Intel Core i5-7500 processor, an Asrock H270 Performance motherboard, 16GB of DDR4-2133, and a Zotac GeForce GTX 1060 6GB mini graphics card. The rig is powered by a 650W EVGA Supernova G3 PSU and housed in a Thermaltake Versa H22 mid-tower case.

Comparison Products

Test System Configuration

We also tapped into the data from our reviews of the MSI G25 Vortex 8RD and Gigabyte BRIX Gaming VR barebones PC. The Vortex features an Intel Core i5-8400 processor, 16GB of single-channel DDR4-2400, a 256GB SATA M.2 SSD for primary storage, and a GeForce GTX 1060 6GB MXM graphics card. The BRIX sports a mobile Core i7-7700HQ with a custom GTX 1060 6GB MXM module, but we tested it with the same components that we put inside the EN1060K-U (a 256GB Toshiba RD400 M.2 NVMe SSD, a 1TB 7,200RPM Western Digital hard drive, a two-4GB-stick/8GB kit of G.Skill SO-DIMM DDR4-2133 memory with a CAS latency of 15-15-15-35).

3DMark

The Zotac Zbox Magnus EN1060K-U fails to impress in the 3DMark Fire Strike and Time Spy synthetic gaming tests. The Core i5-7500T under the hood is to blame, as it just can’t compete with higher-clocked CPUs (our test bench and Vortex) with more processing threads (the BRIX). However, the EN1060K-U keeps up with its competition in the Combined tests, which are the best indicators of real-world game performance (it pushes both the CPU and GPU). It also manages a Graphics win against the BRIX in the Time Spy test (helped by exceptional thermals, observed at 69C).

Cinebench R15

Shifting focus to the CPU, the Cinebench R15 results paint a similar picture. The Core i5-7500T inside the EN1060K-U is simply not as powerful as a mobile Core i7 and its higher-clocked counterpart, the -7500 (which resides in our H270 test rig). However, it manages to upend the Gigabyte BRIX Gaming VR in the OpenGL test, falling just behind the MSI G25 Vortex 8RD and portending that the Zbox may make up for its CPU performance with some GPU horsepower.

CompuBench

The Compubench results give us a glimpse of the EN1060K-U's graphics proficiency, with the Zbox narrowly outperforming the Vortex with the GPU-intensive Bitcoin test and trailing it by only 0.05 FPS in the Video Processing benchmark. The Zotac offering also takes a lead on the BRIX, largely due to the thermal performance of each device. The BRIX trails the pack due to higher temperatures. (It topped out at 85C and would throttle slightly.)

PCMark 8

The Zbox Magnus EN1060K-U returns to the bottom of the heap in the PCMark 8 application tests; that is directly attributed to CPU performance. The Core i5-7500T inside the Zotac barebones offering just isn't as fast as the other systems in the field that sport higher-clocked processors. This is especially apparent when compared to the Gigabyte BRIX Gaming VR barebones mini-PC, in which we used the same storage and memory configuration as the Zbox.

PCMark 10 Extended

The PCMark 10 Extended benchmark shows much of the same results as our other synthetic productivity tests, with the EN1060K-U falling behind the pack thanks to its T-series processor. The Zbox comes close to catching up with the H270 test bed in the Productivity segment of the test, but the weaker CPU puts it behind the other systems in the field by several hundred points in all of the other benchmarks.

VRMark

As a VR-ready device, the Zotac Zbox Magnus EN1060K-U is able to perform well above the Oculus Rift's minimum requirements in the Orange Room test. However, it still falls slightly behind the rest of the pack due to the CPU. The Blue Room results push all of the GTX 1060-equipped systems to the limit, and none of them could handle VR with ultra-high textures and effects enabled.

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Gaming Benchmarks

Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation

Switching to in-game benchmarks, the Zotac Zbox Magnus EN1060K-U seems to fare better against its barebones competition, the Gigabyte BRIX Gaming VR. Running the GPU-focused Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation tests exposes the Zbox as contender, and the poor thermal performance of the Gigabyte offering puts the EN1060K-U in a more favorable light with real-world gaming workloads.

Bioshock Infinite

The Bioshock Infinite results tell a similar story, with the EN1060K-U pushing past the BRIX Gaming VR at 1920 x 1080 and 3840 x 2160. The CPU inside the Zbox gives it the lowest minimum framerate in the bunch, but the GPU performance is able to boost its average framerate ahead of its direct barebones competition. Bioshock is also the only game in our suite that is quite playable at 4K with GTX 1060-equipped systems, even with the highest settings enabled.

DiRT Rally

DiRT Rally is another game that doesn't rely much on the CPU for performance, and the EN1060K-U maintains its lead against the Gigabyte BRIX Gaming VR. Using the most-demanding settings at 1080p, the GTX 1060-equipped systems all fall slightly short of the ideal 60FPS average. At 4K, we're met with unplayable average framerates from all of the PCs in the field, but you can get there by reducing the AA, textures, and effects.

Grand Theft Auto V

The Zotac Zbox Magnus EN1060K-U takes its familiar position in the GTAV benchmark at 1920 x 1080, besting the Brix and falling behind the Vortex with an average framerate of 36.39 FPS. However, it still fetches the lowest minimum framerate at this resolution by a longshot, and you'll have to reduce the detail settings to get to a target 60 FPS. At 3840 x 2160, a GTX 1060 graphics card is brought to unplayable framerates with the eye candy at max, and the BRIX manages to push a slightly better average framerate than even the Vortex. That is a testament to the EN1060K-U's thermal performance.

Hitman

The Direct3D 12 version of the Hitman benchmark favors CPU performance, and it's because of this we see the Zotac Zbox Magnus EN1060K-U fall to the bottom of the chart again. This is particularly noticeable at 1920 x 1080, where the Zbox nets the lowest minimum framerate. However, it still averages above 60 FPS with all of highest detail settings enabled at 1080p. Turning up the resolution to 3840 x 2160 pushes the bottleneck to the GPU, and the Brix's lead over the Zbox is less pronounced. The EN1060K-U also manages to achieve a better minimum framerate than the Gaming VR at 4K.

Middle Earth: Shadows of War

Shadows of War is a great game to weed out GPU performance discrepancies, and the Zbox is shown in a more positive light by netting the same average framerate as the MSI G25 Vortex 8RD at 1920 x 1080 and 3840 x 2160. The Gigabyte BRIX Gaming VR was exhibiting poor thermal performance in our review, and it definitely can't keep up in a GPU performance showdown against the better-cooled Vortex and Zbox. At 1080p, you'll be able to get close to 60 FPS average with all the candy turned up, but if you want to game at 4K, expect to turn down the detail dials to get playable framerates.

Rise of the Tomb Raider

With all of the effects and details at their maximum, the Zotac EN1060K-U makes it past the 30 FPS mark with playable average framerates at 1920 x 1080 in Rise of the Tomb Raider. However, the eye candy cripples all of the GTX 1060-equipped systems in the field at 4K, with all of them achieving less than a 10 FPS average. Decreasing the settings will obviously net better performance, but the Zbox still triumphs over the BRIX with less than a 1 FPS lead.

The Division

The Zotac Zbox Magnus EN1060K-U ends our test suite where it started, at the bottom of the chart. The Division favors CPU performance using the DX12 API, and it's no surprise that the Zbox takes a backseat to the systems with better processors. However, the performance difference between the EN1060K-U and its direct competition, the BRIX, is negligible. It trails the Gaming VR by only 0.1 FPS at 1920 x 1080, and the Zbox ties the Brix at 4K.

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Price Analysis & Conclusion

The Zotac Zbox Magnus EN1060K-U is meant for the living room with its trim chassis design, and it’s priced right at $900. It offers excellent 1080p gaming and VR-ready performance for considerably less money than other barebones solutions (see the Gigabyte Brix Gaming VR, priced at $1,150). Although you have to purchase your own storage, memory and operating system, the reasonable price of entry can afford you better components (in both speed and capacity) without pushing the total cost too high.

The Zbox isn’t much to look at if tucked away in a niche, but that can make sense for a PC designed for the living room. (Our DVD players don’t light up like a Christmas tree; why should any other device in our entertainment center?)

There’s enough USB connectivity to attach an HTC Vive or an Oculus Rift, but you’ll have to do so from the rear panel due to the lack of an HDMI port on the front panel. This is by no means a deal breaker, but the feature has been making its way to many other SFF gaming PCs bound for the living room, and it seems like it’s the only thing missing from Zotac’s VR-ready GTX 1060-equipped Zbox.

Installing the components took all of three minutes, and we’re impressed with Zotac’s simplistic interior design. Even novices can easily figure out how to get it up and running with tool-less access that makes similar barebones products seem like a nightmare to configure. The USB thumb drive loaded with all the drivers is another small thing that goes a long way for first-time DIY consumers. It would be a tough order to find another SFF gaming PC with as small a footprint and simplistic a setup process as the Zotac Zbox Magnus EN1060K-U, and it’s one of the best designs we’ve come across in this segment.

The Zbox Magnus EN1060K-U does have a few drawbacks. The Intel Core i5-7500T processor inside is not the fastest Core i5 on the market, with a base clock of 2.7GHz and a max turbo frequency of 3.3GHz in lightly threaded applications. As such, it falls behind in CPU-intensive workloads against higher-clocked Core i5s (the Vortex and our test bench) and mobile Core i7 (the BRIX) systems. However, it doesn’t severely affect most game tests.

The gaming performance of the EN1060K is on par with the other GTX 1060-equipped systems in our charts, exhibiting exceptional thermal dissipation despite the appearance of having little to cool the components. We observed temperatures of 69C with prolonged usage, which is right behind the Vortex and its impressive cooling system (observed at 61C). The EN1060K-U handily outperforms Gigabyte’s GTX 1060 barebones offering because of its stable thermals, with the BRIX topping out at 85C (and throttling). This is apparent in our game results, where the ZBox upends the BRIX in almost every test.

We may be nit-picking with this factor, but M.2 connectivity is limited in comparison to other barebones PCs we’ve encountered. A single slot appeals to standard users, but it wouldn’t have been difficult to fit another M.2 interface for more advanced consumers. (The PCB certainly appears to have some space for it.) The Zbox has some appeal to enthusiasts (we can’t build it that small and have to install our own components), and more storage connectivity would be a sweet incentive for those on the fence.

The Zotac Zbox Magnus EN1060K-U offers the best bang for your buck that we’ve seen in the SFF barebones PC segment by a landslide, coming in at $900 ($250 less than Gigabyte’s offering with the same GPU). Enthusiasts can always make the argument that you can build something more powerful for less money, but you definitely won’t be able to make it this small. Those same enthusiasts also likely have a powerhouse full tower PC sitting at their desk. Having an exceptionally priced SFF living-room gaming PC with enough power under the hood for excellent 1080p and entry-level VR gaming can give them the satisfaction of doing it themselves. Plus, you'll get better-than-console performance at a smaller cost and size than the competition.

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Introduction & Product Tour

Our recent Z270 desktop PC reviews put a focus on top-tier gaming machines leveraging the most powerful components available, with several of our review samples exceeding a price tag of $2,500. With the arrival of Intel’s 8^th generation Coffee Lake processors, the Z270 platform has seen its time in the sun. However, until H310 and H370 chipset motherboards arrive, 7^th generation Intel chips are still occupying many OEM product lines in the mid-range price tier.

With that in mind, we decided to take a look at a handful of these sub-$1,500 (and therefore still relevant) gaming rigs, specifically in the form of barebones mini PCs.

We’re familiar with Gigabyte’s BRIX gaming line—we took the Gaming GT for a spin a few months back, and we found the small form factor (SFF) gaming PC to be quite powerful at an exceptional price. Now, Gigabyte has an even smaller VR-ready machine: the BRIX Gaming VR barebones mini PC. Let's see if this Core i7 and GTX 1060-equipped game box can ride alongside its Gaming GT brethren in the halls of PC Valhalla.

Specifications

Exterior

The Gigabyte Brix Gaming VR is worthy of its name with its brick-like compact chassis, which takes form as a tall yet small 8.66 x 4.33 x 4.33-inch box that can easily find its place in your living room entertainment center. The casing is made of black metal and plastic, giving it a sleek look. The top of the device features an LED light that glows white and illuminates the ventilation around it. The bottom of the chassis is also ventilated, acting as an air intake, which forces fresh air to rise over the interior components and out the top.

From the front, the Brix Gaming VR is stoic and unblemished with a black plastic shroud, but the rear of the system sports a variety of connectivity options. There are two USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports (a Type-C and Type-A) capable of data transfer speeds up to 10 Gb/s and three USB 3.0 ports. This is enough USB connectivity to support both the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive VR HMDs, but in the case of the Rift (with Touch), you’ll be left with just one Type-A port to connect any other peripherals. However, you can also connect a keyboard and mouse via Bluetooth if you want to reserve the USB ports for VR devices, as the name of the PC suggests.

For display output, the Gigabyte Brix Gaming VR includes two mini DisplayPort 1.3 and two HDM 2.0 interfaces, making the device adept for multiple displays and VR HMDs. An Intel i219LM gigabit Ethernet port or Intel WirelessAC 8265 802.11ac WiFi will get you connected, and the overall design of the Brix Gaming VR makes a strong case for placement in your living room.

The Brix Gaming VR gets its power from a 180W adapter, drawing about as much juice as a laptop with its mobile components.

Interior

Under the hood, the Gigbyte Brix Gaming VR features an Intel Core i7-7700HQ processor clocked at 2.8 GHz with a maximum turbo frequency of 3.8 GHz in lightly threaded applications. The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB graphics card inside the Brix Gaming VR is an MXM card, and it should provide comparable performance to that of a full-fledged desktop GTX 1060 6GB graphics card.

