CES 2025 First Look: ASRock’s One-Cable Mars PC & DeskMini B860 Are Tiny Titans

LAS VEGAS—ASRock confirmed off two new mini PCs at CES, every with distinctive traits to assist them compete within the small type issue (SFF) PC market. Which of those programs is likely to be a greater mini-PC match can be a matter of opinion, with the brand new ASRock DeskMini B860 driving top-notch efficiency in a extremely confined package deal, and the ASRock Mars 1335U offering a slim PC that may be absolutely run off a single cable. See them in motion above, and browse on for extra particulars, beginning with our temporary journey to Mars.

The Mars 1335U: A Single-Line Connection to the Pink Planet

The tiny Mars 1335U PC that ASRock designed measures simply 194 by 150 by 26 millimeters, giving it an inner quantity of simply 0.7 liters. That’s exceedingly small, however desktops this dimension aren’t remarkable within the SFF market.

(Credit score: John Burek)

Its specs are additionally pretty typical: It has an Intel Core i5-1335U laptop-class CPU that offers the system its title, 16GB of Kinston Fury Affect DDR5 5,600MHz reminiscence in a dual-channel configuration, and a 1TB Solidigm P42 PCIe 4.0 SSD.

(Credit score: John Burek)

None of that makes this method stand out. The Mars’ massive enchantment, as a substitute, is that it was designed to run off of a single cable. Utilizing a USB Sort-C cable and working DisplayPort Alt mode, this PC can connect with a monitor by way of one cable that may ship a video sign to the monitor and present all the facility the PC must run. The cable may also deal with information switch concurrently, enabling you to run all the things off this one connection.

(Credit score: John Burek)

Along with being downright nifty, this makes it fast and simple to attach the PC for preliminary use, or to switch it between displays. The numerous discount in cabling can also be a giant plus, serving to to maintain down the litter on and round your laptop.

(Credit score: John Burek)

The system options further USB ports, an SD card slot, an Ethernet jack, and extra video connections must you want them. However that’s not as cool or as handy as doing all the things with one slim wire.

DeskMini B860: Socketed ‘Arrow Lake,’ as Small as Potential

The opposite desktop ASRock confirmed off is the most recent model of its long-running DeskMini SFF PCs. The DeskMini B860 is likely one of the few fashionable PCs to persist utilizing Intel’s Mini-STX type issue, which makes use of completely sq. 5-by-5-inch motherboards. Although not fairly as small because the Mars 1335U, this method offers way more energy and efficiency.

(Credit score: John Burek)

This design’s profit is that it helps normal desktop processors in an exceptionally compact area. This explicit mannequin has an ASRock B860M-STX motherboard with Intel’s brand-new B860 chipset that helps socketed desktop Intel “Arrow Lake” Core Extremely 200S processors with a TDP of 65 watts or decrease. Sure, that is Socket 1851 on a 5-inch-square motherboard.

(Credit score: John Burek)

(Credit score: John Burek)

The motherboard lacks any PCI Categorical slots, after all, however in any other case has options akin to what you’d see on an honest Mini-ITX motherboard, together with two M.2 PCIe slots (one PCIe 5.0, one PCIe 4.0), 2.5Gbit Ethernet, and Thunderbolt 4 help.

Because of the tight enclosure, the DeskMini B860 doesn’t use normal DDR5 RAM such as you’d use on most desktop PCs. It as a substitute depends on SO-DIMM DDR5 reminiscence such as you’d discover in a laptop computer.

(Credit score: John Burek)

On prime of that, this DeskMini helps CSO-DIMMs, for enhanced reminiscence speeds beneath XMP profiles, as you possibly can see right here…

(Credit score: John Burek)

That is nice, since you will be counting on the Arrow Lake built-in graphics processor (IGP), and quicker reminiscence can assist IGP efficiency. Certainly, regardless of the laptop-memory reliance, it’s onerous to seek out one other PC this dimension that may pack fairly a lot energy.

(Credit score: John Burek)

ASRock expects the DeskMini to be successful with training and AI-minded patrons because of the NPU in Arrow Lake. We don’t know when the DeskMini B860 or the Mars 1335U can be accessible on the market or how a lot they may value, however for those who’re considering both, keep tuned for extra updates.

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About John Burek

Government Editor and PC Labs Director

I’ve been a expertise journalist for 30-plus years and have lined nearly each form of laptop gear—from the 386SX to 64-core processors—in my lengthy tenure as an editor, a author, and an recommendation columnist. For nearly a quarter-century, I labored on the seminal, gigantic Pc Shopper journal (and later, its digital counterpart), aka the cellphone ebook for PC patrons, and the nemesis of each postal supply particular person. I used to be Pc Shopper’s editor in chief for its closing 9 years, after which a lot of its digital content material was folded into PCMag.com. I additionally served, briefly, because the editor in chief of the well-known hard-core tech web site Tom’s {Hardware}.

Throughout that point, I’ve constructed and torn down sufficient desktop PCs to equip a metropolis block’s price of web cafes. Beneath race circumstances, I’ve constructed PCs from bare-board to bootup in beneath 5 minutes.

In my early profession, I labored as an editor of scholarly science books, and as an editor of “Dummies”-style laptop guidebooks for Brady Books (now, BradyGames). I am a lifetime New Yorker, a graduate of New York College’s journalism program, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

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About Michael Justin Allen Sexton

Analyst

For so long as I can bear in mind, I’ve had love of all issues tech, spurred on, partly, by a love of gaming. I started engaged on computer systems owned by speedy relations and kinfolk after I was round 10 years previous. I’ve at all times sought to study as a lot as potential about something PC, resulting in a well-rounded grasp on all issues tech at this time. In my position at PCMag, I enormously benefit from the alternative to share what I do know.

I wrote for the well-known tech web site Tom’s {Hardware} for 3 years earlier than I joined PCMag in 2018. In that point, I’ve reviewed desktops, PC instances, and motherboards as a freelancer, whereas additionally producing offers content material for the location and its sibling ExtremeTech. Now, as a full-time PCMag analyst, I am specializing in reviewing processors and graphics playing cards whereas dabbling in all different issues PC-related.

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