A so-called scratch build is one that’s been designed and built from the ground up, without the use of a pre-existing case. That’s what Menhir is: a scratch build made of 8mm sheet aluminum and Ayous wood.
As the name suggests, my source of inspiration while designing this were the vertical monoliths called Menhir, thanks to their peculiar shape.
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
The idea was to make a mini-ITX case with a compact footprint, that could house a big graphics card (RTX 2070 Super Strix) and a capable watercooling loop (dual 240mm radiators), and the vertical design was the best fit for the feat, since I also wanted to have an exotic looking build. Another goal was to achieve a design that may very well go in a home environment, hence the choice of using wood to give it a warmer feel.
In this article I’ll show the whole process behind the making of Menhir. Let’s get started!
Making the 3D Model
Since I started using a CNC router for my projects, I had to learn how to use Fusion 360 to come up with my designs and custom parts. So now the first step into any new project is actually brainstorming various ideas and trying to model them in 3D.
Designing Menhir was quite challenging because I wanted a very tall build, but still have something that wouldn’t feel out of place as a mini-ITX build, so the compact footprint was a very important factor. Moreover, vertical designs aren’t a super popular option yet, so it’s easy to overdo it and make something that feels out of place. Balance is key!
The first iteration of Menhir’s design was a pretty boxy case, just very tall. That’s not what I wanted.
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So I started playing around with angles and the wooden outer shell, until I came up with the final shape, which has the outer shell rotated 90 degrees from the aluminum enclosure. The footprint had to be made just a bit larger in this final version, but it was worth it to allow for a more unique design.
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Making the Aluminum Parts
Once all the parts were designed and set up into Fusion 360, I went ahead and fixed the 8mm aluminum sheet on the CNC.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Most of the parts of this case will be cut from this single 500 x 1000mm sheet, so it will start taking shape pretty quickly. In addition to all the big panels of the case, I had to cut a bunch of small brackets to be able to assemble everything together.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
And here’s every 8mm panel cut and ready to be finished.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
For finishing these plates, I wanted to leave the aluminum pretty raw, so I sanded them down with 180 grit and an orbital sander, in order to get that rough and textured look.
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The little mounting brackets I cut at the CNC earlier, had to be given a few extra threaded holes on the edges, so I did that on the drill press and then assembled the first few parts for a test fit.
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Here it is next to A.R.E.S., another one of my PC builds, for a quick size comparison. A.R.E.S. is about 75cm/29.5in tall.
The NH-L9x65 provides all the impressive Noctua engineering you’d expect in an exceptionally tiny footprint. And while it’s expensive, unlike other compact downdraft cooler designs, it boasts 100% PCI-e card and memory compatibility on Intel platforms.
For
+ Quality build and design
+ Simple to install
+ 100% memory and graphics cards clearance on ITX platforms
Against
– Price
– Fan noise at 100% PWM
Features and Specifications
Noctua is held in high regard due to exceptional build quality and some of the best large heatpipe air coolers money can buy. But armed with a 14mm thin fan at just 90mm in diameter, how does the compact Noctua NH-L9x65 sibling perform on small system builds while squeezing into a space only 95mm x 95mm square and just 65mm (3.74 x 3.74 x 2.56 inches) tall? The majority of Noctua’s line focuses on large, nearly silent cooling behemoths like the NH-D15, but is the same possible in a pint-sized package?
Specifications
Height
2.0″ / 51mm
(2.55″ / 65mm w/fan)
Width
3.75″ / 95mm
Depth
3.75″ / 95mm
Memory Clearance
No Limit
Assy. Offset
0
Cooling Fans
(1x) 90mm x 14mm
Connectors
(1x) 4-pin PWM
Weight
15.0 oz / 425g
Intel Sockets
115x, 1200,
2011x (square ILM), 2066
AMD Sockets
AM2(+), AM3(+), AM4,
FM1, FM2(+)
(some AMD sockets may require backplate)
Warranty
6-years
Web Price
$55
Feature
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The Noctua NH-L9x65 might be incredibly compact, but the boxed contents include a wide array of components to allow for most Intel and AMD desktop processor sockets, although some AMD chips might require an applicable backplate (see Noctua’s product site for details). Most of the mounting hardware is nickel plated, and a 4-pin PWM speed reduction cable and angled screwdriver are included in the box.
Also per the Noctua norm, an enamel and nickel-plated metal logo badge comes standard, as does a tube of the company’s NT-H1 thermal compound. Noctua covers the NH-L9x65 with a generous 6-year warranty.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The heatsink of the NH-L9x65 features four heatpipes which are tightly angled to wrap into the stack of 50 cooling fins overhead. This design gives the cooler a compact footprint, but also means that due to the 95mm cooler length and width, the overall cooling fin stack has less surface area to dissipate heat than larger downdraft coolers.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Airflow is moved over the NH-L9x65 from NF-A9-x14 PWM fan (90mm x14mm). This small, narrow fan is rated up to 2500 RPM, has built-in rubber mounting pads and utilizes a 4-pin PWM header. A pair of wire clips secure and support the fan during use.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The base of the NH-L9x65 features a milled, nickel-plated base, which clamps each of the four heatpipes against the integrated mounting plate of the cooler. At either side of the mounting plate sits a spring machine screw which is used to properly tension the cooler to the mounting crossbars and simplifies alignment over the CPU during installation.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The base of the NH-L9x65 is milled flat, preventing any lighting from peeking beneath our steel ruler held flat against the base. Also visible from this angle is a view into the small tolerances between the cooler base, heatpipes and the heatsink fins themselves, showing just how compact this component truly is.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Mounting and removing the NH-L9x65 provides us with a universal thermal compound spread of our standard MX-4 testing paste. Concentric circles give us a view into how the cooler is centered and the mount allows for equal tensioning, provided the installer takes their time and applies pressure evenly to each side.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
With the mounting hardware installed and the cooler positioned over the crossbars, getting the Noctua NH-L9x65 into place is as easy as aligning the machine tension screws over the threaded mounting posts. We can also see how the cooler claims an unlimited memory DIMM clearance by lining up just a few millimeters from the installed system RAM.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The fan clips to the heatsink to complete the downdraft airflow design of the NH-L9x65.
I would like to thank Zalman for supplying the review sample.
The Zalman Z3 Iceberg we are reviewing is a mid-tower chassis that aims to offer sensible features at a price point of around $90. That puts it up against a slew of options out there, so it will be interesting to see how it holds up. The Z3 Iceberg is available in either black or as a white version with a few little touches of black here and there. We got the white variant for review, so let’s dive right in.
Specifications
Zalman Z3 Iceberg
Case Type:
Mid-Tower
Material:
Steel, plastic, and tempered glass
Weight:
6.4 kg
Slots:
7
Drive Bays:
2x Internal 2.5/3.5″ 4x Internal 2.5″
Motherboard Form Factors:
Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX, and ATX
Dimensions:
410 x 210 x 480 mm
Front Door/Cover:
N/A
Front Fans:
3x 120 or 140 mm (1x 120 mm ARGB fan pre-installed)
HWiNFO, which is increasingly becoming a source of new hardware information, has added support of ‘some Asus Z690 and Maximus XIV,’ according to blogger @Komachi_Ensaka. Interestingly, the mention of the Z690 has been removed since he wrote his post.
