The Smallest DIY Gaming Mini PC Has Arrived - ASRock DeskMini X600 Review

In this video we check out the ASRock Deskmini X600 paired with the AMD Ryzen 8700G processor with the world's fastest integrated graphics. This DIY mini PC allows you to choose your own memory, storage and CPU cooler to create your very own mini PC at just 1.92L in volume.
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00:00 - DIY Mini
01:20 - Specs & Features
06:20 - Building It
07:45 - Benchmarks
09:56 - Games & Emulators
12:19 - Video Editing
12:37 - BIOS, Power, Temps & Noise
14:35 - Conclusion

[@megazoid]

Great review. Asrock should design a proper 7940 or 8945 based mini PC. The emergent mini PC market needs more big players to spice things up.

[@Robtech]

ASRock Industrial does, but not available in Australia.

[@trevyn1016]

Available to preorder now for $190 with a $10 MiR if you're into that.

[@GeordiLaForgery]

A vga port how wonderful, will go perfect next to my fax machine and palm treo 650.

[@TrusteftTech]

Hey, don't make fun of it! My laptop from 2001 has a VGA port and you are not going to call it old.

[@blast_processing6577]

Presumably they're hoping to attract some of the CRT gaming crowd.

[@GeordiLaForgery]

@@TrusteftTech 2001 hehe! Must be built like a tank from that era.

[@GeordiLaForgery]

@@blast_processing6577 Maybe but I think CRT gamers prefer full towers with 2 floppy drives, a zip drive, dvdrom etc.

[@blast_processing6577]

@@GeordiLaForgery : Some CRT TVs in the late 90s / early 2000s had an optional VGA input, which would pair well with this PC and Batocera or Steam OS, setup to run retro games up to the PS3 / Xbox 360 or so.

[@jasonkong5658]

I got a DeskMini X300 after watching your video back a few years ago, and in some ways disappointed that they didn't change much with the connectivity. Could have used one USB4 port on this one; I ended up putting an NVME M.2 to Oculink adapter and running an oculink cable outside of the box to connect a graphics card just for fun

[@TCPUDPATM]

Great review. Love the T-shirt!

[@J0ermungand]

AWESOME. I actually used the very first Asrock STX mainboard to build an i5 6600 and a GTX 1050 Ti into an old ATX PSU case. Can't wait to do that with a modern Ryzen CPU and an RTX 4060.

[@ABRelaxingSounds]

Great review on this X600!. I just got mine in to build for a living room PC and i will tell you that it did come with a WIFI kit so maybe they listened to the reviews lol. Getting ready to build in it cant wait!

[@dinosaurd7295]

Great review as always. As a follow up I would love to see how performance scales with faster RAM. IGPU performance should increase greatly.There are 6400 RAM modules available. Wonder if they could be pushed to 7000 ?

[@bdp2868]

not sure if i will buy the X600 as my X300 + 4600G works just amazingly well, but that tiny power supply just got into my brain... I WANT IT.

[@jamesnames2893]

Did you enable above 4g encoding in BIOS before benchmarking? Cheers.

[@zuardinsopyanto9949]

Finally!! Thanks 😘

[@tanush841]

Great Review. It would be interesting if you could make a video on Asrock Deskmeet x600. Is it possible to stuff new Zotac rtx 4070 super twin Edge in the Deskmeet with AMD ryzen 7700 processor ? It would be quite a build if possible.

[@TheCeleryGod]

You've got another 10mm of clearance for a CPU cooler, so it may have slightly higher numbers with a bulkier cooler. The l9a in AM5 isn't quite as good as the AM4 mounting. This build is pretty neat for the price. Great review!

[@LiLBitsDK]

there is 0mm with the cooler he used...

[@TheCeleryGod]

Hmm. The x300 said 46mm CPU cooler clearance. I was thinking this would be around the same.

[@LiLBitsDK]

@@TheCeleryGod he showed the clip of the cooler he used last time that just barely slides in... the normal AMD cooler that comes with some of the models.

