ASRock Announces Brand new Mars Series of Mini PCs

[AleksandarK]

The leading global motherboard & graphics card manufacturer, ASRock, a pleasure to launch brand new compact Mini PC - Mars Series. Supports up to Intel Core i5 Quad-Core processor, 32 GB DDR4-2666 MHz, PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD, 2.5-inch hard drive, and wireless connectivity; all implies into 0.7-liter chassis with 26 mm height.

ASRock Mars offers abundant USB devices connectivity, features a total of 7 USB ports, including one Type-C port; In addition, the native SD card reader and dual display outputs to provide more productive and convenience.


For more information please visit: asrock.com

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[fancucker]

Renoir or better yet Ice-Lake would make great parts for Asrock ultra-SFX units

 

[silentbogo]

That's pretty cool. AsRock has been making some cool industrial mini-PCs, now it's time to expand the consumer segment.
I totally missed their Jupiter series, which is a bad-ass alternative to overpriced Dell 3060MFF (and not capped at 35W).
In the past year or so they've made so many cool sff models, that they could give ECS run for their money (maybe trying to impress Intel for the next NUC manufacturing contract?).

 

[notb]

I totally missed their Jupiter series, which is a bad-ass alternative to overpriced Dell 3060MFF (and not capped at 35W).

It's not an alternative, since it's still a DIY solution. Otherwise AsRock's mini PCs are perfectly fine.

But is Dell really overpriced?
At the moment for $800 in US you get a 3070 Micro with 9500T ($200), 8GB RAM ($50), 256GB NVMe ($40) and W10 Pro ($130). Shipping included.
So the very nice case, mobo, wifi+bt, cooling, a bunch of accessories and a 3-year warranty (onsite service) combined cost $380. That's bad value? Warranty alone is easily worth over $100.

And can you actually buy these AsRocks in retail? Or is it only sold directly by AsRock? I can't find any info about the price.

 

[GeorgeMan]

So this one is compatible with... which cpu? Does it include cooling?
That's one lazy PR, even the link does not work and is a general one...

 

[ShurikN]

That's one lazy PR, even the link does not work and is a general one...

If it makes you feel any better, the link provided by tweaktown doesn't work at all

https://www.asrock.com/nettop/Intel/MarsSeries/index.asp

But, back to the topic.
A quad-core I5???
What exactly could that be... an 8th gen U part? A 7th gen desktop is highly unlikely.

 

[silentbogo]

But is Dell really overpriced?

Yes, it is. While Jupiter is still one of their industrial models (hard to find in retail), it's currently selling at $200-$220 as a barebone (mostly Asia and CIS).
This leaves enough room for a regular i5-9400 ($200, higher base/boost), 16GB DDR4 ($50-$60), 1TB NVME ($100-130), a leftover ~$200 for OS license of your choice(if you need one) and a keg of beer or two. The cheaper H310 is listed at ~$155, but that one is capped at 35W.

So this one is compatible with... which cpu? Does it include cooling?

It has a soldered laptop CPU. According to Liliputing - it's the ole Whiskey Lake U, which is a total bummer.

 

[voltage]

Renoir or better yet Ice-Lake would make great parts for Asrock ultra-SFX units

true

 

[notb]

Yes, it is. While Jupiter is still one of their industrial models (hard to find in retail), it's currently selling at $200-$220 as a barebone (mostly Asia and CIS).
This leaves enough room for a regular i5-9400 ($200, higher base/boost), 16GB DDR4 ($50-$60), 1TB NVME ($100-130), a leftover ~$200 for OS license of your choice(if you need one) and a keg of beer or two. The cheaper H310 is listed at ~$155, but that one is capped at 35W.

But you don't get the 3 year warraty/service and that can really be worth A LOT for a company.

But this is all quite theoretical. How many items can Asus supply? Are these computers available globally?
Even if Dell offers worse value and you're not interested in warrany, they're a global brand - easy to find and providing large volume if needed. As such, the can ask more or offer less. It's a bit like AMD vs Intel at the moment.

 

[GeorgeMan]

Yes, it is. While Jupiter is still one of their industrial models (hard to find in retail), it's currently selling at $200-$220 as a barebone (mostly Asia and CIS).
This leaves enough room for a regular i5-9400 ($200, higher base/boost), 16GB DDR4 ($50-$60), 1TB NVME ($100-130), a leftover ~$200 for OS license of your choice(if you need one) and a keg of beer or two. The cheaper H310 is listed at ~$155, but that one is capped at 35W.


It has a soldered laptop CPU. According to Liliputing - it's the ole Whiskey Lake U, which is a total bummer.

Ah thanks. I'd buy a NUC instead...

 

[bonehead123]

but..
but....
but......

It aint got no r.f'n.g.f'n.b... wtf ? hehehe .......

 

[silentbogo]

But you don't get the 3 year warraty/service and that can really be worth A LOT for a company.

If a company has an on-site IT staff, it's still better to have a component warranty, so you won't have to mail-in an entire system.
Most of my larger clients would rather get it working now, and wait for replacement later. That's why cheap barebones are better, at least in my experience.
PSU broke - make a trip to the nearest electronics retailer and get a spare 120W 5x2.5mm unit (e.g. ASUS laptop power brick).
Need CPU/RAM/SSD replaced - dig in a parts closet for spare ones, and then send a faulty one for replacement.
System broke down? Go to the nearest PC parts retailer and get a new barebone, while the old one is stewing on repair/refund fire-hoop run.
You can't do that with a $700-800 prebuilt, unless it's a huge company with the ability to have a few full system spares on-site.

Ah thanks. I'd buy a NUC instead...

Same crap. I'd wait a bit more for newer models, or maybe even make a move towards DeskMini A300. Most of the newer systems on store shelves should already come with P3.50 BIOS (3000-series APU support)

 

[ShurikN]

I second that A300 suggestion, you can put a capable APU in that thing, and if you want to, play some non-demanding games.

 

[Deleted member 158293]

Yeah, I'll wait for the next DeskMini also. I like attaching these to the VESA mounts on the back of monitors. The next gen APU would be quite nice.