Since Intel has confirmed that it is developing an Alder Lake-based desktop platform, it’s not exactly a secret that its motherboard partners are working on appropriate mainboards. But Asus seems to be the first company to confirm these works, albeit unofficially.
Much is still up in the air about what exactly the Intel Z690 chipset will bring with it. Yet we do know that it is set to support Intel’s Alder Lake-S platform, which means DDR5 memory and PCIe 5.0 interconnections. We also know that the platform (not the CPU or chipset specifically) is set to support Thunderbolt 4.
While there’s still much to learn about Intel’s Z690 chipset, what is important in this story is timing. We know from Intel that Alder Lake-S is due in the second half of the year — which technically starts in July. And apparently Asus is pretty far along with at least one Z690 motherboard. Does this mean that the CPU will be out rather sooner than later? Who knows?
Being a top-of-the-range product, the ASRock Z590 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB4 naturally has support for addressable RGB lighting (using the ASRock Polychrome Sync/Polychrome RGB software) and has a very sophisticated input/output department that has a number of unique features, such as three display outputs and multi-gig networking.
ASRock’s Z590 PG Velocita is a full-featured Z590 motherboard that includes three M.2 sockets, Killer based networking (including Wi-Fi 6E), capable power delivery, premium audio, and more. It’s a well-rounded mid-ranger for Intel’s Z590 platform.
For
Killer based 2.5 GbE and Wi-Fi 6E Networking
10 USB ports on rearIO
Capable power delivery
Against
Last gen audio codec
No USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C on rearIO
Features and Specifications
Next up out of the ASRock stable is the Z590 PG Velocita. The Z590 version of this board comes with an improved appearance, enhanced power delivery, PCIe 4.0 capability for your GPU and M.2 device, fast Killer-based networking and more. Priced around $300, the PG Velocita lands as a feature-rich mid-range option in the Z590 landscape.
ASRock’s Z590 lineup is similar to the previous-generation Z490 product stack. At the time we wrote this, ASRock has 12 Z590 motherboards listed. At the top is Z590 Taichi, followed by the PG Velocita we’re looking at here, and three Phantom Gaming boards, including a Micro-ATX option. Additionally, there are two professional boards in the Z590 Pro4 and Z590M Pro4, two Steel Legend boards, two Extreme boards (also more on the budget end), and a Mini-ITX board round out the product stack. Between price, size, looks, and features, ASRock should have a board that works for everyone looking to dive headlong into Rocket Lake.
Performance testing on the PG Velocita went well and produced scores that are as fast or faster than the other Z590 boards we’ve tested so far. The PG Velocita eschews Intel specifications, allowing the Intel Core i9-11900K to stretch its legs versus boards that more closely follow those specs. Overclocking went well, with the board able to run our CPU at both stock speeds and the 5.1 GHz overclock we’ve settled on. Memory overclocking also went well, with this board running our DDR4 3600 sticks at 1:1, and DDR4 4000 was nice and stable after a few tweaks to voltage to get it there.
The Z590 PG Velocita is an iterative update, just like most other Z590-based motherboards. The latest version uses a Killer-based 2.5 GbE and Wi-Fi 6E network stack, adds a front panel USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C port, premium Realtek audio codec (though it is last generation’s flagship), three M.2 sockets and more. We’ll dig into these details and other features below. But first, here are the full specs from ASRock.
Along with the motherboard, the box includes several accessories ranging from cables to graphic card holders and an additional VRM fan. The included accessories should get you started without a trip to the store. Below is a complete list of all included extras.
Support DVD / Quick installation Guide
Graphics card holder
Wi-Fi Antenna
(4) SATA cables
(3) Screw package for M.2 sockets
(3) Standoffs for M.2 sockets
Wireless dongle USB bracket
3010 Cooling Fan with bracket
4010 Cooling Fan bracket
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Once you remove the Z590 PG Velocita from the box, one of the first things you’ll notice (if you’re familiar with the previous model) are the design changes. ASRock sticks with the black and red theme but forgoes the red stenciling on the black PCB from the last generation. The VRM heatsinks are large, connected via heatpipe and actively cooled out of the box by a small fan hidden in the left heatsink. ASRock includes an additional small fan and brackets for the top VRM heatsink (we did not use this in any test). The rear IO cover also sports the black and red Phantom Gaming design theme, along with the ASRock branding lit up with RGB lighting. The heatsinks on the bottom half of the board cover the three M.2 sockets and the chipset heatsink. The latter sports a PCB and chip under clear plastic for a unique look. Overall, I like the changes ASRock made to the appearance of this board, and it should fit in well with more build themes.
(Image credit: ASRock)
As we look closer at the top half of the board, we start by focusing on the VRM area. These aren’t the most robust parts below the heatsink, so additional cooling is welcomed. Just above the VRM heatsinks are two 8-pin EPS connectors (one required) to power the processor. To the right of the socket area are four unreinforced DRAM slots with latches on one side. ASRock lists supported speeds up to DDR4 4800(OC) with a maximum capacity of 128GB. As always, your mileage may vary as support depends on the CPU’s IMC and the kit you use to reach those speeds.
Located above the DRAM slots, we find the first two (of seven) 4-pin fan headers. The CPU/Water Pump and Chassis/Water Pump headers both support 24W/12A, with the remainder of the fan headers supporting 12W/1A. There are plenty of fan/pump headers on this board to support the motherboard running them all without a controller if you choose. A third 4-pin header is located in this area, while a fourth is in an odd spot, just below the left VRM heatsink. Outside of that, all headers auto-sense if a 3- or 4-pin connector is attached.
Just to the right of the fan headers up top are an ARGB (3-pin) and RGB header (4-pin). You’ll find the other two on the bottom edge of the board. The Polychrome Sync application controls these LEDs and any attached to the headers.
On the right edge are power and reset buttons, while just below those are the 24-pin ATX header for power to the board. Just below this is the first USB 3.2 Gen1 front panel header and the USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C front panel header.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
ASRock uses a 12-phase configuration for the CPU. Power goes through the 8-pin EPS connector(s) and is sent to the Renesas ISL69269 (X+Y+Z=12) controller. The controller then sends power to six Renesas ISL6617A phase doublers and finally onto the 12 Vishay 50A SIC654 DrMOS power stages. This provides 600A total to the CPU. While not the highest value we’ve seen, the VRM’s easily handled our CPU at stock and overclocked, with some help from the active cooling fan. This board comes with another fan, however, we chose not to use it and after testing, found there wasn’t a need for it.
(Image credit: ASRock)
Moving down to the bottom half of the board, we’ll start on the left side with audio. Hidden below the plastic shroud is the premium Realtek ALC1220 codec. ASRock chose to go with the last generation’s flagship solution instead of jumping up to the latest 4000 series Realtek codec, likely to cut costs. We also spy a few Nichicon Fine Gold audio capacitors poking through the said shroud. This board doesn’t have a fancy DAC as more expensive boards tend to, but this solution will still be satisfactory for an overwhelming majority of users.
In the middle of the board, we see three full-length reinforced PCIe slots (and an x1 slot) as well as the heatsinks that cover the three M.2 sockets. Starting with the PCIe configuration, when using 11th gen CPU, the top two slots are PCIe 4.0 capable with the slot breakdown as follows: x16/x0, x8/x8, or x8/x8/x4 (PCIe 3.0). ASRock says the PG Velocita supports Quad CrossfireX, 3-Way CrossFireX and CrossfireX. As is increasingly common, there’s no mention of SLI support. The x1 slot is connected via the chipset and runs at PCIe 3.0 x1 speeds.
