Prebuilt [SFFn] ASRock's DeskMini A300 - Finally!

HydrAxx747

Cable-Tie Ninja
Feb 23, 2021
157
198
I wish i could share fine FPS values for GTA5, but I had always played with borderless windows, so that the FPS were always 31-32. Now, in fullscreen with new APU and OC, I get 60FPS. Good RAM in Desk- or Gamemini are very important.​
For GTA V, remember to deactivate the "MSAA" option in advanced graphics settings, this option is much too heavy to manage for an integrated graphics card with only 8 ROPs and 32 TMUs, deactivating this option is saving for this iGPU is day and night, in 1080p (Normal quality with some settings on "high", the sliders are left stock) I obtain an average between 85 and 90fps over several hours of play depending on the game, be careful I have a "pocket PC" configuration with a Ryzen 7 5700G supercharged as much as I could: in the following config:

Case: J-HACK Lander 55 (Open duct to 12cm principal CPU fan)

APU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700G (CorePerformanceBoost On - iGPU Vega8 @2400MHz vSOC/vGFX@1,25v rockstable)

CPU Heatsink: ID-Cooling IS-50X (rev V3 - 400g - 5×Ф6mm Heatpipe Direct Touch v4.0 technology) modded with SilverStone Air Slimmer 120 ARGB(120mm(W)x120mm(D)x15mm(H) and very good performance for a 12cm ARGB Slim Fan : Max airflow of 64cfm et max static pressure of 2,4mmH²O and all in a max very relative noise rate at 31,7 dBA, this heatsink/fan assembly must have a capacity to support a maximum TDP of 150 Watts mounted with excellent Thermalright TF9 thermal paste (14W/m-k)

Motherboard: ASRock X300M-STX (rev1.02) from ASRock DeskMini X300, The BIOS is flashed in the latest “beta” version available “L1.80F”
Mod: Stock "plastic" thermalpad were removed to be replaced by a custom-cut thermalpad from Thermalright Valor Odin (15W/m-k)

RAM: Corsair Vengeance SO-DIMM 32GB(2x16) 3000MHz CL16-18-18-39 1.2v(value ram... yes but with only Samsung B-Die chips on it)
OC@4000MHz CL16-18-18-18-36-54-1T 1.35v with MemoryContreller(InfinityFabric) which synchronized with it(IF 1:1), the sticks were modded by me and had their "paper" labels removed, then were cleaned of all traces of glue or other, to have a passive dissipator applied on both sides entirely in C101 copper of 1.5mm thickness each, covering and protecting the entirety of both sides of their PCBs, and these heatsinks being entirely "painted" or "tempered" in a graphene solution (one of the best thermal conductors in the world) so that by this "light" coating graphene, the heatsinks evacuate their surface thermal releases a little better (between 20 and 30% am, according to the few "conclusive" and reliable tests that I have been able to find).
And in hindsight, it is above all this overclocking which offers the biggest gain in noticeable performance in fps in games and other 3D applications, between having a DDR4 32GB (2x16) kit at 3200MHz CL20 and my kit at 4000MHz CL16 well adjusted, I would say the gains vary from 30 to 50% more fps​

SSD: Crucial P5 Plus 2TB PCIe 4.0 x4(Read:6600MBps/Write:5000MBps) but the current APU only supports PCIexpress 3.0 so in PCIe Gen3 "mode" result(approx.) in 3550MBps for Linear Read an 3350MBps for Linear Write

SSD Heatsink: Thermalright HR-09(height 47-48mm) with thermalpad Thermalright Extreme Odyssey II(14,8W/m-k)

External PSU: Delta Electronics ADP-180HB D 180 Watts(19V 9.5A) 5.5x2.5mm - The 120 Watts provided by the AcBel 120W external power supply are no longer sufficient with this APU which has the CorePerformanceBoost activated, the iGPU and the IMC (InfinyFabric) overvolted and overclocked, the consumption at full load can reach 130 to 140 Watts, I switched to 180 Watts to avoid the problems of a burnt out power supply in the medium to short term, and above all so that the APU can use as much energy as soon as it needs it and so far on the "monitored" electrical outlets, this reached a peak of 167.8 Watts of electrical consumption during a long period of x265 encoding.
 
