ASRock Reveals Mars UCFF PCs: 0.74-Liters With Intel Core Inside
by Anton Shilov on November 27, 2019 6:00 PM EST
ASRock has introduced its new Mars series of ultra-compact form-factor (UCFF) barebones PCs. The Intel Core-based PCs come in a 0.74-liter chassis and can house up to 32 GB of memory as well as two storage devices. Like other UCFF PCs, ASRock is positioning Mars for use both as a traditional office PC, as well as applications like digital signage.
ASRock’s Mars PCs are based on Intel’s 8th Generation quad-core Core i5 or dual-core Core i3/Celeron processors. They are accompanied by up to 32 GB of DDR4 memory (using two SO-DIMMs), an M.2-2280 SSD (featuring a PCIe 2.0/3.0 x4 or SATA interface), and a 2.5-inch storage device. The CPU is cooled using a proprietary active cooling system that ASRock says is designed to allow the laptop-grade chip to turbo as frequently as possible.
Featuring lavish connectivity, ASRock’s Mars systems come with a GbE adapter, one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C connector, four USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A and two USB 2.0 ports, an SD card reader, two display outputs (HDMI 1.4 supporting a 4Kp30 resolution, D-Sub), and two audio jacks. Furthermore, the machines can be equipped with an M.2-2230 Wi-Fi + Bluetooth module.
| ASRock's Mars Barebones UCFF PCs | |||
| Model | Mars-i5-8265U Mars-i3-8145U |
Mars-C4205U | |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-8265U (4C/8T, Turbo 3.9 GHz) Intel Core i3-8145U (2C/4T, Turbo 3.9 GHz) |
Intel Celeron C4205U (2C/2T, 1.8 GHz) |
|
| GPU | UHD Graphics 620 | UHD Graphics 610 | |
| DRAM | Two DDR4 SO-DIMM slots Up to 32 GB of DDR4-2400 in dual-channel mode |
||
| Motherboard | proprietary | ||
| Storage | SSD | M.2-2280 (PCIe 3.0 x4 or SATA) | M.2-2280 (PCIe 2.0 x4 or SATA) |
| DFF | 1 × 2.5-inch/9.5-mm SATA 6 Gbps | ||
| SD | Card Reader | ||
| Wireless | Optional M.2-2230 802.11ac Wi-Fi + Bluetooth module | ||
| Ethernet | 1 × GbE port | ||
| USB | Front | 2 × USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A 1 × USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C 2 × USB 2.0 Type-A |
|
| Back | 2 × USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A | ||
| Display Outputs | 1 × HDMI 1.4 (4Kp30) 1 × D-Sub |
||
| Audio | 2 × 3.5mm audio jacks | ||
| PSU | External 65 W | ||
| Warranty | Typical, varies by country | ||
| Dimensions | Length: 150 mm Width: 26 mm Height: 191 mm |
||
| MSRP | ? | ? | |
While ASRock’s Mars offers decent performance for office applications and media streaming/playback, its lack of a 4Kp60 output clearly makes it less competitive among demanding users with modern displays. On the other hand, presence of a D-Sub makes Mars compatible with legacy monitors.
Expect ASRock’s Mars UCFF PCs to hit the market in the near future. Pricing of actual systems will depend on their configurations.
Related Reading:
- ASRock’s 4X4 Box-R1000: A Ryzen-Based 0.87-Liter SFF PC
- ASRock's Super Tiny DeskMini GTX Z390: Up to 9900K with MXM GPU
- Intel Confirms Comet Lake-Based NUC 10 ‘Frost Canyon’ UCFF PCs
- Intel’s Islay Canyon Mini NUCs Available: Whiskey Lake, Radeon 540X, 8GB LPDDR3
- Intel's Bean Canyon (NUC8i7BEH) Coffee Lake NUC Review - Ticking the Right Boxes
Source: ASRock
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
26 Comments
View All Comments
yeeeeman - Thursday, November 28, 2019 - link
Ice lake is more expensive.azfacea - Wednesday, November 27, 2019 - link
lemme guess HDMI is 1.4 because intel still cant do hdmi 2.0 direct from iGPU lolaustinsguitar - Thursday, November 28, 2019 - link
this really is what kills this thing for me...Kangal - Thursday, November 28, 2019 - link
I thought the Intel Iris 620/UHD was capable of driving HDR-4K-60Hz for HDMI 2.0I kinda wished they opted for Ryzen instead (3400G/1600/3500X). And if they installed an internal PCIe slot, one that people can later stick a Riser Slot, and connect it to a dGPU. We know sooner or later these Office PCs are going to end up in dumpsters or sold for $100. Would've been neat as a HTPC when combined with a cheap GPU.
Case in point; for USD $240 I got a (8.4L) HTPC running a GTX 1050 Ti and a Core i7-3770 with 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD based on an old Dell Optiplex SFF office pc. That's great value competing against the likes Xbox 360, PS3, WiiU, Switch, Shield TV for cabinet space and spare change. It is basically as fast as a $2,000 Gaming PC back in 2011, and now that I said that it feels like a lifetime away.
nevcairiel - Thursday, November 28, 2019 - link
Comparing an 8.4L PC with a 0.74L office system seems like apples and oranges.imaheadcase - Thursday, November 28, 2019 - link
A HTPC doesn't need all that. Its sole purpose is to stream media content. This is plenty capable of doing that.imaheadcase - Thursday, November 28, 2019 - link
It doesn't matter for this so why would they. lolfazalmajid - Thursday, November 28, 2019 - link
Digital signage demands fanless, so this is not it.yetanotherhuman - Thursday, November 28, 2019 - link
If its name is Mars, surely it should be a mushroom shaped add-on to another PC...chipped - Thursday, November 28, 2019 - link
CPU is too old, should have a 10th Gen. LAME