Looking at M.2 storage, the top socket, M2_1, is connected directly to the CPU and offers the fastest speeds (PCIe 4.0 x4 @ 64 Gbps), supporting up to 80mm devices. The second slot down, M2_2, is chipset connected, supporting PCIe 3.0 x4 speeds and accepting SATA-based modules. The bottom socket, M2_3, is also fed from the chipset and runs both SATA-based drives and PCIe, at 3.0 x4 speeds. If M2_2 is occupied, SATA ports 0/1 will be disabled. If M2_3 has a SATA-type drive installed, SATA 3 will be disabled. In the worst-case scenario, when all M.2 sockets are populated (one with a SATA drive), you’ll still have three SATA ports available as well. The top two sockets hold up to 80 mm modules while the bottom supports up to 110 mm drives.
To the right of the PCIe socket sits the chipset heatsink and its PCB-under-plexi look. Continuing to the right edge, we spot another 4-pin fan/pump header, the second USB 3.2 Gen1 header and six SATA ports. Below that is another 4-pin fan header and finally a clear CMOS button to reset your BIOS. Around the SATA ports are the mounting holes for the included GPU support bar. Including this in the box is a great value add, especially with graphics cards seemingly getting larger and heavier as time goes on.
Across the board’s bottom are several headers, including more USB ports, fan headers and more. Below is the complete list, from left to right:
Front-panel audio
Thunderbolt header
UART header
RGB and ARGB headers
USB 2.0 header
TPM header
(2) Chassis/WP headers
Dr. Debug LED
Temperature sensor, water flow headers
Speaker
Front panel header
(Image credit: ASRock)
Flipping the board around to the rear IO area, there’s the pre-installed IO plate which matches the colors and design of the rest of the board. There are 10 USB ports: You get two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (Type-A and Type-C), six USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, and two USB 2.0 ports, all of which have ESD protection. Two of these ports, outlined in red, are the Lightning ports. The ports are sourced from two different controller interfaces, allowing gamers to connect their mice/keyboard with the lowest jitter latency–according to ASRock. On the video front, the PG Velocita includes an HDMI port and DisplayPort for use with the integrated video on the processor.
Also here are the Intel (black) and Killer (blue) Ethernet ports on the networking front. The Killer LAN can communicate directly with the CPU, yielding lower latency than chipset-connected LAN–again according to ASRock. Next up are the antenna ports for Wi-Fi 6E and, finally, the gold-plated 5-plug audio stack plus SPDIF.
Although Thermaltake’s The Tower 100 isn’t the most practical case, it’s joyfully weird and doesn’t cost much.
For
+ Unique new case design
+ Showpiece from all angles
+ Easily accessible top IO
+ Reasonable thermal performance
+ Affordable
Against
– Cheap build quality
– Lacking cable management
– Impractical build process
– Limited cooling potential
Features and Specifications
Thermaltake’s The Tower 100 is a new ITX chassis that comes with a totally different design from what we’re used to. It places the motherboard along the back wall of the chassis, GPU directly into the PCIe slot, rear IO at the top under a cover, and a large ATX power supply in the basement. It’s bigger than most ITX cases, but it’s got a unique design that may appeal to those who want to show off their hardware, thanks to the glass on three sides.
But although it’s a small showcase, it does limit practicality somewhat by favoring form over function. Without further ado, let’s dig a bit deeper and find out if the case is good enough for a spot on our Best PC Cases list.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Specifications
Type
Mini-ITX
Motherboard Support
Mini-ITX
Dimensions (HxWxD)
18.2 x 10.5 x 10.5 inches (462.8 x 266 x 266 mm)
Max GPU Length
13.0 inches (330 mm)
CPU Cooler Height
7.5 inches (190 mm)
Max PSU Size
ATX, up to 7.1 inches (180 mm)
External Bays
✗
Internal Bays
2x 2.5-inch
Expansion Slots
2x
Front I/O
2x USB 3.0, USB-C, Headphone, Mic
Other
✗
Front Fans
✗
Rear Fans
1x 120mm
Top Fans
1x 120mm
Bottom Fans
✗
Side Fans
✗
RGB
No
Damping
No
Features
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Touring around the outside of the chassis, two things that are immediately clear are the lavish amount of glass that’s included for an ITX case, and the ventilation. Glass doesn’t do many favors for cooling, but ventilation does, and from the looks of it, there’s plenty to be found here.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The materials quality isn’t the most stunning, but given that this chassis carries an MSRP of just $109, it’s nothing to be upset about and more than adequate. Only the shroud around the top of the chassis is made from cheap plastic, though it is color-matched quite well to the rest of the case.
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Front IO comprises two USB 3.0 ports, a USB Type-C port, dedicated microphone and headphone jacks, and of course power and reset switches. This is all very complete, and much appreciated at the case’s price.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Meanwhile, air filters are also provided on all possible air intake locations. All the side and front vents have filters. The top and rear exhaust have filters, and the bottom PSU intake has an air filter. Of course, that’s a good thing, but there’s a good reason for it: With no dedicated spots for fan-assisted air intake, every corner better have filtration or you’ll end up with significant dust buildup.
Opening Up the Tower 100
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Opening up The Tower 100 is a bit of a tedious process, but let’s start with the teardown to reveal the case’s internals. First, you pop off the top cover by pressing down the back to click it out, revealing access to the top-mounted rear IO location. You’ll also spot an exhaust fan here, along with all the cabling for the front IO.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Then, you have to remove five screws to remove the plastic shroud. It then comes right off, and you can remove the glass panels.
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Then, we remain with the bottom vents, which are removed by unscrewing them from below. The thumbscrews here are quite tight, so you’ll need a screwdriver to get them off. Personally, I would have preferred to see the front and sides as a single panel and the top shroud stuck on with clips. As designed, it’s quite a bit of work to get the side panels off – a lot more than most ATX cases.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The rear panel comes off by removing four thumbscrews, again bring your screwdriver.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
And with that, we have the chassis stripped down to its bare essentials.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The only remaining thing to mention about the internals of the chassis is the dual SSD brackets on the right side, where you can mount your 2.5-inch drives somewhat on display.
A Word on Hardware Compatibility
This chassis is primarily aimed at offering a lot of GPU space and compatibility. As such, fitting large GPUs up to 13 inches (330mm) is a breeze, but you won’t get a lot of CPU cooling potential. The biggest AIO that fits in here is a 120mm unit, which isn’t much. For gaming, this will be fine, but if you’re also running a very powerful Intel CPU and doing a lot of CPU-intensive tasks, you may want to look elsewhere.
I would like to thank Raijintek for supplying the review sample.
We will be covering the Raijintek Pan Slim in this review, a desktop chassis that also acts as a monitor stand. This means it is wide and fairly thin, so you may place a keyboard underneath for a tidy desktop and situate your monitor on top of the chassis. This case type is really useful where you may not have the width of a traditional table. In essence, the Raijintek Pan Slim fits any table that can squeeze in a traditional 27″ monitor, for example. Even with the unique form factor, Raijintek touts that the chassis can hold potent components without issue. On top of that, you are able to pick from three colors: black, white or silver.
