Zotac ZBOX MAGNUS EN970 Review - A Gaming mini-PC Done Right
by Ganesh T S on September 28, 2015 8:00 AM ESTGaming Benchmarks
The gaming credentials of the GTX 960 are quite impressive. Even though the tag indicates a desktop GPU, the internal hardware is still a mobile GPU - the GTX 970M. It is based on Maxwell GM204. The performance, however, should be similar to that of the desktop GTX 960.
For the purpose of benchmarking, we chose four different games (Sleeping Dogs, Tomb Raider, Bioshock Infinite and DiRT Showdown) at three different quality levels. In addition, starting with this review, we are also bringing three more benchmarks involving The Talos Principle and GRID Autosport. As someone focusing on HTPCs and multimedia aspects, I rarely get to process gaming benchmarks, even while evaluating GPUs. One of the aspects that I feared was spending lot of time in installing the same games again and again on different PCs under the review scanner. The solution was to go the Steam route. Unfortunately, Steam also likes to keep the game files updated. A quick online search revealed that Steam could make use of an external drive for storing the game executables and downloadable content. With the Steam drive on-the-go use-case being read-heavy, the Corsair Flash Voyager GS USB 3.0 128GB Flash Drive (with read speeds of up to 275 MBps) was ideal for use as a portable Steam drive.
Sleeping Dogs
Tomb Raider
Bioshock Infinite
DiRT Showdown
The Talos Principle
GRID Autosport
In the gaming benchmarks, the NVIDIA GTX 960 (GTX 970M) simply smokes the competition, particularly at the 1080p quality settings. The ZBOX MAGNUS EN970 more than makes up for the weak CPU with impressive gaming performance.
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boe - Monday, September 28, 2015 - link
Thanks - I don't think that meets my 4K, HDMI 2.0a or audio requirements (pretty much my only requirements)SpartyOn - Tuesday, September 29, 2015 - link
It does output UHD 4K @ 30 fps which should satisfy most consumer TVs on the market (unless you're rich enough to afford a 4096 × 2160 panel), so why do you need HDMI 2.0a?Also, as I stated, there is an open PCIe x1 slot for adding a sound card that meets your requirements, all at this inexpensive price point.
Jeesh, just trying to help here, bud.
boe - Tuesday, September 29, 2015 - link
I'm putting in a new 85" TV with HDMI 2.0a and I'll want to be able to take advantage of high fps 4K 3d, DTS-X and Dolby Atmostjbrizz - Monday, September 28, 2015 - link
What is the high end audio you're talking about? You only need to stream 8 ch PCM over HDMI for movies or multichannel music, or if you're an audiophile you use an asynchronous USB DAC for music. Any PC can do this.boe - Monday, September 28, 2015 - link
DTS-X and Dolby AtmosSpartyOn - Tuesday, September 29, 2015 - link
Oh, and I'll also point out that if you can afford a Dolby Atmos sound system, you really shouldn't be worrying about what the cost is for the right HTPC to be hooking it up to...Teknobug - Monday, September 28, 2015 - link
Most TV's smaller than 55" takes up around 35W. This particular PC (CPU is 15W) shouldn't take anymore than 25-30W. I care about power consumption and this isn't half bad considering that, I have an i3 4010U NUC and under full load it only takes 19W.jbrizz - Monday, September 28, 2015 - link
My 55 inch Samsung H6400 uses 60w with the backlight on 5 and 120w with the backlight on 15.Teknobug - Tuesday, September 29, 2015 - link
jeez 120W on max backlight? My Sony Bravia 55" uses 52W with max backlight (I think that's 10) and my Sony Bravia 48" uses 37W, I normally use 6 or 7 backlight because it's next to a window where the sun shines in the afternoon, but 10 is hard on the eyes.meacupla - Monday, September 28, 2015 - link
Is this the same thing as Zotac's steambox SN970?If it is, this was the one that caught my eye as it really stoodout from the crowd.