ZOTAC MEK1 Gaming PC (GTX 1070 Ti)

[crazyeyesreaper]

ZOTAC looks to dominate the gaming PC space with their MEK1. This mini-ITX based small form factor system packs a hell of a punch. Cramming an Intel i7 7700 and Nvidia Geforce 1070 Ti into an RGB-illuminated package, it even comes bundled with a mechanical keyboard and gaming-centric mouse.

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[bug]

I was just saying how ridiculously overpriced that Asus gaming laptop on the front page and before the day is over, we get this. You can buy two of these and game on any of them better than you can on that laptop. Sure, these don't include the monitor, but hey, you'll find something to hook these up.

Also, @crazyeyesreaper your second storage graph lists SSD twice, when clearly one of the devices was the HDD

 

[lexluthermiester]

@crazyeyesreaper
Good review. I like this. Going to have to order a few for clients.

 

[bogami]

It looks plastic Zotac has already done a much better mini-PC with liquid cooling. You can play with this, but for this money I prefer to build a PC myself.
Kablel salad took the entire spsce ,cood bee volume for hard drives ..! Everything at the bottom of this category ,is really the worst possible parts .I

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

I was just saying how ridiculously overpriced that Asus gaming laptop on the front page and before the day is over, we get this. You can buy two of these and game on any of them better than you can on that laptop. Sure, these don't include the monitor, but hey, you'll find something to hook these up.

Also, @crazyeyesreaper your second storage graph lists SSD twice, when clearly one of the devices was the HDD

Will be fixed momentarily thanks for the heads up.

@crazyeyesreaper
Good review. I like this. Going to have to order a few for clients.

Its a very simple system but the performance for the price isn't bad and if you go without the bundled keyboard and mouse it is a bit cheaper. Which tips the scales a bit further for those that may have a preferred keyboard or mouse on hand etc. Its honestly quite the little system. Enough so Its still sitting in my living room. The gf is currently playing Dragon Age on it lol.

 

[Assimilator]

I thought that motherboard backplate looked quite bare, but the pictures of the internals show there are holes (and mounting points on the motherboard) for an extra HDMI and DisplayPort. Presumably Zotac are reusing this motherboard design throughout their products.

That daughterboard is weird. It looks like it takes a PCIe 8-pin power connector and a Molex as input, then uses the Molex to power the LEDs and fans, while the PCIe power is merely passed through to the graphics card... why would they do that instead of just using a PCIe extension cable?

At this stage, I also disconnected the 24-pin in order to more easily remove the memory and M.2 SSD, which is hidden under the ZOTAC-branded heatsink.

I initially read that as the memory and SSD were under the heatsink, and was trying to figure out how DIMMs would fit - then I took a closer look at the pictures and realised the RAM is vertical facing the camera, thus difficult to see. For anyone else with the same issue, the modules are on the left of the "ZOTAC" heatsink, at the "C" end, running vertically.

Sadly, the BIOS is very simple. It allows basic configuration and not much else. If you were thinking of maybe slotting in a K-series processor for some extra oomph, I would suggest not bothering.

Considering the non-K CPU this system is shipped with was only 12 degrees away from its max temperature, any sort of overclocking is ill-advised (not to mention the board probably isn't outfitted with the components to handle it). I would consider this a plus not a minus TBH, as it ensures that there is no chance of someone managing to start a fire by using an overclocked K-series CPU in a system very obviously not designed for it.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

I thought that motherboard backplate looked quite bare, but the pictures of the internals show there are holes (and mounting points on the motherboard) for an extra HDMI and DisplayPort. Presumably Zotac are reusing this motherboard design throughout their products.

That daughterboard is weird. It looks like it takes a PCIe 8-pin power connector and a Molex as input, then uses the Molex to power the LEDs and fans, while the PCIe power is merely passed through to the graphics card... why would they do that instead of just using a PCIe extension cable?



I initially read that as the memory and SSD were under the heatsink, and was trying to figure out how DIMMs would fit - then I took a closer look at the pictures and realised the RAM is vertical facing the camera, thus difficult to see. For anyone else with the same issue, the modules are on the left of the "ZOTAC" heatsink, at the "C" end, running vertically.



Considering the non-K CPU this system is shipped with was only 12 degrees away from its max temperature, any sort of overclocking is ill-advised (not to mention the board probably isn't outfitted with the components to handle it). I would consider this a plus not a minus TBH, as it ensures that there is no chance of someone managing to start a fire by using an overclocked K-series CPU in a system very obviously not designed for it.

It should be possible to swap the cooler to something better likely a Noctua heatsink. The side panel fans also do not appear to do a whole lot. They are set to exhaust air rather than to feed the CPU heatsink. Better heatsink + fresh air forced onto the heatsink would allow for more performance. There is also the fact that with better bios functionality one could likely increase clock speed while dropping voltages likely improving thermals. Or delid the CPU but normal users will not do that. So you have a point there. I simply made the point about not doing that because a friend who saw the system suggested dropping a K series CPU in it. People are oblivious to actual limitations.

I have also edited the text for better clarity thanks for the notice @Assimilator

 

[lexluthermiester]

Its a very simple system but the performance for the price isn't bad and if you go without the bundled keyboard and mouse it is a bit cheaper. Which tips the scales a bit further for those that may have a preferred keyboard or mouse on hand etc. Its honestly quite the little system. Enough so Its still sitting in my living room. The gf is currently playing Dragon Age on it lol.

I know at least a few of my clients would love this kind of system, and this one has a seemingly great balance of size, performance, upgradability and cost. And Zotec has a great reputation for quality and reliability.

 

[woopadidoo]

The amount of chill praise for deliberately limited pre-built expensive systems/PC's using the typical scapegoat reason of "protecting the user" is so tiring and irking to read.

I feel sorry for people who get systems like these. Myself as a "consumer" would never spend 1.4~6k€/$ on this or similar.

 

[Tsukiyomi91]

Given how expensive it is to build a custom rig, getting this MEK-1 doesn't seem like a bad idea. Getting just the unit itself is cheaper than bundle package anyways. Corsair ONE is slightly more expensive than Zotac's offering IMO, especially at the more expensive configuration. But those 2 micro tower PCs are more worth than an overpriced ROG or Alienware laptops with similar hardware.

 

[Readlight]

In next day around worldAsus will make something better-built and looking.

 

[Assimilator]

The amount of chill praise for deliberately limited pre-built expensive systems/PC's using the typical scapegoat reason of "protecting the user" is so tiring and irking to read.

I feel sorry for people who get systems like these. Myself as a "consumer" would never spend 1.4~6k€/$ on this or similar.

That's fine, since you aren't the target market.

 

[progste]

Not bas for a prebuilt system, if i could choose the parts i would get a ryzen 1700 cpu and any other hdd brand that is not seagate.

 

[Ruru]

Just weird that it is Kaby Lake, not Coffee.

Good review tho.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

Just weird that it is Kaby Lake, not Coffee.

Good review tho.

My guess is cost and parts on hand. likely coffee lake refresh later when cheaper motherboard options are also available as being forced to use a high end chipset = higher cost. due to coffee lake old stock is likely cheaper and easier to come by as well. As for performance it doesn't make much difference. Big draw for coffee lake was extra cores nothing more.