Home/Component/APU/AMD 4700S appears to be the Xbox Series X|S CPU but for PC
João Silva 2 hours ago APU, Featured Tech News
An unknown AMD processor has appeared online, known as the ‘4700S’. The specifications of this processor don’t line up with any of AMD’s announced CPUs or APUs, but based on some of the details, this could be a reused Xbox Series X|S APU with the graphics cores disabled.
As per the retailer (via @9550pro), the AMD 4700S APU is being sold inside a mini-ITX system. Like the Xbox Series X|S APU, this one is based on the 7nm process node and features 8x Zen 2 cores and 16x threads. The naming lacks the “Ryzen” of other AMD APUs and is apparently based on the ‘Cardinal’ platform.
The boost clock is set at 4.0GHz, which is slightly above the Xbox Series X|S consoles. This might be due to the iGPU being disabled, allowing for more power to be delivered to the CPU, therefore allowing higher clock speeds.
Another similarity with the Xbox Series consoles is the 16GB of GDDR6 memory and the lack of DIMM slots. The reseller even added marketing material featuring the Xbox Series X|S APU, implying that this APU is also used on the consoles. Although we can’t confirm it, it’s possible that these APUs have not passed the tests to be equipped on Xbox Series consoles, so AMD resells them with the iGPU disabled.
The reseller also included some benchmark results, showing the AMD 4700S APU is slower than both the Core i7-9700 processor and the Ryzen 7 4750G Pro, but faster than the Core i7-9750H laptop processor.
KitGuru says: If AMD were to sell the Xbox Series console processor as its own product for the DIY PC market, would you buy one?
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If you haven’t gotten your hands on an Xbox Series X, you may be able to pick up one very soon, but without the RDNA 2 graphics, of course. The recently uncovered AMD 4700S Desktop Kit (via momomo_us) has found its way into a mini-ITX gaming PC at Tmall in China.
When the AMD 4700S emerged last week, the obscure processor raised a lot of questions. For one, the chip doesn’t carry the Ryzen branding, suggesting that it might be a custom processor that AMD developed for one of its clients. Stranger still, the processor is available for purchase as part of the AMD 4700S Desktop Kit.
Starting with what we know so far, the AMD 4700S is an octa-core Zen 2 processor with simultaneous multithreading (SMT). The Tmall merchant listed the AMD 4700S with 12MB of L3 cache, although we saw the chip with 8MB in a previous Geekbench 5 submission. The processor runs with a 3.6 GHz base clock and a 4 GHz boost clock. While we saw the AMD 4700S with 16GB of memory, we were uncertain of its nature. However, we suspected that the AMD 4700S is a variant of the processor that powers Microsoft’s latest Xbox Series X gaming console. The new mini-ITX listing appears to confirm our suspicions.
Apparently, the AMD 4700S is outfitted with 16GB of GDDR6 memory, which is the same amount of memory in the Xbox Series X. It appears that AMD is salvaging defective dies that don’t meet the requirements for the Xbox Series X and reselling them as the AMD 4700S.
Logically, AMD can’t just sell the same processor that it produces for Microsoft (for obvious reasons). Therefore, the AMD 4700S could be a result of a defective die with a faulty iGPU, similar to Intel’s graphics-less F-series chips. On the other hand, AMD could simply have disabled the iGPU inside the AMD 4700S, which is a shame given how generous GDDR6 memory is with bandwidth.
The only image of the mini-ITX system’s interior revealed a motherboard that looks like the same size as the Xbox Series X. There are no memory slots, and we can see some of the GDDR6 chips that surround the processor. Naturally, AMD reworked the motherboard for PC usage, as we can see by the addition of capacitors, passive heatsink, power connectors, and connectivity ports. Since the AMD 4700S lacks an iGPU, AMD added a PCIe 3.0 x16 expansion slot for a discrete graphics card.
AMD 4700S Benchmarks
Processor
Cinebench R20 Single-Core
Cinebench R20 Multi-Core
Cinebench R15 Single-Core
Cinebench R15 Multi-Core
Ryzen 7 4750G
411
4,785
199
2,085
AMD 4700S
486
3,965
160
1,612
Core i7-9700
508
3,643
200
1,469
Thanks to the listing, we can also get an idea of just how the processor inside the Xbox Series X performs compared to today’s desktop processors. However, it’s important to highlight that the AMD 4700S may not be the exact processor used in Microsoft’s latest console. The Series X uses a chip that runs at 3.8 GHz and 3.6 GHz when simultaneous multithreading is active. The AMD 4700S, on the other hand, clocks in a 3.6 GHz with a 4 GHz boost clock. On paper, the AMD 4700S should have faster compute cores since it doesn’t have an iGPU that eats into its power budget, so the heightened clock speeds make sense.
In general, the AMD 4700S lags behind the Ryzen 7 4750G (Renoir) and Core i7-9700 (Coffee Lake) in single-core workloads. The AMD 4700S did outperform the Core i7-9700 in multi-core workloads. However, it still placed behind the Ryzen 7 4750G.
It’s remains to be seen whether AMD is selling the AMD 4700S to retail customers or just OEMs. Thus far, we’ve seen the AMD 4700S Desktop Kit retailing for €263.71 (~$317.38) in at Tulostintavaratalo, a retailer in Finland. The Chinese mini-ITX gaming system is listed for 4,599 yuan or $709.12, but the price factors in the Radeon RX 550, 5TB SSD, CPU cooler, power supply and case.
Sometimes a tiny little thing can drastically improve performance and the user experience. Atlast! has developed just this kind of thing for one of its latest designs — it now uses a heat-pipe cooling system to passively cool both an SSD and the motherboard chipset.
The performance of modern high-end SSDs depends heavily on their cooling as high-end controllers tend to throttle when they overheat under high loads. Normally, SSD makers equip their products with heat spreaders that can do the job well, assuming the drives are not installed adjacent to a high-performance graphics card, and there’s sufficient airflow inside the case.
Fanless systems by definition do not have airflow from an active cooling solution (like a fan), instead relying on the air brought in naturally from the outside. As such, higher-end SSDs can easily overheat in passive PCs, which causes performance loss and frustration.
Atlast!, a fanless PC specialist, this week has announced (via FanlessTech) that it now equips its Sigao Model B desktop with a special cooling solution that uses a heat pipe to cool the motherboard chipset and an M.2 2280 SSD. The solution is basically a specially-machined aluminum plate that covers the chipset and the SSD.
Also, the Sigao Model B now uses an Asus B560 Mini-ITX motherboard and can be powered by Intel’s 10-core Core i9-10900T ‘Comet Lake’ or 8-core Core i9-11900T ‘Rocket Lake’ processor.
(Image credit: Atlast Solutions)
According to a test conducted by the manufacturer, the tiny device works quite well. At a room temperature of 21C, the Samsung’s 980 Pro SSD idled at 36C. After a few minutes of running an ‘intense read/write test at 1GB/s,’ the temperature rose by 3C. Meanwhile, after using the drive for two hours under ‘a constant heavy load’, its temperature only rose to 45C, which is well below levels when an SSD starts to throttle. Unfortunately, Atlast! didn’t disclose the temperature of Samsung’s 980 Pro SSD in its Sigao Model B system when it uses only its graphene-based heatspreader.
