Zotac ZBOX MAGNUS EN970 Review - A Gaming mini-PC Done Right
by Ganesh T S on September 28, 2015 8:00 AM ESTNetworking and Storage Performance
We have recently started devoting a separate section to analyze the storage and networking credentials of the units under review. On the storage side, one option would be repetition of our strenuous SSD review tests on the drive(s) in the PC. Fortunately, to avoid that overkill, PCMark 8 has a storage bench where certain common workloads such as loading games and document processing are replayed on the target drive. Results are presented in two forms, one being a benchmark number and the other, a bandwidth figure. We ran the PCMark 8 storage bench on selected PCs and the results are presented below.
The OCZ Vector drive we used in our setup has been EOL-ed by OCZ, but there are plenty of similarly performing drives with similar costs in the market.
On the networking side, we restricted ourselves to the evaluation of the WLAN component. Our standard test router is the Netgear R7000 Nighthawk configured with both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks. The router is placed approximately 20 ft. away, separated by a drywall (as in a typical US building). A wired client (Zotac ID89-Plus) is connected to the R7000 and serves as one endpoint for iPerf evaluation. The PC under test is made to connect to either the 5 GHz (preferred) or 2.4 GHz SSID and iPerf tests are conducted for both TCP and UDP transfers. It is ensured that the PC under test is the only wireless client for the Netgear R7000. We evaluate total throughput for up to 32 simultaneous TCP connections using iPerf and present the highest number in the graph below.
In the UDP case, we try to transfer data at the highest rate possible for which we get less than 1% packet loss.
The numbers are similar to what we obtained for other systems with the Intel AC-3160 WiFi 802.11ac PCIe WLAN card. The external antenna helps in provideing better 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.