As a barebones system, memory and storage (and an operating system) aren’t provided, but you can equip the Gaming VR with two DDR4-2133 SO-DIMM modules, up to two M.2 2880 devices (PCIe or SATA), and a 2.5” SATA drive (SSD or HDD). Ideally, a moderate-sized M.2 SSD and high-capacity 2.5” HDD would make for a sweet storage pairing in the Gigabyte Brix Gaming VR.

To get to the component slots, you have to remove the four screws at the bottom of the chassis and pop out the plastic part of the bottom panel. Slide the plastic part of the case upwards and away from the metal. With the innards of the Brix Gaming VR exposed, locate the side covered with the metal plate and remove the two screws holding it in place. Lift up and swing the metal panel away from the centrifuge (it has a sort of floating hinge) and carefully unplug the fan and power cables connected between the boards to allow the board to swing fully away from the device and give you access to the M.2 and memory slots.

We equipped the Gigabyte Brix Gaming VR with a 256GB PCIe NVMe SSD, a 1TB 2.5” 7,200 RPM HDD and an 8GB (2 x 4GB) kit of DDR4-2133 (we’ll detail the specific parts on the next page), and after freeing the removable board from the tiny chassis, installing the components is a breeze. The M.2 slots, mounting posts, and screws are easily accessible on the same board as the SO-DIMM memory slots, and both are equally easy to install using the instructions Gigabyte provides. Once the M.2 storage and memory are installed, return the board to its original position (making sure to plug in the fan and power cables) and secure it to the chassis with the screws.

The 2.5” drive bay is on the other side of this panel (where the large heatsink is located), and it can be accessed by removing the two screws on either side of it and lifting the tray up and out of the centrifuge. The SATA power and data cable is taped to the nearby heatsink. Secure your 2.5” drive of choice in the metal tray with the provided screws, plug in the SATA connector, and replace the cage to the chassis. Finish up by screwing down the drive bay, sliding the plastic shroud back over the exposed components, and reattaching the bottom panel.

Software And Accessories

The Gigabyte Brix VR doesn’t come with an operating system or any software, with the exception of the driver disk. You’re on your own when it comes to obtaining a Windows installation, and that easily adds at least $100 to the bill. Combine that with a minimalist kit of memory ($70), a moderate capacity M.2 NVMe SSD ($120), and a 2.5” HDD ($60), and you will spend somewhere around an additional $350 just to get the Brix VR up and running. You could equip the device with even less ambitious components (just an HDD, even less RAM), but the cost savings would impact performance significantly.

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Synthetic & Productivity Benchmarks

We compared Gigabyte's Brix Gaming VR to the recently reviewed MSI G25 Vortex 8RD, which also features a custom MXM GeForce GTX 1060 6GB graphics card and delivers a desirable small form factor. It uses an Intel Core i5-8400 CPU. The Gigabyte Brix Gaming VR also falls into the same sub-$1500 price point as the Vortex (after you add storage, memory, and an operating system). We also made a new H270 platform equipped with an Intel Core i5-7500 and an ASRock H270 Performance motherboard to see how a similarly equipped desktop with a locked CPU would perform against Gigabyte’s sample with a locked mobile CPU. You can see the full specifications of our H270 test platform below.

Comparison Products

H270 Test System Configuration

We also tapped into the data from our Z270 test bench, which is equipped with an Intel Core i7-7700K clocked at the default frequencies. We anticipate the Brix Gaming VR should fall in line somewhere between the two reference systems in CPU-intensive tasks. Both of our desktop reference systems were tested with a Zotac GTX 1060 6GB mini graphics card, which sports Nvidia’s stock clock rates. This should provide an adequate baseline to compare with Nvidia’s mobile counterparts.

Z270 Test System Configuration

For these barebones system reviews, we used the same set of storage and memory for testing. This includes an 8GB (2 x 4GB) kit of G.Skill SO-DIMM DDR4-2133 memory with a CAS latency of 15-15-15-35 and a 256GB Toshiba OCZ RD400 M.2 NVMe SSD. Since these components affect a variety of our synthetic benchmarks, we excluded our usual Storage and Memory Bandwidth results, as they will vary based on what the end user ultimately chooses to put in a barebones PC. These parts will also affect productivity workloads where memory bandwidth and storage speed is a factor, but we still chose to include these metrics because we are using the same set of components across all of the barebones PCs we test.

3DMark

The Gigabyte Brix Gaming VR performs in the same ballpark as its similarly equipped desktop competition in the 3DMark Fire Strike and Time Spy benchmarks, but it falls noticeably behind its direct competition, the MSI G25 Vortex, in the graphics portions of the tests. This is likely the result of lower peak GPU clock rates, with the Brix throttling back to the base clock rate fairly often thanks to temperatures reaching up to 85°C. However, the Gaming VR manages to net better CPU performance than our H270 test rig (equipped with a Core i5-7500), and it narrowly trails the Vortex's Core i5-8400, showing that Intel's 8th-generation, six-core desktop CPU has better multi-core performance chops than the previous generation's mobile i7 offering.

Cinebench R15

With CPU performance under the microscope in the Cinebench R15 benchmark, the Gigabyte Brix Gaming VR performs similarly to what the 3DMark CPU tests laid out, lagging behind the pack in single-threaded and OpenGL workloads. Again, the Gaming VR bests our H270 reference system in the multi-threaded portion of the test, with the hyper-threaded quad-core i7-7700HQ under the hood beating the Core i5-7500's four cores.

CompuBench

The Gigabyte Brix Gaming VR clearly has a slight GPU disadvantage compared to the G25 Vortex, falling behind the MSI-branding competition in the CompuBench Video Processing and Bitcoin Mining tests. Although the margin is small, it continues to point out a performance gap between Gigabyte's MXM GeForce GTX 1060 6GB graphics card and MSI's custom MXM card.

PCMark 8

Performance in the PCMark 8 application benchmarks are a mixed bag of results for the Gigabyte Brix Gaming VR. It falls significantly behind the other GTX 1060-equipped PCs in the field in the Adobe Creative test, but it manages to outpace the H270 reference system in the Microsoft Office application workloads. Storage and memory-intensive workload performance (especially Adobe software) will vary depending on what you install in your barebones Brix, but we can confidently say that the Gaming VR performs slightly behind other options.

PCMark 10 Extended

The PCMark 10 Extended results give us a more varied look at specific productivity workload performance, and the Gigabyte Brix Gaming VR is able to finally lift itself out of the bottom slot in the chart by outperforming our H270 reference system. The Brix Gaming VR still falls behind the H270 rig (and other GTX 1060-equipped PCs) in the Gaming test, but a close score in the Essentials benchmark, and comfortable leads in the Productivity and Digital Content Creation portion of the test gives the Brix a higher overall score. Again, our particular storage and memory setup has a significant impact on this, and your choice of hardware may prove better or worse in these particular workloads.

VRMark

VRMark tells a similar gaming performance story. The Gigabyte Brix Gaming VR falls behind the desktop GPU-equipped competition and the MSI G25 Vortex 8RD. However, the Brix exceeds the minimum recommended performance for the Oculus Rift in the Orange Room test. Pushing the detail settings higher with the Blue Room test crushes all of the GTX 1060-equipped systems in the field.

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Gaming Benchmarks

For this particular review, we excluded 2560 x 1440 test results. We did this because the mobile GPU would not run this resolution in full screen mode (although we could have run the tests with windowed resolutions), and these systems are meant for the living room, where 1080p and 4K TVs are more common.

Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation

The Gigabyte Brix Gaming VR starts the gaming benchmarks at the bottom of the heap, trailing the MSI G25 Vortex 8RD in average framerates by about 14% in the Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation tests at 1920 x 1080 and 3840 x 2160. This benchmark is known to stress the CPU more than the GPU, but the results indicate that the Brix Gaming VR is behind the pack on both fronts.

Bioshock Infinite

The Bioshock Infinite results are less damning, with the Brix Gaming VR coming in behind the G25 Vortex in average framerate by 4% at 1920 x 1080 and by 3% at 3840 x 2160. Bioshock is also acceptable to play at 4K, with all of the GTX 1060-equipped systems netting above a 30 FPS average with all the settings at maximum.

DiRT Rally

Again, the Gigabyte Brix Gaming VR performs just slightly behind the G25 Vortex in the DiRT Rally benchmarks, highlighted by lower minimum framerates at 1920 x 1080 and 3840 x 2160. The desktop CPUs inside the competition simply achieve better peak clock rates, and the Brix Gaming VR is more on par with a similarly equipped laptop (which still isn't too shabby).

Grand Theft Auto V

The slight CPU disadvantage of the Brix Gaming VR once again places it at the bottom of the chart. GTAV is especially taxing with the detail settings at maximum, and all of the GTX 1060-equipped PCs struggle to achieve above a 30 FPS average at 1920 x 1080. It's unreasonable to expect playable framerates at 4K without drastically reducing the eye candy.

Hitman

Similar to Bioshock Infinite, the Gigabyte Brix Gaming VR fares better at 1920 x 1080 in the Hitman benchmarks, achieving an average framerate above a desirable 60 FPS (65.6 FPS to be exact). Turning up the resolution to 3840 x 2160 doesn't do any favors for the mobile GPU-equipped PCs in the field. Whereas the desktop samples are able to achieve just under a playable 30 FPS average at 4K with all the settings at maximum, the Vortex and Brix Gaming VR trail them by a few FPS. The Brix only falls behind the Vortex by less than 1 FPS, but both systems require less demanding settings for playable framerates at 4K.

Rise of the Tomb Raider

Rise of the Tomb Raider is another hardware-heavy title that brings all of the GTX 1060-equipped systems to single-digit framerates at 4K. However, at 1920 x 1080, the Gigabyte Brix Gaming VR is able to average above a playable 30 FPS with all the details and AA and their highest settings. Once again we see the Brix trail the Vortex, but with the GPU clearly being the bottleneck, this disadvantage is much smaller than we've seen in other games.

The Division

We see more of the same results in The Division, with the Brix achieving a 47.2 FPS average framerate at 1920 x 1080 with the highest settings. It again falls behind the Vortex (by 3.5 FPS), and although we see better average framerates in this game at 4K than some of the others we've tested, it's still highly recommended that you turn the detail and AA dials way down if you want to play at 3840 x 2160.

Middle Earth: Shadows of War

Our newest game in the test suite gives a great indication of GPU performance (both of our test rigs with different CPUs achieve the same average framerate), and the Brix Gaming VR again falls behind the Vortex in Middle Earth: Shadows of War. The difference between Gigabyte and MSI's MXM GTX 1060 is small, but the slight GPU memory overclock of the MSI G25 Vortex (along with better observed thermals) puts the Gigabyte a few FPS behind it in the majority of our GPU-intensive tests.

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Price Analysis & Conclusion

The Gigabyte Brix Gaming VR is one of the smallest gaming PCs we've ever tested. It's about the size of a Google Home or Amazon Echo, and it packs considerable gaming horsepower. The Intel Core i7-7700HQ processor and GeForce GTX 1060 6GB graphics card will get you in the door for VR gaming and will provide excellent framerates in many AAA game titles at 1920 x 1080. However, you may have to back down the details to get the most out of Gigabyte's SFF gaming PC. 4K gaming is not the ideal intent for the Brix Gaming VR (or any other GTX 1060 equipped PC).

Size is the primary consideration factor for the Gigabyte Brix Gaming VR. It doesn't get much smaller than this. The tiny chassis can easily find a home in a living room entertainment center, and at full load the sound is comparable to a full-sized desktop PC at idle (it's not noisy). As a barebones PC, there is also an appeal to enthusiast consumers looking for an ultra-compact PC that requires a bit of technical knowledge to use (you have to install your own memory, storage, and operating system).

The chassis is easy to open, but we thought accessing the component interfaces (M.2, SATA, memory SO-DIMMs) was a bit awkward (the included instructions were also of little help). The best advice we can offer is to mind the attached cables when removing the main panel to install RAM and M.2 storage; our review sample's main power cable clip (attached to the removable panel) was broken (presumably from a prior review) from what appeared to be too much pressure on the cable when the board is pulled away to expose the interior. We were able to reattach it and use the device, but it's important to detach all the visible cables as you delicately open the system.

The compact design and quiet fans don't come without drawbacks. There's not much USB connectivity to go around. With only four Type-A ports, you'll have a problem connecting an Oculus Rift with Touch unless you opt for a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse.

Another serious issues is thermal performance. We observed GPU temperatures reaching 85°C (the maximum operating temperature before it throttles), which resulted in lower peak sustained clock rates compared to the direct competition, the MSI G25 Vortex (which also features an MXM GTX 1060). As such, the Brix Gaming VR falls behind the pack ever so slightly in our GPU-intensive benchmarks. That performance drop appears to be the price of ultra-compact PC gaming.

At $1,150, the Gigabyte Brix Gaming VR comes in at an attractive price on paper, but you'll spend anywhere from $250 to $600 more to add your own memory, storage, and OS (depending on how crazy you get with your memory and storage performance and capacity). This brings your total cost of ownership more in line with what the competition is asking for its fully assembled SFF PC (the G25 Vortex, priced at $1,500). Consequently, the Gigabyte Brix Gaming VR doesn't have as strong of a price-to-performance ratio as its base pricing may suggest. If performance is your primary deciding factor, there are other options in this price point that offer better thermal (and therefore, GPU) performance.

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LAS VEGAS, NV -- Intel revealed a new NUC barebones kit featuring Intel and AMD’s lovechild of an SoC.

The new Intel NUC8i7 comes in two different models. The HVK is the top end of the stack and features an unlocked 8^th generation (Kaby Lake-R) Intel Core i7-8809G processor, which sports a 100W TDP and can reach a 4.2GHz Turbo frequency at stock settings. The Radeon RX Vega M GH graphics inside the -8809G is VR-capable and reaches a peak clock rate of 1,190MHz, but it also features an unlocked core clock and can be given a performance boost (if the thermals allow it).

