Raptor Lake-P Impresses, plus Shock ECC

Low-power processors have historically been geared in direction of notebooks and different moveable platforms. Nevertheless, the continued reputation of ultra-compact form-factor desktop methods has resulted in UCFF PCs additionally serving as lead automobiles for the most recent cell processors. Such is the case with Intel’s Raptor Lake-P – the processor SKUs had been introduced earlier this month on the 2023 CES, and end-products utilizing the processor had been slated to seem in a number of weeks. Intel is formally permitting its companions to start out promoting their merchandise into the channel at this time, and in addition permitting third-party analysis outcomes of merchandise based mostly on Raptor Lake-P to be printed.

ASRock Industrial launched their Raptor Lake-P-based NUC clones as quickly as Intel made the elements public. With the brand new platform, the corporate determined to trifurcate their choices – a slim model (sans 2.5″ drive help) with DDR4 SODIMM slots within the NUCS BOX-13x0P/D4, an everyday peak model with 2.5″ drive help within the NUC BOX-13x0P/D4, and a barely tweaked model of the latter with DDR5 SODIMM slots within the NUC BOX-13x0P/D5. The NUCS BOX-1360P is the corporate’s flagship within the first class, and the relative maturity of DDR4-based platforms has allowed them to start out pushing the product into the channel early.

ASRock Industrial sampled us with a NUCS BOX-1360P/D4 from their first manufacturing run. We anticipated a boring improve with enhancements in efficiency and energy effectivity. In the middle of the evaluation course of, we discovered that the system allowed management over a brand new / key Raptor Lake-P characteristic that Intel hadn’t even bothered to deliver out throughout their CES announcement – in-band ECC. This evaluation supplies a complete have a look at Raptor Lake-P’s characteristic set for desktop platforms together with with detailed efficiency and energy effectivity evaluation for SFF PC workloads.

Introduction and Product Impressions

Intel’s Raptor Lake-P builds upon Alder Lake-P and its heterogeneous processor structure by transferring to a extra environment friendly manufacturing course of. In contrast to the desktop model with improved cache dimension per efficiency core and doubled effectivity cores rely, the -P sequence supplies enhancements basically from the up to date V-F curves. This has allowed Intel to extend the turbo clocks for each core sorts to ship higher efficiency and energy effectivity – all whereas retaining the identical 28W nominal TDP of Alder Lake-P. There are additionally a variety of I/O enhancements reminiscent of further Thunderbolt 4 ports and USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 help on them, however the adoption of these are depending on different board element decisions by the system producer.

ASRock is a widely known vendor within the client PC market. In 2011, the corporate arrange the ASRock Industrial enterprise unit to concentrate on industrial motherboards. The division branched out in 2018 as an unbiased vendor with unique concentrate on B2B merchandise. The corporate has merchandise for deployment in small companies (places of work), automation, robotics, safety, and different industrial / IoT purposes. Primarily, the corporate develops motherboards, and sells them to varied system integrators who can do their very own worth additions. Moreover, the corporate additionally sells mini-PCs based mostly on the developed motherboards into the retail channel. We now have taken an in depth have a look at the efficiency profile of assorted ASRock Industrial UCFF PCs earlier than, together with that of the NUC BOX-1260P based mostly on the Core i7-1260P Alder Lake-P processor.

The corporate offered us with a pattern of their first Raptor Lake-P mini-PC – the NUCS BOX-1360P/D4. That is basically a follow-up product to the NUC BOX-1200 sequence, however not precisely a drop-in alternative. Whereas the NUC BOX-1200 sequence got here with twin LAN capabilities, and a alternative of each HDMI and Show Port outputs, the NUCS BOX-1300 sequence replaces the Show Port output with one other HDMI port and does away with one of many LAN ports.

Whereas the NUC BOX sequence makes use of a chassis tracing its roots again to ASRock’s now defunct Beebox product line, the NUCS BOX is a primary for ASRock Industrial. With out the necessity to help a 2.5″ drive, the chassis peak has been minimize down from 48mm to 38mm. The unique fingerprint magnet of a chassis prime has additionally been changed with matte plastic. The relative distance between the motherboard and the chassis prime has not been altered, although (the peak discount is totally on the underside the place the two.5″ drive caddy was positioned). The cooling resolution for the processor is time-tested inside that case design, and all that ASRock Industrial has executed for the NUCS BOX-1300 sequence is to change the I/O cut-outs barely to match the brand new board.

ASRock Industrial’s essential focus is on B2B prospects. It’s no shock that their methods are packaged in a nondescript method. Nevertheless, inside the package deal, the corporate contains every part that an end-user would want – a VESA mount and related screws, M.2 SSD set up aids, a geo-specific energy twine and a 90W energy adapter.

ASRock Industrial markets their mini-PCs in a barebones configuration, with the selection of RAM and SSD left to the tip person. Putting in these parts includes eradicating 4 screws from the underside of the unit and slotting within the SODIMMs and affixing the M.2 SSD with a screw. It have to be famous right here that the M.2 SSD set up within the NUCS BOX-1360P is far simpler in comparison with the NUC BOX-1200 sequence because the screw slot is immediately on the board and never on a separate plastic tab. The aspect of the chassis are perforated for air consumption and the rear has the air vent that enables the laptop-style blower fan to exhaust air after passing it by means of the warmth spreader.

With the intention to make an apples-to-apples comparability, we opted to make the most of the identical set of parts utilized in our evaluation of the NUC BOX-1260P. The NUCS BOX-1360P/D4 was outfitted with an ADATA XPG GAMMIX S50 Lite and 2x 32GB of the Kingston FURY Impression DDR4-3200 SODIMMs. The total specs of our evaluation pattern (as examined) are summarized within the desk under.

Within the subsequent part, we check out the BIOS choices together with an evaluation of the motherboard platform. It additionally contains an outline of the in-band ECC characteristic that Intel had performed down at launch. Following that, now we have a variety of sections specializing in varied efficiency features with and with out in-band ECC earlier than concluding with an evaluation of the worth proposition of the system.