Last edited:

SFFMunkee

Buy first, justify later?
Gold Supporter
Jul 7, 2021
908
962
For GTA V, remember to deactivate the "MSAA" option in advanced graphics settings, this option is much too heavy to manage for an integrated graphics card with only 8 ROPs and 32 TMUs, deactivating this option is saving for this iGPU is day and night, in 1080p (Normal quality with some settings on "high", the sliders are left stock) I obtain an average between 85 and 90fps over several hours of play depending on the game, be careful I have a "pocket PC" configuration with a Ryzen 7 5700G supercharged as much as I could: in the following config:

Case: J-HACK Lander 55 (Open duct to 12cm principal CPU fan)

APU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700G (CorePerformanceBoost On - iGPU Vega8 @2400MHz vSOC/vGFX@1,25v rockstable)

CPU Heatsink: ID-Cooling IS-50X (rev V3 - 400g - 5×Ф6mm Heatpie Direct Touch v4.0 technology) modded with SilverStone Air Slimmer 120 ARGB(120mm(W)x120mm(D)x15mm(H) and very good performance for a 12cm ARGB Slim Fan : Max airflow of 64cfm et max static pressure of 2,4mmH²O and all in a max very relative noise rate at 31,7 dBA, this heatsink/fan assembly must have a capacity to support a maximum TDP of 150 Watts mounted with excellent Thermalright TF9 thermal paste (14W/m-k)

Motherboard: ASRock X300M-STX (rev1.02) from ASRock DeskMini X300, The BIOS is flashed in the latest “beta” version available “L1.80F”

RAM: Corsair Vengeance SO-DIMM 32GB(2x16) 2666MHz CL18-18-18-43 1.2v(value ram... yes but with only Samsung B-Die chips on it)
OC@4000MHz CL16-18-18-18-36-54-1T 1.35v with MemoryContreller(InfinityFabric) which synchronized with it(IF 1:1), the sticks were modded by me and had their "paper" labels removed, then were cleaned of all traces of glue or other, to have a passive dissipator applied on both sides entirely in C101 copper of 1.5mm thickness each, covering and protecting the entirety of both sides of their PCBs, and these heatsinks being entirely "painted" or "tempered" in a graphene solution (one of the best thermal conductors in the world) so that by this "light" coating graphene, the heatsinks evacuate their surface thermal releases a little better (between 20 and 30% am, according to the few "conclusive" and reliable tests that I have been able to find).
And in hindsight, it is above all this overclocking which offers the biggest gain in noticeable performance in fps in games and other 3D applications, between having a DDR4 32GB (2x16) kit at 3200MHz CL20 and my kit at 4000MHz CL16 well adjusted, I would say the gains vary from 30 to 50% more fps​

SSD: Crucial P5 Plus 2TB PCIe 4.0 x4(Read:6600MBps/Write:5000MBps) but the current APU only supports PCIexpress 3.0 so in PCIe Gen3 "mode" result(approx.) in 3550MBps for Linear Read an 3350MBps for Linear Write

SSD Heatsink: Thermalright HR-09(height 47-48mm) with thermalpad Thermalright Extreme Odyssey II(14,8W/m-k)
Nice work on the RAM there! That's probably the biggest booster of all - 4000@CL16 is a huuuuge benefit to the iGPU
 

ratundtat

Average Stuffer
Sep 12, 2020
78
22
Case: J-HACK Lander 55 (Open duct to 12cm principal CPU fan)
I want listening more about better X300 cases. Lander 55 is uiiii, but now i wish Lander 55 + 3D AIO LID. :-)) Atm, just Pure-X is available. If it is good, too?\o/ I need more pictures. Place for NVME cooler on back plate? Power supply in the case ? and no problems with the cable management? :-o
But additionally, i would need european delivery support... https://smallformfactor.net/forum/threads/j-hack-lander-for-deskmini.18212/ someone talk about >70$ delivery costs. +taxes? plus the price of ~80 - 165$ of a case.

And i WANT see your SO-DIMM heatsinks. I never seen ones in a computer (online) shop for SO-DIMMs.
That is a very kewl project. I remembering 2019, i had email Asrock for recommend that a newer Deskmini-Model will need minimum >=3mm bigger case, but nothing! Now i see a few Fanboys make *ultra very better* cases as like as a multi billion $ concern!
 

ratundtat

Average Stuffer
Sep 12, 2020
78
22
I am using X300 with 5700G on Arch Linux. Someone tested "wayland" (for KDE plasma) and have good experiences? Or it is better still X11?
 