[@palarith8378]

There was like only stock 9 x300 availiable in Australia, expect to be the same with the x600 if we even get it

[@Robtech]

ASRock distribution down under isn't great...

[@xerox445]

Any chance you can plug a 12v power supply into this and see if it will boot/function?

[@roythunderplump]

Hope the Asrock X600 team listen to your things to improve.

[@harduino]

I came to check one video and got trapped in a loop watching one by one 😂 Did you see the topton D11 (8845hs)with oculink port? I am tempted to buy it but I dont know how is the internal organization

[@maxk.6008]

I had the AMD 8600g with the NH-L9a-AM5 cooler. The CPU became too hot under full load. According to Noctua's compatibility list, neither the NH-L9a-AM4 nor the NH-L9a-AM5 (I know, they are basically the same) can cool the 8600g or the 8700g. "Cooler cannot handle base clock"

[@GeordiLaForgery]

Yeah l9a supports 61w tdp, the 8600g has 65w tdp. If you configure the cpu to run at 45w tdp in the bios should be ok?

[@dlewis9760]

@@GeordiLaForgery Kind of defeats the point of 8600G.

[@MrBlueDabadi]

If you cut the mesh of the case above the cpu away you can fit normal sized cpu coolers. And a cooler like the Wraith Prism also looks acceptable protruding from the case. i.imgur.com/JbWOfgi.png

[@LiLBitsDK]

I used the "intel version" for a 12100... overheated... and it doesn't use much power and tops out at like 58W if you really push it but generally it's like 20-30W

[@Skobeloff...]

Good to see a larger mini with better cooling. The port specs could be better, and it should have 2 usb-c ports. Gen 4 m.2s, instead of the gen 5 and 2x 2.5" drives would also be good. Hopefully more manufacturers get into larger minis.

[@dim3nt0]

it does fit 2*2.5" ssds

[@Skobeloff...]

@@dim3nt0 "instead of". I don't want 2.5" drives, they cost basically the same as m.2 drives, but run slower.

[@Teisju]

Back in the day when the A300 was released there was not a lot a competition in the mini pc market as I remember it. Now with the X600 there is far more competition and imo better options from the minis reviewed on this channel. I still have the A300 and an X300 but have migrated to other minis especially since both the A300 and X300 makes an annoying high pitch noise (coil whine) when powered off and have to unplug it every time, does the X600 have the same issue?

[@stevenknight95]

me too have the coil whine problem in my A300 but i just get used to it.

[@Robtech]

This one doesn't, no. I suspect it was that previous power brick or something has changed on the board to get rid of it.

[@neilquinn]

Given how much these mini PCs are starting to struggle with more heat and faster cpus (780m)/etc I'm thinking slightly bigger mini PC's with bigger 120mm fans will be a better option moving forward. Maybe not as big as mini-itx but a little bigger is fine. Not sure why so many mini PC's use laptop cooling components when they have vertical space for better cooling.

[@harryniedecken5321]

Usually the vga ports are present when the box is intended to be used as a small server, or for running a marketing display in the field. VGA is just there to always have access for IT use, debugging, etc. Chips with built-in graphics are extremely sensitive to the ram details. Really have to use premium grade ram with an apu.

[@Robtech]

Same memory from the X600 in the Geekom A7 has the same results. The X600 shouldn't be worse either way.

[@harryniedecken5321]

@@Robtech Thanks for the efforts and video, really appreciated. It would be interesting to see what happens with max quality ram. AMD sales team talked about using ram that was even higher than their data sheet for good results.

[@brads2041]

Tempting to buy and satisfy my old pc building itch but I also don't need that much computing power any more. I'm happy with a 5560u mini under 500 CAD

[@YouTubeGlobalAdminstrator]

There is a white model that is supposedly arriving as well.

[@emmanuelrodriguez1043]

Thanks for the video! A lot of work and $ put into it. It really needs more USB PORTS, and 180W power supply standard, and I would buy this at $200 USD if it came standard with WIFI 🛜 6E/ Bluetooth Included.

