Zotac ZBOX MAGNUS EN970 Review - A Gaming mini-PC Done Right
by Ganesh T S on September 28, 2015 8:00 AM ESTPerformance Metrics - I
The Zotac ZBOX MAGNUS EN970 was evaluated using our standard test suite for mini / industrial PCs. Not all benchmarks were processed on all the machines due to updates in our testing procedures. Therefore, the list of PCs in each graph might not be the same.
Futuremark PCMark 8
PCMark 8 provides various usage scenarios (home, creative and work) and offers ways to benchmark both baseline (CPU-only) as well as OpenCL accelerated (CPU + GPU) performance. We benchmarked select PCs for the OpenCL accelerated performance in all three usage scenarios. These scores are heavily influenced by the CPU in the system. The issue for the MAGNUS EN970 is the fact that it comes with a U-series CPU, while the gaming mini-PCs from the competitors use the non-U CPUs. For example, the extra thickness of the ASRock VisionX series units allows them to integrate Core i7-4712MQ CPUs in the VisionX 471D and 420D systems. The GIGABYTE GB-BXi5G-760 uses a Core i5-5200H.
Miscellaneous Futuremark Benchmarks
3D Rendering - CINEBENCH R15
We have moved on from R11.5 to R15 for 3D rendering evaluation. CINEBENCH R15 provides three benchmark modes - OpenGL, single threaded and multi-threaded. Evaluation of select PCs in all three modes provided us the following results. The surprising aspect is the OpenGL results - the previous generation GTX 760 seems to perform better than the GTX 960. As we shall see further on in the review, this issue persists in a few other benchmarks as well. The other results can easily be explained by the low power CPU (Core i5-5200U) in the system.
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krystyin - Monday, September 28, 2015 - link
It is the exact same box - except you can get it one whole month early.YukaKun - Monday, September 28, 2015 - link
I love the idea and concept, but I think it's still far from perfect execution on 2 accounts:1.- They could compromise an inch or less for height and put a beefier CPU in there without sacrificing a lot of space, but giving a HUGE performance and life longevity boost.
2.- Sound does not seem to be something they cares much about. For that price range and fighting for Living Room space, they need to show more sound options and connectivity. Good on the HDMI front, but I did not see an optical nor RCA SPDIF connector. Plus, no DP can be forgiven, but still hurts IMO.
I think the price is also high, but if this delivers in acoustics and brute performance in such a nice small package, it justifies the price. Most great notebooks that come close to this are over 1K.
Cheers!
wintermute000 - Tuesday, September 29, 2015 - link
Also, for this price I'd want HDCP 2.2 and 4k/60fps hardware HEVC10.For this scenario you'd almost say a GTX960 based card would have been better for the HEVC10 and HDCP 2.2 (than a cut down GTX970) - even if you give up a few frames, I would not expect a 1k HTPC to lack ANY HTPC features
abhaxus - Monday, September 28, 2015 - link
Another article with a scrolling mobile ad. Closing after the first page. AT is fast losing any relevance it had before the loss of Anand and the buyout. Late coverage on important releases, less filler content, poor news section, embarrassing advertising. AT was the reason I uninstalled AdBlock years ago because I wanted to support the site and others like it. I remember when you offered instructions on the site for how to turn off the annoying word highlight ads on your help page. Now this. Just sad.vortexmak - Monday, September 28, 2015 - link
All the disadvantages of a laptop with none of the mobilitylmcd - Tuesday, September 29, 2015 - link
Not true -- the mobility counts for frequent long-distant mobility. Really interesting as a college student on a budget.HigherState - Monday, September 28, 2015 - link
I cannot get past price/performance. A PC in a Silverstone mini-itx case (or equivalent) can get you the same performance for lower price. "Oh the box isn't as small as my appleTV :( "........please. Maybe I'm not the target audience.meacupla - Tuesday, September 29, 2015 - link
The story becomes different when you want to lug around a gaming PC in a suitcase, especially carry-on.SpartyOn - Monday, September 28, 2015 - link
These small gaming NUCs do not compute for me... Why pay the SFF premium to get essentially a laptop in a box - without the mobility? If you use Steam for your games, there is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON to buy a SFF PC anymore.Just buy/build whatever size computer you want - I use mITX because I actually do take my box to other people's houses, but any size box is fine - and leave it in one location in your home. Then just buy a compute stick or build a cheap NUC to stream games from the main rig to these inexpensive living room PCs.
For $978 you could build a nice desktop GTX 970 system - immensely more powerful that the reviewed machine - and still have money left over for an inexpensive streaming solution. So not only do you get a better gaming computer, but you still have an HTPC to boot. Win-win.
Maybe this serves LAN gamers who need an even smaller box than an mITX rig? I dunno, I have no trouble carting my mITX around with a full-size desktop card and if I did, I'd still just buy a laptop if I needed additional portability.
10 years ago these things would have been awesome. Now their just a niche product for people who don't know any better.
jordanclock - Monday, September 28, 2015 - link
These absolutely have a purpose. It's in the living room. SFF PCs fit the same niche as consoles. They're small, relatively quiet and perform fine at 1080p. They're not meant for mobility and you won't get the same feature set for a similar price in a full ATX PC, unless you want something much louder and harder to fit in an entertainment center.Just because these kinds of PCs aren't for you, isn't to say they have no reason to exist.