Alucard

Trash Compacter
Nov 24, 2018
42
20
I am using X300 with 5700G on Arch Linux. Someone tested "wayland" (for KDE plasma) and have good experiences? Or it is better still X11?
I am using X300 with 5700G and AMD RX 6650 XT dGPU on Arch Linux... Sway WM (Wayland) It has worked perfectly for years!



 

HydrAxx747

Cable-Tie Ninja
Feb 23, 2021
157
198
I would like to know the full model number of said modules!
Thank you for asking me the question, it allowed me to realize that I confused the original specs of my kit with those of a previous one that I had tested before, so I am correcting it, it's a Corsair Vengeance DDR4 SO-DIMM 32GB(2x16GB) 3000MHz CL16-18-18-39-1T 1.2v kit and its reference is "CMSX32GX4M2A3000C16".

Here is the link to its official product page: https://www.corsair.com/us/en/p/mem...-memory-kit-cmsx32gx4m2a3000c16#tab-techspecs

However, we can no longer find them on eBay or other ad sites of the same type, in new condition (never used) or used for around 100usd.

Here it seems that there is one last one left for €114.18 (shipping included) from Germany and in used condition: https://www.ebay.com/itm/124707480089?hash=item1d09252219:g:WSIAAOSw1Upgj7ne&amdata=enc:AQAIAAAAwNMdDtrmvtxdDg97TI6GiWIuN5m5iWmB+sf2hvI6pPz0s9jiV7W1BtIFdhj9g2lTj8b+19OhADux7FRESH7vGxz08MwdY/JVrePNEzBpQPmjMO+5/IJJHPInq00V3UX+5MsNLtvLOSFO47iCt19IMTgDSf96eJ+ZVdtEWJ5vXU3Cgliv6bfLG4tTODBSC+S2FNbZBBVaUJPmEeHSMvgqQE0H3Y/Lzk9QnhjWtmFg9U1+0fBo1qxNSn77AQ1Lyt1PKQ==|tkp:Bk9SR8be9JiYYw
 
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Wasmachineman_NL

Minimal Tinkerer
New User
Dec 29, 2023
3
1
Thank you for asking me the question, it allowed me to realize that I confused the original specs of my kit with those of a previous one that I had tested before, so I am correcting it, it's a Corsair Vengeance DDR4 SO-DIMM 32GB(2x16GB) 3000MHz CL16-18-18-39-1T 1.2v kit and its reference is "CMSX32GX4M2A3000C16".

Here is the link to its official product page: https://www.corsair.com/us/en/p/mem...-memory-kit-cmsx32gx4m2a3000c16#tab-techspecs

However, we can no longer find them on eBay or other ad sites of the same type, in new condition (never used) or used for around 100usd.

Here it seems that there is one last one left for €114.18 (shipping included) from Germany and in used condition: https://www.ebay.com/itm/124707480089?hash=item1d09252219:g:WSIAAOSw1Upgj7ne&amdata=enc:AQAIAAAAwNMdDtrmvtxdDg97TI6GiWIuN5m5iWmB+sf2hvI6pPz0s9jiV7W1BtIFdhj9g2lTj8b+19OhADux7FRESH7vGxz08MwdY/JVrePNEzBpQPmjMO+5/IJJHPInq00V3UX+5MsNLtvLOSFO47iCt19IMTgDSf96eJ+ZVdtEWJ5vXU3Cgliv6bfLG4tTODBSC+S2FNbZBBVaUJPmEeHSMvgqQE0H3Y/Lzk9QnhjWtmFg9U1+0fBo1qxNSn77AQ1Lyt1PKQ==|tkp:Bk9SR8be9JiYYw
Sold out :|
 
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HydrAxx747

Cable-Tie Ninja
Feb 23, 2021
157
198
Sold out :|
At the same time, I respond to your request the same day, telling you that there is only one kit left for sale and you only come to read my response 8 days later, so no wonder it is sold out now, look for the same reference on eBay to see if another seller has some in stock or elsewhere on another sales site, I don't see what else to answer you...
 

limsandy

Average Stuffer
Jul 3, 2020
71
32
I think someone also said that difference between 3.60S and 3.60U is that the 3.60S was released then 1 hour later 3.60U was released

My assumption is that 3.60S had some bug in which they quickly updated and fixed bug or whatever and released 3.60U.
So that's why i think 3.60U is most reliable one.
Respectfully, I disagree..... For me, the most stable BIOS version for the A300, for me, is the 3.60S. I've been running it for years and as a service to other community members, I will be hosting it indefinitely on my G drive.

