This article, by Eric Born, is brought to you by our friends at ASUS
There’s something to the notion that to be creative, you surround yourself with beauty that espouses innovative design. We’re careful to keep unnecessary clutter away from our workspaces, and we introduce calming elements that bring us joy. It’s even better when the tools we use to get our jobs done are similarly satisfying. The ASUS ProArt PA90 Mini PC aims to enhance the vibe of your creative space in a compact form factor that packs oodles of performance for work.
A Tiny Beast
Powering this workstation PC is a custom motherboard sporting an Intel Z390 chipset with two 9th-gen processor options: an Intel® Core™ i9 processor or an Intel® Core™ i7 processor. High-end host processing is available through NVIDIA Quadro RTX™ 4000 or NVIDIA RTX™ 2060 graphics cards.
Four SO-DIMM slots host up to 64GB of DDR4 memory, and PCIe- and SATA-attached SSDs hold up to 512GB of latency-sensitive software. There’s room for a 2.5" hard drive, which is great for storing documents, photos or project files that aren’t reliant on high throughput.
Design That Works
Although the ProArt PA90’s cylindrical chassis is fluid and aesthetically pleasing, its shape serves a functional purpose. As a mini PC, it’s meant to monopolize as little space as possible—at 6.9" wide and 14.4" tall, this called for ASUS’ engineering prowess to design a custom motherboard to fit into the unique chassis, and to mount the graphics card vertically instead of horizontally.
Continuing the effort to keep your desktop tidy, clean and ready for maximum productivity, ASUS created an organized back panel that hosts a plethora of I/O ports. Here you’ll find the DisplayPort interfaces, two 802.11ac Wi-Fi antenna connectors, a line-out jack, an RJ45 port for gigabit Ethernet and two USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A ports perfect for attaching peripherals. An additional pair of USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A ports up front provides easy access for thumb drives or external hard disks. Separate headphone and mic jacks come in handy for teleconferencing, or when you need a little musical inspiration without disturbing others.
Cool-Looking Cooling
One of the greatest challenges in building a small PC is keeping it cool without generating a ton of noise. Compact interiors challenge the notion of an ideal airflow—and ASUS tackled this by designing a closed-loop all-in-one system to cool the CPU. A fan blows through its 120-mm radiator, exhausting waste heat out one side of the chassis. Since thermal energy rises, it was a no-brainer to pop the top—and the PA90’s top cap lifts up when the going gets tough.
Getting Down to Business
It was important to ensure the PA90 could handle the regular workload of a creative pro without getting overwhelmed. With dozens of browser tabs open, Discord chat up, a 1080p video streaming from YouTube, more than 20 pictures open in Adobe Photoshop and working on a video edit in Adobe Premiere, there is no slow-down. Every application is as snappy as if it were the only one running.
Built by Professionals, for Professionals
The ASUS ProArt PA90 Mini PC doesn’t just look chic and contemporary, it has a hidden beast within. The powerful components housed inside blast through basic desktop productivity and easily accelerate more demanding tasks while keeping everything inside cool.
If you’re interested in a PC that is a beauty and a beast, learn more about it on ASUS’ Let’s Create website.
Established in 1989, ASUS is a multinational company known for the world’s best motherboards and high-quality PCs, monitors, graphics cards, routers and other technology solutions. ASUS founded the ProArt product line in 2011 with the goal of helping creators power up their imagination.