Monday, August 19th 2024

ZOTAC Launches The ZONE Handheld Gaming PC at Gamescom 2024

ZOTAC GAMING proudly announces the much-anticipated premium gaming handheld, the ZOTAC GAMING ZONE, is ready to begin accepting preorders in select regions and e-tailer platforms. The ZONE, which emphasizes premium hardware and elite controls, was announced COMPUTEX 2024 with great anticipation. Visitors arriving at GAMESCOM 2024, one of the largest video game trade fairs held annually in Cologne, Germany, will be the first to experience the thrills of gaming on the ZONE. The ZOTAC GAMING ZONE is the first handheld gaming PC on the market to incorporate premium hardware and elite control features that players will not find on other handheld PCs, offering gamers more immersion and advantages in PC games like non-other.

The ZOTAC GAMING ZONE is powered by AMD's Ryzen 7 8840U, an efficient powerhouse with bleeding edge Zen 4 architecture and RDNA 3 graphics that enables even AAA gaming at native 1080p resolution. Along with the 16 GB of LPDDR5X-7500 Memory on board, the ZONE makes the full spectrum of experiences that PC gaming can offer through stunning visuals and performance, and take advantage of AMD's driver-level Fluid Motion Frames (FMF) and FidelityFX Super Resolution technology to enhance gameplay performance and immersion further. Also featured are a full-sized 2280 512 GB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD and a UHS-II microSD card reader to cover every gamer's storage needs.
The ZOTAC GAMING ZONE is equipped with a premium 7'' Full HD AMOLED Display, a first in Handheld PCs. With the deep blacks and Wide Color Gamut that only AMOLED displays can provide, gamers are guaranteed to be blown away by the unmatched visual immersion. To add to the players' competitive edge, the display also benefits from a fast 120 Hz high refresh rate and up to 800 nits of brightness, making for smooth visuals and crystal clear details.

ELITE CONTROLS
While hardware performance is crucial for Handheld Consoles, the ZOTAC GAMING ZONE steps up the ante through an entire suite of elite control options that are typically only found on premium game controllers.

Hall Effect Sensors
Triggers and Analog Sticks utilize hall-effect sensors, which enhance precision and prevent drifting from wear and tear.

2-Stage Adjustable Triggers
Designed to meet the needs of the modern gamer, the ZONE features 2-stage adjustable triggers so gamers can play like a pro on the go. Rapid fire with the short-travel hair triggers, or assume full control with traditional analog triggers with a flick of a switch.

Radial Dials
For those times when you can't take your hands off your game, the ZONE's got your back. The Radial Dials around both Analog Sticks allow gamers to adjust system settings with a single twist.

Dual Trackpads
Twin trackpads flank both sides of the ZONE to provide an alternative means to control the desktop or play your favorite mouse-heavy PC titles without additional peripherals.
Such features enhance the gaming experience and give gamers an edge against in a competitive environment. Additionally, a full-sized gamepad, rear twin macro buttons, and even button types are deliberately chosen, with the D-Pad utilizing clicky microswitches for greater feedback.

ERGONOMICS
Aside from added buttons, the overall shape of the ZOTAC GAMING ZONE has been carefully considered and designed for a stable, balanced grip that will stay comfortable for hours on end of continuous usage. Button layouts are also designed in a symmetrical fashion, which allows players a more positive grip on the device as opposed to offset controller layouts.
Dual USB4 Ports
Two full-speed USB4 Ports are strategically positioned on the top and bottom of the device, allowing for greater flexibility for usage. Transfer large files or charge rapidly using the port of your choice.

Connectivity
With Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 on board, offering users with high bandwidth, and high-speed internet connectivity to download larger titles and play with lower latency, and opens up usage of additional Bluetooth accessories and peripherals. The ZONE will also be equipped with a front-facing camera and microphone for impromptu video calls, as well as a fingerprint reader power button that supports secure login to the ZONE via Windows Hello.

Accessories
Alongside the ZOTAC GAMING ZONE itself, ZOTAC GAMING is also introducing two bespoke accessories to expand the gaming handheld's use cases: a docking station with a well-rounded selection of ports as well as an interface for an additional fast NVMe SSD storage to convert the handheld gaming into a full-fledged desktop; as well as a carrying case with additional storage space so players can game on the go with the peace of mind that their ZONE will be well-protected.
XBOX Game Pass
To allow gamers to jump right into the ZOTAC GAMING ZONE, each unit will come bundled with a free one-month XBOX Game Pass Trial so that gamers can dive straight into the world of handheld gaming. Discover your next obsession, or rediscover gaming classics all in one membership, and with games added all the time, there is always something to play.