A300 3.60S BIOS

No, I will not be responsible for ANY damages it may cause to your computer.
 

kapqa

Minimal Tinkerer
New User
Nov 5, 2021
3
2
Respectfully, I disagree..... For me, the most stable BIOS version for the A300, for me, is the 3.60S. I've been running it for years and as a service to other community members, I will be hosting it indefinitely on my G drive.

A300 3.60S BIOS

No, I will not be responsible for ANY damages it may cause to your computer.
hello i h ave tested this Bios 3.60S and i could no longer start my Windows 7 64bit on nvme;
back to Bios 3.70Beta from official Asrock would let me start it;


greetings.
 

AmadeusSentinel

What's an ITX?
New User
Jan 30, 2024
1
0
Hello guys im the owner of A300 with 3400g, couldnt fit 4650g (on 3.60N bios it didnt show anything on screen) so i stayed with 3400g, got a question, can i somehow achieve better performance with bios settings or smth else? got 2x 8gb 3200mhz cl22 ram, already set to 3200mhz cl 18, but can i push other options for better fps? got noctua l9a so im not worrying about temperatures, using this pc mostly to play valorant / league and more fps could be nicer :D
 

MavericK96

Case Bender
New User
Jun 5, 2020
2
0
Can someone explain what the deal is with the 3.71A BIOS? I found it online but it doesn't seem to be on ASRock's site anymore. What are the changes?
 

SquareBear

Efficiency Noob
New User
Apr 22, 2024
5
9
3.71A bios, uses the V1 AGESA 1.0.0.8 from 22/02/2022, but does not have 4000/5000 support like some of the earlier beta bios and x300 bios do. But it is the newest bios version if you have a 3000 chip or below and what I've been running on my 3200g.

I've just got in contact with Asrock about a new bios as due to the vulnerabilities listed in the latest AMD security bulletin:

AMD Processor Vulnerabilities 

They said it dosn't apply to me as the security bulletin calls it a '3000 series athlon processor with radeon graphics', and the 3200g processor is ryzen not athlon.

But I'm not too sure and just think their wording is off and it applies to both the ryzen and athlon 3000 series as I think an athlon is just a cut down version of the ryzen chips, I don't know if anyone knows better and can weigh in as I highly doubt the latest a300 bios we got is covering the latest security vulnerabilities.

Anyway, they did give me a new beta bios 3.70e which they say is using v2 1.2.0.7 which I will upload a post shortly, and I hope someone here is able to test it for me, as I can't recover from a bricked BIOS and this is my daily PC.
 

HydrAxx747

Cable-Tie Ninja
Feb 23, 2021
157
198
I've put it into the SMU checker, and it shows support for Renoir and Cezanne, but no entry for the AGESA which is strange.
Your BIOS "3.70E" for A300M-STX contains the firmware "AGESA Combo V2 PI 1.2.0.7" that ASRock support indicated to you and is therefore much more recent than that of the Beta BIOS "3.71A". Just use "smuc_rs" to check it, it is the only software capable of giving AGESA firmware versions correctly and without causing problems.

And one last thing, this latest Beta BIOS "3.70E" proves again that the incompatibility (or the pseudo-concerns to stabilize their memory controllers) of the Ryzen 4000 (Renoir) and Ryzen 5000 (Cézanne) were purely "marketing" and in reality so as not to hinder the sales of DeskMini X300 when they were released.

But hey it's cool that makes the Beta BIOS "3.70E" that you recovered and shared (thanks), the most recent and most up-to-date BIOS so far for DeskMini A300, moreover I think that those which were running still on the old Beta BIOS "3.60S" and "3.60U" to run their Ryzen 4xxxG/5xxxG APUs will thank you when they realize it.

 

SFFMunkee

Buy first, justify later?
Gold Supporter
Jul 7, 2021
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