The NUC8i7HNK is more conservative, with an Intel Core i7-8705G processor that operates at a 65W TDP and can hit a 4.1GHz Turbo frequency in lightly threaded applications. Overclocking isn’t an option with the locked CPU multiplier. The Vega graphics are also somewhat stunted compared to the HVK – the RX Vega M GL graphics reach a peak frequency of 1,011MHz, and it can’t be overclocked. Intel didn’t slap the “VR-capable” tag on this version of the new NUC.

Both of the new NUC kits feature two SODIMM memory slots that support up to 32GB (2 x 16GB) of DDR4-2400 SODIMM memory running at 1.2V. For storage, users can equip the NUC8i7 with up to two M.2 2880 SSDs (SATA or PCIe). Additional storage and peripherals can be connected via three USB 3.1 (Gen 2) Type-C ports (two of which support Thunderbolt 3 connectivity), a USB 3.1 (Gen 2) Type-A port, and five USB 3.0 ports (four rear, one front). There’s also an SDXC card reader.

The new Intel NUC8i7 also sports ample display connectivity, with two mini DisplayPort 1.3 and an HDMI 2.0 port on the rear panel. The rear TB3 interfaces also support DisplayPort 1.2 connectivity, and the front HDMI 2.0 port makes it easy to connect a VR HMD.

Intel also packs plenty of networking options into the NUC8i7, with dual gigabit Ethernet ports (powered by an Intel i219-LM and i210-AT NIC) and wireless-AC connectivity (via an Intel Wireless-AC 8265 module). The device is powered by a 230W AC adapter and can be mounted to the back of a VESA-capable display.

The new Intel NUC8i7-HVK and NUC8i7-HNK will be available for $999 and $799, respectively, and they should hit store shelves this March.

Shuttle announced a new bare-bones mini PC with the ability to be overclocked with the push of a button. Meet the SZ270R9.

The Shuttle SZ270R9 is little more than a motherboard and power supply in a small cube-like chassis. The case itself is edgy and sports RGB LED lighting on its black plastic front panel. End users are required to equip the device with their own CPU, memory, storage, and a GPU, as well as loading their own operating system.

The device supports 6^th and 7^th generation 95W Intel processors (Skylake and Kaby Lake) with its Z270 chipset motherboard, with support for up to 64GB (4 x 16GB) DDR4-2400 memory. The SZ270R9 sports a unique CPU cooler, with four heat pipes making direct contact with the CPU and feeding to aluminum fins in the back of the device (away from the CPU mount) that dissipate the heat.  For storage, you can equip the SZ270R9 with up to four 3.5” or 2.5” drives (SSD or HDD), two M.2 2280 Type-M devices, or an M.2 2230 Type-A drive.

The Shuttle SZ270R9 also supports full-sized dual-slot graphics cards up to 280mm in length. However, a 500W 80 Plus Silver certified power supply limits the GPU ceiling to a GTX 1080, unless you want to run a more-powerful card with less than the recommended juice. You can connect the GPU using the SZ270R9’s 6-pin and 6+2-pin PCIe power connectors.

USB connectivity is abundant, with six USB 3.0 ports (four rear, two front) and four USB 2.0 ports. The motherboard also has its own display outputs, with an HDMI and two DisplayPort interfaces for integrated graphics, in case you choose to forgo a dedicated GPU.

Perhaps most interesting, the Shuttle SZ270R9 sports a push-button overclocking feature that will increase the frequency of your K-series CPU (and only unlocked K-series CPUs) with just one touch. Although Shuttle also offers overclocking software (and RGB lighting control software) for Windows 10, the one-touch solution will automatically select the optimized clock rate for the CPU without any further user interaction.

The Shuttle SZ270R9 supports 64-bit versions of Windows 7 and Windows 10, but the XPC overclocking and RGB lighting software is only supported on Windows 10. Pricing and availability of the new Shuttle SZ270R9 is currently unknown, but the company indicated it would be released to the wild soon.

ASRock announced that it upgraded its DeskMini 110 mini-STX barebones PC and H110M-STX motherboard for Intel's next-gen Kaby Lake processors.

The DeskMini 110 was the first commercially available PC based on Intel's mini-STX form factor. Asrock designed it to offer better performance than products of a similar size by supporting socketed desktop CPUs instead of soldered ultra-low power or mobile chips. The 1.92L case is just large enough to hold a motherboard, Intel's stock cooler, and a couple of 2.5" storage drives, along with two M.2 slots--one for PCIe Gen 3 (x4) SSD and one for an M.2 Key E device.

The H110M-STX is the motherboard ASRock squeezed into the DeskMini 110's case. Asrock announced the motherboard in July--not long after the DeskMini 110 became available--and designed it to fit inside other mini-STX cases. (Even though very few of those were available this summer.)

Here's how ASRock explained the philosophy behind DeskMini 110 and H110M-STX in a press release:

Consumers nowadays are seeking for a speedier computing experience. A faster PC without a bulky design is a critical condition to meet today’s most demanding computing environment. Ultimately, the ASRock’s Mini-STX products provide tons of upgradeability options with a tiny and compact design that can satisfy your need perfectly.

Now both products will receive BIOS updates to support Intel LGA 1151 socket-based processors. Intel introduced the socket with Skylake, and the company will use it for the upcoming Kaby Lake processors as well. Those processors are supposed to be more power efficient, have higher clock rates, and boast more aggressive Turbo Boost frequencies than their predecessors do and are expected to start shipping sometime in January 2017.

ASRock upgraded its 100-series motherboards to support Kaby Lake in October. The company did not say when it would release the BIOS update for the DeskMini lineup, but when it is, you'll be able to download it right from the ASRock website.

Update, 11/15/16, 11:30am PT: Corrected two specifications.

Introducing Luna Design's DNK-H

A Case By Any Other Name?

(Editor's Note: Luna Design is offering two versions of its DNK-H slim Mini-ITX case as a case/cooling/power combo, a barebones PC, or custom-configured PC. Contributing Editor Chris Miconi has combined performance, heat and noise measurements to evaluate it against alternative complete solutions).

The latest offering up on the testing block is a compact computer case from a small company most of you have probably never heard of. The DNK-H from Luna Design is an ultra-compact case designed to pack a reasonable amount of hardware. The company was kind enough to send us both versions of its case design, one of which was filled with hardware to be put to the test.

Specifications

Exterior

Luna Design offers the DNK-H as both a barebones case with a built-in power supply, CPU cooler, and WIFI antennas, as well as a pre-built system with a variety of different hardware configurations. The case we received happened to be packing an Intel Core i7-6700, 16GB of DDR4-2133MHz memory, a 256GB M.2 SSD, and a 1TB SSHD.

The DNK-H is available in both polycarbonate plastic as well as 5052-T32 aluminum and bears a bit of resemblance to Apple’s Mac mini in both size and external appearance. The plastic version of the case is available only in white, and feels very sturdy compared to what its appearance may lead you to believe. The aluminum version is available in silver and a goldish color that the company refers to as champagne, and feels every bit as sturdy as its plastic counterpart. 

The case features an extremely minimalist design with no external interface ports, save for those on motherboard. In fact, the only external features that break up the smoothness of the design are the power button and indicator lights on the front of the case, and the case’s name and ventilation holes located on top-rear of the case.

Both versions of the DNK-H come with a black polycarbonate plastic base, which acts as a mounting point for the case’s internal power supply, cooling fan, and other components. The base also has a number of ventilation holes, which help keep everything inside the case running cool. Finally, the bottom of the case features a built-in wall mount, though we would have liked a VESA mount as well.

The back of the DNK-H features a motherboard cutout for Thin Mini-ITX form factor boards, an input for power, and a pair of mounted connections for the WIFI antennas. Additionally, the motherboard included with our sample came with plenty of connectivity options including a pair of video inputs, a pair of gigabit LAN inputs, four USB 3.0 ports, and an optional 19V DC input.

Interior

Four screws secure two halves of the case. Inside you’ll find the built-in power supply and cooling fan, as well as a CPU heatsink, thermal paste, SATA power and data cables, a pair of WIFI antennas, and a power cable. The built-in power supply claims an 80 PLUS Gold rating and is capable of supplying up to 150W of power. Furthermore, the power supply is compatible with any Thin Mini-ITX motherboard which has a two pin 19V Molex connector.

The DNK-H’s CPU cooling system consists of a cooling fan built into the bottom of the case, providing the only source of air flow for its heatsink and surrounding components. The heatsink consists of a solid copper slug surrounded by an array of aluminum fins and is somewhat similar in design to the reference heatsink that accompanies Intel CPUs. Furthermore, it mounts to motherboards using a push pin design and is capable of handling up to 65W TDP. Intel’s standard for Thin Mini-ITX requires that all boards have the same mounting hole pattern regardless of socket. In theory that means that the heatsink should be compatible with both AMD and Intel boards, however Luna Design only officially supports Intel boards for the time being.

Exploring the inside of the pre-built case we find an Asus H110T Thin Mini-ITX motherboard mounted to what would be the top of the case during normal use. Also easy to spot are 2x 8GB SODIMMs of Kingston DDR4-2133MHz RAM and a 256GB M.2 SSD made by Lenovo, and hiding just beneath that is an Intel WIFI card. Under the DNK-H CPU heatsink sits an Intel Core i7-6700.

On the bottom, in addition to the cooling fan and power supply that come with the DNK-H, our pre-built version also came with a 1TB Seagate SSHD attached to the 2.5” drive mounting location.

Size Always Matters

In the realm of compact computers, size, along with how much gear a computer holds, are the two biggest decision factors. So for today’s review, we’ll be putting the DNK-H up against the latest iteration of Apple’s Mac mini as well as Intel’s flagship NUC.

The DNK-H is obviously the largest of the three systems in today’s review, but it’s also the cheapest and most configurable. Unlike its two competitors, the DNK-H has the largest selection of motherboards and CPUs, as well as storage, all while maintaining a reasonably small footprint.

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Benchmarks And Conclusion

How We Tested the DNK-H

We ran the Luna Design DNK-H through our standard First Look suite, with a couple of extra tests added. Our standard test suite consists of PCMark 8, 3DMark Fire Strike, and Unigine Valley for the synthetic tests, as well as the built-in benchmarks in Bioshock Infinite and Metro: Last Light Redux for the gaming tests. Because compact systems are expected to be both cool and quiet, we’ve added CPU thermal testing and noise testing to the mix.

We put the DNK-H up against two other popular and similarly configured systems: Apple’s late-2014 Mac mini and Intel’s Skull canyon NUC.

Synthetic Benchmark – PCMark 8

For our first benchmark we see the DNK-H and the NUC trade blows as the DNK-H’s more powerful desktop CPU comes out on top in the Work test while the NUC’s Iris Pro GPU gives it a distinct advantage in the more GPU-bound Home and Creative tests. Meanwhile, we find Apple’s Mac mini in last place with its aging mobile CPU, which can’t keep up with the modern hardware found in the other two products.

Synthetic Benchmark – 3DMark Fire Strike

Similarly, both the DNK-H and the NUC score well in the CPU-based physics test, with the win going to the DNK-H for its desktop CPU. The limits of all three systems are also rather obvious here, with poor overall graphics scores due to the limitations of their CPU-based GPUs.

Synthetic Benchmark – Unigine Valley

Once again we see the same pattern, with the NUC’s Intel Iris Pro graphics taking a commanding lead over both the Intel HD graphics in the DNK-H and the aging Intel Iris graphics in the Mac mini.

Gaming Benchmark – Bioshock Infinite

The graphics punishment continues. The Intel NUC is the only system to come close to what we would consider a playable framerate at these settings. Meanwhile we find the other systems drowning in their own blood trying to keep up.

Gaming Benchmark – Metro: Last Light Redux

At this point, Metro: Last Light Redux puts the final nail in the coffin of all three systems, with even the NUC’s Iris Pro graphics succumbing to this benchmark's extreme graphics load.

CPU Thermal Testing

We conducted today’s thermal tests by running both Prime95 (small FFTs) and 3DMark 11’s Graphics Test 1 (extreme preset) for a punishing, full two hours on each system. Then we averaged Tcore temperature from each core to determine the CPU’s overall temperature, from which we subtracted the ambient temperature of the room to derive the final value. The room temperature for today’s tests was maintained at approximately 26°C (78.8°F).

Even after a full two hours of intense load on its 65W TDP Intel Core i7-6700, the DNK-H manages to maintain a somewhat high, but still quite acceptable overall temperature of 83.5°C, mainly thanks to its full-size heatsink and cooling fan. Meanwhile, even with lower TDP processors, the heat pipes and small cooling fans in the Mac mini and NUC leave them roasting with overall temperatures of 92.2°C and 93.6°C respectively.

Fan Noise Testing

Because compact systems should be both cool and quiet, we put all three systems to the test with our Galaxy CM-140 SPL meter. We measured the CPU fan noise of each system by placing the meter 0.25m away from the front left corner of each system, with the meter’s microphone pointed directly at the system’s case. The numbers were then corrected to the 1m industry standard – used by many loudspeaker and fan manufacturers – by subtracting 12 decibels.

All three systems are quiet enough at idle that they managed to push our sound meter to its limits by coming in just under its certified 32 dBA minimum. Short of placing your ear against one of them, you won’t be able to hear them under light loads. Under more intense loads we start to see a marked increase in fan noise. The same cooling solution that left the Mac mini roasting in our temperature test also makes it the quietest system of the three. Meanwhile, we see the DNK-H and NUC trading blows, with the win going to the DNK-H for its lower overall temperatures.

Conclusion

The compact system marketplace is full of options ranging from Apple’s Mac mini, to Intel’s line of NUCs, to fanless systems, and more. Each makes some sort of trade-off between size and features, and almost all carry a hefty price tag. Further complicating matters is the respectable number of Thin Mini-ITX cases on the market for builders looking to build their own systems.

