sadly the fly in the ointment for something like this is that MXM cards are still really hard to find and sold at major markups vs standard desktop cards.
Great idea in the abstract, but unless part availability ever improves still only barely upgradable in the real world.
I couldn’t agree more. If ASRock could commit to end user upgradability with MXM’s for the next gen GPU’s, this would be attractive, but as it is, this is a mostly disposable gaming PC in 3 years when it will be 2 generations behind in the GPU world and no longer able to run the then-current games at decent quality. A tough sell for a $1300 PC, even tougher when you consider a laptop (which naturally includes a screen) sells for the same price at the same spec as this machine...
New to this aspect of HTPC. The protected AV path for UltraHD playback - it's striking me as rare. Is there currently a particularly limited availability of capable PC hardware? or is it up to some manufacturer, such as GPU maker, to just implement and they don't?
Too expensive anyway. There are many cheaper ways to build an SFF machine without paying a premium. Get a Louqe Ghost or Dan Case A4 off of ebay and buy the cpu + MoBo bundle off of micro center for $30 off. Get a Sf600 sfx psu and you're all set for 70% the price with much better looking cases.
It’s true, you could totally build a similar spec PC with an upgradable 10.5” PCIe GPU for a bit less, albeit adding some volume. It would still be less than a cu ft...so really negligible when you consider the PSU (SFX) would be integrated...
One can almost always save a substantial amount of money by building their own PC. These are targeted at those that don't want the hassle of planning, sourcing, and assembling on their own (or don't know how -- which is the majority of the population) and then troubleshooting any build problems.
The problem with MXM cards is that every one of them is a custom design made for a specific PCB. I wanted to switch my ATI radeon HD 5850 mobile with a 1050 GTX mobile on MXM format. The TDP was the same and I was expecting this to be a fairly easy swap. Until I made some further research on the matter, I understood it was quite the opposite, if not impossible to do so. The only thing I had to change on my laptop was the GPU, however you cannot do it with laptops.
So, for me, MXM cards, is something I don`t really back. Unless the industry is making it a standard and work toward a possible upgrade path for users, I don`t see this becoming relevant.
Sure the form factor is great, but everything else is horrible.
I haven't heard of your problem before. I thought MXM connector was standardized. But I do know that many laptop brands have whitelisted only some GPUs. Some Clevo units are unlocked other versions or manufacturers need custom modded BIOSes. That, along with the increased cost is a turn off for me. Better to get a 22cm 1080TI, which costs as much as 1070 MXM and has all the warranties and guarantees you need.
Yay! More SFF! Personally its a bit too S for me but we need more of this. If I never saw another ATX review again it would be too soon. Unless we wish to additionally house our cat only specific edge cases actually needs ATX these days.
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DanNeely - Tuesday, June 12, 2018 - link
sadly the fly in the ointment for something like this is that MXM cards are still really hard to find and sold at major markups vs standard desktop cards.Great idea in the abstract, but unless part availability ever improves still only barely upgradable in the real world.
Samus - Thursday, June 14, 2018 - link
I couldn’t agree more. If ASRock could commit to end user upgradability with MXM’s for the next gen GPU’s, this would be attractive, but as it is, this is a mostly disposable gaming PC in 3 years when it will be 2 generations behind in the GPU world and no longer able to run the then-current games at decent quality. A tough sell for a $1300 PC, even tougher when you consider a laptop (which naturally includes a screen) sells for the same price at the same spec as this machine...milkod2001 - Monday, June 18, 2018 - link
Good point with laptop at the same price.stuffwhy - Tuesday, June 12, 2018 - link
New to this aspect of HTPC. The protected AV path for UltraHD playback - it's striking me as rare. Is there currently a particularly limited availability of capable PC hardware? or is it up to some manufacturer, such as GPU maker, to just implement and they don't?ganeshts - Tuesday, June 12, 2018 - link
You can find additional details about the 'Advanced Protected Audio/Video Path' here: https://www.anandtech.com/show/12171/a-budget-home...milkywayer - Tuesday, June 12, 2018 - link
Too expensive anyway. There are many cheaper ways to build an SFF machine without paying a premium. Get a Louqe Ghost or Dan Case A4 off of ebay and buy the cpu + MoBo bundle off of micro center for $30 off. Get a Sf600 sfx psu and you're all set for 70% the price with much better looking cases.Samus - Thursday, June 14, 2018 - link
It’s true, you could totally build a similar spec PC with an upgradable 10.5” PCIe GPU for a bit less, albeit adding some volume. It would still be less than a cu ft...so really negligible when you consider the PSU (SFX) would be integrated...linkman10 - Friday, June 15, 2018 - link
One can almost always save a substantial amount of money by building their own PC. These are targeted at those that don't want the hassle of planning, sourcing, and assembling on their own (or don't know how -- which is the majority of the population) and then troubleshooting any build problems.cosmotic - Tuesday, June 12, 2018 - link
Where are the Zotac EN970, EN1070K and EN1060K?eva02langley - Tuesday, June 12, 2018 - link
The problem with MXM cards is that every one of them is a custom design made for a specific PCB. I wanted to switch my ATI radeon HD 5850 mobile with a 1050 GTX mobile on MXM format. The TDP was the same and I was expecting this to be a fairly easy swap. Until I made some further research on the matter, I understood it was quite the opposite, if not impossible to do so. The only thing I had to change on my laptop was the GPU, however you cannot do it with laptops.So, for me, MXM cards, is something I don`t really back. Unless the industry is making it a standard and work toward a possible upgrade path for users, I don`t see this becoming relevant.
Sure the form factor is great, but everything else is horrible.
Death666Angel - Wednesday, June 13, 2018 - link
I haven't heard of your problem before. I thought MXM connector was standardized. But I do know that many laptop brands have whitelisted only some GPUs. Some Clevo units are unlocked other versions or manufacturers need custom modded BIOSes. That, along with the increased cost is a turn off for me. Better to get a 22cm 1080TI, which costs as much as 1070 MXM and has all the warranties and guarantees you need.iranterres - Tuesday, June 12, 2018 - link
Is it a PC or a power supply? LOLjtd871 - Tuesday, June 12, 2018 - link
It's already been done. A link to the relevant project is https://smallformfactor_DOT_net/forum/posts/40583/Sorry for the DOT, apparently the comment system thinks my hyper link is spam.
Ratman6161 - Tuesday, June 12, 2018 - link
Wow. I guess small costs!Pork@III - Tuesday, June 12, 2018 - link
In gallery: many thumbnails with no connection to big images!ganeshts - Tuesday, June 12, 2018 - link
We have been facing some issues with the images server. It will be resolved soon.fackamato - Tuesday, June 12, 2018 - link
Are there noise comparisons (idle/video/full load)?MadAd - Wednesday, June 13, 2018 - link
Yay! More SFF! Personally its a bit too S for me but we need more of this. If I never saw another ATX review again it would be too soon. Unless we wish to additionally house our cat only specific edge cases actually needs ATX these days.strayan - Wednesday, June 13, 2018 - link
Is this system DisplayPort++ compatible for the diminishing number of us who still use passive displayport to vga cables to connect to CRT monitors?venkateshch9505 - Wednesday, July 11, 2018 - link
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