[@zupzop9237]

Thanks for yet another great review. That 8700G is a totall bummer tbh. While the 5600G and 5700G clearly added something to the table, there is no sensible reason to choose the 8700G over any of its laptop siblings. Such a shame. PS. hope you can get your hands on one of the new GEM10 or GEM 12 AOOSTAR offerings

[@pedgarage]

Very few reasons to prefer this over a 5L miniitx case where you can put your motherboard, flex PSU and low profile gpu of choice and have WAY better perfomance and I/O (for an higher price, ok)

[@EffectualPoet]

Flex PSU are noisy AF.

[@SuperStareGry]

I am kinda disapointed especially when 8700g costs so much.

[@endryldz]

What's the max memory voltage it supports?

[@tttomtxhc]

I would add an nvme oculink card and go with a 7000 series with less powerful graphics if there was an easy way to mod the case and add the oculink port to make it look OEM

[@DiyOddJobLabourer]

noticed there is a battery for time keeping? can the X600 go into sleep mode? I am guessing the vga serves some purpose for old school system for displaying advertisement. beyond that it is either itx, deskmeet x600?

[@LiLBitsDK]

bios battery all computers have that...

[@stevenknight95]

the battery is CMOS bios, i think asrock just doenst want to spend more time or money to change the design, VGA should considered dead by modern standard.

[@EffectualPoet]

Only God knows if it can sleep this time.

[@nadtz]

@@stevenknight95 VGA still gets used places where machines like this get used industrially so on the one hand I get why it's there but on the other it is kind of odd for a consumer device.

[@stevenknight95]

​@@nadtzyeah i agree with you, many manufacturing machines in the factory are still using vga too, but for personal computers vga should not exist.

[@dave_r]

Interesting review, and I'm glad you let it go longer than your usual reviews, as I wanted as much info as I could get, as I've been considering this unit. It came with some negatives: no one really seems to put much effort into these small DIY-ish barebones, and things like leaving a VGA port while providing so few USB ports (and slow ones to boot) seem out of touch, as though they just couldn't be bothered to update the design more effectively, which may just indicate that they don't expect the sales volume to justify the effort. On the huge upside for those who like the idea of minis but are willing to go a bit larger for more storage choices are the two nvme slots(I though I agree that it needed have been gen5 nvme) and the two SATA slots. However, were I to get this, unless something changes, I'd go with a lesser chip.

[@muhammadikhwannurrosyidin8371]

It would be great if AMD Strix Halo (iGP up to 40CU) had a Desktop Variant (Ryzen G) and you could get RTX 4060/4070 performance in the Asrock Deskmini

[@ashneel]

Do you sell your builds?

[@N3tigen]

I want Intel core 3 100u inside micro pc like gmktec5 Instead of n100 😮

[@emlyndewar]

Still have the A300 with a 2400G. Great mini-PCs.

[@emlyndewar]

Surprised just how disappointing the 8700G was. I thought it would be clear in the lead for everything!

[@LiLBitsDK]

those made sense... these new ones don't

I still have my A300 running a 4650G and I will keep it.

[@emlyndewar]

I've got the BIOS to put in a newer APU, but wasn't sure if I'd bother. It runs so well as it is.

[@emlyndewar]

What do you use it for?

[@mhh3]

memory timings maybe?

[@kcndjdnsk]

i wonder if egpu setup works on x600

[@Robtech]

With an M.2 it should. You'd have to keep the board out of the case.

[@Venoct.-sp6mh]

Can it run minecradt at 100 fps stedy

[@user-qn1zj5bs5p]

when is the deskmeet x600 ?

[@EffectualPoet]

Desk meet sucks.

[@blacksun472]

Please try to set UMA frame buffer to 4GB to see if it can improve the gaming performance.

[@Robtech]

It was on 8GB

[@blacksun472]

@@Robtech try 4GB for better performance.

