Storage Partaker B18 on AliExpress... 5x5 board with flat soDIMMs and 3xM.2!

[thewizzard1]

Ships with what looks like 2x flat soDIMM slots (DDR4), and can be equipped with a 6-core i7-8750H processor. Wow-wee! Looks like a standard 115x socket, as well? Super weird!
Also has 3x M.2 slots, two look full x4 capable. I think I see some unpopulated SATA and *other* ports on the board, as well.

Here's that hot link: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Par...lgo_pvid=141462aa-e7c6-4ef5-942f-9443ecf927a1

Check out this thing:

 

[Windfall]

Ships with what looks like 2x flat soDIMM slots (DDR4), and can be equipped with a 6-core i7-8750H processor. Wow-wee! Looks like a standard 115x socket, as well? Super weird!
Also has 3x M.2 slots, two look full x4 capable. I think I see some unpopulated SATA and *other* ports on the board, as well.

Here's that hot link: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Par...lgo_pvid=141462aa-e7c6-4ef5-942f-9443ecf927a1

Check out this thing:

0.o

Orders

Edit: Can be purchased with pre-cracked windows.

Hopefully the processor is swappable.

 

[damex]

listed processors are bga so no, it is not swappable unless you wand to go all the way... no, they're not swappable ;p

 

[thewizzard1]

listed processors are bga so no, it is not swappable unless you wand to go all the way... no, they're not swappable ;p

Yes, but then what is that 115x backplate doing on the bottom of the case, with it's 3 mounting holes?

 

[Supercluster]

listed processors are bga so no, it is not swappable unless you wand to go all the way... no, they're not swappable ;p

This could also be a similar implementation:

Spoiler

,so it might be a socketed PCB.

Edit:
This makes me question the power delivery component of the board and the relative potential it carries.

 

[thewizzard1]

I7-8750H is only a "45W TDP" processor, shouldn't be a problem at all.

 

[ExplodingWaffle101]

couldnt it just be mounting for a 115x cooler

 

[thewizzard1]

No, this is the sliding processor securing lever socket, I'd be hard pressed to imagine it's there in addition to the heatsink backplate.

 

[NateDawg72]

I know this is an old thread but I figured maybe it's best to continue this thread instead of starting a new one

I just got one of these a couple days ago. I'll take some pictures of it if anyone is interested. I basically bought it just for the board as I plan to build a chassis for it, though the quality of the included case is pretty good, very solid, all metal. I'm happy with the performance, easy enough to keep the 6 core 8750h cool since it seems to be lga115x mounting holes so plenty of options. Right now I just have the stock cooler and it is quieter than I expected.

Fairly light on IO but it does have 2 x M.2, the front one is pcie only and the back one is sata/pcie. It is possible to connect a graphics card to it using one of the M.2 slots, which is one of my goals in making a build with this board

 

[thewizzard1]

I'm glad both M.2 are PCIe!

Also worth noting - They have an i9-8950H version now!

 

[NateDawg72]

They do indeed, and I believe the i9 version is even partially overclockable - 5Ghz single core is reportedly actually doable.
Edit: Both i7 & i9 are 6 cores though

Multicore overclock doesn't yield as much benefit because I've heard the board seems to hit VRM throttling with overclocks. That combined with the extra cost & power needs of overclocking the i9 is why I went with the cheaper i7 version. I already know I'm going to need 2 power supplies if I want to run a video card on it (19v for the board & 12v for the graphics card) so if I'm keeping it at ~45-65w that means I should be able to go smaller for the 19v power supply.

 

[NateDawg72]

Got a bit busy but had some time to take a couple photos last night with rough measurements

First motherboard dimensions comparison! (and area because we can)

Board Type	Dimensions (mm)	Area (mm^2)
Intel NUC	102 x 102	10,404
i7 8750H board "Partaker B18"	138 x 128 (approximate)	17,664
Mini-STX	147 x 140	20,580
Micro-STX (Asrock)	147 x 188	27,636
Mini-ITX	170 x 170	28,900

So this board is a bit smaller than STX boards and has a BGA 6 core CPU, unlike the socket on STX.

 

[leadwhite]

I've been thinking about the exact same idea as @NateDawg72 described: using the board as MB only, hooking up a GPU through one of the PCIE slots, and designing a custom case. I haven't bit the bullet yet and ordered one, but I have a few thoughts going through my head:

1) Is it using a standard cooler mounting? Can we swap the fan out for a noctua? (Given that I'm not planning on using the case it comes in, I don't need to worry about height.
2) What is the power supply it comes with (volts/amps/model)? (seems like the PSU is 19V~3A-5A )
3) How to power the motherboard and the graphics card? Using two power supplies? Or finding a way to run the system of a desktop psu somehow? (maybe with a big dc-dc converter to generate 19v from a 12v rail?)
4) Worth using the power switch it comes with (and the front IO) or is there a way to hook a custom power switch, and re-route the front IO to the back?
5) Worth making a big project out of this versus just doing some upgrades on my DanA4?

 

[NateDawg72]

1) Is it using a standard cooler mounting? Can we swap the fan out for a noctua? (Given that I'm not planning on using the case it comes in, I don't need to worry about height.

