14 DAY TRIAL // Despite the fact that barebone nettops are supposed to be weak compared to other PCs, even when fully equipped with the parts they lack, the one that Micro-Star International has just made might have what it takes to take on mid-range desktops.
Barebone nettops, or just barebones, are miniature personal computers that lack memory, storage and even the central processing unit (or accelerated processing unit if it's an AMD-based computer).
The idea is to allow buyers to choose for themselves how much to spend on RAM, processing and HDDs/SSDs. It also ensures that nettops are very, very cheap.
The new MSI ProBox23 might be even smaller than normal though. MSI itself says it's tiny and compact compared to other desktop barebones.
All in all, it measures 202 x 204 x 54.8 / 7.95 x 8.03 x 2.15 inches, but still has space for the (admittedly slim) mini-ITX motherboard and everything else.
The mainboard is powered by the Intel H81 chipset, which provides it with the LGA 1150 socket, compatible with Haswell central processing units.
We imagine that, in addition to the current lineup, those 25 upcoming Haswell refresh CPUs will do well in this PC.
After all, except for the Core i5-4690 and the Core i7-4790 (with thermal design power of 84W), all of them conform to the requirements of the MSI ProBox23.
Which is to say, all of them have a TDP of under 65W, which is the top heat load that the barebone can handle.
That said, there are two DDR3 SO-DIMM slots inside the case, as well as a pair of 2.5-inch SATA bays (for SSDs or HDDs), plus an mSATA SSD slot. This storage support is actually greater than in other such PCs, which have a single 2.5-inch bay and often no mSATA at all.
Additionally, you will find a half-height mini PCI Express slot, which could easily accept one of those low-profile Plextor M6e SSDs that have just come out. It's not like you'll need it for a network card after all. The motherboard supports Gigabit Ethernet already, along with a host of other things.
Speaking of which, MSI included six USB 2.0 ports (two on the back panel, four on the front), a pair of USB 3.0 ports (on the back), eSATA 3.0 Gbps connectivity, an HDMI output (for connection to a monitor or TV) and an external power adapter (this was one thing the thin case couldn't fit inside, so MSI made an adapter, not too dissimilar from the ones used by laptops).
Sadly, the price of the MSI ProBox23 barebone has not been revealed.
