ASRock has officially pulled back the curtain on its highly anticipated DeskMini and DeskMeet X600 series, marking a significant leap forward in compact computing. The new PCs come primed with support for AMD’s cutting-edge Ryzen 8000G Desktop APUs, showcasing ASRock’s commitment to providing users with powerful and versatile solutions.
The unveiling follows months of anticipation, dating back to last year’s Computex, where whispers of the DeskMini and DeskMeet X600 series first began circulating. Now, these compact powerhouses are poised to hit the market, offering users a choice between AMD’s Ryzen 8000G APUs or the tried-and-true Ryzen 7000 CPUs, depending on individual preferences.
One of the defining features of these Mini PCs is their power and cooling capabilities, with the baseline set at the 65W series. This ensures a balance between performance and efficiency, making them suitable for a range of applications, from basic office tasks to more demanding gaming endeavors.
At the heart of these new offerings are the latest X600 PCH-less motherboards, a technological marvel designed to leverage onboard CPU I/O capabilities for connectivity needs such as USB, PCIe, and memory. The X600 PCH activator, shared with the AMD Ryzen 7000 Embedded CPU lineup, serves as the linchpin for enabling this advanced functionality.
Available in both mATX and Mini-ITX designs and equipped with the AMD AM5 socket, these motherboards boast up to four DDR5 slots, accommodating a total capacity of 256 GB. The inclusion of M.2 Gen5 SSD support further solidifies their commitment to cutting-edge technology, although discrete graphics capabilities are capped at PCIe 4.0.
While the DeskMini and DeskMeet X600 series can support formidable graphics options, such as the NVIDIA RTX 4090, it’s worth noting that users eyeing this level of graphical prowess will need to supply their own SFX power supply. The onboard 500W ATX unit, while robust for many applications, falls short when powering these high-end graphics cards. ASRock offers both pre-equipped and barebone variants to cater to varying user needs and preferences.
In terms of connectivity, the X600 series leaves little to be desired. Supporting 2.5 GbE LAN and featuring a pair of SATA ports, users can rest assured that these Mini PCs are well-equipped for both basic office functions and gaming tasks.
The DeskMeet X600 series boasts an impressive array of features, including support for up to four DDR5 memory modules, totaling a whopping 256GB. With PCIe 5.0 technology for M.2 SSD and Dragon 2.5G Ethernet, these PCs are positioned as ideal choices for users seeking to build powerful, yet cost-effective, content creation and AI systems. The optimized fan in the 500W ATX Power supply ensures improved thermal performance, contributing to a stable and efficient computing experience.
Meanwhile, the DeskMini X600 series proudly claims the title of the world’s first AMD AM5 Mini STX Platform. Supporting AMD AM5 65W CPUs and providing two DDR5 SO-DIMMs, this series delivers outstanding computing power and graphics performance within a compact form factor. With two SATA ports, two M.2 slots (including Blazing M.2 Gen5 SSD), super-fast 2.5G LAN, and three video outputs, the DeskMini X600 series prioritizes expandability and functionality.
A noteworthy aspect of these new releases is the integral support for AMD Ryzen 8000G APUs. This not only eliminates the need for discrete graphics cards but also allows users to leverage the built-in RDNA 3 GPU for gaming tasks and productivity/content creation workloads.
As eager enthusiasts await pricing details from ASRock, the unveiling of the DeskMini and DeskMeet X600 series marks a significant milestone in the realm of compact computing, offering users a blend of cutting-edge technology and versatile performance options.
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AMD Ryzen 8000G Series Specifications Leaked; Launching Jan 2024
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