SFF.Network ASRock Z270M-STX MXM Micro-STX Motherboard Pictured

This morning we posted about the amazing ASRock DeskMini GTX and DeskMini RX, and now we have shots of the new Micro-STX motherboard that makes this all possible: the ASRock Z270M-STX MXM!

Read more here.

 

[Kmpkt]

Yeah the problem here isn't really AsRock though, but that cost of MXM cards are like double that of their desktop counterparts. While I too am hopeful AsRock will come to market lower than 2000 for the 1080, obviously only time will tell.

The other option to reduce price is obviously going to be AMD's Vega. Since AMD decided to break our hearts the other day and push back the announcement on Vega's release to Siggraph at the end of July, there's obviously no way to tell how much cheaper (if at all) Vega will be than nVidia's offerings. What I have done however is talk to TUL which is AMD's MXM producer and received confirmation that they will produce Vega MXM cards once they become available.

 

[Boil]

The Three Steps to Micro-STX SFF glory...!

Step One - Purchase DeskMini GTX 1080, Silverstone RVZ04 chassis, Cryorig Cu C7 HSF, Noctua NF-A9x14 fan, three (3) Samsung 500GB 960 EVO M.2 SSDs, & some Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut TIM...

Step Two - Pull guts from DeskMini, pull stock Intel HSF, pull MXM HSF, replace TIM on both, replace both (CPU HSF with Cryorig / Noctua combo), install three M.2 SSDs (configure as RAID 5), stuff it all into the RVZ04...

Step Three - There is no Step Three...! ;^p

 

[Kmpkt]

Why RAID 5 out of curiosity. RAID 0 seems so much more attractive to me.

 

[Boil]

The price isn't finalized, but we were told it'd be a bit under $2000 for the barebones 1080 model, so that includes case, motherboard, MXM video card, GPU heatsink, and AC adapter.

So CPU, RAM, and storage needs to be added to complete the system.

So, these are ALL barebones systems...?

I assumed from the 'stats cards' next to the units in the pics from the front page article that CPU, RAM & one (1) M.2 SSD were included...

But if not, that tacks another US$750 or so onto the cost...

 

[Boil]

Why RAID 5 out of curiosity. RAID 0 seems so much more attractive to me.

Because I am a geek...?

 

[Kmpkt]

Yeah these are barebones. For the price you get the GPU, motherboard, case and 220-285W AC/DC brick depending on your choice of GPU. Like I said before, I really if 2k ends up being th street price on this it might be too much for the form factor to overcome which would be hugely disappointing.

 

[jeshikat]

So, these are ALL barebones systems...?

I assumed from the 'stats cards' next to the units in the pics from the front page article that CPU, RAM & one (1) M.2 SSD were included...

But if not, that tacks another US$750 or so onto the cost...

That's just the specs of the demo system

 

[Phuncz]

Because I am a geek...?

I'd be worried about RAID performance suffering more from soft-RAID restrictions (load on CPU and possibly limited by PCH) that I'd skip it. It's not like the more important performance (for instance QD=1 random data) is going to be much better with RAID. Just make it C: D: E: or sda sdb sdc.

 

[ASRock System]

Let's wait and see the final price on street

 

[Weredawg]

Let's wait and see the final price on street

My wallet is ready

Also, is there any chance you will be selling a setup where you bundle a case and motherboard together and leave out the MXM GPU? That would be my ideal setup, especially since whenever I do get to build I'd probably get everything except the GPU. Then in the future I'd pick up the MXM GPU and add to the build down the line.

 

[ultragtx]

Let's wait and see the final price on street

Can't wait to get one! And PLEASE make it hackintosh friendly.

 

[chx]

I still hope (a little) that an 1050 Ti or RX 560 option will be there.

 

[jeshikat]

I'm not sure if ASRock will be offering barebones models with those cards, but if you can source a 1050 Ti or RX 560 MXM card is should work.

 

[chx]

I can but it's very expensive Asrock would get a much more favorable price if they buy a ton.

According to a mail from Aetina quoted in Dell M6700 with GTX 980m upgrade, Windows 10? that "ton" is 50 pcs, otherwise:

M3N1050-LN: USD 400/pc
M3N1050TI-LN: USD 500/pc

which is nuts.

 

[benjiro]

As somebody new to mini-pcs, i am amazed at the functionality this board has.

The possibilities are very interesting.

- Mini Home Computer
- Mini HTPC
- Mini Home Computer + Work Computer ( That is what i am looking at ).
- Car System

Why not buy a laptop for Home+Work? I simply hate the current laptops where everything is soldered onto the motherboards. It forces people to spend more money on extra insurance because if something breaks, its a expensive fix. The inability to upgrade your laptop ( unless you want a 4cm 4kg+ laptop ). The cramped and noisy ventilators... The frankly ridiculous prices. The limited options of expand ability unless you go monster laptop.

I love the Z270m design.

- Almost no cable because the front panel has fixed usb / audio connections
- Direct air drawing to the cpu/gpu from outside the case. Cool air... Quiet running = instant air intake and dispatch out vs full desktops.
- Full CPU support ... 7700k? Hmmmm ... Try fitting that in a laptop without it burning up
- Storage options galore. Two 2.5" disks, Three m.2 Pcie SSDs. O boy ... Without massive long cables that just tangle up everywhere.

And all that in a case smaller then my Evga 1000W p2 power supply.