[@hydraxxorion538]

Nope, the BIOS "1.43" is the problem, he has STAPM bug, you can fix it for correct 8700G iGPU perf with the "2.01" BIOS version or more recent BIOS(3.02 or 4.03) released last days.

[@DJgregBrown]

8700G less l2 cache and less cores. They focused so much on the GPU side of the APU they forgot the basic's of a gaming CPU Vram, hope they do a 8700GX£D or something like that.

[@MrBlueDabadi]

The potential for more performance is there, its probably just harder to get all out of that CPU with the Deskmini and medicore SODIMM RAM which is limited to just 1,1V VDD, i guess if he would have some Hynix based RAM with a unlocked PMIC he could set VDDIO/VDD/VDDQ in the bios and clock the memory much higher. For example the 8700g in my normal desktop pc with overclocked memory and unlocked power limit gets over 4600 graphics score in 3dmark Timespy compared to the 2805 from the video.

[@stevenknight95]

They wont, all these desktop APUs are from the defective units of the high-end CPU s wafers.

[@Robtech]

The GEEKOM A7 performs the same as in the video with the Samsung memory used in the X600 and at 5600, not 6000. Same memory bandwidth between them should at least equal similar results.

[@nadtz]

This is such a weird little machine. Takes some things from the Asrock Rack side of things and others that make it seem like this was meant for gamers. For the price not a bad option if you want something with better cooling than a lot of mini's though, even with it's quirks it's a nice upgrade from the x300.

[@tendosingh5682]

How can a 7940hs beat a 8700g? Isn't it cooling and TDP restrained?

[@ahilker1]

Yes, but even so, the 7840hs/7940hs + 780m combo is fairly potent. Also, the performance settings are pretty low on this one. Most 7940hs/7840hs come running at 5600 memory out of the box. Combine that with not enough power supply to reach full potential, and it is what it is..

[@EffectualPoet]

reasons

[@hydraxxorion538]

Yes, it's STAPM Bug, the bios "1.43" here is too old and buggy, last bios fix that

[@jandkwhite6459]

HDMI 2.1?? No mini PCs have it for some reason I wondered if this does

[@Robtech]

Nah, this is budget tier.

[@jandkwhite6459]

@@Robtech I have yet to find one even at $800 that has HDMI 2.1 or 4k 120hz. Sucks because that on my 75in tv for an HTPC through the NAS would be so nice. Guess im just building something as small as possible🤷🏻‍♂️

[@Quast]

The HDMI and DP are directly PCIe connected to the CPU as far as I know. So if you use an 8xxxG CPU you'll get your HDMI 2.1.

[@jandkwhite6459]

@@Quast I checked. Even they are HDMI 2.0

[@jandkwhite6459]

@@Quast found one for $900 and still HDMI 2.1. What a joke. For that much dough I will just build in a Fractal Terra and have what I need

[@ilovelimpfries]

Why do all reviewers keep insisting calling the x600 a chipset. This computer doesn't have a chipset, everything is controlled by the cpu. It's a PCH-less board.

[@Justfun-nk3vj]

Exactly, and the reason for the lack of USB connections is because you do NOT use a chipset on these Deskminis, all connections are made directly to the CPU.

[@MarkOffski]

Aww man, disappointing performance with the 8700g, (i suspect its a lack of power from the 120w brick for that 8 core chip), i still have my deskmini with a 3400g and its still great for my needs, (not gaming), nice to see the x600, but think i'll pass on it, i built a gaming pc so no need for it really as my deskmini still rocks, i'd utilise the 8700g in something else as your not getting full value from it in that x600 build in my opinion.

[@kleefan8]

Agreed, why would they only provide 120w power supply? Is there a similar product out there? It's really what I want, I'm trying to avoid getting a 8945 based mini due to heating issues...

[@theopendoor3716]

Needs a bigger power supply to keep up with the other systems.

[@blacksun472]

There is a 2.01 BIOS update and firmware update to improve CPU performance and reduce fan noise.

