Thermal Grizzly Der8enchtable review

It's not every day that I get to review a piece of computing hardware that's almost specifically designed for me, but that's exactly what Thermal Grizzly's Der8enchtable is. Well, it was actually created by Roman 'der8auer' Hartung, in conjunction with Jon Sandström of ElmorLabs, to make it easier for them to test motherboards, CPUs, coolers, etc. And since he just so happens to be the CEO of Thermal Grizzly, it's now something that I can use for the same purposes, too.

For $269 (direct from Thermal Grizzly), you can have one as well, though let's be honest here: the Der8enchtable is going to be of zero use to the vast majority of PC enthusiasts. That's because it's simply an open-platform circuit board that you can connect a motherboard to, and separately control fans, pumps, and lights; it also provides external storage options so you don't have to use those on the motherboard.

It might be a bit 'inside baseball' but let me explain why this is so useful for hardware testing. When I get a new motherboard or CPU to review, I use a basic open-chassis to mount the motherboard and PSU, then wire it all up, and then spend a good amount of time installing the operating system and test software. I also have to mess about with the BIOS to get a consistent cooling profile, to ensure thermal results across tested products are comparable.

The Der8enchtable streamlines that whole process by centralising storage and fan control. It comes with two SATA ports and four MicroSD card slots that you can use to host operating systems, applications, or whatever you need to run and test the motherboard, etc. It doesn't matter that none of these are very fast, because CPU/mobo reviewing is set up in such a way that the measured performance of the product is independent of items such as storage drives.

To see how well all this works in reality, I configured two separate SATA SSDs: one for an AMD AM5 system and the other for Intel LGA1851. On the edge of the Der8enchtable, there are two SATA sockets that are outputs: you connect them to the tested motherboard's own SATA ports via separate cables. It all worked exactly as intended, and for testing AMD/Intel motherboards, all I now need to do is just plug in the appropriate SATA cable.

In the case of the MicroSD slots, these communicate with a motherboard via a dedicated USB 2.0 header which, just like the SATA outputs, you hook up via an included USB cable. None of these options is what you'd call speedy, but as previously mentioned, that doesn't matter. What you want here is stability and compatibility, and USB 2.0 is ideal for this.

If you want a very simple setup, the only thing you need to connect to the Der8enchtable is the aforementioned USB 2.0 header and a six-pin PCIe power cable from a PSU. The latter can be mounted underneath Thermal Grizzly's circuit board, though this mandates the use of the included black-anodized aluminium legs and brackets.

Should the motherboard being tested not have onboard power and reset buttons, the Der8enchtable has headers for those, and you just connect them directly to the motherboard's. The same goes for fan, pump, and RGB headers: use them as normal on the mobo or splice them into the Der8enchtable and control them that way.

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It's all very easy to put together (easier still if you don't take the same cavalier approach to instruction manuals that I have) and straightforward to use. Naturally, it does require that you understand how all the various headers and ports work, to a certain degree, but you wouldn't be testing motherboards if you didn't.

You don't have to install the legs to raise the Der8enchtable, to make room for a PSU, and neither do you have to fit the PCI slot bracket (to support GPUs, etc) or the radiator brackets. Screw the four little feet onto the underside of the board, and you can have a very low-profile test platform. Personally, I prefer it with everything attached, if only because it looks so good that way.

And speaking of looks, the Der8enchtable also sports ARGB lighting, all around the edge, which gets enabled if you connect the board's ARGB external header to any such equivalent on a motherboard. Completely superfluous for benchmarking and reviews, of course, but it really does look spectacular, and I'm not a huge RGB fan.

At the risk of sounding overly gushing, everything about the Der8enchtable is extremely good. From the build quality of the board, to the fit of the attachments and the detail of the instruction manual, Hartung et al have done a superb job. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that it's of a better quality than most $600+ motherboards, though it's not mass-manufactured to the same degree as those. Even the packaging is top-tier in quality.

This is also why it's pretty expensive for what it is. Paying nearly $270 for a circuit board with basic components and lights, along with a few pieces of aluminium, might seem excessive, but the market for the Der8enchtable is going to be very small. It's a niche product and as such, costs can't be recouped via selling it in large volumes.

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For the right person, though, $270 is a bargain, especially for something that's so well-made and so useful. I suspect I'm not the only one who feels this way because at the time of writing, the Der8enchtable is out of stock on Thermal Grizzly's site. I should imagine every hardware reviewer and top overclocker around has already bought one, especially the latter, because if you're using liquid nitrogen for cooling, having storage drives kept well away from that stuff is a good thing.

Could it be even better? That depends on your needs. For example, if it were E-ATX-sized or sported M.2 or U.2 slots, it would be fantastic for handling workstation/server-grade boards or testing the throughput rates of a motherboard's various ports. But adding all of that would make it considerably more expensive, and such scenarios are even more niche than what it's already designed for.

As it is, the Thermal Grizzly Der8enchtable is pretty much the perfect platform for any hardware tester, reviewer, or super-serious overclocker. My only problem with it is now I want another one… maybe even two. Actually, I can think of a third scenario for one. Oh my poor wallet.

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