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MagyarZotac ZBOX Magnus mini PC with GeForce RTX 2080 in review
The ZBOX from Zotac has been around for a long time and the basic concept isn't new. With the latest version, the manufacturer pairs Intel's 9th generation of Core processors with the Turing architecture of Nvidia graphics cards. This configuration is based on components that are otherwise only found in laptops in order to keep the power consumption and the resulting heat development in check. After all, everything has to fit into the mini system, which has a footprint of only 21 x 20.3 centimeters. The height is also quite low at 6.22 centimeters.
The compact case looks very high-quality and stable, and it's completely black. Lighting elements were deliberately omitted from the barebone PC. Those who like a lot of bling can take a look at the Zotac MEK MINI review. The ZBOX Magnus is equipped with an Intel Core i7-9750H, which delivers a solid performance in modern games. Together with the built-in GeForce RTX 2080 (mobile), even very demanding games can be played on the system. More about this can be found in the respective section further down in this review.
Since this is a barebone system, as mentioned before, the ZBOX is delivered without RAM and a storage drive. Here, the buyer can decide what to install and is, therefore, not dependent on a preconfigured system.
At the time of testing, the Zotac ZBOX Magnus EN72080V costs just under 1,700 Euros (~$2,004).
Zotac ZBOX Magnus in detail
As mentioned at the beginning, the Zotac ZBOX Magnus is a barebone system. This means that it is up to the user to decide which storage device and which memory to install. The PC already comes with everything else. In our version, the Intel Core i7-9750H is installed together with the GeForce RTX 2080. In addition, many IO ports are located on the back and also on the front. Moreover, fast WLAN (Wi-Fi 6) and a dual-LAN port provide the necessary network connections.
For our review, Zotac has already equipped the device with an M.2 SSD and a hard drive. The same applies to the RAM. This can be expanded up to 32 GB if necessary.
Processor benchmarks
The Intel Core i7-9750H is a fast hexa-core processor that is primarily used in laptops. The manufacturer chose this processor because of its compactness and low power consumption. The ZBOX Magnus could deliver a good result in the test with its Core i7-9750H. The good cooling unit ensures that the SoC's performance is above the average of other Core i7-9750H processors that we've already tested. However, the ZBOX isn't able to beat Intel's Ghost Canyon NUC, which is due to the two missing cores, since Intel's NUC is equipped with a Core i9-9980HK.
* ... smaller is better
The Zotac ZBOX Magnus in the Cinebench R15 multi-loop
The compact design requires a cleverly devised and effective cooling system. This is exactly what Zotac's ZBOX Magnus offers, because the Cinebench R15 continuous loop doesn't show any serious performance loss even under sustained load.
Application performance
The Zotac ZBOX Magnus passes the application benchmarks without any issues and delivers a good result. Compared to conventional desktop PCs, however, the mini PC gets the short end of the stick. Nevertheless, the performance difference in everyday work isn't noteworthy. The GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile fell somewhat behind in the graphics tests. But even the desktop version of the GeForce RTX 2070 couldn't deliver significantly better results in the Ghost Canyon NUC.
3D and gaming performance
The built-in graphics card is of decisive importance for 3D performance. In our case, the ZBOX Magnus offers a very good choice with the GeForce RTX 2080, which also provides some future-proofing. The mobile version of the RTX 2080 loses in direct comparison with the GeForce RTX 2070 desktop version. Nonetheless, all games can be played smoothly in 1080p with maximum details. The Zotac ZBOX Magnus can even handle a higher resolution of 1440p. Only from 2160p does the GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile no longer manage to generate smooth frame rates in every game. The same fate befalls the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 in the Intel Ghost Canyon NUC.
