ASRock Industrial announces Intel Elkhart Lake mini PCs and motherboards

Intel Atom x6000E Series, Celeron, and Pentium Elkhart Lake processors for IoT Edge applications were launched in September 2020, with many companies shortly introducing modules, single board computers, motherboards, and industrial, rugged mini PCs after the official announcement.

ASRock Industrial took more time to announce their Elkhart Lake offerings, with three families of hardware platforms with NUC 6000 BOX Series and IBOX 6000 Series mini PCs, as well as NUC 6000 Motherboard series.

We’ll have a look at the three families in detail below, mostly using information from products based on Celeron J6412, one of the more recent Elkhart Lake processors that was launched in Q1 2021.

ASRock NUC 6000 Motherboard Series

Specifications:

SoC (one or the other)
- Intel Celeron J6412 quad-core processor @ 2.0/2.6 GHz (Turbo) with 1.5MB cache, 16 EU Intel UHD Graphics; 10W TDP
- Intel Celeron N6210 dual-core processor @ 1.2/2.6 GHz (Turbo) with 1.5MB cache, 16 EU Intel UHD Graphics; 6.5W TDP
- Intel Pentium J6426 quad-core processor @ 2.0 GHz / 3.0 GHz with 1.5MB cache, 32 EU Intel UHD Graphics; 10W TDP
- Intel Pentium N6415 quad-core processor @ 1.2/3.0 GHz (Turbo) with 1.5MB cache, 16 EU Intel UHD Graphics; 6.5W TDP
System Memory – 2x 260-pin SO-DIMM Dual-Channel DDR4 3200 MHz for up to 32GB RAM (16GB per socket)
Storage
- 1x M.2 KEY M, 2242/2260/2280 with PCIe x1 and SATA3 for SSD; M.2 Key M 2280 is supported by bracket
- 1x SATA3.0 (6.0 Gb/s)
- 256 Mbit SPI flash for AMI BIOS
Video Output
- HDMI 2.0b up to 4096×2160 @ 60Hz
- DisplayPort 1.4, DP++ up to 4096×2160 @ 60Hz
- Up to two independent displays
Audio
- Realtek ALC233, High Definition Audio.
- 3.5mm headphone & microphone jack
Networking – 2x Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 ports via Realtek RTL8111G/RTL8111H-CG
USB – 2x USB 3.2 Gen2 (Type-A) ports, 2x USB 3.2 Gen2 (Type-C) ports, 1x USB 2.0 port, internal 2mm pitch header with 2x USB 2.0 interface
Serial – RS232/422/485 RJ45 port
Expansion Slot – 1 x M.2 (Key E, 2230) with PCIe x1, USB 2.0
Security – Infineon SLB9670VQ2.0 TPM 2.0
Misc – Watchdog timer,
Power Supply
- 12V~19V DC-In Jack;
- Power on AT/ATX supported:
  - AT: Directly PWR on as power input ready
  - ATX: Press button to PWR on after power input ready
Dimensions – Around 10.4 x 10.2 cm (NUC motherboard form factor)
Temperature Range – Operating: 0ºC ~ 60ºC; Storage: -40°C ~ 85°C
Humidity – 5% ~ 90%

The product page lists drivers for Windows 7/8/10, but there’s no word about Linux support.

ASRock NUC 6000 BOX Series

As one can imagine, the NUC 6000 Box series is based on the NUC 6000 motherboard with the following key features:

Motherboard – ASRock NUC 6000 Motherboard Series with either an Intel Celeron J6412 (default) or an Intel Pentium J6426 as described above
Wireless – Intel Wireless-AC 3168 module
Misc – Kensington lock
Dimensions – 110.0 x 117.5 x 47.85mm
Temperature Range – Operating: 0ºC ~ 40ºC; Storage: -40°C ~ 85°C
Certifications – CE, FCC Class A

The mini PC ships with a 19V/65W power adapter, a screw package, and a VESA mounting bracket. ASRock Industrial specifically only lists Windows 10 in the “OS Support” section of the specs on the product page. It looks to be actively cooled with a fan.

ASRock iBOX 6000 Series Fanless Elkhart Lake Embedded Box PC

The iBox 6000 series have similar specifications, but the company also offers fanless embedded Box PC with Atom x6000 processors, and there’s one extra USB 2.0 port.

ASRock iBOX 6000 Series specifications:

Elkhart Lake SoC (one or the other)
- Intel Celeron J6412 quad-core processor @ 2.0/2.6 GHz (Turbo) with 1.5MB cache, 16 EU Intel UHD Graphics; 10W TDP
- Intel Pentium J6426 quad-core processor @ 2.0 GHz / 3.0 GHz with 1.5MB cache, 32 EU Intel UHD Graphics; 10W TDP
- Intel Atom x6211E dual-core processor @ 1.3 GHz / 3.0 GHz with 1.5MB cache, 16 EU Intel UHD Graphics; 6W TDP
- Intel Atom x6413E quad-core processor @ 1.5 GHz / 3.0 GHz with 1.5MB cache, 16 EU Intel UHD Graphics; 9W TDP
- Intel Atom x6425E quad-core processor @ 2.0 GHz / 3.0 GHz with 1.5MB cache, 32 EU Intel UHD Graphics; 12W TDP
System Memory – 2x 260-pin SO-DIMM Dual-Channel DDR4 3200 MHz for up to 32GB RAM (16GB per socket)
Storage
- 1x M.2 Key M, 2242/2260/2280 with PCIe x1 and SATA3 for SSD; M.2 Key M 2280 is supported by bracket
- 1x SATA3.0 (6.0 Gb/s)
- 256 Mbit SPI flash for AMI BIOS
Video Output
- HDMI 2.0b up to 4096×2160 @ 60Hz
- DisplayPort 1.4, DP++ up to 4096×2160 @ 60Hz
- Up to two independent displays
Audio
- Realtek ALC233, High Definition Audio.
- 3.5mm headphone & microphone jack
Networking – 2x Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 ports via Realtek RTL8111G
USB – 2x USB 3.2 Gen2 (Type-A) ports, 2x USB 3.2 Gen2 (Type-C) ports, 2x USB 2.0 ports
Expansion Slot – 1 x M.2 (Key E, 2230) with PCIe x1, USB 2.0
Security – Infineon SLB9670VQ2.0 TPM 2.0
Misc – Watchdog timer
Power Supply
- 12V~19V DC-In Jack;
- Power on AT/ATX supported:
  - AT: Directly PWR on as power input ready
  - ATX: Press button to PWR on after power input ready
Dimensions – 135 x 110 x 44.5mm
Temperature Range – Operating: 0ºC ~ 50ºC; Storage: -40°C ~ 85°C
Humidity – 5% ~ 90%

That model also looks to be based on the ASRock NUC 6000 Motherboard Series since the port arrangement is virtually the same, except they probably used the internal USB header to add an additional USB port Type-A port on the front panel. It just boggles the mind as to why they don’t offer the motherboard separately with the Atom processors… Again, further details may be found on the product page.

There’s no public price information for the motherboard nor the computers, and there may never be as those targets “IoT and Industry 4.0” applications.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.