Zotac this week introduced two new compact desktops, both packing versions of NVIDIA's higher-end GeForce RTX 4070-series graphics processors. The Zbox Magnus One is an upgradable, desktop-style SFF machine with an 8.3-liter chassis and includes a desktop GeForce RTX 4070 card inside. Meanwhile the Zbox Magnus is a tiny machine that's close to a NUC in size and construction, and includes a soldered-down GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU.

Zbox Magnus One: Not So Small, But Powerful

Zotac has been offering its Zbox Magnus One small form-factor desktops for some time (and we even reviewed one of them), but the models ERP74070C and ERP74070W pack Intel's latest Core i7-13700 processor paired with NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 4070 graphics card with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory (AD104, 5888 CUDA cores, 29 FP32 TFLOPS). The machine supports up to 64 GB of DDR5-5600 memory using two SO-DIMM modules, two M.2-2280 SSDs with a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface, and even one 2.5-inch drive with a SATA interface.

In addition, the new Zbox Magnus One ERP74070 boasts with a rich connectivity department that includes a Wi-Fi 6 + Bluetooth 5.2 adapter, a 2.5 GbE Killer-enabled port, a regular GbE port, one Thunderbolt 4 on the back, seven USB 3.0/3.1 connectors (one USB Type-C on the front), an SD card slot with UHS-II support, five display outputs (three DP 1.4a and one HDMI 2.1 on the graphics card and one HDMI on the motherboard) and a TRRS audio connector for headsets.

The unit measures 265.5 mm (10.45 inches) × 126 mm (4.96 inches) × 249mm (9.8 inches) and is not that small, truth to be told. But it has an indisputable advantage over other SFF desktops as it can be upgraded with a more powerful 65W CPU and a more powerful graphics card as long as its 500W 80+ Platinum-badged can handle it.

Traditionally, Zotac will offer its Zbox Magnus One as barebones and as fully-configured machines with Windows pre-installed.

Zbox Magnus: Tiny Yet Mighty

As for the Zbox Magnus EN3740C, it is based upon Intel's Core i7-13700HX CPU as well as NVIDIA's NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU (AD106, 4608 CUDA cores at up to 2175 MHz, 20 FP32 TFLOPS) with 8 GB of GDDR6. The use of a laptop-spec GPU means that it's not as powerful as its desktop counterpart, but it comes at a considerably lower thermal envelope. The machine can be equipped with 64 GB of DDR5-4800 memory using two modules and a couple of M.2-22110 SSDs with a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface.

Connectivity-wise, the small PC is not far behind its bigger brother as it has a Wi-Fi 6 + Bluetooth 5.2 adapter, one 2.5 GbE Killer-enabled port, one GbE connector, one Thunderbolt 4 port, five USB 3.1 ports, three display outputs (two DisplayPorts, one HDMI), an SD card reader with UHS-II support, and a TRRS audio connector for headsets.

Since the PC uses soldered-down mobile components, it cannot be upgraded (at least not by the end user), but on the bright side, it measures 210 mm × 203 mm × 62.2 mm (8.27 in × 7.99 in × 2.45 in) and it offers quite a lot already from such a compact package.

Just like in case of all Zotac's PCs, Zbox Magnus EN3740C will be available as barebones as well as a complete system with memory, SSD, and Windows installed.

Source: Zotac

Comments Locked

17 Comments

View All Comments

  • meacupla - Friday, August 18, 2023 - link

    Magnus One is 8.3L. That is very small for a desktop CPU and desktop GPU. Most eGPU enclosures are >12L in comparison.

    Magnus is 2.6L. It is slightly smaller compared to minisforum's HX99G
  • erinadreno - Saturday, August 19, 2023 - link

    Should be considerably more powerful and expensive than the HX99G I guess. But the price premium of these kinds of SFF machines usually drives people to go for a laptop instead.
  • nandnandnand - Friday, August 18, 2023 - link

    Nice design and ports. My only complaint is that the big one only has a combo audio port.
  • TheinsanegamerN - Saturday, August 19, 2023 - link

    I'd also prefer a single 10Gbps ethernet instead of 2 2.5 Gbps ports.
  • nandnandnand - Monday, August 21, 2023 - link

    2x Ethernet ports opens up some use cases, and 2.5 Gbps is the obvious cheap upgrade from 1 Gbps, working with existing cables. I understand why you would prefer 1x 10 GbE though. Too bad adoption has been so glacial.
  • rtho782 - Monday, August 21, 2023 - link

    For me we should just be using SFP+ cages, gives far more flexibility, and is cheaper.
  • TheinsanegamerN - Friday, August 18, 2023 - link

    Priced too high for a RTX 4050 classed up TWICE in laptops. Since it cant be upgraded, would at bare minimum want a RTX 4080 laptop.
  • DanNeely - Monday, August 21, 2023 - link

    Mobile 4070 at boost clock is roughly inline with the desktop 4060 ti, so not sure how you're claiming it's a 4050 equivalent. Especially since there is no 4050 desktop card yet.

    4070m = 4608 cores at 2175mhz vs 4060 Ti = 4352 cores at 2475mhz; both AD106. At non-boost clocks it's roughly equal to the baseline 4060.
  • TheinsanegamerN - Tuesday, August 22, 2023 - link

    The 4060ti is a RTX 4050 with the wrong name. It's die size and memory bus (and performance) make it obvious that it was a RTX 3050 replacement, not a 3060 replacement.

    Buying a multi thousand dollar machine with a soldered 8GB GPU in 2023 is a very smooth brained move.
  • PeachNCream - Friday, August 18, 2023 - link

    Too bad they can't even get within an order of magnitude of the performance of the graphics of the M1 under any conditions. An M1 could have no cooling whatsoever and still be 10000 times faster than a liquid nitrogen cooled 4090Ti.

    Oh wait, I'm supposed to post this with my lemurbutton account. Oh well, tally ho!

Log in

Don't have an account? Sign up now