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

[SFF EOL]

So the difference between say 2666 and 3200 is not enough, a single stick of 3200 is always worse that two sticks of 2666 because you lose double data rate?

 

[Slowjim]

BIOS Instant Flash does not allow downgrading, but the windows update package does. The direkt links to the Windows BIOS updates have been removed from the ASRock website, but the package is still there at http://asrock.pc.cdn.bitgravity.com/BIOS/AM4/A300M-STX(1.20)WIN.zip

Unzip, run asrom.exe. The AMI utility that then gets run will warn you that BIOS layout has changed, you will have to confirm that you still want to update. IIRC there is another prompt to confirm, then the system will reboot and apply the update on reboot.

It worked twice for me but I obviously can not guarantee that this will work without issues.

THANK YOU!!

 

[TinyAudio]

I guess that it makes sense to go with the 3200-single stick

Nope. Single stick will have a big impact especially on APU performance.

 

[NateDawg72]

So the difference between say 2666 and 3200 is not enough, a single stick of 3200 is always worse that two sticks of 2666 because you lose double data rate?

It's still double data rate, that's what ddr in ddr4 stands for. A single stick works in single channel, so you lose out on the performance of dual channel.

 

[Slowjim]

.

 

[Stevo_]

A good write-up on single v dual vs speed and timings

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/raven-ridge-memory-scaling-benchmarks,5489.html

 

[Choidebu]

Double data rate (DDR) =/= Dual channel.

DDR is double that of SDR, which basically achieves that by able to simultaneously receive and send bits.

Dual channel (or quad etc) refers to the direct connection between memory controllers in the processor to the physical slot. This is important for multi core processors since it means different cores can access different channels at the same time.

Since you don't see any single core processors these days... well...

 

[SFF EOL]

Yes the more I think on it the more it makes obvious sense- better to have double 2400 than single 3200. But better still to have double 3200. Will read up on the link.

 

[Quango]

Dear A300 owners! Does this Asrock mainboard emmit noticable electric component noise, like chirping and other high frequency nuisances?
While using the Asrock Deskmini H110M-STX board on my desk for almost two years, the noise by the mainboard was quite prominent, while its succeeding mainboard , the Asus H110S1/CSM itself remains pleasantly silent and the Noctua on my i3-7100 is near inaudible at 800 rpm anyway.

 

[GLSRacer]

I have experienced no hum or other electronic component noise with my A300W.

 

[ShamedGod]

Dear A300 owners! Does this Asrock mainboard emmit noticable electric component noise, like chirping and other high frequency nuisances?
While using the Asrock Deskmini H110M-STX board on my desk for almost two years, the noise by the mainboard was quite prominent, while its succeeding mainboard , the Asus H110S1/CSM itself remains pleasantly silent and the Noctua on my i3-7100 is near inaudible at 800 rpm anyway.

With the Noctua cooler the machine is virtually silent with M.2 storage.

 

[GLSRacer]

Same goes for the OEM cooler with removed bezel.

 

[Quango]

Thanks for the answers. So Asrock improved their STX motherboard quality. Their first STX effort, the board for ther Deskmini H110, was crap by design, it was known for freezes (with moving to a 4K display they became daily odccurences for me when graphics hardware acceleration came under load), my unused Realtek audio chip simply died and that electronic chirping came on top.

 

[ShamedGod]

Anyone know if these chips would work with the A300?

64GB (2x32GB) DDR4 2666 PC4- 21300 SODIMM Laptop Memory RAM - Newegg.com

Buy 64GB (2x32GB) DDR4 2666 PC4- 21300 SODIMM Laptop Memory RAM with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

Samsung 32GB DDR4 2666MHz RAM Memory Module for Laptop Computers (260 Pin SODIMM, 1.2V) M471A4G43MB1 at Amazon.com

Buy Samsung 32GB DDR4 2666MHz RAM Memory Module for Laptop Computers (260 Pin SODIMM, 1.2V) M471A4G43MB1: Memory - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

amzn.to

 

[Deadsies]

The RAM compat. list is really small for this device, do you guys ever buy out-side of that list?

 

[Choidebu]

Why do we buy ram by checking if it's on a list? It should all work - as in your system boots - like, I get if you want the ram to work at its advertised speed or more, but most users shouldn't need to worry about that.

 

[Deadsies]

I read that 10 times and have no idea what you are actually saying.

 

[ShamedGod]

I read that 10 times and have no idea what you are actually saying.

All RAM should at least default to JEDEC specs:

Home | JEDEC

www.jedec.org

JEDEC - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

All motherboards that except DDR4 should work will all DDR4 ram chips; However that doesn't always mean it will work at it's advertised speed OR that the BIOS will recognize memory moduals that are larger then expected.

Years ago this was an issue with many OEM machines and people didn't know that upgrading their ram to larger memory chips would require flashing the BIOS.

 

[alexfr]

Hi.I have a deskmini a300, it arrived with the bios 3.40.
Now I have video problems. I tried to install allin1 drivers automatically from the asrock cd, I don't know which version was installed, but I had problems. I use an old vga screen, the bios has disappeared (in vga) and the video was at 640 (only in HDMI). I have uninstalled and now with the basic microsoft drivers it works but in a limited way. Which video drivers do I need to install? Are these okay: AllIn1 (v18.40.02)? or these 18.50.16.01 , 19.10.16 ?
Thank you

 

[GLSRacer]

alexfr, it looks like the newest all in 1 driver for Windows 10 is 19.10.16_19H1_WHQL so I would use that version. The all in 1 driver should get you started but I would recommend downloading the newest video driver directly from AMD at the following link: https://www.amd.com/en/technologies/radeon-software

Please post back if you have difficulty after installing the latest software versions. Bonne chance!