It is necessary to note that since the Asus B560I motherboard used by Atlast! supports two M.2-2280 SSDs, the new Sigao Model B can be equipped with two drives. Meanwhile, the second SSD located on the underside of the motherboard is also thermally connected to the case for cooling.
The SSD cooling plate is now installed into Atlast!’s Sigao Model B desktops by default without an upcharge.
I would like to thank Phanteks for supplying the review sample.
Phanteks first introduced the fine 1-mm mesh front panels with the Eclipse P400 and P500 series enclosures. Both of these live in the $100+ segment and squarely cater to the mid-range, or mid to high range of system builders. Below that price point is the P300 Mesh edition with an MSRP of $60, still able to hold an ATX motherboard. Today, with the release of the Eclipse P200A, Phanteks is offering an even more compact ITX option for the Eclipse series, further lowering the barrier of entry to $50 even with the current tariffs in place. So, it will be interesting to see where Phanteks had to trim features and functionality to hit that price point without loosing the Eclipse DNA that makes the series so popular with consumers. We are reviewing the Phanteks Eclipse P200A Performance, which clocks in at that budget price point, but you may also opt for the Eclipse P200A ARGB variant with a glass side panel and ARGB elements out of the box.
I would like to thank DarkFlash for supplying the review sample.
DarkFlash is relatively new to the case market, having been established in 2016. They do offer quite a few clean, but solid ATX cases in interesting color choices, like pink or “NeoMint,” a gentle light green variant. While their previous products stayed true to ATX and M-ATX form factors with a few open frame variants, like the Blade-X or Knight K1, the DLH 21 we are reviewing in this article represents the brand’s first ITX enclosure. Also available in four colors, it offers a unique look and functional I/O, and even comes with subtle ARGB lighting built right into the base.
Specifications
DarkFlash DLH 21
Case Type:
SFF chassis
Material:
Steel and plastic
Weight:
N/A
Slots:
2
Drive Bays:
1x Internal 3.5″ 2x Internal 2.5″
Motherboard Form Factors:
Mini-ITX
Dimensions:
238.8 x 175 x 412 mm
Front Door/Cover:
N/A
Front Fans:
N/A
Rear Fans:
N/A
Top Fans:
1x 92 mm (included)
Bottom Fans:
N/A
Side Fans:
2x 120 mm (optional)
Front Radiator:
N/A
Rear Radiator:
N/A
Top Radiator:
N/A
Bottom Radiator:
N/A
Side Radiator:
240 mm
I/O:
1x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C 2x USB 3.0 1x Audio combo plug
With a Ryzen 9 5900X and an RTX 3080, both liquid-cooled for quiet operation in a compact case, Corsair’s One a200 is easy to recommend–if you can afford it and find it in stock. Just know that your upgrade options are more limited than larger gaming rigs.
For
+ Top-end performance
+ Space-saving, quiet shell
+ Liquid-cooled GPU and CPU
Against
– Expensive
– Limited upgrade options
For a whole host of reasons, AMD’s
Ryzen 9 5900X
and Nvidia’s
RTX 3080
have been two of the hardest-to-find PC components since late last year. But Corsair has combined them both in a handy, compact, liquid-cooled bundle it calls the Corsair One a200.
The company’s vertically-oriented One desktop
debuted in 2018
and has since been regularly updated to accommodate current high-end components. This time around, the options include either AMD or Intel’s latest processors (the latter called the One i200), and Nvidia’s penultimate consumer GPU, the RTX 3080.
Not much has changed in terms of the system’s design, other than the addition of a USB Type-C port up front (where an HDMI port was on previous models). But with liquid cooling handling thermals for both the CPU and graphics in a still-impressively compact package, there’s really little reason to change what was already one of the
best gaming PCs
for those who want something small.
The only real concern is pricing. At $3,799 as tested (including 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and a 2TB HDD), you’re definitely paying a premium for the compact design and slick, quiet cooling. But with the scarcity of these core components and the RTX 3080 regularly
selling for well over $2,000 on its own on eBay
, it’s tough to discern what constitutes ‘value’ in the gaming desktop world at the moment. You may be able to find a system with similar components for less, but it won’t likely be this small or slick.
Design of the Corsair One a200
Just like the
One i160
model we looked at in 2019, the Corsair One a200 is a quite compact (14.96 x 7.87 x 6.93 inches) tower of matte-black metal with RGB LED lines running down its front. To get some sense of how small this system is compared to more traditional gaming rigs, we called
Alienware’s Aurora R11
“fairly compact” when we reviewed it, and it’s 18.9 x 17 x 8.8 inches, taking up more than twice the desk space of Corsair’s One a200.
The 750-watt SFX power supply in the a200 is mounted at the bottom, pulling in air that’s expelled at the top with the help of a fan. And the heat from the CPU and GPU will mostly be expelled out either side, as both are liquid cooled, with radiators mounted against the side panels.
The primary external difference with the updated a200 over previous models is the replacement of an HDMI port that used to live up front next to the headphone/mic combo jack and pair of USB-A ports. It’s been replaced with a USB-C port. That makes for three front-facing USB ports, a surprising amount of front-panel connectivity for a system so compact. But there are only six more USB ports around back (more on that shortly).
Overall, while the design of the One a200 is pretty familiar at this point, it still looks and feels great, with all the external panels made out of metal. Just note that the matte finish does easily pick up finger smudges.
Front: 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) Type-A, 1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-C ; Combination Mic/Headphone Jack; Rear: 4x USB USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) Type-A, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 (Type-A, Type-C), Ethernet, HD Audio, 3x DisplayPort, 1x HDMI
Video Output
(3) DisplayPort 1.4a (1) HDMI 2.1
Power Supply
750W Corsair SFX 80 Plus Platinum
Case
Corsair One Aluminum/Steel
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64-Bit
Dimensions
14.96 x 7.87 x 6.937 inches (380 x 200 x 176 mm)
Price As Configured
$3,799
Ports and Upgradability of the Corsair One a200
Since the Corsair One a200 is built around a compact Mini-ITX motherboard (specifically the ASRock B550 Phantom Gaming-ITX/ax), you won’t quite get the same amount of ports that you would expect with a larger desktop. Since we already covered the three USB ports and audio jack up front, let’s take a look at the back.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Here you’ll find four USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) Type-A ports, plus two USB 3.2 Gen 2 (one Type-A and one Type-C). Also here is a 2.5 Gb Ethernet jack, three analog audio connections and connectors for the small antennae. The ASrock board also includes a pair of video connectors, but since you’ll want to use the ports on RTX 3080 instead, Corsair has blocked them off behind the I/O plate so most people wouldn’t even know they’re there.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The video connections from the RTX 3080 graphics card live next to the Corsair SF750 power supply, and come in the form of three DisplayPort 1.4a ports and a single HDMI 2.1 connector.
As for internal upgradability, you can get at most of the parts if you’re comfortable dismantling expensive PC hardware. But you can’t add any RAM or storage without swapping out what’s already there (or at least without removing the whole motherboard, more on that soon). That said, the 32GB of Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200 RAM, 1TB PCIe 4.0 Force MP600 SSD and 2TB Seagate 2.5-inch hard drive that’s already here are a potent cadre of components. If you need more RAM and storage (as well as more CPU cores), there’s a $4,199 configuration we’ll detail later.
