The Smallest Ryzen Yet: Asrock DeskMini A300 Review

[Julio Franco]

The Asrock DeskMini A300 is a tiny PC that takes advantage of Ryzen processors. Almost every custom designed mini PC that we've seen to date has used Intel inside and while Intel CPUs are very good, they aren't the best choice for this kind of system. At least if you want to game or do any kind of 3D work, for that AMD's Ryzen APUs are unrivaled.

Read the full article here.

https://www.techspot.com/review/1816-asrock-deskmini-a300/

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Now THIS is what they should have been doing from the start with AMD! Tiny enclosures with APUs in them.

Also, Steve, you completely miss the point of these mini APU rigs with your whole "but but but IT CANT DISCRETE GPU!" spiel. The whole POINT of using an AMD APU is not needing a discrete card. If you were going to use a RX 560 or 570, you would want to pair it with a dedicated Ryzen or core i3/i5 CPU, not an APU, and in a case this small a dGPU was never an option. I'm not sure why you decided to latch yourself onto the fact that the APU that doesnt need a dGPU cant use a dGPU when solutions for such a setup ALREADY EXIST. This machine exists for people that want a rig smaller then what you can make with a dedicated GPU present.

It'd be like a car reviewer reviewing the ford fiesta, then closing the article with " Well its a good car, but it cant haul a car trailer, so I'm not sure it is as good as a F-150. Still, I guess, if you really want a tiny, non trailer capable vehicle, then I guess the fiesta is OK." It's completely irrelevant to the product at hand.

Why not compare the machine to things like NUCs that are actual competition, rather then micro ATX towers?

 

[loki1944]

"only those not in the know would buy the Core i3-8100 for $150 instead" -wrong, those who don't want to deal with AMD's sh*tfest drivers is a fantastic reason to avoid AMD's integrated GPUs. Case in point , I made the terrible mistake of buying a 2200G with a current B450 mobo. The iGPU never worked, display never showed, regardless of connector (HDMI/DVI/RGB). Slapped in a 780Ti and boom; display. Installed AMD drivers: no dice. Uninstalled AMD drivers and attempted to reinstsall: that awesome AMD only freaking error 99- can't install because of unsigned driver. Followed the useless AMD guide to disable signed drivers-same error. Said screw it, returned. I would rather pay a bit more to get a product guaranteed to work than one that is cheaper and never works as advertised.

 

[elementalSG]

Not entirely sure why this article focused on gaming on this actual device, but I can see how the DeskMini A300 could make a wonderful little media PC connected to the TV in the living room. Besides the usual video streaming services, Youtube and web surfing, it probably would be a great streaming PC either using today's Steam Link or tomorrow's gaming streaming services like Google Stadia, etc. Seems like it has plenty of power for those types of applications, relatively good-looks and a killer tiny footprint to boot.

 

[TadMSTR]

Not entirely sure why this article focused on gaming on this actual device, but I can see how the DeskMini A300 could make a wonderful little media PC connected to the TV in the living room. Besides the usual video streaming services, Youtube and web surfing, it probably would be a great streaming PC either using today's Steam Link or tomorrow's gaming streaming services like Google Stadia, etc. Seems like it has plenty of power for those types of applications, relatively good-looks and a killer tiny footprint to boot.

ETA Prime on YouTube has reviews on this covering retro gaming with emulators. Definitely makes a great HTPC that can handle light gaming as well. I wouldn't mind getting one but already have an old rig hooked up to my TV.

 

[Vulcanproject]

120w power supply does seem a bit tight to me. 2400G at stock is 110w peak system load, it's basically just enough and no more. Hopefully it would be enough if there is a potential upgrade in future. 150w would have convinced me more.

7nm Zen 2 should drop the power consumption significantly and allow more performance for future APUs, but the PSU is so tight even then I would question about any possible future upgrades.

Maybe in a year there is an APU model that is genuinely capable of mainstream gaming, 4-6 cores, 14+ CUs and faster memory support. That would be so cool in a tiny box like this. This setup might struggle to support it though.

 

[elementalSG]

ETA Prime on YouTube has reviews on this covering retro gaming with emulators. Definitely makes a great HTPC that can handle light gaming as well. I wouldn't mind getting one but already have an old rig hooked up to my TV.

Excellent, so then retro gaming with emulators, a Steam box to play older PC games (pre-2010) on the device and then Steam Link/Google Stadia to a more powerful rig for post-2010 games. A full HTPC for your gaming needs. I would say this little box would fit the bill very nicely if marketed for these purposes.

