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

A300

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Jul 13, 2019
96
14
Hi guys,

1. Is this A300 able to run 4700G?
2. Anyone here know if Corsair Sodimm CMSX32GX4M2A2666C18 is compatible with A300?
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Hifihedgehog

Curiosity

Too busy figuring out if I can to think if I shoul
Platinum Supporter
Bronze Supporter
M...M...M...M...Multi-Tier...Subscriber...
Apr 30, 2016
708
827
Hi guys,

1. Is this A300 able to run 4700G?
2. Anyone here know if Corsair Sodimm CMSX32GX4M2A2666C18 is compatible with A300?
only asrock knows if the 4700g will work, we the consumers have no concrete knowledge yet.

Looking at the memory qvl on the a300 page on asrock's website, it supports CMSX16GX4M2A2666C18, which is the 16gb version of that kit, so I imagine the 32gb kit will work just fine. (Max supported memory is 64gb)
 
  • Like
Reactions: smolfactor

Valantar

Shrink Ray Wielder
Jan 20, 2018
2,201
2,225
only asrock knows if the 4700g will work, we the consumers have no concrete knowledge yet.

Looking at the memory qvl on the a300 page on asrock's website, it supports CMSX16GX4M2A2666C18, which is the 16gb version of that kit, so I imagine the 32gb kit will work just fine. (Max supported memory is 64gb)
From the A300 Bios Mod thread:
I just got a response from emailing ASRock support where I asked if the a300 would support 4xxxG Zen 2 APUs and was told that the a300 would not support the 4XXX series. They didn't specify if they meant the regular zen 3 SKUs or whether than included the zen 2 APUs as well, but I take that as a sign that we would have to buy a newer revision of the a300 if we want the 4xxxG APU support. A little sad since I just bought the a300 a month ago with the hopes to upgrade to the sweet APUs coming out this year.
I see no reason to doubt this. ASrock has already been reluctant to add CPU support to the A300, and given the low price (and accompanying low margins) of this product I would bet they want to launch a new and improved version for 4000-series APUs, hopefully with a beefed-up VRM to power the new iGPU.
 

Curiosity

Too busy figuring out if I can to think if I shoul
Platinum Supporter
Bronze Supporter
M...M...M...M...Multi-Tier...Subscriber...
Apr 30, 2016
708
827
From the A300 Bios Mod thread:

I see no reason to doubt this. ASrock has already been reluctant to add CPU support to the A300, and given the low price (and accompanying low margins) of this product I would bet they want to launch a new and improved version for 4000-series APUs, hopefully with a beefed-up VRM to power the new iGPU.
Guess I missed that post, I am sad.


But maybe the new version of the a300 will have even better enthusiast support.
 

A300

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Jul 13, 2019
96
14
From the A300 Bios Mod thread:

I see no reason to doubt this. ASrock has already been reluctant to add CPU support to the A300, and given the low price (and accompanying low margins) of this product I would bet they want to launch a new and improved version for 4000-series APUs, hopefully with a beefed-up VRM to power the new iGPU.
Ah, it is really bad news for me!

I don't mind to buy new version, problem is, Asrock may not sell it in my country.

This A300 is the only one they sell, A310 & others series, not available in my country.
 

Curiosity

Too busy figuring out if I can to think if I shoul
Platinum Supporter
Bronze Supporter
M...M...M...M...Multi-Tier...Subscriber...
Apr 30, 2016
708
827
Ah, it is really bad news for me!

I don't mind to buy new version, problem is, Asrock may not sell it in my country.

This A300 is the only one they sell, A310 & others series, not available in my country.
Maybe you can have it shipped to someone in a country it is sold in, and have them send it to you that way? Like a proxy service. I'd be open to helping in that way.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Phuncz

A300

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Jul 13, 2019
96
14
Maybe you can have it shipped to someone in a country it is sold in, and have them send it to you that way? Like a proxy service. I'd be open to helping in that way.
Thanks for the offer.

I will wait till they really don't sell it in my country.

Btw, just contact them, they said, they didn't decide if A300 will or will not supports 4700G, they will wait until official release from AMD about 4000 series.
 
