Zotac ZBOX MAGNUS EN970 Review - A Gaming mini-PC Done Right
by Ganesh T S on September 28, 2015 8:00 AM ESTFinal Words
The Zotac ZBOX MAGNUS EN970 provided us with the opportunity to take a look at what mobile Maxwell coupled with a Broadwell-U CPU could bring to the gaming mini-PC market. Simply put, this is the most powerful mini-PC we have evaluated so far for gaming workloads.
There are certain things that prospective consumers need to keep in mind. The M.2 slot in the unit supports only PCIe x2 devices and not x4 ones such as the Samsung SM951. The discrete GPU drives up the idle power, meaning that one can't have the cake and eat it too. It would be nice to have something similar to what is done in the notebook space to be implemented here - i.e, being able to use the integrated GPU as well when not gaming, or when attempting to use Quick Sync. Finally, we would like to see a higher performance CPU in the system - there are other CPUs at this TDP worth considering.
One of the aspects for which Zotac can't be blamed directly is the advertising of the NVIDIA GTX 970M as GTX 960 when they are completely different for HTPC uses. NVIDIA's rebranding scheme makes very little sense, at least in this situation. The 'NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960' in the ZOTAC ZBOX MAGNUS EN970 is a MXM card, and as such, can't be purchased standalone. As an OEM exclusive, it is only available in pre-built systems like the MAGNUS EN970. Despite being placed in a SFF system, the GTX 970M can provide roughly the same performance as that of a bonafide desktop GTX 960 - just not for HTPC workloads.
Excellent thermal design and a robust cooling mechanism make the MAGNUS EN970 one of the quietest gaming mini-PCs that we evaluated. To provide some rough numbers, a HTC One M7 running the Android Sound Meter Pro app recorded just 50 dB when placed directly outside the outlet vent during the benchmarking of GRID Autosport. With the GB-BXi5G-760, we recorded 65 dB under similar circumstances. During gameplay, or even 5 - 6 ft. away, the noise profile of the unit is simply not a concern at all.
The barebones version of the ZBOX MAGNUS EN970 is available for $800 on Amazon. For $100 extra, the PLUS version adds a 120GB SATA SSD and an 8GB SO-DIMM. The pricing is quite reasonable when the costs of the competing products are considered. On the whole, the plus points of the ZOTAC ZBOX MAGNUS EN970 far outweigh the issues. There is still scope for improvement that we have pointed out in this review, but it still makes an interesting mini-PC purchase.
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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.