Component Analysis

As mentioned earlier, the PCH is cooled by a small heatsink, which is then thermally attached to the enormous lower M.2 heatsink that sits on top. If you remove and replace that heatsink a lot for whatever reason, it's probably a good idea to keep an eye on the PCH thermal pad in case it comes loose or dries out. The audio codec of choice is Realtek's ALC4082.


A pair of ASMedia ASM1061 SATA controllers feed the four SATA ports from underneath the PCB and also located on the rear is the 5 Gbps Ethernet controller, in this case Realtek's RTL8126.


As usual with the presence of Thunderbolt 4 - here with a pair of Type-C ports on the rear I/O panel, there's a pair of Intel JHL9040R Thunderbolt 4 retimers under the I/O shroud.


Next to the retimers is a Realtek RTS5453P USB Type-C controller, and we also spotted a Genesyslogic GL3523 USB 3.0 hub controller.


The Wi-Fi 7 module is Intel's BE200NGW, which can be accessed by removing the I/O shroud and heatsink, then detaching the rear I/O panel. The module uses standard connectors held in place with a plastic plate and also features a thermal pad that makes contact with the metal housing.