Last edited:

Curiosity

Too busy figuring out if I can to think if I shoul
Platinum Supporter
Bronze Supporter
M...M...M...M...Multi-Tier...Subscriber...
Apr 30, 2016
708
827
That's good news! I'll have to do my best to not get my hopes up lol
 

rubicoin

Cable-Tie Ninja
Jan 12, 2020
164
104
Btw, just contact them, they said, they didn't decide if A300 will or will not supports 4700G, they wait until official release from AMD about 4000 series.

maybe it's up to us now as well. folks at amd seems to be ready for changing their minds about not extending support for 4000 series on previous generation chipsets when pushed a bit by the community (they've just recently promised adding support for vermeer to older x470 & b450 mainboards). great attitude they have - compared to the big blue :p
 
Last edited:

cebali

Cable Smoosher
Jan 9, 2019
10
4
I really hope they will add support for the 4000 series APUs in the A300. It wouldn't make much sense to make a new product only for that series, because the next gen processors will have the new AM5 socket so that would mean a new construction again...
 

Valantar

Shrink Ray Wielder
Jan 20, 2018
2,201
2,225
I really hope they will add support for the 4000 series APUs in the A300. It wouldn't make much sense to make a new product only for that series, because the next gen processors will have the new AM5 socket so that would mean a new construction again...
If they make an updated version (say, one with stronger VRMs, which I would say is needed for those APUs) or even an... A500? based on a "new" chipset-less platform, it might make it easier to mod the bios of the A300 to support the new APUs.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Curiosity

rubicoin

Cable-Tie Ninja
Jan 12, 2020
164
104
ok, i've just realized that my a300 buid has got minor ram issues ? i've been using this config for 4 months now and i had a couple of resets during light gaming (fallout 3: nv) and also got BSOD once, but simply ignored that (thought it's related to windows10/driver/game bug). today i got curious, ran memtest86 and i got errors @ tests 7 & 9 consistently.

my config: 2200g + 2x8gb g.skill ripjaws ddr4 3000 (F4-3000C16D-16GRS) + bios 3.60. timings are set to default xmp 1.0 (3000 mhz @ 16-18-18-43) but reported as 18-18-18-43 in memtest which is weird. cpu-z reports it correctly as 16-18-18-43.

before getting these errors i started to increase ram speeds a bit, first tried 3066 with same timings (stable but w memtest errors), then 3166 gave me BOSD during login and 3200 did not even post. these memtest runs made me to check my ram at g.skill factory settings.

after these tests and errors i tried downclocking. first put it to auto (2400 mhz, 18-17-17-39) and then tried 2933 (16-18-18-43). all memtest errors vanished this time. never changed default voltage from 1.2 V factory spec.

memtest errors are no big problem for me at the moment as i want to upgrade my apu to 4400/4700g (or to 3400g if renoir wont't be supported), which could change things i guess.

my questions:
  • is there a chance that upping dram voltage to 1.35 V would help?
  • is there a really high chance that changing to a newer generation cpu would help? official qvl for raven bridge only has 2666 mhz g.skill ram sticks.
  • is it enough reason to rma my memory kit (being stable on 2933 mhz instead of 3000 with factory timings), or should i blame 2200g in the first, a300's cheaper mobo in the second, and the ram sticks themselves only for the third place?
  • if i'm upgrading to ryzen 3000/4000, would it be better to choose a new kit from the qvl list and choose 3200 mhz ram? i guess for renoir it would not hurt.
anyway, the reason for choosing this exact g.skill kit was price, as i got it super cheap (~60 EUR). my initial build was planned to be as inexpensive as possible with decent noctua cooling for later cpu upgrade. but i knew that at some point i'll have to invest more money on it, maybe it will be time for a new ram kit for a new apu.
 
