A look Inside

Taking the system apart is incredibly easy as only four screws at the back have to be removed. Once done, you can just pull on the tab for the motherboard tray to slide it straight out. Just be mindful of the front panel I/O wires.


With the mainboard out, we can see the motherboard and processor I will be using for testing, which is an AMD Ryzen 5 2400G, and ASRock's own A300M-STX with a MOSFET heatsink is a nice surprise all things considered. When it comes to storage and Wi-FI connectivity, the motherboard has an Ultra M.2 slot and an M.2 Wi-Fi slot which—coupled with the VESA mount—makes this a fantastic living-room system that can be hidden out of sight and out of mind while having a lot more horsepower than more energy-conscious options, like the LIVA Z units reviewed previously.


Mass storage is handled via two 2.5-inch HDD bays with a cutout for wire access. ASRock thankfully includes both SATA data/power wires in the box, so even if you don't have an M.2 SSD, you can still slot in a SATA SSD and HDD for good boot times and application load times without sacrificing storage space.


To make the system operational, we had to source a few parts besides just the CPU. Since the DeskMini A300 is a barebones unit, system memory and storage had to be acquired for a fully functional system. To this end, we used 2x 8 GB sticks of Teamgroup 2400 MHz CL 16-16-16-39 memory and a Teamgroup T-Force Cardea 240 GB M.2 PCIe SSD.


To prepare the system for use, simply install the memory as you normally would along with the SSD. Once both are installed, you will want to install your CPU and the CPU cooler. In my case, the optional CPU cooler was provided. However, others may want to pick aftermarket options.


With everything installed, all that is needed is to slide the motherboard tray back into the enclosure to then tighten down the four screws holding the two parts of the chassis together. Once done, the system just needs the OS to be installed before it's good to go.