 

[DoryIII]

https://www.reddit.com/r/sffpc/comments/b3hu6u/ryzen_5_2400g_thinitx_gaming_build/

 

[Vrmithrax]

"only those not in the know would buy the Core i3-8100 for $150 instead" -wrong, those who don't want to deal with AMD's sh*tfest drivers is a fantastic reason to avoid AMD's integrated GPUs. Case in point , I made the terrible mistake of buying a 2200G with a current B450 mobo. The iGPU never worked, display never showed, regardless of connector (HDMI/DVI/RGB). Slapped in a 780Ti and boom; display. Installed AMD drivers: no dice. Uninstalled AMD drivers and attempted to reinstsall: that awesome AMD only freaking error 99- can't install because of unsigned driver. Followed the useless AMD guide to disable signed drivers-same error. Said screw it, returned. I would rather pay a bit more to get a product guaranteed to work than one that is cheaper and never works as advertised.

Interesting experience you had there. Personally, I've built multiple Ryzen systems (both standard CPU and APU styles) and never once had an issue with drivers of any kind, with one exception - the person I was helping build a system had gone with a weird brand name mobo, and everything we tried failed miserably with the iGPU. To the point of returning the APU for a new one, thinking it was at fault, still no dice. Got a new mobo, and it worked flawlessly. Moral of the story? Sometimes it's not AMD's fault when the support hardware sucks.

Ironically, I've had a similar experience in the past with an i5 on a motherboard that just would not allow the iGPU to work, ended up needing a new mobo to fix the problem. That was a fun time as well. Ugh.

 

[urbanman2004]

I prefer my desktops w/ dGPUs so no thanks

 

[pcnthuziast]

Calm down guys, it scores a 90 here. Enough said.

 

[gh0stwriter]

"only those not in the know would buy the Core i3-8100 for $150 instead" -wrong, those who don't want to deal with AMD's sh*tfest drivers is a fantastic reason to avoid AMD's integrated GPUs. Case in point , I made the terrible mistake of buying a 2200G with a current B450 mobo. The iGPU never worked, display never showed, regardless of connector (HDMI/DVI/RGB). Slapped in a 780Ti and boom; display. Installed AMD drivers: no dice. Uninstalled AMD drivers and attempted to reinstsall: that awesome AMD only freaking error 99- can't install because of unsigned driver. Followed the useless AMD guide to disable signed drivers-same error. Said screw it, returned. I would rather pay a bit more to get a product guaranteed to work than one that is cheaper and never works as advertised.

Sounds like you pulled a disk out of a different system and didn't do a fresh install... I've never had the problem you described with a fresh install. Nor have I had a problem with AMD graphics in that manner.

 

[Stiqy]

My new Unraid/PLEX/Steam link box.

 

[netman]

No VESA mounting holes to hide behind monitor!?

 

[TadMSTR]

No VESA mounting holes to hide behind monitor!?

There is a VESA mount available for it.

 

[Daniele 00]

"only those not in the know would buy the Core i3-8100 for $150 instead" -wrong, those who don't want to deal with AMD's sh*tfest drivers is a fantastic reason to avoid AMD's integrated GPUs. Case in point , I made the terrible mistake of buying a 2200G with a current B450 mobo. The iGPU never worked, display never showed, regardless of connector (HDMI/DVI/RGB). Slapped in a 780Ti and boom; display. Installed AMD drivers: no dice. Uninstalled AMD drivers and attempted to reinstsall: that awesome AMD only freaking error 99- can't install because of unsigned driver. Followed the useless AMD guide to disable signed drivers-same error. Said screw it, returned. I would rather pay a bit more to get a product guaranteed to work than one that is cheaper and never works as advertised.

upgrade to last driver

 

[Daniele 00]

Somebody should compare this desk-mini with Portable pc... I'm curious. expecially about prices\performance.

 

[amghwk]

Come-on...why do you want to play games like FarCry & Battlefield on a mini PC?

This is an ideal system as a media center PC or a common office related PC, not for current 3D intensive games.

Good for older games and emulators. Perfect as an emulation station.

By now, it should be a common knowledge that these systems are casual yet powerful enough for ordinary office work and light casual gaming, rather than bombarding with latest graphics hungry titles.

Statistics for the CPU mentioned here, along with it's APU performance are already available.

 

[Lew Zealand]

It has a modern quad core and a decent iGPU, which means it will excel as an office workstation or as a media center PC, same as any current i5 or i7 NUC. Even the current i3 and older Gen i5 and i7 NUCs with their Hyperthreaded dual core CPUs are more than up to those tasks. Because I've been using them that way for years using OS X and Win 10, since the Broadwell days. This is not what's of interest here.