Last edited:

ShamedGod

Cable-Tie Ninja
Apr 21, 2019
147
77
ok, i've just realized that my a300 buid has got minor ram issues ? i've been using this config for 4 months now and i had a couple of resets during light gaming (fallout 3: nv) and also got BSOD once, but simply ignored that (thought it's related to windows10/driver/game bug). today i got curious, ran memtest86 and i got errors @ tests 7 & 9 consistently.

my config: 2200g + 2x8gb g.skill ripjaws ddr4 3000 (F4-3000C16D-16GRS) + bios 3.60. timings are set to default xmp 1.0 (3000 mhz @ 16-18-18-43) but reported as 18-18-18-43 in memtest which is weird. cpu-z reports it correctly as 16-18-18-43.

before getting these errors i started to change ram speeds up a bit, first tried 3066 with same timings (stable but w memtest errors), then 3166 gave me BOSD during login and 3200 did not even post. these memtest runs made me to memtest my ram at g.skill factory settings.

after these tests and errors i tried downclocking. first put it to auto (2400 mhz, 18-17-17-39) and then tired 2933 (16-18-18-43). all memtest errors vanished this time. never changed default voltage from 1.2 V, as it's the factory spec.

memtest errors are no big problem for me at the moment as i want to upgrade my apu to 4400/4700g (or to 3400g if renoir wont't be supported), which could change things i guess.

my questions:
  • is there a chance that upping dram voltage to 1.35 V would help?
  • is there a really high chance that changing cpu to newer generation would help? official qvl for raven bridge only has 2666 mhz g.skill ram sticks.
  • is it enough reason to rma my memory kit (being stable on 2933 mhz instead of 3000 with factory timings), or should i blame 2200g in the first place, a300's cheaper mobo in the second, and the ram sticks themselves only for the third?
  • if i'm upgrading apu to ryzen 3000/4000, would it be better to choose a new kit from the qvl list and upgrade to 3200 mhz ddr4? i guess for renoir it would make more sense instantly if supported.
the reason for choosing this g.skill kit in the first place was price, as i got it super cheap (~60 EUR). my initial build was planned to be as cheap as possible with decent noctua cooling for later cpu upgrade. but i knew that at some point i'll have to invest more money on it, maybe it will be time for a new ram kit for a new apu.
I ran my machine stable at 1.35 volt for months and just switched back to XMP profile for the DDR4-3200 ram as it would crash after long periods of heavy work loads. It would also Crash if I used Jitsi and YouTube at the same time. I tried to see if I could fit a Noctua server fan in the case to blow air onto the ram but that was a no-go.

If you're stable at 2933 that may be the highest frequency your 2200G likes.
 
  • Like
Reactions: rubicoin

rubicoin

Cable-Tie Ninja
Jan 12, 2020
164
104
If you're stable at 2933 that may be the highest frequency your 2200G likes.

so it's 99% not a ram kit issue rather than a limitation in the cpu memory controller. thx for your input, it's perfectly ok for me to run it @ 2933 mhz and not raising voltage till i get a new apu later this year.

conclusion: it's worth checking any ddr4 factory oc ram (meaning anything above 2666 i guess) with memtest in any a300 build.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: ShamedGod

Phuncz

Lord of the Boards
SFFn Staff
May 9, 2015
5,827
4,902
my config: 2200g + 2x8gb g.skill ripjaws ddr4 3000 (F4-3000C16D-16GRS) + bios 3.60. timings are set to default xmp 1.0 (3000 mhz @ 16-18-18-43) but reported as 18-18-18-43 in memtest which is weird. cpu-z reports it correctly as 16-18-18-43.
First gen Ryzen (2200G is Zen 1) is very picky on memory and the model you have probably has Hynix MFR chips which are notoriously unstable on first gen Ryzen above DDR4-2933 profile overclock. The Hynix CJR chips used on for instance the Crucial Ballistix Sport LT DDR4 3200 CL16 are much less difficult and can run faster.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: rubicoin

pappl

Caliper Novice
Oct 13, 2019
24
17
Please help.
Need to underclock/undervolt my Ryzen 3400G to get better thermals.
My BIOS ist 3.51 3.60

Already disabled Core Performance Boost.
Don't know what to enter in BIOS to max CPU and GPU frequency at 3400MHz.
 
Last edited:

Curiosity

Too busy figuring out if I can to think if I shoul
Platinum Supporter
Bronze Supporter
M...M...M...M...Multi-Tier...Subscriber...
Apr 30, 2016
708
827
Well now I'm very thankful my new 2x8 kit seems to be happy at 3200/16!

Got a 99.7% pass in the time spy extreme stress test today.



@pappl have you tried undervolting?