Luna Design’s DNK-H is a great compact system, in the sense that you can either buy the case standalone and build your own system, or have the company build one for you. If you choose to have Luna Design build one for you, you get a great system full of parts that are guaranteed to work together, and if you choose to go it on your own, you still get a great compact case with lots of space, and a built-in cooling system and power supply, all of which is ready to build. Finally, the ability to use a desktop CPU instead of its mobile equivalent should place the DNK-H above a good bit of the competition, especially in the pre-built systems market which is dominated by less capable mobile processors.

Even though the DNK-H is a great system, it won’t be replacing your gaming desktop or laptop any time soon. As a whole, compact systems like the DNK-H usually don't fare well in heavy graphics workloads because they lack a discrete graphics card. Furthermore, the scarcity of desktop CPUs with on-chip, high-performance graphics, and that drop into an LGA socket, make gaming with the DNK-H even more difficult, even with lowered settings.

But at less than $80 for a case and under $1,000 for a pre-built system, the DNK-H is still an excellent buy for anyone who wants a product with a great price-to-performance ratio, as well as a great compact system with a respectable amount of customization.

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Introducing Aegis X

Though most PC hobbyists prefer to start from scratch, it’s hard to overlook the special features that manufacturers can enable by designing several parts as a complete package. The term “Barebones” refers to a motherboard with case and power supply, but these can be bundled either by the manufacturer as a custom unit or by a reseller using off-the-shelf parts. Even low-end ATX full towers are sometimes sold as Barebones kits. Finding a base configuration with special integrated features requires one to look beyond the term Barebones and into manufactured solutions.

Most of these custom designs use several standard form factor components to assure buyers that non-original replacement parts will fit, even if doing so sacrifices those custom features. Creative’s full-ATX Sound Blaster PC represents my first exposure to a manufacturer-optimized Barebones with its built-in Live Drive. Owners who wanted to replace the Slot 1 motherboard formed communities to figure out how to make its modified Live Drive cable work with the header found on Creative’s Sound Blaster Live discrete audio cards. Creative’s motherboard supplier saw the problem of stranded customers as an opportunity to sell an entire set of components at every minor upgrade, dropped out of the motherboard business, and switched its entire product line to propriety "mini barebones" PCs. Meanwhile, manufacturers who have remained in the motherboard business continue to offer their Barebones customers an easier upgrade path, at least most of the time.

MSI’s Aegis X for example is based on Mini ITX. Any of its components can be replaced with parts from other brands, though, as with the customized Live Drive mentioned above, doing so could force buyers to give up a couple features. The Type-C USB 3.1 10 Gbps port is primary of the two custom features since it uses a PCIe interface over a data cable to connect the daughter card upon which that port is mounted.

Highlighted by the backlit logo, a button that triggers a firmware function otherwise known as MSI OC Genie is the system's remaining proprietary feature. On the Aegis X it’s called “OC Mode” for “MSI Gaming App." Front panel Type A ports, as well as headphone and microphone jacks, all connect through industry-standard internal headers.

MSI’s Aegis X layout makes more sense when viewed from the rear, with its Mini ITX motherboard in the case’s upper portion and the power supply located in its lower portion. MSI delivered the Aegis X-001BUS with one of its own graphics cards, some drives, and a CPU: Retail buyers get only the case, power supply, motherboard, CPU cooler, and all the hardware needed to connect everything.

The Aegis X motherboard includes a Killer Wireless-AC 1435 controller in addition to the Killer E2400 Gigabit Ethernet, thereby enabling Killer Doubleshot Pro support. There are no USB 3.1 10 Gbps ports in back, though the two USB 2.0 ports are handy for a keyboard and mouse. Yet even those ports come online too late in the boot process to gain access to firmware. Instead, we had to dig out an old-fashioned PS/2 keyboard to get the motherboard to recognize our striking of the Delete key in a timely manner.

Located in the lower section, a so-called 1U power supply is specified to deliver up to 600W. We’re not lazy enough to call it proprietary, since several manufacturers offer compatible units.

The installation kit includes a power cord, Wi-Fi antennas, software, and a right-angle HDMI patch cord. The patch cord connects your graphics device to an extension cable that runs from the case's rear to front HDMI port. That’s two patch cords (internal and external) in addition to the cable you’re planning to use: Most of us would rather run a single cable around the case to avoid this compromise.

Our customized configuration came with a CEE 7/5 (French) power cable. Retail US buyers should expect a Type B cable and none of the added parts (drives, graphics, etc) seen in previous photos.

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Inside The Aegis X

Once again we must remind everyone that MSI sent this barebones filled with additional components that it wanted to see displayed in our photos. Rather than show a buildup, we’ll show a tear-down as we remove the graphics, drives, RAM, and CPU that aren’t included in the Aegis X-001BUS base model.

Because the right side-panel is secured with a screw under the top panel, removing the top panel is the first step in building (or disassembling) the Aegis X. A single 2.5” tray is found here. Two empty 3.5” drive trays are located under the (included) Hitachi/LG model GUD0N 8x DVD burner.

Two screws hold a clamping bracket to secure a graphics card. Removing these allows the user’s graphics card to slide out of the Aegis X PCIe 3.0 x16 riser card.

Removing two screws atop and two screws aback the riser bracket gives builders easy access to the closed-loop liquid cooler (CLLC), a DDR4 SO-DIMM slot, and a PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slot. Both the DRAM and M.2 slots are empty in the stock configuration.

The other DDR4-SODIMM and M.2 slots are found on the back of the Aegis X motherboard. MSI delivered this system as they would like their buyers to build it, with dual-channel memory and dual M.2 cards in RAID 0.

Other than a couple front-panel features, the 92mm liquid CPU cooler is the closest thing MSI’s Aegis X has to a proprietary part. It’s interchangeable with the $85 Asetek 545LC, if you know where to find one.

Though we haven’t found a documented form factor, several manufacturers label their 100mm x 40.5mm power supplies 1U, with various lengths ranging from 190mm to 250mm. At 220mm long, the Fortron Source model FSP600-40UGSBE included by MSI is 80 PLUS Silver rated to 600W. Open-market replacements up to 500W are readily found at that length, and the base of the Aegis X has a little extra space at the front for those who’d like to try cramming in a longer unit. On the other hand, the included 600W part appears a little overkill. We can’t think of an easy way to cram more than 500W of components into a system this small.

Aegis X Firmware And Software

The Aegis X defies all of our expectations for MSI hardware by providing zero overclocking options in firmware. The company added an XMP button to publicly available update firmware after a little prodding, but even switching down from the DDR4-2400 defaults of our recently-reviewed Crucial Ballistix Sport LT kit to DDR4-2133 isn't an option. There are a few boot settings and a bunch of status screens however.

MSI’s famous OC and MFlash menu buttons are completely missing from Advanced mode, replaced with the Hardware Monitor and System Explorer buttons normally found on the other side of the screen on its retail boards.

The Hardware Monitor popup is a repeat from EZ Mode and, unlike MSI’s retail boards, lacks any adjustability. The System Explorer page is also limited to external connections rather than internal hardware, though pointing the cursor at any of the shown zones enables a popup to show what’s plugged in.

The Aegis X software load includes several MSI apps, but does not include MSI’s venerable Command Center software or even its Live Update 6. Both of those suites are unsupported.

MSI Gaming Center provides an index of most of its other utilities and licensed software, plus a direct control menu for its RGB case lighting effects.

MSI Dragon Eye provides video overlay of an unrelated feed while gaming. MSI mentions YouTube and Twitch as possible overlay video sources. The program includes hotkey functions to control the video feed and transparency control so it won’t conceal too much of your important game action.

MSI Gaming App offers limited control for enhanced turbo and power saving CPU modes. Its functionality is also dependent on the position of the front-panel turbo button.

MSI Recovery is the firm’s own brand hard drive backup suite. We used it and found that it mostly works, though we only found our 32GB thumb drives compatible. Several of our larger drives were incompatible, and the 27GB image meant that anything smaller than 32GB wouldn’t have the required capacity.

Killer Networking’s software allows users to set packet and stream prioritization. The presence of both Killer Ethernet and Killer Wi-Fi controllers allows Aegis X owners to enable Killer Doubleshot Pro mode.

MSI also adds PowerDVD 12 and temporary subscription service for Norton Security, WTFast, and XSplit Gamecaster/Broadcaster.

Setting Up The Comparison

It’s been a while since we’ve reviewed a barebones PC, and all of the old data uses older hardware. MSI Aegis X is thus compared to current hardware as both a motherboard and a case/power supply combo.

Comparison Motherboards

The design of MSI’s Aegis X presents somewhat of a challenge to case selection capabilities, as we haven’t tested a riser-card case specifically designed to cool gaming graphics cards since the original ASRock M8 of 2013. Nearly the same height as the Aegis X, Corsair’s Graphite 380T is the smallest gaming case we had on hand.

To help demo its Aegix X, MSI included a pair of Toshiba 128GB M.2 drives in RAID 0. Unfortunately, our comparison system doesn't have two M.2 slots. A recent upgrade in our test software suite made this the perfect time to switch to our new test drive, which is a single 256GB version of the drives MSI had included. Retail-boxed Toshiba NVMe M.2 drives come with a PCIe adapter card that we wouldn't need, and are sold under the OCZ brand.

MSI also included its GTX 1080 Armor OC for the demo, and with all those other changes to the system configuration I ran out of excuses not to upgrade. It's both more powerful and shorter than the GTX 970 we were previously using.

Comparison Cases

We used the same CPU cooler in both systems to make the thermal comparison as fair as possible, but how do we price that cooler if it’s not sold separately? Fortunately, the model it’s based on is available on eBay for $85.

Finished Test Configurations

We could have reduced our theoretical build tally by over $100 through the purchase of a lower capacity power supply, but re-using an old high-end unit that we already had on hand saved us actual money. New system builders could potentially get the ASRock/Corsair baseline configuration down to $400 if they chose a cheaper motherboard model as well, or even push overclocking potential on the expensive setup by starting off with a larger cooler. Of course they’d give up the slenderness of the Aegis X in the process along with a couple of its special features. Then again, we’ve recently seen the Aegis X at a promotional price of $360, and not everyone is die-hard concerning overclocking. Because of the plethora of pricing and configuration options, our conclusion will speak only in general terms concerning Aegis X value.

Test Results, Analysis, And Final Evaluation

Intel sets its Turbo Boost ratios differently depending on the number of CPU cores that are highly loaded, in order to maintain relatively strict thermal and power limits. Various manufacturers have added "Enhanced" boost ratio settings that force firmware to ignore the lower boost ratios, and pick the highest boost ratio no matter how heavy the load gets. The setting corresponds to the GamingApp "OC Mode" of MSI's Aegis X, and is enabled whenever the OC Mode button on the front of the case is deployed.

The ASRock comparison motherboard offers the same setting through firmware, under the label "Multi Core Enhancement."

Details of our hardware configurations can be found on the previous page of this review.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Since most real-world applications are hardly sensitive to a single, minor component performance deficit, synthetics are a much easier way to find any small flaws. We don’t see any noticeable differences in 3DMark or PCMark results.

Sandra Memory Bandwidth favors the Aegis X, and that difference is reflected in bandwidth-dependent Sandra Cryptography. Perhaps the system will also take a win where it matters, in one of our real-world application tests?

Gaming Performance

Though they might not be appreciable in actual game play, differences in Ashes frame rates at baseline speed are larger than I could have anticipated, particularly since both baseline settings are supposed to use Intel's standard Turbo Boost ratios. I could have blamed the difference in memory bandwidth, except that both systems perform similarly when using identical boost-ratio enhancements. F1 2015 is better known for being hampered by memory performance when set far below GPU limits, and its differences fall into line with the expectations set by Sandra Memory Bandwidth tests.

Timed Application Performance

Less is more concerning time to complete a task, yet neither of these gaming configurations stands out noticeably in most of our productivity tests. The 7-Zip benchmark can be impacted by numerous things including drive and memory performance, and it's the one place where the Aegis X makes a clean break.

Power And Energy Efficiency

Slightly lower power consumption at load gives the ASRock/Corsiar configuration a small lead in energy efficiency. Meanwhile, the Aegis X takes a performance lead that’s so small that only MSI would care to discuss it.

Temperatures, Noise And Acoustic Efficiency

I switched to the Crucial CT500MX200SSD1 drive and Gigabyte GV-N970G1 GAMING-4GD graphics card from our gaming case reviews to keep noise levels consistent with previous tests.

A big fan at the front of Corsair’s case helps to maintain a lower CPU temperature. While the Aegis X produces less noise on average, its small average temperature deficiency leads to a slightly lower acoustic efficiency score.

Final Thoughts

MSI’s Aegis X performs on par with custom configurations while being a little narrower and offering a couple small features. One of those added features, its overclocking button, doesn’t really compensate for its lack of manual overclocking options. Non-overclockers will find this a non-issue, and instead look at the front-panel USB 3.1, 10 Gbps Type-C port. And while that port might not appear to be a major advantage, the fact that this type of front-panel port requires a local controller has prevented it from becoming a standard on retail PC cases. Most builders must instead add this feature to a case using a drive bay adapter, yet cases this small usually don’t have a drive bay into which a builder can place that adapter.

We won’t give MSI a supremacy award simply for adding a front-panel port that most motherboards have on the back, but we can see the usefulness of the Aegis X as a complete package. And while we don’t have a similar Barebones configuration from which to extract any precise value analysis, we did see a page back that the Aegis X price is roughly typical for its component set. Lacking any value or supremacy awards, our stamp of approval is viable for a product that passes all of our tests without presenting any major competitive deficiencies.

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Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware, covering Cases, Cooling, Memory and Motherboards. Follow him on Twitter.

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MSI first introduced us to the Aegis series with a barebones system that included MSI’s Silent Storm Cooling 2 and a B150 chipset motherboard. Then, Aegis X offered an upgrade to a Z170 motherboard, a better PSU, and liquid cooling for the CPU. Now, MSI has announced yet another Aegis-branded barebones system.

