A compact but capable mini-PC designed for users who need portability or a home entertainment system – featuring Intel Core-i5 4200U and NVIDIA’s GTX 860M.
Product on Review: ZBOX EN8760 Plus
Manufacturer & Sponsor: ZOTAC
Price: £460 GBP / $495 USD
Prolific in the graphics card arena, ZOTAC are also well-known for their passion in the mini-ITX motherboard and mini PC markets too. In fact ZOTAC’s ZBOX product-line can almost be regarded as a forerunner for mobile computers.
Momentum in this arena has been gradually increasing – so much so that other brands are now following in ZOTAC’s footsteps as more and more users favour the mini-PC in the living room. Today we are to take a look at one of ZOTAC’s most capable mini-PCs – the EN760 Plus.
EN760 Plus is a mini-PC which features a dual-core Intel processor, 8GB DDR3 and NVIDIA’s GTX 860M. Along with these components there are also many features which gamers and enthusiasts are likely to find useful. On paper EN760 Plus appears to be quite a capable machine, but will it be able to handle everything we throw at it?
ZOTAC on their ZBOX EN760 Plus
Embark on a visually stunning PC gaming experience with the compact ZOTAC ZBOX EN760 series mini-PC designed for gamers. Discrete NVIDIA GeForce GTX graphics enables the ZOTAC ZBOX EN760 series to play the latest PC games with smooth frame rates, beautiful graphics and best-in-class features such as NVIDIA Adaptive VSync, GeForce Experience and GeForce ShadowPlay technologies for a compact gaming experience that rivals full-size desktop PCs.
Technical Specifications
Product Name
ZBOX EN760 Plus
Chipset Manufacturer
Intel
GPU
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M (Maxwell)
CPU
Intel Core i5 4200U (dual-core, 1.6 GHz) (Turbo up to 2.6 GHz)
Memory
8GB 1600MHz DDR3 – 1600 MHz
Slots
2 x 204-pin SODIMM
Capacity
8GB (up to 16GB)
DirectX
DirectX 11.2 (feature level 11_0)
OpenGL
OpenGL 4.4
Networking
Ethernet 2 x 10/100/1000Mbps
WiFi
802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.0
Audio
Analog Stereo output
Digital 8-ch via DVI-HDMI
Storage
1TB 5400RPM HDD
Memory Card Reader
4-in-1 (MMC/SD/SDHC/SDXC)
Ports
DVI 1 (dual-link)
HDMI 1
SATA 2 (1 SATA 6.0 Gb/s, 1 mSATA 6.0 Gb/s)
USB Ports 4 USB 3.0 (2 on back panel, 1 on top, 1 front)
Form Factor
mini-PC
OS Compatibility
User installed (Windows 7/8 ready)
ZBOX EN760 Plus
Chipset Manufacturer
Intel
GPU
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M (Maxwell)
CPU
Intel Core i5 4200U (dual-core, 1.6 GHz) (Turbo up to 2.6 GHz)
Memory
8GB 1600MHz DDR3 – 1600 MHz
Slots
2 x 204-pin SODIMM
Capacity
8GB (up to 16GB)
DirectX
DirectX 11.2 (feature level 11_0)
OpenGL
OpenGL 4.4
Networking
Ethernet 2 x 10/100/1000Mbps
WiFi
802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.0
Audio
Analog Stereo output
Digital 8-ch via DVI-HDMI
Storage
1TB 5400RPM HDD
Memory Card Reader
4-in-1 (MMC/SD/SDHC/SDXC)
Ports
DVI 1 (dual-link)
HDMI 1
SATA 2 (1 SATA 6.0 Gb/s, 1 mSATA 6.0 Gb/s)
USB Ports 4 USB 3.0 (2 on back panel, 1 on top, 1 front)
Form Factor
mini-PC
OS Compatibility
User installed (Windows 7/8 ready)
Packaging & Bundle
EN760 Plus arrives in a rather lively box which doesn’t fail to attract attention. The front displays an image of the actual product and details the features and technologies which are involved. On the back of this box ZOTAC pinpoint specific ports on the EN760 Plus, highlighting what the user can take advantage of.
ZOTAC include a vast array of accessories with EN760 Plus, these items include the following:
1 x ZOTAC ZBOX EN760
2 x WiFi antenna
1 x VESA mount
4 x Mounting screws
1 x DVI-VGA adapter
1 x Stand
1 x AC adapter
1 x Power cord
1 x Warranty card
1 x User manual
1 x Quick Install Guide
1 x USB drive with O/S driver
1 x Driver disc
Above we have attached the ZBOX unit to the provided stand. This stand allows the EN760 Plus to stand vertically – giving full access to the ports and buttons on the front and back.
Closer Look
The ZBOX EN760 Plus measures just 4x19x19 cm. For scale, we’ve placed the unit next to a Samsung smartphone. This mini-PC will sit comfortably next to the TV as part of a home-entertainment system due to its compact dimensions and professional finish; the top-side of EN760 Plus features a glossy plastic panel.
Flipping the unit over, there is a small area for ventilation and four rubber feet to prevent the unit from slipping if you prefer to have the ZBOX out of the supplied stand.
Also on the reverse is the serial number should you need to contact ZOTAC directly for technical assistance.
