ASUS Sneaks Out PL63 Mini PC with Thunderbolt 4 SKU

[TheLostSwede]

Not all products are launched with an accompanying press release or even at a trade show and ASUS' new PL63 mini PC is one of those products. It might not be the most unique mini PC on the market, but as far as we're aware, it's the first with Thunderbolt 4 support, that is as long as you get the right SKU, as most seem to support USB 3.2 instead. The PL63 is built around Intel's 11th gen mobile processors and the three CPU options available are the Core i3-1115G4, Core i5-1135G7 and the Core i7-1165G7, all with Iris Xe graphics..

Other features include support for two SO-DIMMs, one PCIe 3.0 NVMe drive, 2.5 Gbps Ethernet, an HDMI 2.0 port, DP 1.4 as well as DP output through both the USB-C ports, regardless of if you get the USB 3.2 or Thunderbolt 4 version. As per the pictures, WiFi is also supported, with various options depending on the SKU. An external 19 V power brick rated at 90 W is included to power the 166.2 x 119.7 x 33.9 mm (WxDxH) system. Pricing for a barebone model seems to be US$508 for the Core i5-1135G7 based model, although it's unclear if this is with or without Thunderbolt 4 support. Bump that up to US$650 and you get 4 GB of RAM, a 128 GB SSD and Windows 10 Pro included.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Shou Miko]

One note the HDMI should be 2.0b which is supported by the Intel CPU's not sure if Asus over looked this part.

 

[TheLostSwede]

One note the HDMI should be 2.0b which is supported by the Intel CPU's not sure if Asus over looked this part.

They weren't that specific on the product page.
Also, isn't HDMI 2.1 the only standard now?

 

[ncrs]

Also, isn't HDMI 2.1 the only standard now?

Releasing HDMI 2.1 (and soon HDMI 2.1a) doesn't invalidate previous HDMI 2.0b certifications.
You need to pass HDMI 2.1 Compliance Testing in order to mark your device as HDMI 2.1 even if you previously passed 2.0b. I doubt Intel will re-certify their CPUs, even if they match the new speccs
From their Q&A:

All products must comply with Version 2.1 of the HDMI Specification and the HDMI 2.1 Compliance Test Specification (CTS); and until the CTS is available and a product has passed compliance testing a product cannot claim to be 2.1 compliant or market that it supports 2.1 features.

You can only use version numbers when clearly associating the version number with a feature or function as defined in that version of the HDMI Specification. You cannot use version numbers by themselves to define your product or component capabilities or the functionality of the HDMI interface.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Releasing HDMI 2.1 (and soon HDMI 2.1b) doesn't invalidate previous HDMI 2.0b certifications.
You need to pass HDMI 2.1 Compliance Testing in order to mark your device as HDMI 2.1 even if you previously passed 2.0b. I doubt Intel will re-certify their CPUs, even if they match the new speccs
From their Q&A:

But HDMI 2.0 doesn't officially exist any more.

HDMI 2.0 no longer exists, and devices should not claim compliance to v2.0 as it is not referenced any more
The features of HDMI 2.0 are now a sub-set of 2.1

When HDMI 2.1 Isn't HDMI 2.1 - The Confusing World of the Standard, "Fake HDMI 2.1" and Likely Future Abuse - TFTCentral

When HDMI 2.1 Isn't HDMI 2.1 - The Confusing World of the Standard, "Fake HDMI 2.1" and Likely Future Abuse

tftcentral.co.uk

 

[ncrs]

But HDMI 2.0 doesn't officially exist any more.

When HDMI 2.1 Isn't HDMI 2.1 - The Confusing World of the Standard, "Fake HDMI 2.1" and Likely Future Abuse - TFTCentral

When HDMI 2.1 Isn't HDMI 2.1 - The Confusing World of the Standard, "Fake HDMI 2.1" and Likely Future Abuse

tftcentral.co.uk

While it isn't the "main" HDMI 2.x standard (that's 2.1 now) it still exist(ed/s), and is even referenced in the FAQ I linked.
I really don't like what they did here - renaming 2.0b and making previously 2.1-only features optional. It's confusing for everyone, but seems to be a trend nowadays (just like OpenCL 3.0 making everything from 2.0 optional, just because nVidia didn't support anything above 1.1...).
So the Intel CPUs (and the monitor from your article) can be considered 2.1, but in reality 2.0b because it doesn't support new 2.1 features?

 

[TheLostSwede]

While it isn't the "main" HDMI 2.x standard (that's 2.1 now) it still exist(ed/s), and is even referenced in the FAQ I linked.
I really don't like what they did here - renaming 2.0b and making previously 2.1-only features optional. It's confusing for everyone, but seems to be a trend nowadays (just like OpenCL 3.0 making everything from 2.0 optional, just because nVidia didn't support anything above 1.1...).
So the Intel CPUs (and the monitor from your article) can be considered 2.1, but in reality 2.0b because it doesn't support new 2.1 features?

It's really quite silly, but I guess their members decided to change things so their products would look better...

 

[Shou Miko]

It's really quite silly, but I guess their members decided to change things so their products would look better...

It's totally confusing for the average person that doens't know what to look after, this will give me even more shit to think about when people ask me about what HDMI cables they should get for "real" 2.1

 

[TheLostSwede]

It's totally confusing for the average person that doens't know what to look after, this will give me even more shit to think about when people ask me about what HDMI cables they should get for "real" 2.1

Not all HDMI 2.1 ports/cables can do 48Gbps for that matter, but are still considered to be following the full spec and that was before the whole 2.0 being 2.1 debacle.

 

[Shou Miko]

Not all HDMI 2.1 ports/cables can do 48Gbps for that matter, but are still considered to be following the full spec and that was before the whole 2.0 being 2.1 debacle.

Yeah and some if not a lot of the manufactures of HDMI cables not always write the bandwidth of their products which is even more bad and doesn't help at all.