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

Curiosity

Too busy figuring out if I can to think if I shoul
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does anyone have a 3d model or stl, obj, of the asrock a300 motherboard?
Do you need all the details, or just the mounting holes?

There's a file in the resources section for the mounting holes + rear io cutout.
 

Curiosity

Too busy figuring out if I can to think if I shoul
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that would be great if you have both if you only have the io cut out that's fine
 

Hifihedgehog

Editor-in-chief of SFFPC.review
May 3, 2016
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For an arcade cabinet you're probably better off with a Rasberry Pi 4.
Actually, the Raspberry Pi 4 is feeble unless you are only emulating N64 hardware and earlier. RP4 is insufficient for Dreamcast emulation or later, or serious 3D arcade games starting in circa 1998. Plus try any fancy-shmancy 3D effects on your arcade front-end and watch the whole thing choke and stutter insufferably, dead in the water. Even a ~$100 J3455-based NUC is far superior to it. My goal is to load up a 4700G build with LaunchBox and go to town with that which should be sufficient up through Wii U emulation.
 
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Slowjim

Trash Compacter
Mar 12, 2019
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Dang, I was hoping the a300 would retain compatibility with 7nm APU's as long as they were AM4. If they are releasing a new model I am guessing that means they aren't compatible.
 

ShamedGod

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Apr 21, 2019
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Dang, I was hoping the a300 would retain compatibility with 7nm APU's as long as they were AM4. If they are releasing a new model I am guessing that means they aren't compatible.
There is zero reason for them not to be compatibly :/

At least with the next gen APU since APUs lag a generation... I was hoping to get another year of upgrades on the a300 as well.
 

Hifihedgehog

Editor-in-chief of SFFPC.review
May 3, 2016
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There is zero reason for them not to be compatibly :/

At least with the next gen APU since APUs lag a generation... I was hoping to get another year of upgrades on the a300 as well.
I was also reminded of this today. Add this to the growing list of reasons "for" that the old A320 chipset is going to be used in ASRock's upcoming Jupiter A320.



Source:

Via:

It would make no sense for them to release a new product without support for Ryzen 4000 APUs. And if the A320 can, why not the A300?

Come on, @ASRock System! You guys can do it! We know you can!
 
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ShamedGod

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Apr 21, 2019
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Made a quick mod for fun to see if it would make a difference.

Changed the fan on the Noctua cooler to the Noctua NF-A9 PWM 92x92x25 from the slim version.


I then added some scotch tape to the holes from the fan intake not being used to pull in air to try and force more air out the side.


Works great. Looks awful. Ignore the residue of dust on the machine :)
 

edvb

What's an ITX?
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May 14, 2020
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Hi all. New member here. My wife's laptop died and I had to replace it with something that would fit her roll top desk.

I ordered the following.


A300w kit

Ryzen 5 2400G using the Stealth fan.

HyperX Impact 16GB 2666MHz DDR4

Adata XPG SX8200 Pro 512GB 3D NAND NVMe


It will be used mostly for surfing the web, YouTube , Netflicks and Outlook Email.

Win 10 for the operating system.


What would the best setup and ram timing be for the application?

I know everyone is into gaming but what should be the most solid configuration for this application?
 

rubicoin

Cable-Tie Ninja
Jan 12, 2020
164
104
Made a quick mod for fun to see if it would make a difference.

Changed the fan on the Noctua cooler to the Noctua NF-A9 PWM 92x92x25 from the slim version.


I then added some scotch tape to the holes from the fan intake not being used to pull in air to try and force more air out the side.


Works great. Looks awful. Ignore the residue of dust on the machine :)

nice, see my chromax version of this mod, black looks way better:
minor update

- about fan > heatsink mounting: as mentioned above stock screws used for nf-a9x14 hs-pwm fan on nh-l9a-am4 cooler are too long here for the required bottom fix (see left pic), so i got few mm shorter screws and applied double rubber spacers between screw head / mounting hole. this is a much more secured and cleaner solution (except for the diy painting of copper screws to black).


- about putting back the 2 screws in place which fix the case lid to the side panels: it was much easier than expected, a very small & thin flat screwdriver did the job in 3-5 minutes (tiny screws to small holes -> using a magnet & gravity wisely can help a lot).

so finally my a300 build with the new super silent 25 mm tall chromax fan is ready (8-900 rpm in idle @ silent settings), no more loose screws and duct tape fixing. will serve well for the coming ~6-8 months till renoir arrives (if ever happens to deskmini) and i'll have to take it apart again :p

me personally waiting for something like ryzen 7 4700g since i've finished this mod (see below - sorry for separate post, my mistake).
fingers crossed for all renoir apu support!
 
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Valantar

Shrink Ray Wielder
Jan 20, 2018
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I certainly wouldn't be surprised if ES or QS silicon of these has been in circulation for 6 months or more. Given that the mobile APUs launched at CES, they must then have been in mass production for at least a couple of months, and after all desktop APUs are the same silicon binned a bit differently, stuck on an AM4 substrate and with an IHS on top. So a 2019 stamp on the IHS of an ES or QS sample doesn't surprise me at least.
 

ShamedGod

Cable-Tie Ninja
Apr 21, 2019
147
77
nice, see my chromax version of this mod, black looks way better:


me personally waiting for something like ryzen 7 4700g since i've finished this mod (see below - sorry for separate post, my mistake).
fingers crossed for all renoir apu support!

Definitely missed this post. Nice! Tried to click back as I believe I got the idea from this thread but didn't find the post to credit/thank them. Should have taken more time I guess... Was surprised how much more air was felt blowing out the sides by switching the fan.

Everytime I looked at buying the choromax fan it was out of stock. Otherwise...

The original screws are in my cooler to not lose them and keep the fan from sliding off the holes but those should be replaced. For testing/play the pressure from the case holds it down good enough.

How did you seal off the unused air intake holes to help force air across the other components? That is a cosmetic thing I'd like to tackle.

Edit: I see this was posted a few times by you in 2020 now. Thank you for the idea, it worked great. My plan to take duct work and make a shrowd for the original slim fan would have been a lot harder.
 
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rubicoin

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Jan 12, 2020
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How did you seal off the unused air intake holes to help force air across the other components? That is a cosmetic thing I'd like to tackle.

Edit: I see this was posted a few times by you in 2020 now. Thank you for the idea, it worked great. My plan to take duct work and make a shrowd for the original slim fan would have been a lot harder.

did not seal intake holes at all. my a300 stands vertically (vesa mounted to the side of my desk) so i guess no need for that. hot air goes up and directly escapes through the top panel (side panel in your case).

dust is much bigger concern if you ask me, as you can see in the pic below it covers everything around.

 
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