Edit: fixed autocorrect



Editedit

Just realized you're asking for help undervolting
 
Last edited:

ConsolidatedResults

Average Stuffer
May 4, 2019
66
72
Please help.
Need to underclock/undervolt my Ryzen 3400G to get better thermals.
My BIOS ist 3.51 3.60

Already disabled Core Performance Boost.
Don't know what to enter in BIOS to max CPU and GPU frequency at 3400MHz.

As far as I remember, the needed menu for CPU p-State undeclocking is present in BIOS P3.60? Please see https://smallformfactor.net/forum/t...skmini-a300-finally.10553/page-10#post-147902, quoted at the end of the post. GPU underclocking might work from BIOS somewhere and will definitely work with ryzenadj -w option https://github.com/FlyGoat/RyzenAdj

Today I found out P-State underclocking (and to a very limited extent overclocking) works on Deskmini A300, at least in BIOS P1.20

P-States (Performance States) are certain steps in frequency the OS or firmware can request a processor to run on. Lower P-State numbers are higher performance states. P-State 0 is the highest non-boost clock, e.g. for a 2200G 3.5GHz. Boost is a state on top of that, controlled by the processor, so not controllable by the OS (afaik...).

Here is what works:
  • If you disable core performance boost as I had outlined in a previous post, the highest state the processor can run at is non-boost P0. This state can be controlled in BIOS (Advanced -> AMD CBS -> Zen Common Options -> Custom Pstates / Trottling -> Accept). Leave DID and VID alone and increment / decrement FID until you get your desired MHz value. FID is in Hex and incrementing / decrementing by 1 will yield 25MHz change, as long as you left DID alone.
  • Any custom frequency up to the default processor boost clock will work fine. I.E. you can set your processor to run at a frequency lower than default base clock or higher than default base clock as long as frequency does not exceed the default boost clock. Probably due to A300 OC lockout.

What doesn't work:
  • Frequency higher than default boost clock. E.g. on my 2200G I can set P-State 0 to 3.7GHz (the default boost clock), while boost is disabled and the processor will clock to 3.7GHz under load. However, if I set P-State 0 to higher than 3.7GHz the processor will still only clock to 3.7GHz.
  • Undervolting does nothing. I set P-State 0 to 3.7GHz, voltage to 1.25V and stressed the CPU. The core voltage was exactly the same as running default P-State with stock boost (~1.36V)

What could this be used for:
  • Setting P-State 0 to higher than base clock makes little sense. Just use default and boost (unless you want to the processor to clock only to somewhere between base and boost clock, then disable boost and set P-State 0 to your desired clockspeed)
  • Underclocking shaves off massive amounts of voltage, power consumption and heat. At P-State 0 3.2GHz and boost disabled, my 2200G does not draw more than 20W CPU Core. It will take minutes under 100% CPU load for the processor to climb to more than 50°C under the stock cooler at 1000RPM. At stock clock with boost enabled it takes only seconds to jump to more than 60°C. You save much more power than you lose performance at full load, e.g. 15% less performance for 50% or more reduction in power draw @ 3.2GHz.

Now you could say one could use cTDP for similar effect, but that does not allow one to control power consumption of the different parts of the APU (CPU and iGPU) independently. If you underclock only the CPU, the iGPU is not limited at all and can draw as much as it needs, there would be no competition for thermal headroom.

Pic, stressing the CPU @ 3.2GHz:
 
  • Like
Reactions: pappl

fadsarmy

Caliper Novice
Oct 24, 2017
31
10
I contacted Asrock support and here's what they had to say about the whining noise in sleep mode:

Hello,

If the noise is extremely loud then please contact the seller for warranty/RMA.

Do you get this noise after shutting down the system, or only in standby/sleep? The power led should be off after shutting down the system. If the power led is flashing after shutting down then please put the system in sleep mode and wake it up again. Check to make sure the power led is on now. Then shut down the system and check to make sure the power led is off and not flashing.

Some mild noise in standby/sleep mode (when the power led is flashing) is normal with this system. A workaround for this is disconnecting the power led. Please see the attached images (for a different connector) to get some idea. Thanks.




Kind regards,

ASRock Support
 
  • Like
Reactions: Phuncz