Zotac launches new gaming brand with the sleek MEK1 gaming desktop (Updated)
By
Zotac launches new gaming brand with the sleek MEK1 gaming desktop
Note: This article was first published on 11th December 2017 and updated to reflect new information from CES 2018.
Zotac has kicked off a new brand called Zotac Gaming that will presumably be a new home for all its gaming products. The compact MEK1 mini-ITX gaming desktop is the first under the Zotac Gaming brand, featuring a futuristic design that Zotac says is modeled after “future robotics and mechanical anatomy”.
The chassis favors a more eye-catching aesthetic that many companies seem to think gamers like, with LED trails running along three sides of the PC (which somewhat seems to be inspired by the movie Tron).
It measures just 414 x 393 x 118mm, so it’ll fit quite happily on even the most space-challenged desktop.
Zotac has had plenty of experience with making small form factor desktops and mini PCs, so it’s not surprising that the company is leveraging its expertise in this area to make yet another compact gaming machine.
After all, these are the same guys that made the Magnus EN1080K, a super tiny machine with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080, Intel Core i7-7700 processor, and liquid cooling.
Here’s an overview of the specifications on the MEK1:
- Intel Core i7-7700
- 16GB DDR4-2400 RAM
- Zotac GeForce GTX 1070 Ti
- 240GB PCIe SSD + 1TB SATA HDD
It’s powered by an 80 Plus 450W SFX power supply, and uses a low-profile direct-contact cooler for the CPU.
Other features include dual Gigabit Ethernet jacks, and a total of six USB 3.1 (Gen 1) and two USB 2.0 ports. You also get support for 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2, so there’s no lack of connectivity options here.
The GeForce GTX 1070 Ti card supplies the display outputs, comprising three DisplayPort 1.4, one HDMI 2.0b, and one dual-link DVI-D connector.
The MEK1 is available in both white and black variants, both of which come with Zotac’s Spectra lighting system to let you control things like lighting modes and brightness levels.
The configuration listed above actually applies to the MEK1 Gaming PC Black, which is the higher end model of the two. On the other hand, the MEK1 Gaming PC White comes equipped with an Intel Core i5-7400 processor and an Zotac GeForce GTX 1060 6GB.
But other than the less powerful CPU and GPU, it looks to be nearly identical to the black model.
To further sweeten the deal, select models will also come bundled with a full-sized LED backlit keyboard, optical gaming mouse, and mousepad.
There’s no word yet on price or availability. The MEK1 gaming PCs have only recently hit the shelves in select markets, but already at CES 2018, Zotac has confirmed with us that the 8th-gen Intel Core processor based models will be rolling out sometime after January 2018 and will be selling side-by-side with current 7th-gen Intel Core processor editions. Further to that, the black edition can now be specced up to a GeForce GTX 1080 GPU for even more firepower.
Source: Zotac
