ASRock at CES 2018: Micro-STX DeskMini GTX PC Gets Coffee Lake
by Anton Shilov on January 19, 2018 2:00 PM EST- Posted in
- CES 2018
- Intel
- ASRock
- Trade Shows
- NVIDIA
- Mini-STX
- micro-STX
- MXM
- DeskMini
- Coffee Lake
ASRock introduced its second-generation Micro-STX gaming desktops with discrete graphics processors at CES 2018. The new DeskMini GTX systems are based on the Intel Z370 platform and support Intel’s six-core Coffee Lake processors.
When Intel introduced its 5” × 5” initiative (an initial name for Mini-STX) back in 2015, the company wanted to create a highly-integrated small form-factor platform with interchangeable processors for PC makers. The platform was not supposed to support any add-in-boards, and therefore wouldn't overlap with Mini-ITX and Micro-ATX. ASRock was among the first brands to jump on the Mini-STX bandwagon in 2016, but it did not take the company long to adopt the form-factor for compact gaming computers. In 2017, the company launched its DeskMini GTX/RX SFF gaming PCs based on its own Micro-STX form-factor, an extended version of Mini-STX with an MXM slot for GPU modules and three additional M.2 slots for SSDs. The initial ASRock DeskMini systems were based on Intel’s B250 and Z270 chipsets and therefore only supported Skylake and Kaby Lake processors. In the coming months, ASRock’s DeskMini SFF PCs will be upgraded with Intel’s six-core Coffee Lake CPUs.
The new ASRock DeskMini systems that the company demonstrated at CES 2018 look exactly like their predecessors released last year and offer similar connectivity — 802.11ac Wi-Fi, GbE, USB 3.0 Type-A, USB 3.0 Type-C, DisplayPort, HDMI, 3.5-mm audio jacks, etc. Meanwhile, the new DeskMini GTX systems are based on the Intel Z370 PCH, the six-core Core i7-8700 CPU and are equipped with a 270 W external power supply.
ASRock will offer the new DeskMini machines with various MXM modules featuring different GPUs (e.g., GeForce GTX 1060/1070/1080, etc.), memory and storage options when it ships them in the coming months. One of the high-end systems demonstrated at CES was outfitted with Intel’s Core i7-8700, NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 1080 module, 16 GB of DDR4-3200 memory, a 32 GB Optane Memory drive, a 120 GB Optane SSD as well as a 240 GB PCIe SSD from Team Group.
Exact ETA and pricing of ASRock’s new DeskMini GTX systems remain to be seen.
Related Reading:
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
16 Comments
View All Comments
jab701 - Friday, January 19, 2018 - link
Micro-STX is slightly larger than mini-STX to support the MXM module, the motherboards also look to be a weird shape (L-Shaped from the photo above). It is ASRocks own motherboard form-factor.Samus - Friday, January 19, 2018 - link
It's shaped like that because the MXM module is mated to the back. It would normally be a rectangle.edzieba - Friday, January 19, 2018 - link
It IS a rectangle. For some reason the MXM card is just sitting next to the demo board, not mounted in the MXM slot.t.s - Friday, January 19, 2018 - link
If one wants to use 1080, mini-itx is more suitable IMHO. As for mini-stx, use something like atom processor or the like, or AMD APU.nissefar - Saturday, January 20, 2018 - link
No, mini-ITX is not more suitable. To build the equivalent performing mini-ITX system, you need double the case volume. The only reason small form factor enthusiasts build mini-ITX systems over something like the ASRock system here is because there’s almost no MXM module availability or motherboard options to choose from. Beyond that, there really is no technical advantage to the mini-ITX factor over STX, especially now where GPU power requirements are so low that you can have 1080 MXM modules with no cooling issues.n13L5 - Sunday, August 5, 2018 - link
Has anything come of this yet?