The new MSI Aegis Ti features a custom Z170 motherboard, an 850-watt Platinum-rated power supply, and support for Nvidia two-way SLI configurations (something the previous iterations were incapable of). It has a higher memory capacity than its predecessors, with support for up to 64 GB (4 x 16 GB) of SO-DIMM DDR4 (the other Aegis models have only two SO-DIMMs). The two M.2 slots support MSI’s Super Raid 4 (RAID 0) NVMe storage array. There’s also space for two 3.5-inch or one 2.5-inch drives.

A new version of the cooling solution, Silent Storm Cooling 3 (not to be confused with Silent Storm Cooling 2, or Silent Storm Cooling 2 Pro, or the original Silent Storm Cooling from the MSI Vortex), provides dedicated airflow for the graphics card(s) and power supply. Similar to the Aegis X, the Aegis Ti also features a liquid-cooling radiator for the CPU.

Aesthetically, we’re looking at the same barebones Aegis chassis as before. The biggest difference is the added space (and therefore, size) for a second GPU, but the overall design and layout remains the same. The front panel features a USB 3.1 (Gen 2) Type-C slot with up to 10 Gb/s data rates. There’s also two USB 3.1 Type-A ports; one is Gen 2, the other is Gen 1 (5 Gb/s). You can plug in your headset with a combo audio in/out jack, and an HDMI port on front is a considerate feature for a VR gamer. You can also press the Dragon button to instantly overclock the platform (though we aren't sure how much user setup is required, if any).

The motherboard’s rear I/O panel has four USB 3.1 Type-A (Gen 1) ports, four USB 2.0 ports, audio jacks and a P/S 2 port. The front panel’s HDMI pass through is on the back of the chassis in a space between where the graphics cards would go, making it easy to connect it to the GPUs. Internet connectivity is provided by a Killer LAN E2400 RJ45 gigabit Ethernet port and an onboard Killer Wi-Fi 1435AC adapter.

The MSI Aegis Ti barebones PC appears to be the king of the Aegis mountain, and it will arrive in mid-August starting at $649.99. Some assembly is required. However, the company undoubtedly has plans to sell a fully-featured Aegis Ti in the future (MSI did that with the previous Aegis barebones PCs), so if DIY isn’t your thing, hang tight. Preconfigured systems are likely coming.

ASRock’s Desk Mini 110 has been available for a while as the first commercially available mini-STX barebones PC. Now (although it is unlikely you will want to buy just the motherboard at this time), ASRock now plans to ship the Desk Mini 110’s H110M-STX board as a standalone product.

The H110M-STX motherboard is designed around Intel’s 5x5-inch mini-STX form factor. This allows companies to produce unusually compact desktop PCs, but at the expense of several connection options.

The H110M-STX doesn’t have any PCI/PCI-E connections, for example. There is an M.2 Key-E slot for a Wi-Fi card, and an M.2 Key-M slot for an SSD. As the Intel H110 chipset uses legacy PCI-E 2.0 lanes, ASRock decided to connect the M.2 Key-M slot directly to the CPU’s PCI-E 3.0 controller and bypass the chipset entirely. In theory, this should improve performance due to reduced latency and PCI-E 3.0’s higher bandwidth.

Due to the use of an external power supply, the board does not have traditional SATA ports. Instead, it uses a hybrid connection that combines power and data into a single cable. This allows the storage drives to be fed power directly from the motherboard. ASRock placed two of these connections on the bottom of the board.

The motherboard has fairly limited USB connection options, as well. There is a single internal USB 2.0 header on the motherboard. On the rear I/O panel, there’s just one USB 2.0 port and one USB 3.0 port. Over on the front of the board, there is an additional USB 3.0 port alongside a USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C port.

To conserve space, the H110M-STX uses DDR4 SO-DIMMs. Memory support is limited to 32 GB of DDR4 at 2,133 MHz. RAM timings are less restrictive and can be tweaked in the BIOS to try and reduce latency.

The board’s audio subsystem is powered by a Realtek ALC283 audio codec. There aren’t any audio connections on the back of the motherboard, but there is a mic input and an audio-out plus mic-in combo port on the front.

Aside from the ports listed above, there is just the power connection, a DisplayPort, an HDMI port, a VGA port and an RJ-45 port connected to an Intel i219v NIC.

Specifications

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Although ASRock will sell this board separately from the case, it would be a better idea to just buy the Desk Mini 110 for now because of the extremely limited selection of cases on the market. Eventually this issue will be resolved, but currently there aren’t any mini-STX cases available for purchase outside of the Desk Mini 110, and ASRock does not sell that case without a motherboard pre-installed.

Users should also be aware that the H110M-STX motherboard does not support CPUs with a TDP greater than 65 W. This essentially means it supports all current LGA 1151 Skylake CPUs except the i5-6600K and i7-6700K.

There is currently no word on pricing or availability. The H110M-STX motherboard will undoubtedly be priced lower than the Desk Mini 110, however, which currently sells for $139.99.

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Who let the dogs out? In 2000, it was the Baha Men. In 2016, it's Corsair unleashing a couple of its own dogs. Along with the Lapdog "Gaming Control Center" (read: massive lapboard for living room gaming), Corsair announced the companion "Bulldog" barebones chassis. We saw the Bulldog at Computex, PAX Prime and CES along with the Lapdog.

The Bulldog hasn’t changed much since we last saw it. It’s a Mini-ITX case sporting a Hydro Series H5 SF liquid cooler for the CPU and an SF600 80 Plus Gold power supply, and it's available with a Gigabyte Z170N-WiFi Mini-ITX motherboard. Builders need to add their own CPU, memory, storage and graphics card.

Corsair offers the Bulldog without the motherboard for builders who already have one. This adds some degree of customization, but as of now, the Bulldog is still preconfigured with the H5 SF cooler and SF600 PSU. The 120mm radiator fittings allow you to attach all-in-one coolers to their graphics card, given you have an AIO bracket such as Corsair’s Hydro Series HG10 A1.

The Corsair Bulldog High Performance PC Kit is available for preorder at $399 with a Gigabyte Z170N-WiFi and $299 without a motherboard. If you’d like a custom Bulldog experience in your living room without the hassle of building the system yourself, complete systems will be offered with prices varying based on configuration.

Alexander Quejado is an Associate Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware and Tom’s IT Pro. Follow Alexander Quejado on Twitter. 

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Shuttle announced a new small form factor (SFF) barebones PC that can store up to four 3.5-inch hard drives despite its limited footprint.

The Shuttle SZ170R8 features support for the latest Intel Skylake LGA 1151 processors, up to 64 GB DDR4-2133, and up to four 3.5-inch HDDs. The Z170 motherboard also sports a full-size M.2 slot for PCIe, SATA or NVMe SSD storage. In addition, the chassis can house up to one dual-slot graphics card in a PCIe 3.0 x16 slot, giving the SZ170R8 the capability to become a pint-sized powerhouse gaming system.

Without the addition of a dedicated GPU, the Shuttle SZ170R8 offers two DisplayPort interfaces and an HDMI port to connect a display. A gigabit Ethernet port will get you online, but you can also install a Wi-Fi card in the half-sized M.2 interface for wireless connectivity. The Shuttle SZ170R8 also has plenty of USB connectivity, with six USB 3.0 ports in the rear and two USB 3.0 ports in the front. There's even an eSATA port for additional external storage options.

The integrated Cooling Engine 2 features Shuttle’s Ice 2 heat pipe technology, which uses convection cooling to dissipate heat away from the processor. The copper tubes are coated in nickel for increased durability and are filled with distilled water to improve the thermal transfer from the CPU plate to the aluminum fins.

The Shuttle SZ170R8 is available now, starting at $449.99.

Derek Forrest is an Associate Contributing Writer for Tom’s Hardware and Tom’s IT Pro. Follow Derek Forrest on Twitter. Follow us on Facebook, Google+, RSS, Twitter and YouTube.

Hands-On And First Impressions

A week ago, if you told me that I could have a complete desktop experience in a $70 mini-PC smaller than the size of my hand, I would have scoffed. But today, I quite literally have in the palm of my hand the Remix Mini by Jide.

This is an ambitious product resulting from Jide Technology's successful Kickstarter in July 2015, which followed the company's successful crowdfunding campaign for the Android-based Remix Ultratablet. The initial goal for the Remix Mini was $50,000, and it hit that in just over an hour. Within five days it rocketed to $500,000.

At a glance, it's clear that the Jide Remix Mini isn't going to be incredibly fast. That's no surprise when you're paying $70. But at least you can upgrade a few components. For example, you can attach a USB splitter, increasing the number of connected devices. The microSD expansion card slot also supports up to 128GB, increasing the total storage capacity to 144GB.

In addition to its diminutive stature and price point, the Remix Mini also comes with Remix OS, the mini-PC's custom Android-based operating system.

Design And Features

The Remix Mini's design is unassuming, and perhaps this was Jide's intention. It looks like a smooth pebble with no discerning features besides the Remix logo on top.

There isn't even a power button; the system is turned on by tapping the top of the chassis. An almost unnoticeable green power LED sits at the very front of the Remix Mini.

Tapping the Remix logo while the system is on puts it to sleep, while using any connected input device or tapping the logo again wakes it up. At first, I hoped for some sort of tactile response while tapping the Remix Mini, either through a mechanical switch or pressure-sensitive bumper. But this would have affected the price, I'm sure. Another concern I had was that a poorly placed object could fall and put the Remix Mini to sleep. Not only is the Remix Mini unaffected by little accidents like that, it appears the touch sensor responds only to human touch. 

All of the Remix Mini's I/O is found in the back. From left to right, there's a DC power input, an Ethernet port, two USB 2.0 ports, a microSD card reader, one HDMI port and a headphone jack. The two USB 2.0 ports will accommodate keyboards and mice, while the headphone jack is sufficient for audio.

Benchmarks And Conclusion

Benchmarking the Jide Remix Mini required a unique approach. The hardware is powered by Remix OS 2.0, a custom operating system based on Android 5.1 Lollipop, so the synthetic metrics at our disposal are mobile benchmarks found on the Google Play Store. We went with AnTuTu, a familiar suite.

The Remix Mini is also a barebones mini-PC, and user experience is paramount, regardless of how well the system performs in a synthetic test. Normally, I use my personal machine as a media and entertainment center for streaming movies, playing music and browsing the Web. I wanted to see if the Remix Mini could satisfy that role, so for about one week I used it as my daily driver.

Synthetic Benchmark - AnTuTu

AnTuTu is one of the more popular mobile benchmarking applications that tests several facets of performance, including 3D, UX and CPU capabilities.

The Remix Mini scores 25,966 in AnTuTu. That's not an impressive result. It falls behind flagship phones released within the past couple of years. For comparison, Samsung's Galaxy S7 Edge and Apple's iPhone 6s score 134,599 and 133,781 in AnTuTu respectively.

Video Playback

And yet, you don't necessarily need a big AnTuTu score to enjoy your mini-PC. Using Netflix, I streamed a couple of movies and hour-long episodes from various TV shows with ease. YouTube videos similarly played back smoothly. Paying $70 isn't bad for a home theater solution that performs as-promised.

Music Playback

To test audio playback, I used Google Play Music, available on the Play Store. The Remix Mini ran through several hours of music streaming. Though I encountered the occasional hiccup from buffering, the experience was polished overall.

Web Browsing

To test web browsing, I used Google's Chrome browser, also found on the Play Store. Of course, this isn't a sophisticated use case, so browsing on the Remix Mini is much like perusing the Internet in a browser on Windows. You retain functionality like tab-dragging thanks to Remix OS 2.0. But the experience does feel cheapened somewhat due to the app's Android foundation. Websites like Facebook and YouTube automatically want to go to their mobile versions. Right-clicking doesn't work as you'd expect either; the OS supports long clicking the left mouse button instead.

Word Processing

I used Google Docs during my time with the Remix Mini. I try to make it a point to write each hands-on story I publish with the system I'm testing. Word processing on the Remix Mini is especially important since it's indicative of how well the custom Android 5.1 Lollipop-based distribution functions as a desktop operating system. Jide excels at creating desktop experiences featuring frequently-used keyboard macros like Copy, Cut and Paste.

Conclusion

The Jide Remix Mini is an ambitious little machine that achieves everything we expected of it. It can handle simple tasks like web browsing and word processing, which is about all you could hope for from a $70 platform. But it also proves to be a capable multimedia streaming device.

The Remix Mini isn't without faults, though. The biggest issue I had concerned browser functionality. Jide touts the Remix Mini's desktop experience, but my time with the system constantly reminded me that Remix OS 2.0 is still an Android-based operating system. I'm not trying to pick on Remix OS 2.0 here. Rather, the software is simply subject to the limitations of Android, an admittedly mobile-focused environment. Despite this, the Jide team delivers an OS that looks and feels like something we could get used to. And in time, we're confident that improvements to Remix OS 2.0 will make the Remix Mini shine even more brightly as a diminutive desktop platform.

Alexander Quejado is an Associate Contributing Writer for Tom’s Hardware and Tom’s IT Pro. Follow Alexander Quejado on Twitter. 

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MSI launched a brand-new barebones PC called the Aegis. The new case is designed from the ground up to offer ample space for full-sized GPUs and motherboards with easy access to upgradable components in a compact package.

We originally thought the Aegis was just a case, then we found an MSI product page that gave us only a few processor and GPU options (these were not barebones systems, but actually preconfigured Aegis PCs). However, we got some further clarification directly from MSI on what exactly comes inside the new Aegis barebones system.

MSI's Aegis barebones PC (which goes by Aegis-001BUS in the US market) features a B150 chipset motherboard that sports two SO-DIMM slots for up to 32 GB of DDR4 memory. The Aegis also comes with a 600-watt power supply. The only other included hardware is MSI's proprietary cooler, Silent Storm Cooling 2. However, this is why MSI calls it a barebones system, and the easy access to the components means you can install any CPU, GPU and memory kit of your choosing.

