AMD Polaris Makes Its Debut In Zotac's ZBox Magnus ERX480 Mini PC

[kewlguy239]

Zotac announced that its ZBox-series Magnus mini PC would now be offered in a Team Red variant with an AMD Radeon RX480 graphics module under the hood.

AMD Polaris Makes Its Debut In Zotac's ZBox Magnus ERX480 Mini PC : Read more

 

[tommyjr98]

I wonder how much it will cost and if that processor will bottleneck the system...any thoughts?

 

[kewlguy239]

Well, the i5-6400T is a VR-ready CPU, in that it meets the minimum requirement for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. The clock rate isn't particularly high, but I don't see it producing a "bottleneck" of sorts, unless you are running CPU-intensive games and/or CAD applications. Even then, for gaming, the difference minute. Stepping up the CPU in this device would undoubtedly increase the price and thermal load, and Zotac does offer slightly larger mini PCs with such components. However, I feel the i5-6400T is a perfect match to the RX480. Both of these components meet the minimum requirement for VR, and it should also keep the price down, when compared to similar Nvidia-based mini PCs. Time will tell.

 

[Deleted member 1353997]

The i5 6400T is a modern 2.2 GHz quadcore. That CPU most likely won't be a bottleneck for the next 5 years at least.

 

[Nintendork]

A 125w Raven Ridge custom APU would do wonders for this niche market.

 

[Nintendork]

I will probably be a bit of a bottleneck because of the low frequancy. At 3Ghz+ on all cores while gaming would be much better.

 

[Brian_R170]

This is a really cool box. Hope to see a full review of it soon. I am waiting for the day when an enthusiast can build a box this size and this powerful with 100% standard components.

Too bad about the lack of support for NVMe drives and also not offering other CPUs like the i5-6600T and i7-6700T.

 

[LeeRains]

I was looking at this thinking it might be a decent portable video editor, given it actually has a solid GPU in it, but the SATA cap on the M.2 drive (?) and the relatively weak CPU kind of kill that idea.

 

[alextheblue]

An option to pay a little extra for a 6500T would have been great. I know this is a very mini PC that's trying to stay within a budget, but the jump between the 6400T and the 6500T is quite large for a small dollar amount - larger than the jump from a 6500T to a 6600T, dollar for dollar. I'm not saying it should be crammed into the base model, but hopefully they'll offer upscale models with the 480, at a small price premium.

 

[Onight]

There is indeed a bottleneck, at least on the Magnus EN1070 model.
http://blog.livedoor.jp/wisteriear/archives/1061669565.html
The author changed the CPU from 6400T to 6700T and gained 10-20% gaming performance with minimum thermal change. Also he advised against using NVMe in such a SFF, the temp of 950pro along can toast the box.

 

[Prof_Electric]

The i5-6400 is only (best metric) 22% better performing than the i5-6400T while the "T" variant is nearly 50% more power efficient. Some of the best gaming rigs built today use the i5-6400 and do not peg this processor so I don't see the i5-6400T being the bottleneck. The graphics card will be the limiting factor and AMD's best offerings right now are a little more than a generation behind in performance vs NVIDIA. I expect this machine to fit the low power/low budget/small space niche. It would be a killer HTPC--in fact, overkill, and I think a great box for a steam machine or similar device for the casual gamer who prefers PC gaming regardless of motive.

 

[Ps Channel]

700 bucks maybe? That would be good for a steam machine in the living room or something

 

[Ps Channel]

700 dollars maybe? That would be good for a steam machine in the living room or something.

 

[jkhoward]

I need this...

 

[alextheblue]

The i5-6400 is only (best metric) 22% better performing than the i5-6400T while the "T" variant is nearly 50% more power efficient. Some of the best gaming rigs built today use the i5-6400 and do not peg this processor so I don't see the i5-6400T being the bottleneck. The graphics card will be the limiting factor and AMD's best offerings right now are a little more than a generation behind in performance vs NVIDIA.

First of all, it depends on the game title. Some games are more CPU dependent, especially in real-world use. Benchmarks don't show what happens when you play online with a pile of other people, for example. Benchmarks by their nature can not accurately capture this sort of situation. Second, AMD's RX 470/480 make a pretty strong showing particularly in games built for low-level APIs (and some that aren't). I think a comment like being a little more than a generation behind is disingenuous at best. Unless of course price is no object, in which case a decked out 1080 is hard to beat.

Anyway, a 6400T appears to have a 4-cores-loaded top turbo speed of 2.5Ghz. That's a bit low, especially given that it's questionable how well it can sustain that speed while gaming. Offering a 6500T and 6600T as options would be nice, as both the turbo and base speeds are higher. They're not even that much more expensive.

 

[LeeRains]

I'm neither anti/pro Apple/PC, I have both, but it's crazy how even in 2016 PC manufacturers can't figure out a way to build a PC that's as small as an iMac and significantly faster.

The new iMac has Samsung 960 level speed in its SSD offering, why isn't their super-thin laptop toasted? lol

There is indeed a bottleneck, at least on the Magnus EN1070 model.
http://blog.livedoor.jp/wisteriear/archives/1061669565.html
The author changed the CPU from 6400T to 6700T and gained 10-20% gaming performance with minimum thermal change. Also he advised against using NVMe in such a SFF, the temp of 950pro along can toast the box.

 

[Onight]

I'm neither anti/pro Apple/PC, I have both, but it's crazy how even in 2016 PC manufacturers can't figure out a way to build a PC that's as small as an iMac and significantly faster.

The new iMac has Samsung 960 level speed in its SSD offering, why isn't their super-thin laptop toasted? lol

With all due respects, you’re comparing a 20cm*20cm ZBox to a 53cm*45cm iMac, I have to say there are much more room for the hot air to escape in that iMac. I do agree that putting M.2 slot right underneath the GPU block is plain short-sighting, but with such confined space, sacrifice has to be done.

I will buy ERX480 as soon as it hits the market, break the warrant and change its CPU to 6600T or 6700T. I just cannot live without AMD Fluid Motion. Really hope Zotac to offer better CPU options, at its current state there’s no meaning to buy the EN1070 model.

 

[andy_newton]

The bottleneck is the RX480