| Borderlands 3 | |
| 1280x720 Very Low Overall Quality (DX11) | |
| Intel Ghost Canyon NUC (RTX 2070) | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile (128 - 150, n=2) | |
| Zotac ZBOX Magnus EN72070V | |
| 1920x1080 Badass Overall Quality (DX11) | |
| Zotac ZBOX Magnus EN72070V | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile (79.4 - 89.4, n=4) | |
| Intel Ghost Canyon NUC (RTX 2070) | |
| Metro Exodus | |
| 1280x720 Low Quality AF:4x | |
| Intel Ghost Canyon NUC (RTX 2070) | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile (149 - 165, n=2) | |
| Zotac ZBOX Magnus EN72070V | |
| 1920x1080 Ultra Quality AF:16x | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile (67.7 - 77.4, n=5) | |
| Zotac ZBOX Magnus EN72070V | |
| Intel Ghost Canyon NUC (RTX 2070) | |
| Far Cry New Dawn | |
| 1280x720 Low Preset | |
| Intel Ghost Canyon NUC (RTX 2070) | |
| Zotac ZBOX Magnus EN72070V | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile (109 - 117, n=2) | |
| 1920x1080 Ultra Preset | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile (82 - 108, n=5) | |
| Zotac ZBOX Magnus EN72070V | |
| Intel Ghost Canyon NUC (RTX 2070) | |
| Forza Horizon 4 | |
| 1280x720 Very Low Preset | |
| Intel Ghost Canyon NUC (RTX 2070) | |
| Zotac ZBOX Magnus EN72070V | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile () | |
| 1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:2xMS | |
| Zotac ZBOX Magnus EN72070V | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile () | |
| Intel Ghost Canyon NUC (RTX 2070) | |
| Far Cry 5 | |
| 1280x720 Low Preset AA:T | |
| Intel Ghost Canyon NUC (RTX 2070) | |
| Zotac ZBOX Magnus EN72070V | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile (123 - 123, n=2) | |
| 1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:T | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile (73 - 115, n=3) | |
| Intel Ghost Canyon NUC (RTX 2070) | |
| Zotac ZBOX Magnus EN72070V | |
| X-Plane 11.11 | |
| 1280x720 low (fps_test=1) | |
| Intel Ghost Canyon NUC (RTX 2070) | |
| Zotac ZBOX Magnus EN72070V | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile (98.2 - 114, n=3) | |
| 1920x1080 high (fps_test=3) | |
| Intel Ghost Canyon NUC (RTX 2070) | |
| Zotac ZBOX Magnus EN72070V | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile (73.1 - 84.7, n=3) | |
| Final Fantasy XV Benchmark | |
| 1280x720 Lite Quality | |
| Intel Ghost Canyon NUC (RTX 2070) | |
| Zotac ZBOX Magnus EN72070V | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile () | |
| 1920x1080 High Quality | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile (90.6 - 108, n=3) | |
| Intel Ghost Canyon NUC (RTX 2070) | |
| Zotac ZBOX Magnus EN72070V | |
| Dota 2 Reborn | |
| 1280x720 min (0/3) fastest | |
| Intel Ghost Canyon NUC (RTX 2070) | |
| Zotac ZBOX Magnus EN72070V | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile (134.8 - 152.8, n=3) | |
| 1920x1080 ultra (3/3) best looking | |
| Intel Ghost Canyon NUC (RTX 2070) | |
| Zotac ZBOX Magnus EN72070V | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile (103.9 - 133.8, n=3) | |
| The Witcher 3 | |
| 1024x768 Low Graphics & Postprocessing | |
| Zotac ZBOX Magnus EN72070V | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile (195.8 - 414, n=9) | |
| Intel Ghost Canyon NUC (RTX 2070) | |
| 1920x1080 Ultra Graphics & Postprocessing (HBAO+) | |
| Zotac ZBOX Magnus EN72070V | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile (82.2 - 105, n=16) | |
| Intel Ghost Canyon NUC (RTX 2070) | |
| 3DMark | |
| Fire Strike Extreme Graphics | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile (11133 - 12514, n=2) | |
| Zotac ZBOX Magnus EN72070V | |
| Intel Ghost Canyon NUC (RTX 2070) | |
| 1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile (22504 - 27319, n=16) | |
| Zotac ZBOX Magnus EN72070V | |
| Intel Ghost Canyon NUC (RTX 2070) | |
| 2560x1440 Time Spy Graphics | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile (9411 - 10992, n=15) | |
| Zotac ZBOX Magnus EN72070V | |
| Intel Ghost Canyon NUC (RTX 2070) | |
| 3DMark 11 | |
| 1280x720 Performance GPU | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile (31826 - 38809, n=17) | |
| Zotac ZBOX Magnus EN72070V | |
| Intel Ghost Canyon NUC (RTX 2070) | |
| 1280x720 Performance | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile (20224 - 29759, n=19) | |
| Intel Ghost Canyon NUC (RTX 2070) | |
| Zotac ZBOX Magnus EN72070V | |
| low | med. | high | ultra | QHD | 4K | |
| The Witcher 3 (2015) | 338 | 279 | 175 | 95.9 | 63.9 | |
| Dota 2 Reborn (2015) | 145.2 | 135.5 | 130.5 | 124.6 | 119 | |
| Final Fantasy XV Benchmark (2018) | 150 | 117 | 90.6 | 67.7 | 39.5 | |
| X-Plane 11.11 (2018) | 114 | 102 | 84.7 | 73 | ||
| Far Cry 5 (2018) | 123 | 72 | 84 | 73 | 67 | 52 |
| Forza Horizon 4 (2018) | 169 | 147 | 145 | 139 | 122 | 82 |
| Far Cry New Dawn (2019) | 117 | 102 | 97 | 88 | 82 | 54 |
| Metro Exodus (2019) | 149 | 112 | 88.1 | 69.5 | 54.8 | 35.1 |
| Borderlands 3 (2019) | 128 | 117 | 93.4 | 84.3 | 61.4 | 33.2 |
Energy consumption and heat development in the ZBOX Magnus
The ZBOX Magnus from Zotac has a cleverly devised cooling system that cools the components effectively and reliably. Most of the heat is conducted out of the case through the sides and the back. We liked the noise level under load very much, because the mini PC was audible but not disturbing at 38.6 dB(A). Thanks to the fan noise not being high-frequency, the mini PC doesn't generate an annoying operating noise under full load either. When playing games, the background noise was even a bit quieter at 37.2 dB(A). Despite the good cooling, the processor and graphics card heat up to almost 90 °C (~194 °F) in our stress test. This is still within the intended specifications.