To get inside the Corsair One a200, you don’t need any tools, but you’ll want to be a bit careful. Press a button at the rear top of the case (you have to press it quite hard) and the top, which also houses a fan, will pop up. But before you go yanking it away in haste, note that it’s attached via a fan cable that you can disconnect after first fishing the plug out from a hole inside the case.
To access the rest of the system you’ll have to remove two screws from each side. But again, don’t be careless, as radiators are attached to both side panels via short tubes, so the sides are a bit like upside-down gull-wing doors. You can’t really remove them without disconnecting the cooling plates from the CPU and GPU.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
It’s fairly easy to remove the RAM, although the 32GB of Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200 occupies both of the slots. The 2TB Seagate 2.5-inch hard drive is also accessible from the left side, wedged under the PCIe riser cable that’s routed to the GPU on the other side.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
At least the 1TB Force MP600 SSD on this model is mounted on the front of the motherboard under a heatsink, rather than behind the board on the i160 version we looked at a couple years ago.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
You can open the right panel as well, though there’s not much to do here as the space is taken up by the GPU, a large radiator and a pair of fans mounted on the heatsink to move the RTX 3080’s heat through the radiator and out the vents on the side.
As with previous models, you should be able to replace the RTX 3080 with an air-cooled graphics card at some point, provided it has axial rather than blower-style cooling, and that it fits within the physical constraints of the chassis. But given that the RTX 3080 is the
best graphics card
you can buy, you may be ready for a whole new system by the time you start thinking about swapping out the graphics card here.
Aside from wishing there were more USB ports on the motherboard, I have no real complaints about the hardware here. If I were spending this much, I’d prefer a 2TB SSD, but at least the 1TB model Corsair has included is a PCIe 4.0 drive for the best speed possible. Technically the ASRock motherboard here has a second PCIe 3.0 M.2 slot, where you could install a second SSD. But it’s housed on the back of the motherboard, which would mean fairly major disassembly in cramped quarters, and remember that you’d have to disconnect the pump/cooling plate from the CPU before even attempting to do that.
Gaming Performance on the Corsair One a200
With AMD’s 12-core Ryzen 9 5900X and Nvidia’s RTX 3080 running the gaming show inside Corsair’s One a200 — and both of them liquid-cooled — we expected Corsair’s compact power tower to spit out impressive frame rates.
We pitted the a200 against
MSI’s Aegis RS 11th
, which also has an RX 3080 but an 8-core Intel Rocket Lake Core i7-11700K, and a couple other recent gaming rigs we’ve tested.
Alienware’s Aurora Ryzen Edition R10
sports a stepped down Ryzen 7 5800X and a
Radeon RX 6800XT
. And
HP’s Omen 30L
, which we looked at near the end of 2020, was outfitted with a last-generation Intel Core i9-10900K and an RTX 3080 to call its own.
While the Corsair One a200 didn’t walk away from the impressive competition, it was almost always in the lead in our gaming tests. And that’s all the more impressive given most of the systems it competes with are much larger.
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On the Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark (highest settings), the game ran at 147 fps at 1080p on the One a200, and 57 fps at 4K. The former ties it with the Aegis for first place here, and the latter beats both the Aegis and the Omen 30L, just slightly, giving Corsair’s system an uncontested win.
In Grand Theft Auto V (very high settings), the Corsair system basically repeated its previous performance, tying the MSI machine at 1080p and pulling one frame ahead of both the Omen and the MSI at 4K.
On the Far Cry New Dawn benchmark, the MSI Aegis pulled ahead at 1080p by 11 fps, but the One a200 still managed to tie the MSI and HP systems at 4K.
After trailing a bit in Far Cry at 1080p, the One a200 pulled ahead in Red Dead Redemption 2 (medium settings) at the same resolution, with its score of 117 fps beating everything else. And at 4K, the Corsair system’s 51 fps was again one frame ahead of both the MSI and Alienware systems.
Last up in Borderlands 3 (badass settings), the Corsair system stayed true to its impressive form. Its score of 137 fps at 1080 was a frame ahead of the MSI (and ahead of everything else). And at 4K, its score of 59 fps was only tied by the HP Omen.
Aside from the One a200’s gaming performance being impressive for its size, this is also one of the quietest high-end gaming rigs I’ve tested in a long time. Lots of heat shot out of the top of the tower while I played the Ancient Gods expansion of Doom Eternal, but fan noise was a constant low-end whirr. The large fan at the top does its job without doing much to make itself known, and the radiators on either side help move heat out of the case without adding to the impressively quiet noise floor.
We also subjected the Corsair One a200 to our Metro Exodus stress test gauntlet, in which we run the benchmark at the Extreme preset 15 times to simulate roughly half an hour of gaming. The Corsair tower ran the game at an average of 71.13 fps, with very little variation. The system started out the test at 71.37 fps on the first run, and dipped just to 71.05 fps on the final run. That’s a change of just a third of a frame per second throughout our stress test. It’s clear both in terms of consistent performance and low noise levels that the One a200’s cooling system is excelling at its job.
During the Metro Exodus runs, the CPU ran at an average clock speed of 4.2 GHz and an average temperature of 74.9 degrees Celsius (166.8 degrees Fahrenheit). The GPU’s average clock speed was 1.81 GHz, with an average temperature of 68.7 degrees Celsius (155.6 degrees Fahrenheit).
Productivity Performance
While the Ryzen 9 5900X isn’t quite as potentially speedy on paper as the top-end 5950X (thanks to a slightly lower top boost clock and four fewer cores), it’s still a very powerful 12-core CPU. And paired with Nvidia’s RTX 3080, along with 32GB of RAM and a fast PCIe 4.0 SSD, the Corsair One a200 is just as potent in productivity and workstation tasks as it is playing games.
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On Geekbench 5, an overall performance benchmark, the Corsair system was just behind the leading systems in the single-core tests, with its score of 1,652. But on the multi-core test, it’s 11,968 was well ahead of everything else.
The Corsair PCIe Gen 4 SSD in the a200 blew past competing systems, transferring our 25GB of files at a rate of 1.27 GBps, with only the HP Omen’s WD SSD also managing to get close to the 1GBps mark.
And on our Handbrake video editing test, the Corsair One a200 transcoded a 4K video to 1080p in an impressive 4 minutes and 44 seconds, while all the other systems took well more than 5 minutes to complete the same task. Video editors in particular will be able to make good use of this system’s 12 cores and 24 threads of CPU might.
Software and Warranty for the Corsair One a200
The Corsair One a200 ships with a two-year warranty (plus lifetime customer support) and very little pre-installed software. Aside from Windows 10 Home, you get the company’s iCue software, which can be used to control both the lights as well as the system fans. The company even seems to have avoided the usual bloat of streaming apps and casual games like Candy Crush, which ship with almost all Windows machines these days.
Configuration Options for the Corsair One a200
If you’re after the AMD-powered Corsair a200 specifically, you have two configuration options. There’s the model we tested (Corsair One a200 CS-90200212), with a 12-core Ryzen 9 5900X, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD, 2TB hard drive, and an RTX 3080 for $3,799. Or you can pay $400 more ($4,199) to step up to the 16-core Ryzen 5950X and double the RAM and SSD to 64GB and 2TB respectively (Corsair One Pro a200 CS-9040010). The latter configuration is overkill for gaming, but the extra storage, RAM and four more CPU cores are well worth the extra money if you can actually make use of them.