The Aegis's method of heat dissipation was first seen in the Vortex, and MSI has refined the concept for its new barebones PC. Silent Storm Cooling 2 produces three different airflow streams in the chassis, individually cooling the PSU, GPU and CPU. The Aegis also features Mystic Light RGB LED lights, giving the new barebones system the added aesthetic bonus of customizable lighting.

The Aegis can house two 3.5-inch drives and a 2.5-inch drive, in addition to one M.2 PCIe or SATA SSD. The slots for the 3.5- and 2.5-inch bays are easily accessible from the outside of the case, so you don’t need to open a panel to remove or replace your storage. It even has a built-in handle for easy transportation.

You can preorder the MSI Aegis at Newegg right now, bundled with a gaming keyboard, mouse and headset for a price of $399.99, until May 18.

Updated, 4/25/16, 8:46pm ET: A change was made to reflect new information on the included components, price and availability of the MSI Aegis.

Derek Forrest is an Associate Contributing Writer for Tom’s Hardware and Tom’s IT Pro. Follow Derek Forrest on Twitter. Follow us on Facebook, Google+, RSS, Twitter and YouTube.

If you've been eyeballing MSI's Nightblade systems, but wanted something with the new Skylake processors and accompanying chipsets, worry no more, for MSI just announced the Nightblade X2 and the Nightblade MI2. These are compact gaming-oriented systems, built in 16-liter and 10-liter enclosures, respectively.

The Nightblade X2

The new updated Nightblade system comes with Core i5 and Core i7 Skylake CPU options and can be filled with up to 16 GB of full-size DDR4 memory. It is based on the Intel Z170 chipset and comes with a handful of interesting features. For starters, you'll be able to equip it with up to a GTX 980 Ti graphics card, giving you an absolutely killer performance level from such a small chassis.

On the storage and connectivity side of things, the Nightblade X2 has room for one 3.5" hard drive, two 2.5" SSDs, and two M.2 SSDs. Wireless connectivity is handled by Killer Wireless AC and a Killer NIC, and on top of the usual rear I/O connectivity, we also find one USB 3.1 Gen2 (10 Gb/s, SuperSpeed+) Type-C port on the rear, and one USB 3.1 Gen1 (5 Gb/s, SuperSpeed) Type-C port up front.

All this hardware fits inside an enclosure that measures 346 x 277 x 176 mm and is powered by a 500 W 80-Plus Silver power supply.

The Nightblade MI2 Is Smaller; Is It Also Better?

Not quite. Sacrifices did have to be made in order to achieve the tiny 10-liter capacity for the Nightblade MI2, but they all make sense. It comes with the same CPU and memory support, but sits on a B150 chipset, and "only" has support for up to a GTX 970 graphics card. Why? Well, because MSI wasn't able to fit a proper SFX power supply in the system and instead had to resort to a 350 W 80-plus Bronze custom unit. Obviously, you'd be a bit bonkers to try and power a GTX 980 Ti off of that, even though it should fit inside the case.

Aside from those differences, the Nightblade MI2 also has one 3.5" drive, but only one M.2 slot. It also comes with just one USB Type-C Gen1 (5 Gb/s, SuperSpeed) port on the front I/O.

Its exact measurements are 128 x 235 x 341 mm.

Pricing, Availability?

MSI did not announce pricing or availability just yet. Presumably, the units will be available pre-configured, and as barebone options, just like the original Nightblade systems, so prices will vary per configuration.

______________________________________________________________________

Niels Broekhuijsen has been with Tom's Hardware since 2012, and works as a Contributing Editor on the news team. He covers mostly hardware, components, and anything else that strikes his fancy. Outside of work, he likes to travel, cook, and fix things that are broken.

You can follow him at @NBroekhuijsen. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

We first saw Corsair's Bulldog concept back at Computex, but back then it was still a prototype. Since that time, Corsair has been working on the barebones living room PC, addressing the feedback from the community. Now that Pax Prime has come, Corsair is using the opportunity to showcase the production version.

The first thing you'll notice if you look at the production version next to the original prototype is that it looks different. Corsair opted to remove the red accents on the chassis, and moved the feet from the side of the unit to the bottom. Part of the makeover is a new glossy front, which together with the aforementioned changes should make the PC fit in better with the rest of your living room hardware.

Very little changed inside the unit; it will come packed with a Mini-ITX Z170 motherboard, an SF600 600 W SFX power supply, and the H5 SF liquid CPU cooler.

The rest is left to you – you'll be able to pick the remainder of the hardware, which includes a CPU, memory, storage and graphics card. What this means is that Corsair has picked the backbone (er, bare bones?) for your system, and it's up to you to choose the performance-deciding factors.

Although Corsair hasn't specified which motherboard will come in the system, we do know that it will have two DDR4 memory slots, an LGA1151 socket for Intel's 6th generation Core processors, surround sound audio with an optical output, and 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.1 support.

For the graphics card, Corsair advises against using a stock air cooler and instead encourages you to use one of its HG10 graphics card brackets so that you can install a liquid cooling loop onto your GPU.

With the Bulldog PC, Corsair is aiming at delivering a living room 4K experience. Of course, not all configurations will make the system ideal for running games at 4K, but with the right hardware, it should work flawlessly.

The Bulldog systems are expected to hit towards the end of 2015, and will be available in two flavors: one with a motherboard, and one without. The unit that comes with a board will cost $399, while the plain version will shave $100 off that price. Considering the price of Mini-ITX boards, unless you plan on moving older hardware into the chassis, you'll likely be best off going for the unit that comes with the Z170 motherboard. Additionally, Corsair will be working with select partners to bring fully configured systems, too.

Follow Niels Broekhuijsen @NBroekhuijsen. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

Private Internet Access Review And Reader Ratings

We asked readers to rate and provide commentary on 30 VPN services. PIA received, by far, the most reader ratings (170) from the Tom's Hardware audience. Its overall average rating was 4.39, which put it in second place. Given its popularity among our readers, and the fact that it scored less than .2 lower than TorGuard, it's probably a pretty good choice. In fact, the best choice.

Because we had so much reader feedback, however, we took careful pains to select the commentary that we deemed most helpful (see bottom of page). Readers really offered some good insights and some cautions. Verbatim reader ratings and comments appear at the bottom of this page.

Overall readers seemed to collectively think PIA was easy to use, had phenomenal speed, and a good price. Many readers commented on the breadth of client support, and the company's stance on privacy. On the down side, many readers commented on connectivity issues -- that it sometimes failed to connect, that it doesn't connect on reboot, that it randomly disconnects (and ungracefully at that). Also there were a few pleas for more countries supported, a complaint we didn't hear about the other services.

Features And Specifications

PIA (Private Internet Access) is blazing fast according to our testing and reader experience. But it stands out in many significant areas, including client support, its barebones setup, its encryption options, the lack of logging and its excellent price. Readers did complain about a variety of connectivity issues, and asked PIA to support more countries.

Supported Encryption

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Interface And Setup

PIA might instantly grab your attention with its payment methods advertised on its home page. Unlike most other services, PIA accepts anonymous gift cards. Did somebody give you a Best Buy or Walmart card for your birthday? Psshhh! You don’t need more junk from them! Give yourself the gift of privacy -- anonymously -- from card sources ranging from Adidas to Williams-Sonoma. You can also procure a PIA “gift card” for someone, who then obtains PIA subscription time upon entering the card’s code.

Like other services, PIA offers Windows, Mac OS X, Android, iOS, Ubuntu and other device installers. We installed the Windows client, but it is not the pretty, many-tabbed toy that HMA! or IPVanish provides. Rather, it’s just a stripped-down settings window you can view in either Simple or Advanced modes. The former merely prompts for your username, password, start-up options and which of PIA’s 21 server regions you wish to connect with. The Advanced view adds pull-down menus for encryption, authentication and handshake methods, along with the note that PIA recommends you use the default settings (AES-128 / SHA1 / RSA-2048). It’s completely bare. No maps, nada. You have to check the system tray just to see if the PIA icon is green or red (active or not), although this icon also gives you a quick way to select from the full list of regional server locations.

PIA advertises a “massive network with 2091+ gateways” across “13+ countries.” It also claims to have “the most anonymous VPN service,” presumably thanks to its numerous encryption options and lack of logging. Like HMA!, PIA also supports port forwarding and disconnect protection, although we did not see a way to have PIA automatically and periodically change IP addresses. We do appreciate that PIA allows for five simultaneous devices. Especially at PIA’s prices, that’s pretty generous.

Test Results

While testing PIA's London location and selecting our usual London server, hosted by TreudlerGroup U.K., that server vanished from Speedtest.net's options for a few minutes. In that time, we selected a different London server, hosted by Namesco. This yielded a bizarre 180ms ping, 4.02 Mb/s download and 6.70 Mb/s upload. Aside from the strangeness of this exceeding our home ISP’s 5 Mb/s upload limit, the download number is half of what TreudlerGroup's server delivered minutes later — more proof that being able to select your server matters. If your VPN provider won't let you choose your server, at least make sure that they’ve got the performance to indicate that their auto-sensing processes are doing the job you want.

We got lucky in that PIA offers a Seattle location. The rest of the West Coast is a bit less specific. It turned out that our selection of "US California" actually pegged to San Jose, and "US West" mapped to Phoenix. Bingo -- a match for comparison to IPVanish. We scored again with PIA's Israel region, although our IP indicated a Haifa location rather than Tel Aviv, but that's close enough.

As for performance, the numbers speak for themselves. PIA blows HMA! and IPVanish out of the water. In particular, we remain baffled by how the Phoenix region can deliver downloads over twice as fast as our FiOS performance ceiling through that FiOS connection. That is some serious VPN wizardry right there. Overall, PIA about doubles the overseas performance of IPVanish, which, combined with PIA's pricing, lays IPVanish's claims of being the best deal around to rest. IPVanish is good, but not PIA good. For this, we can live without a snazzy client interface.

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Five-Star Reader Ratings

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Four-Star Reader Ratings

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Three-Star Reader Ratings

Two-Star Reader Ratings

One-Star Reader Ratings

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William Van Winkle is a Senior Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware. Follow him on Twitter.

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Regular readers of Tom's Hardware may recall that our own Thomas Soderstrom performed an in-depth review of the ASRock M8 barebones system back in October of 2013. In it, he noted a number of issues the company could improve, including airflow and heat dissipation tied to fan orientation, along with excessive noise. Today we're looking at a version of the M8 improved for 2015, which should tell us if ASRock listened to the feedback we provided.

As before, the M8 is a nice-looking enclosure. Its design is smartly thought out, which you might find unsurprising as BMW's engineers had a hand in its creation. The case's side panel is held on by magnets, rather than screws or latches. It has an octagon-shaped window in the center (chosen for its eight sides no doubt, playing into the product's name). The chassis' corners extend beyond the edge of the enclosure, each one featuring two crossbars that function as feet when the M8 is positioned vertically. They also serve double duty as handles for easy transport. One of these is painted red so you know which way is up.

Up front, you'll find a slot-loading DVD drive, four USB 3.0 ports and an LCD readout inside the large OLED button. It's a unique look that fits in with an edgy home theater.

The case itself is primarily composed of billet aluminum. The side panel, case feet extensions and inner shell are made of the stuff. The outer shell is black polycarbonate, while the structure inside is a combination of steel and plastic. The aforementioned aluminum feet are held together with metal crossbars, which are fastened with large socket head bolts.

None of that is changed from the original version, so let's take a closer look at what's new.

Most notably, the chipset is updated to the latest LGA 1150-oriented enthusiast model. While the original M8 came bundled with an ASRock Z87-M8 ITX motherboard, this version includes the updated Z97-M8. The board's layout doesn't change at all, though. You still get two SO-DIMM memory slots rather than full-size DIMMs. An 802.11ac wireless networking card still comes installed, and the onboard Sound Blaster audio solution is there as well. Really, it looks like the motherboard's only evolution is Z97 Express.

More significant is the power supply upgrade. In the first version of the M8, ASRock included a 450 W FSP Group 80 PLUS Bronze-rated unit. While it provided enough juice to drive a GeForce GTX 680, overclocking the graphics card and CPU pushed consumption close to the PSU's ceiling. In the updated M8, ASRock employed a 600 W Enterprise Electronics supply with an 80 PLUS Gold certification. It arguably features better specs than the previous model, offering a single 50A +12V rail rather than the original's 36A divided between two rails.

This provides more headroom for a better GPU at the cost of storage expansion. Rather than 22A on the +5V rail, the new model tops out at 15A. Maximum load on the 3.3+5V rails is also reduced from 120 W to 90 W. This PSU is technically modular; however, its cables all come installed, so the feature doesn't provide much benefit.

Unfortunately, ASRock didn't fix the most damning issue that Thomas discovered in his initial review, which is the orientation of the exhaust and intake fans. Both the top and bottom sport one intake and one exhaust, respectively. This still results in recirculated exhaust, with cold intake blowing right back out before passing over any hardware. To correct the problem, Thomas tore the case down, cut some cable sheathing and flipped some fans around, allowing cold air to enter on the bottom, pass over the hardware and exhaust out of the top of the case. The result was a monumental decrease in CPU temperature to the tune of 20 degrees C under load.

Considering the improvement's impact, and that implementing his change wouldn't cost ASRock anything, we're disappointed to see the modification wasn't made.

The ITX form factor is already quite popular. As hardware continues to get smaller and more efficient, enthusiasts will be able to cram higher performance into compact cases. There's a lot of room in this space for unique and innovative products. ASRock's entry is solid, and it enjoyed an early start, too. As such, it's a shame that the company didn't pursue the unoptimized airflow we pointed out back in late 2013. Instead, ASRock chose to update the M8's motherboard and power supply.

