ASRock is launching a tiny PC built around AMD's Ryzen and Radeon hardware

(Image credit: ASRock)

ASRock is following in the footsteps of its former parent company Asus by also launching a miniaturized PC in the vein of Intel's Next Unit of Computing (NUC) systems, with AMD internals. These new mini PCs are not much bigger than your hand, yet pack enough punch to play games at 1080p.

That capability comes courtesy of AMD's Ryzen 4000U series APUs. Like AMD's Ryzen 3000 series on the desktop, its mobile Ryzen 4000U chips are based on AMD's latest generation Zen 2 CPU architecture, featuring a 7-nanometer manufacturing process. They also packed Radeon graphics cores based on AMD's Vega GPU architecture.

At the outset, ASRock is offering three main configurations, each one named for the APU that sits inside. They include the 4X4 Box-4300U, 4X4 Box-4500U, and 4X4 Box-4800U.

Here's a quick rundown of the APU specifications:

Ryzen 7 4800U—8C/16T, 1.8GHz-4.2GHz, 8MB L3 cache, 8 Vega CUs at 1,750MHz
Ryzen 5 4500U—6C/6T, 2.3GHz-4GHz, 8MB L3 cache, 6 Vega CUs at 1,500MHz
Ryzen 3 4300U—4C/4T, 2.7GHz-3.7GHz, 4MB L3 cache, 5 Vega CUs at 1,400MHz

The 4X4 Box-4800U is the most compelling of the bunch, at least for gaming, because it is equipped with the burliest graphics. A 4800U delivers gaming performance about on par with Nvidia's GeForce MX250.

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We haven't run our own benchmarks, but sites like TechSpot show it has enough pixel-pushing grunt to play games like Grand Theft Auto V and Civilization VI comfortably at 1080p, and of course less demanding titles like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive are a cinch for the 4800U.

ASRock's new lineup follows the standard blueprint for this class of mini PC. Inside you'll find a pair of SO-DIMM slots supporting up to 64GB of DDR4-3200 RAM, and for storage, you can install a SATA 6Gbps drive and an M.2 SSD (NVMe or SATA).

Connectivity options on the front consist of a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports (supports DisplayPort 1.2a), and a 3.5mm headphone/microphone combo jack. Around back, there are two USB 2.0 ports, DisplayPort 1.2a and HDMI 2.0a outputs, both 1Gb and 2.5Gb LAN ports, and of course a DC jack.

ASRock has not yet mentioned a release date or pricing.

Paul has been playing PC games and raking his knuckles on computer hardware since the Commodore 64. He does not have any tattoos, but thinks it would be cool to get one that reads LOAD"*",8,1. In his off time, he rides motorcycles and wrestles alligators (only one of those is true).

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