The real strength of the ZBOX lies in its energy efficiency, because our test sample is very economical compared to a conventional desktop PC. The ZBOX Magnus was also able to hold its own against the Ghost Canyon NUC with lower energy consumption. We measured a maximum of 236 watts while playing games, since the CPU and GPU are under extreme load here. The 330-watt power adapter has no problems with this value.
| Power Consumption | |
| 1920x1080 The Witcher 3 ultra (external Monitor) | |
| AMD Ryzen 9 3950X (Idle: 95 W) | |
| Intel Core i9-10900K (Idle: 52.3 W) | |
| Intel Core i5-10600K (Idle: 52.2 W) | |
| Intel Core i5 9400F (Idle: 57 W) | |
| Intel Ghost Canyon NUC (RTX 2070) (Idle: 33.1 W) | |
| Zotac ZBOX Magnus EN72070V (Idle: 25.7 W) | |
| Prime95 V2810 Stress (external Monitor) | |
| Intel Core i9-10900K (Idle: 52.3 W) | |
| Intel Core i5-10600K (Idle: 52.2 W) | |
| AMD Ryzen 9 3950X (Idle: 95 W) | |
| Intel Core i5 9400F (Idle: 57 W) | |
| Intel Ghost Canyon NUC (RTX 2070) (Idle: 33.1 W) | |
| Zotac ZBOX Magnus EN72070V (Idle: 25.7 W) | |
| Cinebench R15 Multi (external Monitor) | |
| Intel Core i9-10900K (Idle: 52.3 W) | |
| AMD Ryzen 9 3950X (Idle: 95 W) | |
| Intel Core i5-10600K (Idle: 52.2 W) | |
| Intel Core i5 9400F (Idle: 57 W) | |
| Zotac ZBOX Magnus EN72070V (Idle: 25.7 W) | |
| Temperatures - CPU Temperature Prime95 | |
| Intel Core i9-10900K | |
| Zotac ZBOX Magnus EN72070V | |
| AMD Ryzen 9 3950X | |
| Intel Core i5-10600K | |
| Intel Core i5 9400F | |
* ... smaller is better
Pros
Cons
Verdict - Powerful and quiet ZBOX Magnus
The Zotac ZBOX Magnus is not just any pre-built PC, but as a barebone system, it offers the user the possibility to complete the device according to his needs. You can choose the storage devices and type of memory freely. Unfortunately, users are limited when it comes to the processor and the graphics card, because upgrading these components later isn't possible.
We tested the ZBOX Magnus with the Intel Core i7-9750H in combination with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile. In terms of pure performance, you can run all modern games smoothly with the small PC without having to sacrifice details. However, the WQHD resolution is required. The ZBOX also masters many titles in UHD, although you often have to reduce the details here. Conversely, the GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile delivers about the same performance as the GeForce RTX 2070 Desktop.
The Zotac ZBOX Magnus is a powerful gaming PC in the mini format. However, before buying it, you should familiarize yourself with the peculiarities of a barebone system.
The system delivers a big advantage in terms of volume. Very compact devices are often very loud and suffer from strong heat development. On the whole, Zotac has a very good grip on the heat problem, and the noise level under load is also alright at just under 39 dB(A).
Those who want to invest 1,700 Euros (~$2,004) in the barebone system now know the advantages and disadvantages that the ZBOX Magnus offers. In terms of price, both Intel with the Ghost Canyon NUC and Zotac with the ZBOX Magnus don't give in easily. However, one must consider that the Ghost Canyon NUC doesn't include a dedicated graphics card in the purchase price. Consequently, this point clearly goes to Zotac.