For those who aren’t wedded to AMD, there’s also the Intel-based Corsair One i200, which now includes 11th Gen “Rocket Lake” CPU options, with up to a Core i9-11900K and an RTX 3080, albeit running on a last-gen Z490 platform. It starts a little lower at $3,599. But that model is currently out of stock with any current-generation Intel and Nvidia components, leaving exact pricing up in the air as of publicatioon.
We tried to do some comparison pricing, and were able to find a similarly equipped HP Omen 30L, as HP often sells gaming rigs on the more-affordable side of the spectrum. But when we wrote this, all Omen 30L systems with current-generation graphics cards were sold out on HP’s site. We were able to
find an Omen 30L on Amazon
with an RTX 3080 and an Intel Core i9-10850K, along with similar RAM and storage as our Corsair a200, for $3,459. That’s about $340 less than the a200, but the Omen 30L is also much larger than the a200 and has a now last-generation CPU with fewer cores, plus a slower SSD.
Bottom Line
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
With one of
the best CPUs
and graphics cards, both liquid cooled and quiet, in an attractive, compact package, Corsair’s One a200 offers a whole lot to like. The $3,799 asking price is certainly daunting, but in these times when that graphics card alone is selling on eBay regularly for more than $2,000, the Ryzen 9 5900X often sells for close to $800, and even most desktops with current-gen graphics cards are mostly sold out, it’s tough to which high-end gaming rig is more or less of a bargain than something else.
If you spend some time looking you can probably find a system with similar specs as the Corsair One a200 for a bit less. But unless and until the ongoing mining craze subsides, that system probably won’t cost substantially less than Corsair’s pricing. And with its impressively compact shell, quiet operation, and top-end performance in both gaming and productivity, the a200 is easy to recommend for those who can afford it. Just know that upgrading will be a bit more difficult and limiting than with a larger desktop, and if you need lots of USB ports, you may want to invest in a hub.
Asus’ ROG Maximus XIII Hero is a full-featured Z590 motherboard that includes robust power delivery, premium audio with a DAC, four M.2 sockets, dual 2.5 GbE ports and integrated Wi-Fi 6E. Overall, the $499 Hero is a well-rounded premium board for Intel’s Z590 platform.
For
+ High-quality 14-phase 90A VRM
+ 10 USB ports, incl. 2x Thunderbolt 4
+ Dual 2.5 GbE plus Wi-Fi 6E
+ Four M.2 sockets
+ Premium audio
Features and Specifications
Asus’ ROG Maximus XIII Hero hits the motherboard scene offering users an extended features list, premium styling, and a price tag of $499.99. While that’s certainly expensive, it’s no longer flagship motherboard territory in terms of pricing. The latest Hero includes loads of USB ports (including ultra-fast Thunderbolt Type-C), high-quality VRMs and four M.2 sockets. All that, plus a high-end appearance and overall good performance help make this board worth the cost of admission.
Asus’ current Z590 product stack consists of 13 models. Starting from the top, the ROG Maximus XIII Extreme and its water-cooled counterpart, the Extreme Glacial, carve out the flagship SKUs, followed by the ROG Hero and the overclocking focused ROG Apex. There are four other ROG Gaming boards, Z590-E/-F/-A/-I(ITX), along with two TUF Gaming boards and three Prime boards on the budget end. Asus presents a well-rounded product stack with boards and price points for just about everyone from top to bottom.
Overall, performance on our Hero was the best out of the boards we’ve tested so far. Granted, the difference isn’t much between most of the higher-performing boards ( which bypass the Intel specification), but the Hero and its out-of-the-box settings lead the group. Overclocking went without a hitch, easily handling our 5.1 GHz clock speed along with the memory set to DDR4 4000. Of the several boards we’ve looked at, this and the MSI MEG Ace were some of the easier boards to overclock and get the memory to speed with little or no tweaking.
Generation after generation, the Asus ROG Maximus line has delivered (what this reviewer considers to be) devilishly good looks and a long list of features for the high-end segment. The Maximus XIII Hero continues this trend, tweaking the appearance a bit from the last generation and making other changes including adding PCIe 4.0 support for M.2 sockets and PCIe slots, Wi-Fi 6E, dual Thunderbolt USB Type-C ports and more. We’ll take a look at those and other features in detail. Below is the full specifications list from Asus.
Specifications – Asus ROG Maximus XIII Hero
Socket
LGA 1200
Chipset
Z590
Form Factor
ATX
Voltage Regulator
16 Phase (14+2, 90A MOSFETs)
Video Ports
(1) HDMI
USB Ports
(2) Thunderbolt 4, Type-C (40 Gbps)
(6) USB 3.2 Gen 2, Type-A (10 Gbps)
(2) USB 2.0 (480 Mbps)
Network Jacks
(2) 2.5 GbE
Audio Jacks
(5) Analog + SPDIF
Legacy Ports/Jacks
✗
Other Ports/Jack
✗
PCIe x16
(2) v4.0 x16, (x16/x0, x8/x8, x8/x4)
(1) v3.0 x4
PCIe x8
✗
PCIe x4
✗
PCIe x1
(1) v3.0 x4
CrossFire/SLI
Nvidia 2-Way SLI
DIMM slots
(4) DDR4 5333(OC), 128GB Capacity
M.2 slots
(1) PCIe 4.0 x4 / PCIe (up to 110mm)
(1) PCIe 4.0 x4 / PCIe (up to 80mm)
(1) PCIe 3.0 x4 / PCIe (up to 80mm)
(1) PCIe 3.0 x4 / PCIe + SATA (up to 110mm)
U.2 Ports
✗
SATA Ports
(6) SATA3 6 Gbps (RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10)
USB Headers
(1) USB v3.2 Gen 2×2 (Front Panel Type-C)
(2) USB v3.2 Gen 1
(2) USB v2.0
Fan/Pump Headers
(8) 4-Pin
RGB Headers
(3) aRGB Gen 2 (3-pin)
(1) Aura RGB (4-pin)
Legacy Interfaces
✗
Other Interfaces
FP-Audio, TPM
Diagnostics Panel
Yes, 2-character debug LED, and 4-LED ‘Status LED’ display
Along with the motherboard, the box includes several accessories ranging from cables to graphic card holders and a support DVD. For the price, this isn’t the most inclusive accessory stack we’ve come across, but it will get you started (hopefully) without a trip to the store. Below is a complete list of all included accessories.
Support DVD
User’s Manual
Q-connector
ROG stickers / keychain / thank you card
Graphics card holder
Wi-Fi Moving Antenna
(4) SATA cables
(1) Screw package for M.2 sockets
(1) ARGB extension cable
(1) RGB extension cable
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Handarbeit
(Image credit: Asus)
Focusing on the top half of the board, we get a better look at the massive heatsinks/shrouds that cover a significant portion of the board. Wedged between the heatpipe-connected VRM heatsink are two reinforced 8-pin EPS connectors (one required) to send power to the CPU. To the right of the socket area and its gunmetal-colored capacitors are four DRAM slots capable of supporting up to 128GB of RAM. Asus lists supported speeds up to DDR4 5333(OC). But as always, your mileage may vary.
Just above the DRAM slots are the first three 4-pin fan/pump headers (of eight total). Six headers (CPU, Chassis, and AIO_Pump, support up to 1A/12W while the W_Pump and H_Amp headers support up to 3A/36W. The AIO and W_Pump headers run at full speed while the rest are Q-Fan controlled.