The ASRock M8 is a case we want to love. Stylish ITX enclosures are becoming more common, as are home theater PCs. The M8 does have a ton of potential. But unless you're willing to invest some effort in shuffling its parts around, we're having a hard time wholeheartedly recommending a product that could easily be made better.

MSI is starting a new product line of barebones mini PCs to compete against Intel's NUCs, Gigabyte's BRIX, and other similar devices.

MSI sent out the specs for the first six of these devices that will come to market. All of the Cubi boxes will use embedded Intel Broadwell CPUs and graphics, and are identical in specs to each other except for the CPU.

Strangely enough, Cubi boxes Cubi-001BUS and Cubi-004BUS, Cubi-002BUS and Cubi-005BUS, and Cubi-004BUS and Cubi-006BUS are completely identical to each other in specs and price. In other words, MSI only has three different hardware configurations currently available, yet lists six different models. We asked MSI about this, and a rep told us that the Cubi will come in both black and white models, and that is the difference between the similar models.

As is usually the case with barebones systems, you will need to buy RAM and a storage device to use with the Cubi box.

Unfortunately, in overall specs, these units look to be behind Gigabyte's top BRIX unit and Intel's top NUCs. MSI only goes up to an Intel Core i3 with these units, while Gigabyte and Intel have models containing faster Intel Core i7 processors.

MSI told us that while current models only feature Core i3 or lower CPUs, there will be an option out in the second half of the year featuring an i5 with vPro. There is also potential for a model using an i7, but that has yet to be confirmed.

Although in the U.S. we can only expect to see barebones kits available, in Europe, MSI plans to also launch these as complete systems.

Prices for the barebones Cubi kits range from $149.99 with a Celeron CPU up to $279.99 with a Core i3 CPU. MSI expects the Cubi devices to first reach customers in the second week of April.

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Shuttle, a PC manufacturer that specializes in making small form factor (SFF) PCs and SFF barebone machines, has announced a new mini PC. The SH81R4 takes a page out of the history books, as it appears to be styled similarly to Shuttle PCs from many years ago. Its main selling point, though, is that it is an entry-level barebone unit with an LGA1150 socket and a moderately friendly price tag.

The XPC Barebone SH81R4 comes with a motherboard that features the Intel H81 chipset, along with support for up to 16 GB of DDR3 memory. All LGA1150 CPUs are supported, as the maximum TDP is rated at 95 W, although K-series CPUs won't be overclockable. Internally, you'll also find two SATA3 (6 Gb/s) connectors, one SATA2 (3 Gb/s) connector, a PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot, and a PCI-Express x1 slot, along with two Mini-PCI-Express slots, one of which is only a half-size slot.

For storage options you can house one 5.25" optical drive along with two 3.5" drives, or you can swap out each 3.5" drive in exchange for two 2.5" drives. The entire system is powered by a 300 W 80-Plus Gold rated power supply.

Rear I/O is fairly unremarkable, consisting of six USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI, DVI, and stereo analog audio jacks. Two USB 2.0 ports and a pair of HD audio jacks handle front I/O.

The front of the case features an acrylic panel, which can easily be swapped out for modding or replacement.

To complete the build, you'll need a CPU, memory, and storage. Additionally, you could add a graphics card, an optical drive, a wireless radio, and more, but those remain optional. A CPU cooler is included with the unit.

Shuttle priced the XPC Barebone SH81R4 at €179 (ex VAT) in Europe, so if it comes to the US we can expect it to cost about $225.

Follow Niels Broekhuijsen @NBroekhuijsen. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

MSI introduced on Wednesday the Nightblade Z97, a mini-ITX barebones system packed with the company's latest MSI Z97I Gaming motherboard. The case includes a carrying handle at the bottom-front so that PC gamers can easily take their rig from one LAN event to the next, an easy assembly, smart fan control and more.

"Despite its mini-ITX form factor, the Nightblade Z97 delivers a powerful gaming performance and thanks to its compact size, brushed aluminum finish on the front and awesomely presented Dragon on the side of the case, gamers won't have to hide their PC beneath their desk anymore," states the PR.

According to the specs, the front panel includes two USB 3.0 ports and two USB 2.0 ports. The back panel provides two e-SATA ports, two HDMI ports, one Display Port, one S/PDIF, one PS/2, one Clear CMOS Button, and six OFC audio jacks. Internal ports consist of one ATX 24-Pin, one 8-Pin ATX 12V, five SATA 3 ports (6 GB/s), and one Clear CMOS.

The barebones system also includes a 600 watt 80 Plus Gold power supply, a 92 mm 3600 RPM fan on the back, an optional Slim Type slot-in bay for an optical disc drive, and support for one 3.5-inch HDD, one 2.5-inch drive, or two mSATA drives. Wireless AC connectivity is provided by Intel, and 7.1 channel HD audio is provided by Soundblaster. Customers can also install up to 16 GB of DDR3 3200 MHz memory.

"The case fan inside the MSI Nightblade Z97 is custom made for its chassis and is dynamically adjusted in speed depending on the activities of the user," states the PR. "With Smart Fan Control gamers have complete control of all the fans connected to the motherboard and users can real-time monitor the status of the fans and set fan profiles as well."

The Nightblade Z97 has enough space for a full-sized two-slot graphics card by way of a PCIe 3.0 x16 slot; the card can be 290 mm in length and 35 mm in thickness. The case is also easy to assemble, allowing customers to quickly pull off the left panel to add and remove components. Rubber covers are placed on the back screws so that customers can stand the system vertically.

The Nightblade Z97 will be available sometime around mid-July, costing $449.99 with an optical disc drive and $399.99 without the drive. Look for this barebones system at Newegg and other etailers.

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Next week MSI plans to showcase a number of new products including motherboards and graphics cards. The company also plans to show new gaming laptops that take advantage of Intel's fourth-generation "Haswell" quad-core processors, Nvidia GeForce GTX 800M series graphics, and screens sized 15.6-inch and 17-inch.

During the show, MSI plans to introduce new additions to its GS series: the MSI GS70 Stealth and GS60 Ghost series. These come packed with a fourth-generation Intel Core i7 "Haswell" processor, Nvidia GeForce GTX 870M graphics, SteelSeries keyboards, and Killer Game Networking.

This new series also includes a "Sound by Dynaudio" speaker system, MSI's proprietary Audio Boost technology, and Matrix Display technology. MSI says the GS60 Ghost is the world's thinnest and lightest 15.6-inch gaming notebook to date, measuring just 0.783 inches thin and weighing 4.188 pounds.

In addition to the GS series, MSI will also demo its GX60 and GX70 Destroyer laptops, which include the latest generation AMD R9 M290X discreet graphics. These two laptops, along with other models on display at the show, come packed with SteelSeries gaming keyboards, Killer Game Networking, a new Sound by Dynaudio speaker system and MSI's Audio Boost technology.

MSI also plans to reveal a barebones PC called Nightblade Z97, which will feature the latest MSI Z97 GAMING motherboard, and a handle at the bottom of the mini-ITX case that allows owners to easily carry the gaming rig to LAN parties and whatnot. Additional features include Audio Boost 2, MSI's easy overclocking button OC Genie, and an assortment of connections on the front panel.

Stay tuned for more info next week.

MSI has announced a new barebone – the ProBox23. This barebone makes up the first of the company's new ProBox series of barebone PCs.

The machines are meant to be very compact, and as such this specific model measures just 202 x 204 x 55 mm. This compact size is accomplished through the use of a thin-type Mini-ITX board, which is based on an Intel H81 chipset and draws its power from an external power brick. This motherboard can take CPUs that drop into the LGA1150 socket and carry TDPs of up to 65 W. Regarding memory, you'll be able to have up to 16 GB of DDR3 SO-DIMM memory.

Also present in the machine is support for two 2.5" drives, a single mSATA drive, as well as a single half-height Mini-PCIe slot. There is no further room for expansion cards.

Front I/O is handled by a quadruplet of USB 2.0 ports as well as the standard set of HD audio jacks. Rear I/O is dealt with by a power plug, a single eSATA port, an HDMI port, two USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, a single Gigabit Ethernet port, as well as stereo line-out and microphone-in jacks.

The unit can also be mounted to the back of monitors, as it has support for VESA mounts.

Pricing remains TBA.

MSI has launched the Nightblade barebone mini-ITX PC for gamers, packed with MSI's Z871 Gaming Nightblade motherboard, a 600W PSU, a high-speed Dragon case fan and MSI's OC Genie functionality. This barebones rig will be available worldwide starting the second week in March for an unknown price.

"Despite its mini-ITX form factor, the MSI Nightblade can host an ATX-size graphics card and supports the usage of two SSDs, an HDD and even an optical drive bay. The solid handle on the frontside helps gamers to easily carry the Nightblade from one LAN-event to the next," states the company's PR.

MSI's new Nightblade provides an OC Genie button on the front, allowing the user to overclock the rig's innards in a matter of seconds with a simple push of a button. Two USB 2.0 ports and two USB 3.0 ports are also gathered on the front, whereas two USB 2.0 ports and four USB 3.0 ports are provided on the back. The rear I/O panel also plays host to one DisplayPort connector, one HDMI port and more.

This barebones PC features a custom 92 mm fan that is dynamically adjusted depending on the user's activities. The fan can even run at a max speed of 3600 RPM in the most extreme scenarios. The 120 mm fan mounted on the side can go even faster if needed, speeding up to 4000 RPM if necessary.

Even though the Nightblade has a mini-ITX form factor, there's enough room inside for a full-size two slot-in graphics card via a PCI-e 3.0 x16 slot. The card can measure up to 290 mm and have a thickness of 35 mm, such as MSI's R9 290X card. An optional 3800 RPM tower cooler can support up to a 113W overclock.

What's really great about this barebones system is that it provides a handle for hauling the rig from one LAN game to another. The handle resides at the bottom front, making it extremely easy to pick up the rig and carry it (the system weighs 17.2 pounds). There are also rubber covers fitting the metal screws on the back so that the rig can be set down on the floor vertically without blocking the custom fan or scraping the floor.

Some of the listed specs include support for an Intel fourth-generation "Haswell" processor, E2200 Killer gigabit LAN, Intel Wireless N, support up to 16 GB DDR3 3000 MHz memory, 7.1 channel HD Audio and more.

The full list of specs can be found right here.

This week Giada launched a new mini-PC in the United States, the F300. Although this device is geared for the digital signage market, there’s enough hardware inside this device to use it as a small dedicated home theater PC instead.

According to the specs, this is a barebones system with no memory and no hard drive. Running the show is Intel’s fourth generation Core i5-4200U “Haswell” processor clocked at 1.8 GHz (2.7 GHz Turbo), integrated Intel HD Graphics 4400, and two DisplayPort 1.2 ports with audio support. A fanless heatsink keeps things cool and quiet.

This new mini-PC also provides two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, two COM ports, Gigabit Ethernet, an on-board IR module for an optional remote, and the DisplayPort jacks on the back. On the front, the mini-PC provides two USB 3.0 ports, an SD card reader, an IR sensor, a microphone jack and a headphone - S/PDIF combo jack. Wi-Fi connectivity is an option, and is not included in this barebones.

Although this barebones system has no installed memory, there is one SO-DIMM slot for up to 16 GB of DDR3L-1600 memory. Also included is one SIM card slot, three mini PCI Express slots, and a SATA 3 slot for a 2.5 inch drive. The overall size of this device is 10.3 x 6.9 x 1.4 inches.

“As a barebones system, it is not hard to customize your ideal product,” reads the company’s press release. “Customers just need to easily unscrew two screws, and then lightly pull away the shelf. The F300 contains plenty of I/O ports to cater to various needs. With 2 DP ports, it supports up to 4 ultra-HD mosaic screens with max resolution 3200 x 2000. It also sets aside 3 cables to make 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth available.”

The actual availability and pricing is unknown. We’ve reached out to get the info, so stay tuned.

Pick Your Own Parts...And Have Someone Else Build For You

Wouldn’t it be great if you could build your own PC with a few clicks of your mouse, with near-perfect precision? Tom’s Hardware's editorial team, made up of enthusiasts, spends most of its time writing stories for the do-it-yourself power user crowd. Sometimes we forget that a great many of our readers want to pick the parts for their next machine, but don't necessarily have the time or will to piece everything together. Shoot, I even know a professional IT guy who accidentally messes up several systems a month as a result of Intel's delicate LGA interface.

If you're looking for customization without the challenge, risk, or inconvenience of setting everything up on your own, than a boutique builder is probably your best bet. They're the folks who apply skilled hands to one-off configurations. And among those companies, AVADirect offers a vast array of top-end hardware and an extremely talented staff. But the company decided to go even further to prove that its custom-built machines could challenge both the quality and the value of our own efforts.

So confident is AVADirect in its quality and value that it even applied a chrome-like finish to the chassis holding the system we're reviewing today—that's a $99 AVADirect-exclusive option that doesn’t even show up in performance-to-price calculations—in addition to providing three years of parts and labor coverage and lifetime technical support.

The PC we received was extra-custom, sporting three internal drives. That's notable, since AVADirect's online configuration tool only lets you pick two; you need to call in to add the third. At first, that 2 TB Western Digital Black repository didn't even appear on our parts list. Including it plus the two SSDs is what got us up to $2470. But we needed all of that hardware to make this setup comparable with the two machines we're using as competition today.

We also had to calculate the price using a different cooler of similar value, since the Seidon 120M in our sample wasn't yet available through AVADirect's online configurator. We used the slightly-more-expensive Noctua NH-L12, so the price of this specific configuration could drop a bit in your own shopping cart. Again, though, both configuration exceptions can be solved by calling AVADirect and ordering that way.

The Hardware: Inside AVADirect's Mini Gaming PC

Listed under AVADirect's Mini Cube Gaming PC category, this configuration starts with Lian-Li’s PC-Q28B. If you'd rather lose the black parts, you can order the PC-Q28A instead and still access the custom finish options.