[@Robtech]

Yep, I passed on my feedback to an engineer with this review and I've been asked to do a second video about the changes. It's coming soon.

[@MorganEdgy]

So you're telling me that the X3D which is like the most efficient CPU to date is incompatible with this? goddamnit

[@FrancisFjordCupola]

Most efficient? From what I've seen it can help a GPU push out the most frames for the least power. So efficient in that regard. But even at idle all that cache does have it's power draw. Still, wish AMD would push out some APU with just cheap and good enough cores, big IGP and some X3D cache to offset the lack of GDDR memory.

[@MorganEdgy]

@@FrancisFjordCupola yeah That's precisely what I was talking about.

[@stargeezer8427]

I like ASRock, almost don't build with anyone else these days (they're the only one I "trust" anymore), and I was excited to hear about the X600. However this is a big miss in my opinion..... - Extremely limited part choices (only CPU & RAM, only SoDIMMs or AM5). - The case is big enough to have a PCIe slot with dual slot spaces (expansion means WAY more versatility). - Four drives is nice, but why gen5 if it costs everything else (no PCIe slot, crap USB, one LAN port). - As is it's "almost" a mini PC that you "build" yourself, but even top-spec'd at higher cost, the market has plenty of actual mini PCs with better performance and many for less money. Try again ASRock, you're better than this.

[@EffectualPoet]

ASRock is bottom of the barrel. That's why they cost the least.

[@raulrodriguez1665]

hace mucho sol ahi

[@Gu1tarJohn]

Dollaridoos for the win

[@theopendoor3716]

Smaller PSU is NOT a "Pro" it's a definite "Con." If the PSU was bigger, say 150 or even 180 Watts, then the following testing would have allowed the G8700 to pull ahead.

[@Robtech]

Same wattage as the X300, but more compact.

[@theopendoor3716]

@@Robtech Oh interesting. Well put an Oscilloscope on the main bus, 12V. See if it gets dirty when you load the system down with a stress or render test.

[@TrusteftTech]

I would love to see a similar PC in size, with laptop MXM module for the GPU, user replaceable of course. This one looks fine, but...5GB/s USB-C... *facepalm* Having it a full 40GB/s speed would make the only 2USB 3 type A ports in the back as "fine", but.... *facepalm*. The performance....*double facepalm*. I hope it is a software issue and they fix it. Unless it is a matter of not good enough power supply... *tripe facepalm*

[@paradoxmo]

Seems to be geared toward desktop replacement/workstation uses that require more and/or flexible storage options. Most minis assume you don’t need much internal storage and will supplement with external storage, so the USB speed clearly goes toward that. But no Thunderbolt option in a modern “desktop replacement” mini is a bit myopic considering for a similar amount all told, other higher end pre-built minis and stuff like the Mac mini come with Thunderbolt standard.

[@TrusteftTech]

@@paradoxmo The performance makes it NOT worth more than a regular mini. This PC has issues they need to fix before it is a desktop replacement for anyone. EDIT: typo making it sound the opposite.

[@EffectualPoet]

The performance is due first to the motherboard power limit and second to the power adapter wattage. Do not use more than 8600g in X600.

[@TrusteftTech]

@@EffectualPoet So more than a couple of facepalms. Shame. Thanks.

[@Robtech]

Yes, this is what I believe as well. Memory bandwidth is not the issue. Performance at 5600 should be similar between the two minis tested.

[@justinbailey6515]

Shame you can't actually buy a x600 anywhere

[@user-hu2iw5qu3i]

The G series are too leaky to be sold as laptop CPUs, hence the heat and lower performance. They are pushed too far up the power curve. On my 4750G x300 I've limited the CPU power to 15W with little CPU performance hit. However, the integrated graphics are not affected by this and can use up to 66W (when it's not wasted by the CPU) and only then show what it can do. And, it's quieter too. I've transplanted a Thermalright x47 - 90 (some chopping of the VRM heatsink was needed) and I'm still happy with it.