EVGA: 85.0mm x 150.0mm x 200mm
Z270M: 81.9mm x 157.5mm x 210mm

I hope the Thunderbolt port is still included with 4x lanes. This opens up the possibility to install a cheap MXM card for "travel" and have it connected to a eGPU at home for real gaming. Secretly hoping for AMD version also with Thunderbolt

Potential improvement points:

- 7/9.5mm 2.5" fit but it seems that 15mm ( like the seagate 3/4/5TB 2.5" drives ) are not possible.
- Memory limit? I kind of wonder if they can expand to 4 SODIMMS by using flat sockets, instead of standing ones. Or placing two SODIMMS on the back side ( plenty of space right below the current backside SODIMMS ).
- Selling a extra PSU Brick for a reasonable price with the unit? For people who use it on two locations and don't need to carry the brick with them?
- Selling a tablet/screen with HDMI/dP input? For the road warrior. Hmmm, or maybe a cheap light simple laptop with display input. Thinking of the possibility of a cheap flat laptop + power pc Lots of possibilities to think about.

I already contacted Asrock Netherlands to inform when they are going to sell this motherboard / system in Europe. Will probably order two

 

[Kmpkt]

- 7/9.5mm 2.5" fit but it seems that 15mm ( like the seagate 3/4/5TB 2.5" drives ) are not possible.
- Memory limit? I kind of wonder if they can expand to 4 SODIMMS by using flat sockets, instead of standing ones. Or placing two SODIMMS on the back side ( plenty of space right below the current backside SODIMMS ).
- Selling a extra PSU Brick for a reasonable price with the unit? For people who use it on two locations and don't need to carry the brick with them?
- Selling a tablet/screen with HDMI/dP input? For the road warrior. Hmmm, or maybe a cheap light simple laptop with display input. Thinking of the possibility of a cheap flat laptop + power pc Lots of possibilities to think about.

1.) The board has support for two SATA drives, but uses special connectors on the underside of the board with matching cables that handle both data and power.
2.) Pretty sure the Z270/B250 chipsets can only handle two sticks of RAM making four sticks kind of moot. Also the flat oriented RAM uses a ton more space on the board.
3.) Last I checked these boards just use a readily available Meanwell brick which aren't known to be particularly expensive.

 

[jeshikat]

I hope the Thunderbolt port is still included with 4x lanes.

There is no Thunderbolt 3, they wanted to include it but decided not to due to certification delays.

Pretty sure the Z270/B250 chipsets can only handle two sticks of RAM making four sticks kind of moot.

The CPU/chipset supports dual-channel, but can run two sticks per channel. So four slots is supported, though I imagine routing is a big problem with doing that on Micro-STX.

Last I checked these boards just use a readily available Meanwell brick

It's a 19V FSP brick.

 

[benjiro]

1.) The board has support for two SATA drives, but uses special connectors on the underside of the board with matching cables that handle both data and power.

You misunderstand. I know it can support 7mm and 9.5mm drives but it can not support larger like the Seagate 3 to 5TB 2.5" drives because the space is at best 10mm ( they are using the same design like the deskmini from my research ). And those larger laptop drives need 15mm height. So the maximum storage capacity ( on the SATA ) is 4TB, instead of potentially 10TB because of the 5mm difference.

At times i wonder if it was not better to make the case longer and remove the bottom storage area.

Now: [ ----- ] . Drives below the MB compartment.

Alternative: [___||]. So the drives can be stacked on the side.

This fits perfectly and potentially allows for space if people want to use a bigger gpu fan and no drives. In that case the case will be 3cm longer but 1cm less height. Giving it a more slender look like the NUC Skull. If you understand?

2.) Pretty sure the Z270/B250 chipsets can only handle two sticks of RAM making four sticks kind of moot. Also the flat oriented RAM uses a ton more space on the board.

According to Intel:

H110: # of DIMMs per channel 1 ( used on the deskmini with two memory slots )
Z270: # of DIMMs per channel 2

Dual channel * amount = 4 for the Z270 ...

3.) Last I checked these boards just use a readily available Meanwell brick which aren't known to be particularly expensive.

Good to know.

 

[benjiro]

There is no Thunderbolt 3, they wanted to include it but decided not to due to certification delays.

Ow ...that is frankly bad news. It is unfortunately a issue for me. That means no ability to use a cheap MXM and a eGPU. Or one needs to resort to some hack job with MXM to PCIe converter / cables hanging out = Less portable.

 

[EdZ]

You misunderstand. I know it can support 7mm and 9.5mm drives but it can not support larger like the Seagate 3 to 5TB 2.5" drives because the space is at best 10mm ( they are using the same design like the deskmini from my research ). And those larger laptop drives need 15mm height. So the maximum storage capacity ( on the SATA ) is 4TB, instead of potentially 10TB because of the 5mm difference.

At times i wonder if it was not better to make the case longer and remove the bottom storage area.

There are already a few different cases for the board, so if one case does not fit the drive you want to use you can switch to a case that does, or make one. Physical drive size is not an inherent limitation of the board itself unless the board cannot supply sufficient power to spin up multiple large drives (would need to check with ASRock on that).

Ow ...that is frankly bad news. It is unfortunately a issue for me. That means no ability to use a cheap MXM and a eGPU. Or one needs to resort to some hack job with MXM to PCIe converter / cables hanging out = Less portable.

Slightly less 'hackey' would be to use a cheap MXM GPU, and an m.2 to PCIe adapter from one of the many x4 m.2 slots on the underside. Several people on this board have build PCs using those adapters, and the real-world performance impact for gaming is pretty minimal (5% or under).