At CES 2017, ASRock showcased one of the most interesting PCs in attendance – particularly if you think interest is inversely affected by size. The name they gave it was DeskMini, and it ushers in a Micro-STX form factor, measuring only 210 mm x 157.5 mm x 81.9 mm. But mini-PCs are many these days. What makes this one so interesting?
Well, it’s the fact that this seems to embody the perfect proportions – and compromise – between a high-powered PC and a puny NUC or Mini-PC. For one, it carries any choice of a Celeron/Pentium/i3/i5/i7 Intel processor on the socket 1151 (up to a i7 7700K); supports up to a max of 32 GB DDR4 at 2400 MHz on 2x SO-DIMM slots; features 2x SATA III ports (with power connectors) and 3x M.2 ports (two of which support Type 2280/2260 M.2 PCIe Gen 3×4 or a SATA SSD, while the other supports only a PCIe Gen3x4-based SSD); and your choice of either an NVIDIA GTX 1060 (on the GTX series) or an AMD RX 460/470/480 on the (aptly named) RX series.
The graphics cards are MXM Type-B, at up to 120 W, and the display outputs encompass 1x HDMI; 1x HDMI with 4K @ 60 Hz compatibility; 1x DisplayPort and 1x Mini-DP. The front panel also includes a Thunderbolt 3 port with USB 3.1 Type-C, a single USB 3.0 port, 1x MIC-in, 1x Headphone Out with MIC, and a single USB 2.0 slot on the side. On the rear of the unit, you have the display output ports, a DC in (220W), 1x Gigabit Lan, and 2x USB 3.0 ports. The DeskMini also includes a particularly interesting expansion card: an M.2 slot specifically designed to accommodate a Wi-fi+BT module (Key E 2230).
All in all, it looks like an interesting little build, with power that stretches beyond what could be expected from its dimensions. ASRock are marketing it as VR Ready, and it could also serve as a nice living-room solution which can even double as a 1080p game station.
