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Oculink is basically free: it's a connector exposing PCIe ports that are already exposed by the APU. It should be semi-standard for SFF, because why not? Compa

Oculink is basically free: it's a connector exposing PCIe ports that are already exposed by the APU. It should be semi-standard for SFF, because why not? Compare versus USB4, which is quite expensive. Alas neither Intel nor AMD offer on-package USB4 in their new line-up: both require a rather expensive & serious chip for USB4 (ASM4242 for AMD). It's a great capability but it has a real cost. Where-as Oculink requires so little. As for desktop vs mobile: this is the same Phoenix chip that AMD just released as the 8700G APU. The HS part here is targeting a smaller 45W power budget than the desktop 65W part, but otherwise similarly capable & loaded out. And the case seems designed for either some mild overclocking with it's 75w ought, which if not used means it will remain nice & quiet at stock. I think there's many many people for whom stock will be more than adequate for their uses, and who wouldn't need a bigger hotter version. And they can just tell the chip to drink more power of they want a desktop equivalent, since the cooling is there. These chips are also boast much higher efficiency (computer/watt) at lower power levels too, which is another boon for users, another reason to look here. Bigger hotter more powerful has a lot going for it, and it seems like it's what you want. But don't make the mistake of assuming it's what everyone wants. The NUC form factor is pretty amazing, is really a delight with how flexibly it can fit into your environment. I ran a NUC velcroes to my monitor for 3 years; it'd be impossible or cumbersome even with a svelte mini-itx build. Let's just try not to have such a harsh negative reaction so strongly out of the game, yeah?

FirmwareBurner 3y ago
>Oculink is basically free: Oculink GPUS are not. Far more expensive than PCIe ones.
- jauntywundrkind 3y ago
  Ok, let's say the GPU is hella expensive. Is that a reason not to put a $0.50 connector on this system? Is a lack of expandability better? I think that's a farcical idea. It makes all the sense in the world to include Oculink! As for the price of using Oculink? Here's a riser board and frame for $40. There are even cheaper options about that folks report as working just fine! https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806254754959.html https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806254754959.html Having PCIe ports is good for more than GPUs too. There's Oculink to nvme adapters aplenty: go right ahead and plug in 2 (or 4 at reduced link width) ssds! Plug in a 25Gbit network card! Ideally some day PCIe switches make a comeback at non-exorbinant prices & we can have whole socks of this stuff; the inherent complexity is lower than pcie-transporting USB4 but we just don't have ecosystem options alas. Sure, for most users where they want one peripheral all the time getting a much bigger mini-itx system makes a lot of sense. But it keeps seeming to me like this is a near zero cost way to create a small computer that still has really good options, that can adapt incredibly well. If you have a portable powerful compact computer, that you take with you, ideally you can just plug it in to the GPUs, network cards, storage, or other peripherals in the world around you; we're not there in most cases but I cannot emphasize enough that it costs so little to add the flexibility/option.

FirmwareBurner 3y ago

>Oculink is basically free: Oculink GPUS are not. Far more expensive than PCIe ones.

jauntywundrkind 3y ago
Ok, let's say the GPU is hella expensive. Is that a reason not to put a $0.50 connector on this system? Is a lack of expandability better? I think that's a farcical idea. It makes all the sense in the world to include Oculink! As for the price of using Oculink? Here's a riser board and frame for $40. There are even cheaper options about that folks report as working just fine! https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806254754959.html https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806254754959.html Having PCIe ports is good for more than GPUs too. There's Oculink to nvme adapters aplenty: go right ahead and plug in 2 (or 4 at reduced link width) ssds! Plug in a 25Gbit network card! Ideally some day PCIe switches make a comeback at non-exorbinant prices & we can have whole socks of this stuff; the inherent complexity is lower than pcie-transporting USB4 but we just don't have ecosystem options alas. Sure, for most users where they want one peripheral all the time getting a much bigger mini-itx system makes a lot of sense. But it keeps seeming to me like this is a near zero cost way to create a small computer that still has really good options, that can adapt incredibly well. If you have a portable powerful compact computer, that you take with you, ideally you can just plug it in to the GPUs, network cards, storage, or other peripherals in the world around you; we're not there in most cases but I cannot emphasize enough that it costs so little to add the flexibility/option.