ASRock M8 Mini-ITX Z87 Barebones System Review

The tests were performed in a controlled environment with the temperature maintained at a constant 23°C. Idle temperatures were measured after sitting at the desktop for 5 minutes. Load measurements were acquired by running FurMark and Prime95′s Blend setting together for 5 minutes.

As gaming is one of the main usage scenarios for the ASRock M8, we also decided to measure component temperatures while playing Battlefield 3. We did the same while playing a 1080P MKV movie file.

We allowed the CPU cooler to operate at its default – PWM – settings. All fans were operating from the ASRock motherboard's ‘standard' profile.

With a Prime95 load applied, the temperature of our 4770K CPU quickly reached the limit where it would start throttling – 100°C. Safety measures ensured that the processor stayed slightly below 100°C by reducing CPU voltage and operational frequency.

It's clear that the M8 isn't ideally suited to housing the hot-running 4770K processor, not with the reference or Phanteks PH-TC90LS CPU coolers, at least. A better CPU cooler may have provided lower temperatures, but they would still be in a region that is potentially dangerous for long-term usage. We would advise using a lower-powered, cooler-running part, such as the 4770S or a Core i3/i5.

GPU temperature stays around the levels that we have observed with the GTX 760 housed inside most cases. The fan speed increases to keep load temperatures around the 82°C-mark.

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