On the front edge of EN760 Plus there are a number of ports and features to make use of. These include the following:
• Headphone jack
• Microphone jack
• SD card reader (MMC/SD/SDHC/SDXC)
• USB 3.0 port
• WiFi LED
• Activity LED
• Infrared sensor
• Power button
Over on the reverse-side, we have even more ports to use and we’re really pleased to see such a generous selection. These include:
• WiFi antenna port
• Optical SPD/if port
• Dual gigabit Ethernet
• Two USB 3.0 ports
• Dual-link DVI
• HDMI
• Bluetooth antenna port
• AC power port
Over on the side of EN760 Plus, there isn’t anything overly exciting except some ventilation for the internal components and another USB 3.0 port which has a rubber cover to prevent any dust from getting inside.
For those wanting to gain access to the inner-workings of EN760 Plus, ZOTAC has given this unit two easy-to-remove thumbscrews – once these are detached, the lid simply slides off the chassis.
And with this cover detached, we can inspect the internal components which lie underneath. EN760 Plus features the following hardware:
CPU Intel Core i5 4200U (dual-core, 1.6 GHz) (Turbo up to 2.6 GHz)
Memory 8GB 1600MHz DDR3 – 1600 MHz
GPU NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M (Maxwell)
The Intel processor inside this unit is a dual-core chip and operates at 1.6GHz but will turbo boost to 2.6GHz. ZOTAC has included 8GB of DDR3 (1600MHz) but there is a total capacity of 16GB should you need to expand – 8GB should be sufficient for such a product.
The driving force behind the 3D capabilities is NVIDIA’s GTX 860M which uses Maxwell architecture – in the subsequent pages we’ll be exploring how effective this and the other hardware is when we run some in-depth benchmarks.
Benchmarks: Windows 8 Boot & Power Consumption
We install Windows 8 on the ZBOX, bring it right up-to-date and then use a digital stopwatch to time the bootup period. To measure the power consumption, we load up 3DMark and then use a power energy monitor to view wattage.
Benchmarks: Cinebench R15 & X264 HD
In order to test the efficiency of the CPU within our ZBOX, Cinebench is used first of all – this gives a processing score. We then use X264 HD to demonstrate how the CPU performs in terms of encoding media files.
Benchmarks: 3DMark & PCMark 8
The new 3DMark includes everything you need to benchmark your hardware. With three all new tests you can bench everything from smartphones and tablets, to notebooks and home PCs, to the latest high-end, multi-GPU gaming desktops. And it’s not just for Windows. With 3DMark you can compare your scores with Android and iOS devices too. It’s the most powerful and flexible 3DMark we’ve ever created.
Benchmarks: Tomb Raider, THIEF, Battlefield 4
Our ZBOX uses an integrated chip for graphics delivery. To test how effective the 3D capabilities are we run two benchmark tests within 3DMark and then we use the benchmarking tool within Tomb Raider and THIEF and FRAPS for BF4 to obtain average framerate readings
Conclusion
The era of bringing the PC into the living room is certainly upon us and ZOTAC are the pioneers in this arena. We’ve experienced their Nano series in the past and have been impressed, and the same can be said for this larger albeit, “Mini-PC”.
The coalition between the major players in the industry and this movement towards small form factor has meant that core components such as the CPU, memory and GPU can now be optimised and the EN760 Plus is a good representation of what can be utilised inside such a condensed space. It’s now possible to have the delights of a fully-fledged, mid-range computer in your living room without the need to use a big, bulky computer chassis/unit.
EN760 Plus performed very well in all of the benchmarks we ran – an indicator that this machine will satisfy casual gamers and home entertainment buffs. Due to its size and weight EN760 Plus is also extremely portable and can easily be popped into the backpack when visiting friends or a LAN party.
We’re really pleased with what ZOTAC has included with this ZBOX – at the front and back of the unit there are an abundant offering of ports and buttons to take advantage of and it’s great to see that any USB 2.0 ports have been ditched for the super-fast USB 3.0 replacement.
Our only qualms with the EN760 Plus is that the cooling fan inside can be noisy once the unit is fully loaded. We could also hear noise from the mechanical hard drive inside and for the cost we would have liked to see an SSD – though with M.2 now gathering popularity its likely we’ll see such a storage option in an upgraded successor in the near future.
EN760 Plus can be bought for £460 GBP / $495 USD which is good value for money when you weigh up the included features. One thing to bear in mind though, is that the OS is not included – so this will need to be factored into the cost too.
The ZBOX EN760 Plus is a rather capable mini-PC. Its size, weight and hardware specifications make it the ideal product to use for a home entertainment system or to use as a portable gaming machine.
Pros
+ Small and lightweight
+ Ideal as part of home theatre system
+ Plenty of ports & functionality
+ Good lineup of hardware
+ Option to upgrade memory & HDD capacity
+ Dual display support
+ WiFi/Bluetooth ready
Cons
– Fan and HDD can be noisy
– No OS included
+ Small and lightweight
+ Ideal as part of home theatre system
+ Plenty of ports & functionality
+ Good lineup of hardware
+ Option to upgrade memory & HDD capacity
+ Dual display support
+ WiFi/Bluetooth ready
Cons
– Fan and HDD can be noisy
– No OS included
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