[@abdulaziz-lb6ru]

how to limit the cpu power at 15 watt on x300?

[@user-hu2iw5qu3i]

@@abdulaziz-lb6ru In Bios. There are options for 65W, 45W, 25W... STAPM has to be at maximum, and also SmartShift has to be set to ON. In my testing while gaming the CPU was @ 8~12W, while the GPU was @ 65W. This way there's more power budget to get the GPU to 2250MHz overclock and have no problem.

[@DJgregBrown]

why the cooler when all apu's come with a stock cooler and you not going to put a 7000 cpu in it. Anything more the 8500G is a waste in this case. also if you in to the £300+£150($450 total), get a mini nuc type PC with Ryzen 7000/8000 mobile f04 £500 ish with ram and storage etc. or barebone Minusforum or other Trigkey are good but tech is a little behind belink etc but quality of build I brought a pricy G5 mini PC £250 for a N100 with 500gb Nvme and 16gb ram. England is a bit of a fucker as US brands are costly over EU and China direct shipped brands like Trigkey and Beelink

[@EffectualPoet]

The nice thing is the cooler and fan are user replaceable. Beelink, etc, have those stupid noisy coolers that crap out on you and then you have a worthless mini PC.

[@Robtech]

The 8700G comes with the Wraith cooler. It doesn't fit. With the Wraith Stealth you need to rip off the plastic shroud off which isn't easy.

[@jacekjagosz]

I think you could've gotten better overclocks with SK-Hynix memory, Samsung chips seem to clock much lower. But still really weird the performance is so much lower than other mini PCs

[@Nick-ue7iw]

We have a funny definition of "DIY". Is dell DIY now, since you can swap memory and a CPU in an optiplex desktop? This is an OEM product, not DIY.

[@Robtech]

Optiplex comes with ready to use with a CPU, RAM, cooler, memory, storage and OS and is not made for customisation. Not even remotely the same.

[@wikwayer]

Yaks can't hit 60 fps in GTA 5 with that price 💩

[@snuuuuupy]

no usb4? DOA

[@radieroslaw]

Deskmini B760 has so much better connectivity.

[@tendosingh5682]

Must wait...STRIX POINT

[@atheroswiki]

noctau small tower cooler too expensive,,,,,amd stock fan too laoud

[@markwilliamson9199]

Clearly more to replace old school towers with lots of drives

[@tendosingh5682]

Would rather trust ASROCK with my mini pc that all those random chinese brands. But 8700G is so over priced. Maybe if BF deals decent I will be tempted.

[@heirtothethrone000]

It's crazy how people have such great expectations for PCs like this knowing it will have a lot of limitations then complain about it.😂😂😂😂

[@Robtech]

Great expectations? It's a reviewer's job to point out flaws in a product so they get fixed. You're welcome. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fKaqhHZ4gbGnqLM

[@EffectualPoet]

1. Arrived years late and still not for sale in USA. 2. Terrible heatsinks on motherboard. 3. VGA. Gross. 4. Could have included more USB ports so you don't have to install the extension cable. 5. Asrock warranty is essentially non-existent. 6. Getting more than the 8600g does not make sense due to the power limit of the board. 7. DDR5 and the 8000 APUs cost way too much. 8. The same tiny, low quality screws on the back as before.

[@SR-fh6ef]

For more smallest is jupiter x600

[@WhoCaresGamingIsDead]

THERE IS NO CHIPSET!! ITH CALLED X300/ X600 CUZ 5000 AM4 & 7000/8000G AM5 HAVE THE I/O DIE WITH PCI-E USB / AUDIO & SATA +M.2 .. DUH .. X300/X600 IS I/o IN CPU AKA THE I/O DIE ON 7000 & I/O IN 8000g 8WHICH IS HEAVILY REDUCED TO ONLY :(

[@sakinano99]

if you're confused by the VGA port, you don't really understand the target audience of this product

[@TheTastefulThickness]

Just what i want in 2024...non-heatsinked RAM. That screams quality.