GAMESCOM 2024
From August 21 to 23, ZOTAC GAMING, in partnership with Be Quiet! will be showing off specimens of the finalized ZOTAC GAMING ZONE handheld in addition to its well-known graphics cards and ZBOX Mini-PC lineup of products to present guests with ZOTAC's latest product developments in the gaming market.

Aside from its ZBOX E-Series MAGNUS demo machines, ZOTAC GAMING will also set up a trove of ZOTAC GAMING ZONE handhelds for all to try, and get in the ZONE's stunning AMOLED display and elite controls, which one has to see to believe how truly remarkable it is.

We invite GAMESCOM visitors to meet us and our partners from Be Quiet! in hall 10.1, booth A-078 to get exclusive insights on our latest and to-be-released products, and a chance to win a ZOTAC GAMING ZONE handheld on-site.

AVAILABILITY FOR ZOTAC GAMING ZONE
The ZOTAC GAMING ZONE ZGC-G1A1W-01 is ready for pre-order now on exclusive e-tailer platforms in select regions, in a ready-to-go configuration with 16GB LPDDR5X memory, 512GB M.2 SSD, and Windows 11 Home preinstalled.
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27 Comments on ZOTAC Launches The ZONE Handheld Gaming PC at Gamescom 2024

#26
Chrispy_
HOkayYes we're clearly not going to convince each other to fully change opinions, but having the discussion gives us both food for thought.

eGPU performance drop over native PCIe is such a complicated topic. Assuming you're using an external screen (as I'm sure you know, using the devices internal screen causes a huge performance penalty due to having to send the frames back down the cable - just saying this for anyone reading who doesn't know) then it's very generally more like a frame rate limit than a linear performance drop. So as you increase the quality settings & resolution you're paying at, you inherently bring down the frame rate which eases the pressure on that USB4/TB3 interface. So for 4k60 gaming you'll find you lose a lot less of your GPUs performance compared to 1080p@240, for example. Hopefully I'll get some time soon to really test my 4060ti 16GB in a desktop vs in an eGPU enclosure attached to the Go to get some real numbers for discussions like these, I find it a really interesting topic. It's still going to be a big ol' range though, e.g. something like between 5% to 30% performance loss depending on the resolution, game & settings. Really generalised guidance is that you'd need a tier higher GPU if using it via an eGPU enclosure. You need to go pretty far up the stack for one tier to equal the cost of a motherboard, CPU, RAM & storage. I feel the urge to sketch out some examples using a fixed budget for everything just for my own interest, but definitely not tonight!
Yeah, if you wanted to do it with new hardware it's just a poor value proposition; Docks are expensive, a GPU worth using is expensive, PSUs capable of driving mid-to-upper range GPUs aren't exactly cheap. Even if you're not piping it out to external peripherals the cost of entry is higher than a budget gaming laptop with a 4050 or a tier-one prebuilt with a 4060 from HP, Acer etc. Those represent really bad performance/$ offerings but are still better than, say, a brand new 4060Ti in a new TB3 dock.

If you have a suitable dGPU and PSU lying around then it's an option worth tinkering with - either with a used dock off ebay or take a punt on a $150 AliExpress special. This is the approach that makes more sense, as a big investment into something with a non-upgradeable maximum of 13GB of RAM doesn't make a lot of sense (I'm not aware the APU graphics can be disabled, even using an eGPU dock and the minimum RAM reservation option for the integrated is 3GB, down from the default of 4GB dynamic/auto that will grow to 8GB on the fly if I'm not mistaken).

It's just a very niche market right now that's totally unable to justify adding the cost of an additional USB4 controller for the miniscule number of tinkerers who might want to play with a docked GPU. It's not like there's a huge amount of space in these things for additional ports and silicon!
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#27
lexluthermiester
Chrispy_and beyond the scope of most buyers of these handhelds.
Not really. If people could be bothered to learn how, everyone could do it.
Chrispy_the Xbox OS is a better fit than Desktop Windows 11
Moose muffins! I wouldn't use the XBoxOS even if they paid me. Silliest idea I've heard in a while. No effing thank you!!
Chrispy_handheld OS better than Windows11, but that appears to be a dead end for now.
More moose muffins!!
eidairaman1Ran w10 32bit on 2GB before, upped to 4GB, it for sure was smoother
64bit is no different.
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