Continuing right is the 2-character Q-Code debug LED, and just below it are the four Q-LEDs (CPU, DRAM, VGA and Boot) that light up during the boot process. If there is an issue during POST, that specific LED remains lit and tells you, generally, where the problem is. You can use the Q-Code display for more details.
Moving down the right edge, we see the first two (of four) RGB headers. In this area are two 3-pin (ARGB) headers. You’ll find the other two headers, a 4-pin RGB and a third 3-pin ARGB, across the bottom edge. Just below this is a large Start button to power the PC on and a smaller multi-function FlexKey button. By default, this reboots the system, but you can configure this as a quick access feature to activate Safe Boot or turn Aura lighting on/off. Further down the right edge is the 24-pin ATX power connector and below that, a USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C front-panel header.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Asus went with a 14-phase ‘teamed’ VRM configuration for the XIII Hero. Power is sent to a Renesas ISL69269 controller (7+2+1), where each channel feeds two phases (no doubler inline). After that, it’s on to the 14 Texas Instrument NexFET 90A Smart Power stages. This allows the CPU to use up to 1260A, one of the higher values we’ve seen. While the Hero isn’t the most robust solution at this price point, it will have no issues with ambient and even extreme overclocking. You’ll be limited by CPU thermals long before this VRM gets in the way.
(Image credit: Asus)
Taking a closer look at the bottom half of the board, we’ll start with the audio section on the left side. Underneath the plastic shroud, Asus chose the premium Realtek ALC4082 codec along with Chemicon brand Japanese audio capacitors. The Hero also includes an ESS Sabre9018Q2C DAC/Amp for driving your headphones properly. The onboard audio solution provides more than sufficient quality for an overwhelming majority of users.
In the middle of the board we find the PCIe slots and M.2 sockets. On the PCIe front, the Hero has three full-length PCIe slots and one x1 size slot. The top two PCIe slots are wired to the CPU and support PCIe 4.0 when using an 11th generation Intel processor. These top two slots run at x16/x0, x8/x8 or x8/x4 (lane bifurcation) and support Nvidia 2-Way SLI (AMD Crossfire is not mentioned in the specifications). The bottom full-length slot is fed from the chipset and runs at PCIe 3.0 x4. Out of the box, the bottom slot runs at PCIe 3.0 x2 mode and disables SATA ports 3/4. If you need to run the bottom slot at the full x4 mode, SATA ports 1/2/3/4 get disabled.
The Maximus XIII Hero has four M.2 sockets mixed in with the PCIe slots. The top two sockets are both wired PCIe 4.0 x4. Asus accomplishes this by sharing bandwidth with the CPU-fed PCIe slots. When M.2_2 is enabled, the top PCIe slot runs at x8 and the second slot drops to x4. These sockets support PCIe modules only, with the top slot able to handle 110mm modules and the second slot up to 80mm. The third M.2 socket, connected to the chipset, runs at PCIe 3.0 x4 mode, supporting up to 80mm modules. The bottom socket supports up to 110mm PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA-based M.2 devices. If M.2_4 (bottom right) is populated, SATA ports 5/6 are disabled. There’s a fair amount of lane sharing between the SATA ports, M.2 sockets and PCIe slots. So be sure to check out the manual for details on your specific configuration.
To the right of the PCIe area is the chipset heatsink, with the ROG symbol illuminated with RGB LEDs from underneath. On the right edge is another fan header, six SATA ports and two USB 3.2 Gen1 front panel headers that bookend the SATA ports.
Across the board’s bottom are several headers and buttons, including more USB ports, fan headers and more. If you’re into monitoring your custom water loop, there are headers for temperature and water flow as well. You can keep an eye on your entire cooling system, be it air or water. Below is the full list, from left to right:
Front-panel audio
RGB and ARGB headers
Retry button
Chassis fan and High Amp fan headers
(2) USB 2.0 headers
(2) Chassis fan headers
Temperature sensor, water flow headers
Speaker
Front panel header
(Image credit: Asus)
The Asus ROG Maximus XIII Hero comes with a pre-installed rear IO panel sporting a black background with white writing for all of the ports and buttons. There are a total of 10 USB ports: two USB 2.0 ports, six USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A and two Thunderbolt 4 Type-C ports for ultra-fast USB storage. Located above the Type-C ports are the two 2.5 GbE ports, while next to those are the two Wi-Fi 6E antenna sockets. A single HDMI port handles video output when using integrated graphics. The audio stack is the full 5-plug analog, plus SPDIF output. Finally, also here are the BIOS flashback button to flash without a CPU and a Clear CMOS button.
Nowadays there are loads of small form-factor (SFF) systems featuring fairly high performance, there are also fanless PCss that can offer performance of regular desktops. Unfortunately, SFF and fanless worlds rarely intersect and passively cooled compact desktops are extremely rare. Yet, they exist. Recently Atlast! Solutions introduced its Sigao Model B, which packs Intel’s 10-core Comet Lake CPU into a fairly small fanless chassis.
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(Image credit: Atlast! Solutions)
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(Image credit: Atlast! Solutions)
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(Image credit: Atlast! Solutions)
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(Image credit: Atlast! Solutions)
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(Image credit: Atlast! Solutions)
The Atlast! Sigao Model B is based around Intel’s 10-core Core i9-10900T processor as well as an Asus H470-I Mini-ITX motherboard. The CPU features a 35W TDP and has a base clock of 1.9 GHz as well as a maximum turbo frequency of up to 4.6 GHz, though we would not expect the processor to hit very high clocks in a fanless system powered by a 200W PSU. The motherboard comes with all the essentials, including Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth module, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, three display outputs (DisplayPort, HDMI, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C), one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A connector, four USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, and 5.1-channel audio.
The Sigao measures 12.6 x 12.6 x 3.4 inches (320 × 322 × 87.5 mm) without feet, so while it is definitely not as compact as Intel’s NUC or Apple’s Mac Mini, it can still be considered a small form-factor PC.
Atlast! builds its fanless systems to order, so it can equip its Sigao Model B with up to 64GB of DDR4-2666 memory, one Samsung 970 Evo Plus M.2 SSD with a PCIe 3.0 x4 interface and up to 2TB capacity, and two 2.5-inch HDDs or SSDs.
The motherboard has a PCIe 3.0 x16 slot and the system can accommodate a single slot wide add-in card using a riser, though finding a decent mini-ITX 75W single slot graphics card with passive (or even active) cooling is close to impossible, so it is unlikely that the system can be equipped with a standalone AIB. Unfortunately, the motherboard also lacks a Thunderbolt 4 port for an external graphics solution, so it looks like the Sigao Model B has to rely on Intel’s built-in UHD Graphics 630 based on the previous-generation architecture. Meanwhile, if the Asus H470-I motherboard gains Rocket Lake-S support, it should be possible to install a more up-to-date CPU with Xe Graphics featuring leading-edge media playback capabilities.
The Atlast! Sigao Model B is not cheap at all. Even the basic model featuring a Core i9-10900T, 16GB of RAM, and a 250GB SSD costs €1,922 ($2304) with taxes and €1,602 without ($1,920), which is quite expensive even by SFF standards. But a desktop PC that brings together compact dimensions and passive cooling is hard to come by, so its price seems to be justified for those who want both features.
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