T
he Asus Mini PC ProArt PA90
is a peculiar thing. It has
workstation-grade internals,
yet Asus insists on slapping on the
‘Mini PC’ moniker. This PC may be
sleek enough to hide away in a
small space, but there’s nothing
mini about what this beast can do.
It’s a PC that’s more than capable
of handling demanding workloads,
but that sort of immense power
comes at a rather steep price tag
and some limited upgrade paths.
Price and availability
The PA90 comes in a variety of
configurations, all powered by
either an Intel Core i9-9900K or
i7-9700K processor, and up to 64GB
of DDR4 RAM. You’ll also get the
power of an Nvidia Quadro P2000
or P4000 graphics card to handle
GPU-intensive applications.
In the UK, prices start at £2,499.99
for an Intel Core i7/Quadro P2000
combo, rising to £3,199.99 for the
Core i9 /Quadro P4000 version.
In the US, two configurations will
be available – an Intel Core i9/
Quadro P4000 model for $3,299
and an i7/Quadro P4000 at $2,999.
For Middle East users similar
configurations will be available,
though our review unit was
specifically configured for end-
users and retails at a staggering
AED 15,599 (£3,267.91/$4,246.96) for
an i9 processor, Quadro P4000, and
64GB of RAM. A 32GB variant will
also be available in the region.Design
The cylindrical shape of the PA90
gives it a much smaller footprint
than a normal tower PC, so you’ll be
able to place it alongside your
monitor rather than under a desk.
A unique element to the PA90 is
its top cover. Once you boot up the
PC, it raises upwards to allow air to
flow in and cool the device. The
cover automatically adjusts its
height to let in up to 38 percent
more airflow, depending on thePC’s core temperature. Also keeping
the PA90 cool is a liquid CPU cooler
with a fairly large heatsink, so even
under demanding workloads the
PC doesn’t get alarmingly hot.
Three-quarters of the PA90 is
surrounded by a metal grille, which
lets air flow freely in each direction.
Even under heavy workloads, the
PA90 remains fairly quiet, but
airflow around the side near the
heatsink definitely heats up as the
system works hard to keep
everything in check.
The majority of the PA90’s ports
are located in the rear of the device,
including the four DisplayPorts. You
won’t find any HDMI sockets here,
which is probably for the best as
DisplayPort connections tend to
give better refresh rates and colour
accuracy. There are also two USB
3.0 Type A ports, as well as two USB
Type-C. There are also two more
USB 3.0 Type A ports in the front,
bringing up the total, though we’d
have liked at least six USB Type-A toAsusMini PC ProArt PA90
£3,268 | $4,247 http://www.asus.com
A tower of power in a tiny package
Image credit: ASUSTeK Computer, Inc78 |^ |^ June 2019