I'm 99% confident it has standard lga 115x mounting holes, as the heatsink used looks exactly like a rebrand of a low profile LGA 115x heatsink available from several companies in Asia (Titan). You won't be able to swap the fan on the heatsink simply because of the design of the heatsink, but I believe you could swap it with any heatsink you want with one big caveat: Because this is a BGA CPU it sits closer to the motherboard than a socketed CPU, so you'll need to be extra diligent in checking that the heatsink is making contact. The included heatsink bottoms out pretty much exactly once it comes in contact. Also it has a 4 pin PWM header for fan ?

2) What is the power supply it comes with (volts/amps/model)? (seems like the PSU is 19V~3A-5A )

The included AC-DC adapter is roughly 19v 5.2a (~100W) level VI efficiency. This is off the top of my head, I can get a picture of it later.

3) How to power the motherboard and the graphics card? Using two power supplies? Or finding a way to run the system of a desktop psu somehow? (maybe with a big dc-dc converter to generate 19v from a 12v rail?)

I will be attempting to use 2 power supplies, one 12v and one 19v. I have the Meanwell EPP200 12v on hand already to use as my 12v power supply, but I have not found what I'll use for the 19v supply yet. An alternative is using a HDPlex AC-DC supply with the 19v direct to the motherboard, and an HDPlex DC-DC to convert 19v to 12v for the GPU only. The HDPlex 400 AC-DC is too long for my build. I think using a desktop PSU would nullify some of the advantages of having such a small motherboard, as even SFX will be large next to it.

4) Worth using the power switch it comes with (and the front IO) or is there a way to hook a custom power switch, and re-route the front IO to the back?
5) Worth making a big project out of this versus just doing some upgrades on my DanA4?

I can't answer 4) as I haven't found out myself yet. I can't answer 5) either this will be far far more work than upgrading any existing case, but I find it extremely interesting.

 

[thewizzard1]

Just picked up the i9 version for myself, shipping in the US. I'll be posting high-res nudes ASAP, and a build log with an SFF GTX 1080 eventually. I'll be using the R43SG M.2 to PCIe x16 eGPU board.

I will likely be powering it all with a 19v 330/400W external brick and a ~200w DC-DC board for the GPU, which will be mounted internally.

Plan eventually will be to make a case with a 120/140MM rad over the board, and watercool the whole setup. Looking forward to this, more so even than my ITX laptop build!

 

[NateDawg72]

I recorded some rough power numbers with Cinebench R20 this weekend. My i7 8750h is likely below average as it only undervolts to -80mv, going above that causes bluescreens very quickly. I did a stock run of my Ryzen 5 2600 (+ GTX 1080, powered by Meanwell EPP400) for comparison. I wish I had another i7 8750h to see how much variability there is between units.

@thewizzard1 I will be very very interested to know what the i9 can do ? please do some tuning and benchmarks when you get yours

My unit hits current limit at 60w CPU power, I haven't yet found a way to raise the current limit. Default boost peaks at 58W CPU.

All numbers in the chart are total system draw from the wall. Multi (W) is power draw at the start of the test, Multi (W) 2 is power draw at the end of the test - 2 may be lower due to heat, power, or turbo durations.
Multi / W is CB R20 score per watt consumed, higher is better.
Single / W is CB R20 score per watt consumed, higher is better.

System	Idle (W)	Multi (W)	Multi (W) 2	CB R20 Multi	Single (W)	CB R20 Single	Multi / W	Single / W
Ryzen 2600	37	114		2800	50	391	24.56	7.82
8750h stock	10	78	65	2636	33	406	33.79	12.30
8750h stock -80mv	9	78	65	2742	30	418	35.15	13.93
8750h 60W -80mv	9	80	76	2808	30	413	35.10	13.77
8750h 45W -80mv	9	61	59	2509	30	411	41.13	13.70
8750h 35W -80mv	9	49	48	2266			46.24
8750h 25W -80mv	9	37	36	1908	30	408	51.57	13.60

 

[NateDawg72]

I'll be using the R43SG M.2 to PCIe x16 eGPU board.
I will likely be powering it all with a 19v 330/400W external brick and a ~200w DC-DC board for the GPU, which will be mounted internally.

Will you be using the R43SG internally? Also, do you have any specific power supplies you are considering?

I'm planning on using the R43UL cable but I need to confirm length and how I'm going to bend it before I order it

 

[thewizzard1]

@NateDawg72 I'll share my details once I get there. Have you re-tested your i7 model with better cooling? Performance is heat dependant. Also, I'm curious as to the BIOS/UEFI on these systems, w.r.t. hidden items and things which can be unlocked.

 

[NateDawg72]

@thewizzard1 The BIOS is super basic, and I don't know enough to know if anything can be unlocked. I don't even see anything related to XMP, memory timings, memory voltage.

The testing I've done so far suggests that power is the biggest factor with performance as it runs at power limit 100% of the time in multicore tests. Heat does have a factor but as long as it isn't thermal throttling then it is more of an issue of leakage / power draw increasing with heat, which I believe I'm seeing in my 60W test.

I am interested in testing it with better cooling but that is more about gathering interesting information, as I certainly won't be able to improve cooling much for my build. The stock cooler is ~30mm high and I'm planning to keep or reduce the height for my project. Even the Noctua nh-l9i is too tall.

 

[thewizzard1]

Of note: The heatsink uses a rather thick copper slug / heatspreader.

More importantly, mine used Liquid Metal thermal interface between this slug and the processor die - This stuff is made with Gallium, and is kinda nasty (but high in performance, for sure).

I *strongly* recommend cleaning this off, and using a non-reactive thermal interface.