VERDICT
It’s svelte for a gaming PC, but the MEK1 doesn’t compromise on graphical power.
THE SKINNYMEK1 is new ground for Zotac, which has produced some great compact barebones systems such as the Magnus ER51060 (Shopper 360) but until now hadn’t applied its knowledge to a fully built tower.
It’s still on the small side, to put it mildly. At 418mm tall and just 118mm thick, it’s narrow enough to grab either side with a single hand, yet it includes an 8GB GTX 1070 Ti graphics card – and that’s no small-fry GPU.
In fact, it’s a gaming powerhouse, delivering the 4K performance that its price of £1,440 essentially demands. In Dirt Showdown, running on Ultra settings, the MEK1 produced 110fps at 1,920x1,080, 109fps at 2,560x1,400 and 86fps at 3,840x2,160, so whatever your monitor’s resolution it will be able to handle less demanding games with ease.
A much tougher test came in the form of Metro: Last Light Redux, but the MEK1 still impressed with 76fps at 1,920x1,080 and 44fps at 2,560x1,440 – again, with the highest possible graphics quality. 3,840x2,160 proved too much at these settings, dropping to 19fps, but by changing to High settings and turning off SSAA, we were able to get a far smoother 53fps with only minimal impact on fidelity. The MEK1’s perfect score of 11 in Valve’s Steam VR Performance Test cements it as a fully qualified premium gaming rig.
LATE ARRIVAL
Esta historia es de la edición September 2018 de Computer Shopper.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición September 2018 de Computer Shopper.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
XIAOMI Mi Mix 3 5G
VERDICT This is the most affordable of the first 5G smartphones, but even with great hardware, the service isn’t yet worth the expense
RHA T20 Wireless
VERDICT They’re not cheap, but these well-designed earphones deliver superb sound quality
Protect And Preserve
Data might be A Valuable Commodity, But It’s Remarkably Easy To Lose Or For Others To Get Their Hands On. Mike Bedford Provides Guidance On How To Preserve, Recover And Destroy Data, And Looks At The Technologies Involved
NZXT H510i
VERDICT Some qualities shine through, but this is an underwhelming case from a maker we know can do better
Kicking Off A New Era Of Football?
With the new football season well and truly under way, David Crookes talks to Jon Hare about reviving the spirit of Sensible Soccer with a new, more sociable offering that he hopes will avoid an own goal
NAIM Mu-so 2
VERDICT A luxurious and fine-sounding slab of metal, but for most homes it won’t be worth the expense
Motorola One Vision
VERDICT The One Vision comes close to being a brilliant mishmash of tech – shame about the camera
JBL Xtreme 2
VERDICT With top-quality sound and a versatile design, this is a great – if expensive – rugged Bluetooth speaker
HUAWEI MateBook 13
VERDICT What the MateBook 13 lacks in flourish, it makes up for in value and performance
GIGABYTE X570 Aorus Master
VERDICT A loaded and forward-thinking motherboard, but not one that fully justifies its high price