Lian-Li doesn’t offer its cases in chrome, and chroming the case’s ultra-fine brushed finish would have destroyed that look. AVADirect instead applies a chrome-like vinyl film with a pressed-in brushed texture.

AVADirect does a remarkable job of covering the case’s surfaces, taking special care to wrap edges and remove port openings. Though vinyl wrap isn’t costly, the value of this $99 option comes from the time involved in applying the covering.

A premium build should support the highest-end media formats, so AVADirect included LG’s BH16NS40 Black 16x/16x/48x BD/DVD/CD Blu-ray burner with our sample. This $138 option also includes a brushed finish, though the lighting required to make it shine would have turned the case wrap into a photograph-dooming reflection. A retail boxed part, the LG drive adds CyberLink Media Suite 10 to the package.

Seasonic’s 80 PLUS Plantinum-rated 760 W fully modular power supply blocks the view of other internal components. Though this PSU offers much more output than the system needs, a Platinum rating assures optimal efficiency results.

Modular power cables make it easier for us to pop out the power supply for a look inside. AVADirect fits this build with a Core i7-4770K processor, a GeForce GTX 780 from Asus, and Kingston’s XMP Beast-series DDR3-1600 C9 16 GB dual-channel memory kit.

AVADirect Does Overclocking

AVADirect doesn’t specify an overclocking option in its Web-based configuration tool, but the company's techs will overclock your system if you ask them to. In light of the custom cooling and drive configuration only available via phone call, this configuration necessitates talking to a representative anyway. Might as well request a tune-up at the same time.

The company didn’t force a manual voltage increase, but instead set a fixed 42x multiplier and let the motherboard manage voltage levels. The result is a mild speed-up that persists under multi-core loads rather than clocking down—as specified by Intel—with a core voltage ranging from 1.15 to 1.25 volts.

We’ve found that 1.25 V is roughly the voltage limit for the Core i7-4770K (at least in our motherboard reviews). Additional voltage leads to increasingly quicker thermal throttling. Then again, when we're evaluating platforms, we aren't using a closed system with an internally-venting graphics card either. Although AVADirect’s overclock is consistent through most of our benchmarks, eight threads of Prime95, compiled with AVX support, quickly cause it to throttle back.

There aren’t any special settings tied to the mild overclock, but AVADirect does save a copy of its changes to one of the motherboard’s overclocking profile registers.

GPU overclocking is often more difficult to manage, so the company leaves Asus’s original GeForce GTX 780 frequencies alone. Though it contributes to CPU heat and occasional thermal throttling, the internally-vented graphics card also is largely responsible for a sub-32 dB full-load noise level and 22 dB of idle noise, both calculated to one meter.

Test Systems And Benchmark Configurations

It's been a long time since we had perfect systems to compare against each other. So, I chose a trio of machines to represent the spectrum of comparison points. Our recent $2550 System Builder Marathon configuration comes closest to AVADirect’s price, the ASRock M8-based setup is closest to its size, and Lenovo's Erazer X700 is the only factory-built model with data points in the same set of benchmarks.

Though Nvidia's graphics cards also support Surround mode, StarTech's MDP2DVID DisplayPort-to-dual-link DVI adapter gives us the flexibility of even higher resolutions in the future, without the need to buy new displays. The adapter also enables 3D Surround mode with our current 5760x1080 configuration.

Results: 3DMark And PCMark

Boasting a trio of GPUs, the System Builder Marathon box plows through 3DMark, leaving no margin for lesser-equipped machines to compete. Although 3DMark scores aren't always representative of real-world gaming, it's a compelling finish in favor of a very gaming-oriented system purpose-built to tear up our benchmark suite.

PCMark surprises us by showing little gain in storage performance for AVADirect’s RAID configuration. Larger SSDs operating on their own fare better in the storage suite.

Results: SiSoftware Sandra

AVADirect’s overclock beats the tweak we applied to ASRock's M8 barebones platform in Sandra, despite the fact that both PCs employ the same CPU. Naturally, hexa-core processors enjoy an advantage, but by far less than theory would have us expect.

The secret behind Kingston’s “XMP Beast” kit is that it's little more than an aesthetically upgraded set of mainstream KHX1600C9D3/8GX modules. They're even reported as such by CPU-Z.

Results: Battlefield 3

AVADirect delivered a gaming machine to us, so we'll set aside the synthetics that bloviate the importance of triple-GPU arrays and six-core CPUs, looking instead to real-world metrics that relate to what you have installed on your own machine. After all, we often find that games are unable to utilize more than four cores.

Of course, at this point you're probably playing Battlefield 4. We're in the process of collecting data with as much hardware as possible to make the switch for comparisons like these. In the meantime, though, we leverage benchmark numbers already generated in our taxing Battlefield 3 sequence.

High details are needed to make the $2550 System Builder Marathon PC’s three-way graphics setup shine in Battlefield 3. AVADirect’s more diminutive system proves itself sufficient, but nowhere near as fast.

Results: Far Cry 3

The System Builder Marathon machine I built continues to flex its triple-GPU muscle in Far Cry 3, though we see apparent CPU bottlenecks at 1600x900 and 1920x1200. AVADirect’s tiny box can't sustain playability under the duress of Ultra presets at 5760x1080.

Results: F1 2012

Several of our articles show that F1 2012 is usually bottlenecked by either CPU or memory performance. This appears to be more latency- than bandwidth-dependent, as the Core i7-4770’s superb dual-channel controller pushes the two smallest systems into the lead. High resolutions help AVADirect’s GeForce GTX 780 put the squeeze on the 760 in our ASRock M8 build.

Results: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is often limited by processor performance, but higher resolution and detail levels help AVADirect’s configuration nudge our own ASRock M8-based configuration out of the way. Unfortunately, the Mini Gaming PC is no match for a System Builder Marathon box almost three times its size.

Results: Audio And Video Encoding

Our audio transcoding apps are single-threaded, so the Core i7-4770K’s superior Haswell architecture shines. From there, AVADirect’s higher overclock results in a lead over the ASRock M8-based build.

We expected the six-core chips in our SBM system and Lenovo's box to convey a huge advantage in our well-threaded video transcoding tests, but that didn't happen. The AVADirect and ASRock systems don't lose by much.

Results: Adobe Creative Suite

AVADirect’s machine takes a win in After Effects, which favors plenty of memory per core. However, its Core i7-4770K doesn't do as well in our CPU-oriented Photoshop benchmark full of threaded filters. Fortunately for that system, our GPU-based Photoshop test, built using OpenCL-accelerated filters, loves its GeForce GTX 780.

Rendering in Premiere Pro is another well-parallelized task, so naturally the six-core CPUs in our System Builder Marathon box and Lenovo's machine perform best.

Printing a PowerPoint presentation into PDF format, on the other hand, only uses one core. The most efficient architecture is at an advantage, and because AVADirect enables the highest clock rate, its machine takes the top spot.

Results: Productivity

Our productivity-oriented tests are dominated by titles optimized to take advantage of as many cores as possible, which is why the Sandy Bridge-E-based processors win out over the more modern quad-core designs. The losses aren't severe, but we shouldn't be surprised to see Haswell beaten.

Results: File Compression

Four out of our six file compression benchmarks, consisting of 7-Zip, WinRAR, and WinZip, prefer Sandy Bridge-E's additional CPU cores, nudging the System Builder Marathon and Lenovo boxes into a lead. Both Haswell-based boxes gain ground in two of our WinZip tests.

Power, Heat, And Efficiency

AVADirect’s Mini Gaming PC leverages the Haswell CPU architecture to turn less energy into heat, but so does our own ASRock M8-based build. Its GeForce GTX 780 graphics card also pulls around 100 W more than the 760 in our barebones M8.

Both the baseline M8 and factory-overclocked AVADirect configurations push Intel’s Core i7-4770K to its thermal throttling point. The overclocked M8 was fixed by reversing two of its fans, but the system was always far noisier than AVADirect’s Mini Gaming PC.

Using the average of all systems as a baseline, the comparison of power to performance shows that AVADirect’s machine produced 5.8% better-than-average performance using 17.8% less-than-average energy, for a 28.8% above-average efficiency rating.

AVADirect's Mini Cube Gaming PC Offers Objective Value

AVADirect’s three-year warranty is long enough for our liking, but does require you to send the system back for support. The firm pays the return shipping bill, but a lower overall cost and the price of downtime leads us to value the protection package at around 10% of the complete system. The bundled operating system factors in as well; it's worth about 4% of the system price. So, any of our builds, which don't include warranties or software, need to beat AVADirect's submission by at least 14% to make up the difference.

When overall performance sets the benchmark, AVADirect’s choice of hardware does provide better value than our own System Builder Marathon configuration. The system we pieced together using ASRock's M8 barebones platform lands even higher on the value scale, but only because it’s also in a lower performance bracket. Moreover, AVADirect is able to match computing giant Lenovo in this regard.

The value of AVADirect’s mini gaming machine only falters in games at high resolutions. Our $2550 System Builder Marathon setup packed three graphics cards specifically to address this discipline. Lenovo also calls its Erazer X700 a gaming machine, though its creation takes last place in high-resolution gaming value.

When we tabulate the scores, calculate the value, and take a critical look inside AVADirect's Mini Cube Gaming PC, we see that the company is fully capable of building a quality machine without compromising value. Factoring in warranty coverage and a bundled operating system to the cost, it appears that we're getting hours of assembly labor nearly free. That sounds like a bargain specifically for anyone who lacks either the time or skill to replicate a boutique builder's efforts.

Eight Low-Profile Heat Sinks For Your Compact PC

Compact enthusiast-oriented PCs are becoming increasingly popular as hardware vendors improve the efficiency of their components alongside raw performance. In the last year, we've covered complete mini-ITX systems, low-profile memory kits, and small enclosures. We even based an entire System Builder Marathon on the mini-ITX form factor.

One thing we found during that exercise was that it's difficult to match the dimensions of boutique-built boxes with high-end hardware, if only because there aren't many enclosures optimized for tiny spaces and big specs. Always eager to make bold statements of frugality, I came upon ASRock’s M8 mini barebones system, to which I added a number fairly potent parts. I then ran smack up against the reason that Chris paid big bucks for his Tiki: ASRock’s M8 wasn’t designed for high-performance CPU cooling. The best I could do was 4 GHz, and that was only after I reconfigured the barebones machine's intake and exhaust fans, upgraded the CPU cooler, and locked the processor's core voltage at a level below Intel's stock ceiling. Clearly there was room for improvement.

We set our upper limit for cooler size at 4” to cover the largest of slim cases, and eight different heat sink vendors responded with samples. Six of them even fit within the approximate 3” limit of ASRock’s M8. One manufacturer said it thought its submission would qualify, but might not fit our test motherboard (even though we were sure it would). Several others asked us for a few additional millimeters of headroom, though that would have resulted in a vicious cycle. It was important to us that we keep this a comparison of truly low-profile coolers to address the growing compact computing market.

Here are today’s contenders:

Due to distribution issues, the Gabriel CPU cooler’s price is an estimate based on the company’s other products. That doesn’t leave any room for award recognition, but it still lets us get a look at performance in lieu of its final release. Noctua’s NH-L12 is distinct in that it's the largest cooler to qualify for our story.

Thermalright’s special-edition AXP-200R is similarly estimated to cost slightly more than the AXP-200. Both coolers are identical apart from fan color, though we aren't worried about value judgements on a product that sells for at least $64. On the other hand, exceptional performance could open the door to Tom's Hardware Elite recognition, regardless of price.

Designed to support two fans in a push-pull configuration, SilverStone’s NT06-Pro includes only one. The firm instructs users of low-profile cases to mount the fan below its radiator, so that’s how we're testing it. It might even squeeze into ASRock’s M8 in this configuration, though the side panel would probably block airflow through its fins.

Gamer Storm Gabriel

Best of luck getting your hands on the latest heat sinks from DeepCool Industries. Most of the company's products are re-branded as Logisys by online vendors sourcing them from that importer. The sub-brand Gamer Storm is rarely used in price engines. And sometimes even the product name doesn’t appear. For a while, the firm’s older Gamer Storm Assassin was simply branded as Logisys MC8000 in the U.S.

To compound our issues finding this piece of hardware online, our Gabriel sample doesn’t even have a part number. Presumably, that'll get assigned to the retail packaging, which isn't finished yet.

Apart from issues with availability and naming, DeepCool presents a fairly thoughtful and well-executed design in its Gamer Storm Gabriel. We find a copper base with four heat pipes connecting aluminum fins, all protected under a nickel-plated finish.

Our sample came with LGA 115x (1150, 1155, 1156) brackets for Intel’s three most recent generations of mainstream processors, and AMD brackets that fit all four-hole rectangular mounting patterns. We wouldn’t expect a cooler this small to be marketed towards giant LGA 2011 processors, so we’re not disappointed.

Gabriel Installation

The Gamer Storm Gabriel by DeepCool (and likely to be imported by Logisys) doesn’t weigh much, so it doesn’t need much contact pressure. Rather than add a socket support plate, the firm simply attaches this cooler using screws and insulating washers. These protrude through the back of the motherboard to connect standoffs and mounting brackets seen on the previous page.

With 1.1” of clearance for voltage regulators and memory, and around half an inch of offset in two directions, the Gabriel CPU cooler can be rotated to fit most motherboards. Buyers should still measure their boards to assuage any fitment concerns, though.

A low-profile fan clips on to finish the installation, bringing total mounting height to a mere 2.4”. This one would have definitely fit into our ASRock M8 build, though its clips wouldn’t have supported our thicker fan upgrade.

Since the Gabriel is offset in two directions, it shouldn’t be too difficult for most users to find a mounting orientation that supports a second pair of tall DIMMs. If that’s not an option, we’d suggest low-profile memory.