A Closer Look

The front of the ASRock DeskMini A300 has diagonal vents for airflow. A power button is on the right, while the two USB ports consist of a USB 3.1 Type-A and a USB 3.1 Type-C, alongside two audio jacks. On top is a breakout spot for additional USB ports via upgrades ASRock offers separately from the barebones unit itself. Moving on to the left side, there is not much to see, but you can get a better look at the side vent, which allows the CPU cooler to grab fresh air. On the back, you will find more I/O options, including 2x USB ports, 1x D-sub, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort, 1x DC plug, and an RJ45 ethernet port. ASRock does offer a Wi-Fi upgrade kit for this unit as well, which occupies the three circular holes on the left.


Another large vent is found on the right, further improving airflow inside the small chassis, which is good since the system supports up to 65-watt processors. A closer look gives us a glimpse of the CPU's location on the interior and how the CPU cooler will sit directly below the vented opening. On the opposite side, ASRock has a place for an optional VESA mount, which is a nice touch. However, all the extra this and that add-ons are a bit of an annoyance. Granted, they do help keep costs low, so it's a trade-off I can support because extra functionality is at least available should you need it.