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ASRock M8 Mini-ITX Z87 Barebones System Review

SiSoftware Sandra (the System ANalyser, Diagnostic and Reporting Assistant) is an information & diagnostic utility. It should provide most of the information (including undocumented) you need to know about your hardware, software and other devices whether hardware or software.

Sandra is a (girl’s) name of Greek origin that means “defender”, “helper of mankind”. We think that’s quite fitting.

It works along the lines of other Windows utilities, however it tries to go beyond them and show you more of what’s really going on. Giving the user the ability to draw comparisons at both a high and low-level. You can get information about the CPU, chipset, video adapter, ports, printers, sound card, memory, network, Windows internals, AGP, PCI, PCI-X, PCIe (PCI Express), database, USB, USB2, 1394/Firewire, etc.

Native ports for all major operating systems are available:

  • Windows XP, 2003/R2, Vista, 7, 2008/R2 (x86)
  • Windows XP, 2003/R2, Vista, 7, 2008/R2 (x64)
  • Windows 2003/R2, 2008/R2* (IA64)
  • Windows Mobile 5.x (ARM CE 5.01)
  • Windows Mobile 6.x (ARM CE 5.02)

All major technologies are supported and taken advantage of:

  • SMP – Multi-Processor
  • MC – Multi-Core
  • SMT/HT – Hyper-Threading
  • MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE 4.1, SSE 4.2, AVX, FMA – Multi-Media instructions
  • GPGPU, DirectX, OpenGL – Graphics
  • NUMA – Non-Uniform Memory Access
  • AMD64/EM64T/x64 – 64-bit extensions to x86
  • IA64 – Intel* Itanium 64-bit

sandra arith

sandra-arith-1

sandra mem band

sandra-mem-band-1

Sandra's processor arithmetic results are where we would expect them to be, given the M8's reference turbo multipliers set on our 4770K.

Memory bandwidth takes a substantial throughput hit due to the use of 1333MHz CL9 SO-DIMM modules inside the M8. Faster modules are available to purchase, however, such as an 1866MHz Corsair Vengeance kit.

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10 comments

  1. I think that is really very cool – its a tad expensive, but I would buy it myself. fancy the idea and the design is great.

    Watercooling anyone? 🙂

  2. I like it – wonder if STEAM OS would go on it well 🙂

  3. I always wondered why other companies like MSI, ASUS etc didn’t do something like this.

    I will tell you this too for free – my ASROCK motherboard is better than my last GB or MSI boards.

  4. Wasnt expecting this – I think a 3570k would be better for temps, not sold on those Haswell cookers.

  5. had me until I saw it was a intel cpu and only a 450 power supply and less than a 120mm fan space i would have liked to put a water pro 2.0 in it

  6. What is the weight of the fully assembled system?
    That is a pretty important factor for a system designed to be carried around fairly frequently.

  7. George, thanks for pointing that out.

    The barebones system’s weight is just under 8kg (according to the packaging specs). With a system built inside the M8, the weight will vary depending on the components installed. For example, the GTX 760, Phanteks PH-TC90LS, and Samsung SSD that we used would probably add 1-2kg to the system. This will vary from system to system, especially if multiple mechanical drives or a bigger CPU (or VGA) cooler are installed.

  8. The Silverstone SG05 is smaller and better in every way for $39

  9. How much did they pay you to post this? Its a joke, maybe for 200-300 it would be reasonable.. >< almost as bad as Google's Nexus Q!!

  10. Reviews are free Felix 🙂
    You raise an interesting question though, when it comes to value.
    Having built a lot of systems around products like the early SG01, we know what issues can be faced with these design restraints.
    If all you look at is the material cost, then you’d never buy anything nicer than a Hyundai – because why pay more than £10,000 for ‘4 wheels and an engine’ – but life is not so simple.
    You really need to see this product in the flesh, and try a build with it, to see all of the advantages – in terms of physical design and aesthetics.
    If you get a chance, try and get your hands on a complete system, then come back and let us know if you still feel the same 🙂