ASRock Industrial 4X4 BOX-7840U mini-PC Review: AMD Phoenix in an UCFF Avatar
by Ganesh T S on December 28, 2023 8:30 AM ESTSetup Notes and Platform Analysis
The video below presents the entire gamut of available options in the BIOS of the 4X4 BOX-7840U. Of particular interest is the 'CPU Operating Mode' under 'Advanced > CPU Configuration'. It is set to 'Normal' by default, corresponding to a TDP of 28W. Altering it to 'Performance' sets the fan speed to maximum irrespective of the actual load, but ekes out extra performance by pushing up the TDP to around 40W.
The system is equipped with dual LAN ports (1x 2.5GbE + 1x 1GbE) backed up by Realtek controllers. Similar to previous 4X4 BOX systems, the 1GbE link comes with DASH support to make it easy for IT departments to deploy and manage the system with an out-of-band management interface. This support is disabled by default.
The block diagram below presents the overall high-speed I/O distribution.
Compared to the Rembrandt Refresh board, some functionalities seem to have been absorbed into the Phoenix package. For example, the two HDMI ports are driven directly from the package instead of using a protocol converter to switch Display Port to HDMI. The two power delivery controllers between the package and the USB4 ports seem to be absent too, but the Kandou Technologies KB8002 retimer remains (which also means that the USB4 ports still don't support the USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 20Gbps mode). The other board components are largely similar to the ones in the 4X4 BOX-7735U.
In today's review, we compare the 4X4 BOX-7840U and a host of other systems based on processors with TDPs ranging from 15W to 65W. The systems do not target the same market segments, but a few key aspects lie in common, making the comparisons relevant.
| Comparative PC Configurations | ||
| Aspect | ASRock 4X4 BOX-7840U (Performance) | |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 7 7840U Zen 4 (Phoenix) 8C/16T, 3.3 - 5.1 GHz TSMC 4nm, 16MB L3, 28W Target TDP : 40W |
AMD Ryzen 7 7840U Zen 4 (Phoenix) 8C/16T, 3.3 - 5.1 GHz TSMC 4nm, 16MB L3, 28W Target TDP : 40W |
| GPU | AMD Radeon 780M (RDNA3 / Phoenix) - Integrated (12 CUs @ 2.7 GHz) |
AMD Radeon 780M (RDNA3 / Phoenix) - Integrated (12 CUs @ 2.7 GHz) |
| RAM | Crucial CT16G56C46S5.M8G1 DDR5-5600 SODIMM 46-45-45-90 @ 5600 MHz 2x16 GB |
Crucial CT16G56C46S5.M8G1 DDR5-5600 SODIMM 46-45-45-90 @ 5600 MHz 2x16 GB |
| Storage | Samsung SSD 990 PRO MZ-VP92T0B (2 TB; M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe;) (Samsung 7th Gen. V-NAND 176L (136T) 3D TLC; Samsung Pascal S4LV008 Controller) |
Samsung SSD 990 PRO MZ-VP92T0B (2 TB; M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe;) (Samsung 7th Gen. V-NAND 176L (136T) 3D TLC; Samsung Pascal S4LV008 Controller) |
| Wi-Fi | 1x 2.5 GbE RJ-45 (Realtek RTL8125BG) 1x GbE RJ-45 (Realtek RTL8111EPV) Mediatek MT7922 (RZ616) Wi-Fi 6E (2x2 802.11ax - 1.9 Gbps) |
1x 2.5 GbE RJ-45 (Realtek RTL8125BG) 1x GbE RJ-45 (Realtek RTL8111EPV) Mediatek MT7922 (RZ616) Wi-Fi 6E (2x2 802.11ax - 1.9 Gbps) |
| Price (in USD, when built) | (Street Pricing on December 27th, 2023) US $570 (barebones) US $837 (as configured, no OS) |
(Street Pricing on December 27th, 2023) US $570 (barebones) US $837 (as configured, no OS) |
The next few sections will deal with comparative benchmarks for the above systems.
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ingwe - Thursday, December 28, 2023 - link
Can the system be powered via one of the USB4 ports? I didn't see that noted but would much prefer that option. Particularly with the size of the power brick.meacupla - Thursday, December 28, 2023 - link
I doubt it. They have "USB/DP" labelled, but the lack of "/PD" is a sign that it most likely does not.TheinsanegamerN - Tuesday, January 2, 2024 - link
No, its wired to use the power brick for power input.kenyee - Thursday, December 28, 2023 - link
They should have made both Ethernet ports 2.5GB.Nice design otherwise....
meacupla - Thursday, December 28, 2023 - link
I'm kind of curious to know why they include a 120W power adapter when it only consumes 74W at full load.Do the 5x USB ports support 10W output each or something?
PeachNCream - Friday, December 29, 2023 - link
In this case 120W as a worst-case scenario with a bit of wiggle room seems reasonable especially when compared to nerds that routinely vastly overestimate their power supply needs and stuff a irrationally overspec PSU into the dinosaur-obsolete desktop form factor gaming/streaming/"esports" case.TheinsanegamerN - Tuesday, January 2, 2024 - link
USB 3 supports .9 amp per port, so 2.7 total, plus 1 for the 2 on the back. 3.7x5 is 18.5. 92.5 overall.Most off the shelf supplies are either 90, 120, or 135. So a 120 it is then. This also gives you headroom for capacitor aging and heat related power draw.
mode_13h - Thursday, December 28, 2023 - link
I don't see how they can pitch it as an industrial PC without ECC support (which I assume it lacks, since it wasn't mentioned).As a generic mini-PC, it does look like a good option, both in terms of multithreaded performance and efficiency. Too bad they didn't manage to close the gap with Intel's Raptor Lake-P NUCs, on idle power.
PeachNCream - Friday, December 29, 2023 - link
They're probably just using that in marketing materials so that retail/home buyers feel like they're getting something more reliable because its supposedly designed for industry usage. It's similar to how companies proclaim something is "off-road" to sell something to someone that might drive through their neighbor's yard or hit a curb at the grocery store. Also, if everyone does it, you can't be the vendor left out or people will ask, "Why does such-and-such not have a Sport Utility Vehicle Super Sport model? The word sport should be in the name or its not as good!"charlesg - Friday, December 29, 2023 - link
I agree with Peaches.It's basically marketing, which is mostly, um, using appealing terms, true or not.