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ASRock M8 Mini-ITX Z87 Barebones System Review

CyberLink MediaEspresso 6 is the successor to CyberLink MediaShow Espresso 5.5. With its further optimized CPU/GPU-acceleration, MediaEspresso is an even faster way to convert not only your video but also your music and image files between a wide range of popular formats.

Now you can easily playback and display your favourite movies, songs and photos not just on your mobile phone, iPad, PSP, Xbox, or Youtube and Facebook channels but also on the newly launched iPhone 4. Compile, convert and enjoy images and songs on any of your computing devices and enhance your videos with CyberLink’s built-in TrueTheater Technology.

New and Improved Features

  • Ultra Fast Media Conversion – With support from the Intel Core i-Series processor family, ATI Stream & NVIDIA CUDA, MediaEspresso’s Batch-Conversion function enables multiple files to be transcoded simultaneously.
  • Smart Detect Technology – MediaEspresso 6 automatically detects the type of portable device connected to the PC and selects the best multimedia profile to begin the conversion without the need for user’s intervention.
  • Direct Sync to Portable Devices – Video, audio and image files can be transferred in a few easy steps to mobile phones including those from Acer, BlackBerry, HTC, Samsung, LG, Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, and Palm, as well as Sony Walkman and PSP devices.
  • Enhanced Video Quality – CyberLink TrueTheater Denoise and Lighting enables the enhancement of video quality through optical noise filters and automatic brightness adjustment.
  • Video, Music and Image File Conversion – Convert not only videos to popular formats such as AVI, MPEG, MKV, H.264/AVC, and FLV at the click of a button, but also images such as JPEG and PNG and music files like WMA, MP3 and M4A.
  • Online Sharing – Conversion to video formats used by popular social networking websites and a direct upload feature means posting videos to Facebook and YouTube has never been easier.

For our testing today we are converting a 4.4GB 720p MKV file (1h:58mins) to Apple Mp4 format for playback on a portable device. This is a common procedure for many people and will give a good indication of system power.

media-espresso-settings

Hardware acceleration is disabled to provide an accurate interpretation of the CPU performance.

media espresso

espresso-1

Media Espresso performance is affected by CPU frequency. Our Z87 OC Formula test system's forced-turbo parameters give it a sizeable performance boost over the M8 system.

Media encoding isn't the M8's primary function, but the fact that its design and thermal capacity do not have a disappointingly-negative effect on conversion performance is pleasing.

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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 🙂