The only thing of interest here *is* the 3D gaming. If you're a serious gamer, you build a machine or get a gaming laptop. But if you're a casual gamer or want something small and cheapish for young kids, then these PCs could fit the bill.

I used my Broadwell and Kaby Lake NUCs for light 3D gaming. My kids have used Broadwell, Skylake, and Kaby Lake NUCs for 3D gaming. They are capable because they have Iris Plus GT3e GPUs in them which compete with Vega 8 or so, not the low end GT2 UHD630 which are standard for all Intel's other CPUs.

The question is how much better do the 2200G and 2400G do than the Iris Plus 655, which they should as these parts are significantly higher wattage than the NUC chips (25-45W real world usage).

 

[Endarial]

This would be an ideal computer for my folks. Their system is 6 or 7 years old already and it's time for an upgrade. My mom hates the computer case and all the wires. She'd rather not see it at all.

With something like this, especially if it has a VESA mount, would be perfect. Hide it behind their monitor, with a wireless keyboard and mouse and my mom would be happy with the lack of cables and a Ryzen 5 2400G would be good enough to let my dad play a few games.

 

[petert]

Wonder if the amd cpu's are still shite with Android Studio, more particularly the emulator which required some particular intel characteristic to run

 

[hikingmike]

It has a modern quad core and a decent iGPU, which means it will excel as an office workstation or as a media center PC, same as any current i5 or i7 NUC. Even the current i3 and older Gen i5 and i7 NUCs with their Hyperthreaded dual core CPUs are more than up to those tasks. Because I've been using them that way for years using OS X and Win 10, since the Broadwell days. This is not what's of interest here.

The only thing of interest here *is* the 3D gaming. If you're a serious gamer, you build a machine or get a gaming laptop. But if you're a casual gamer or want something small and cheapish for young kids, then these PCs could fit the bill.

I used my Broadwell and Kaby Lake NUCs for light 3D gaming. My kids have used Broadwell, Skylake, and Kaby Lake NUCs for 3D gaming. They are capable because they have Iris Plus GT3e GPUs in them which compete with Vega 8 or so, not the low end GT2 UHD630 which are standard for all Intel's other CPUs.

The question is how much better do the 2200G and 2400G do than the Iris Plus 655, which they should as these parts are significantly higher wattage than the NUC chips (25-45W real world usage).

It sounds like you prefer Intel by default if the only thing of interest here is the superior gaming ability for a mini PC. Try comparing the cost of a system in this A300 vs a NUC! I've read a few other reviews, and this setup compares well to Intel mini PCs in general purpose tasks, media center use, and surprising to me was that the idle power usage was about the same. It just has much better graphics ability. And it costs significantly less.

 

[Lew Zealand]

It has a modern quad core and a decent iGPU, which means it will excel as an office workstation or as a media center PC, same as any current i5 or i7 NUC. Even the current i3 and older Gen i5 and i7 NUCs with their Hyperthreaded dual core CPUs are more than up to those tasks. Because I've been using them that way for years using OS X and Win 10, since the Broadwell days. This is not what's of interest here.

The only thing of interest here *is* the 3D gaming. If you're a serious gamer, you build a machine or get a gaming laptop. But if you're a casual gamer or want something small and cheapish for young kids, then these PCs could fit the bill.

I used my Broadwell and Kaby Lake NUCs for light 3D gaming. My kids have used Broadwell, Skylake, and Kaby Lake NUCs for 3D gaming. They are capable because they have Iris Plus GT3e GPUs in them which compete with Vega 8 or so, not the low end GT2 UHD630 which are standard for all Intel's other CPUs.

The question is how much better do the 2200G and 2400G do than the Iris Plus 655, which they should as these parts are significantly higher wattage than the NUC chips (25-45W real world usage).

It sounds like you prefer Intel by default if the only thing of interest here is the superior gaming ability for a mini PC. Try comparing the cost of a system in this A300 vs a NUC! I've read a few other reviews, and this setup compares well to Intel mini PCs in general purpose tasks, media center use, and surprising to me was that the idle power usage was about the same. It just has much better graphics ability. And it costs significantly less.

There's been a good reason to prefer Intel as a default: the A300 didn't exist until 2019. Intel's been making NUCs since 2012. It's hard to buy a Ryzen NUC form factor when the number of available models is zero.

By the way your statement is backwards. How could I prefer Intel if the "only thing of interest here is the superior gaming ability for a mini PC." Just above your statement, quoted in my very last sentence, I wonder how much better the 2200G and 2400G are than the Iris Plus 655?

Better. AMD IG better. Got it?