The Zotac ZBOX Sphere OI520 is one funky Mini-PC

Spherical Delight

As we have mentioned in our last review of the Zotac ZBOX IQ01, Mini-PCs have been experiencing significant growth in the past year. Specifically, vice president of Intel’s PC Client Group Lisa Graff said that sales of Mini-PCs have shot from nearly zero units in 2012 to over a million in 2013.

And if we are talking about Mini-PCs, one name that has come to the fore is Zotac. Recently, the company further stamped its Mini-PCs credentials by announcing the pocket-size ZBOX PI320 pico desktop PC, which measures 11.5cm long. 6.6cm wide and is 1.9cm thick - or roughly the equivalent of three iPhones stacked on top of each other.

While these systems may be small, they are certainly not lacking in processing capabilities and thanks to Intel’s latest Core processors, they are more than capable of running productivity tasks, web browsing and watching high-definition videos. As a result, they are often employed by enthusiasts in living rooms as HTPC (Home Theater PCs). On top of that, the compact nature of Mini-PCs also mean that they lend themselves well to unusual designs, so as to better complement the living room environment. And one of the funkiest Mini-PCs we have seen thus far is the new Zotac ZBOX Sphere OI520.

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Hardware & Design

Most desktop systems and Mini-PCs are predictably squarish or blockish, but not the Zotac ZBOX Sphere OI520. The name alone should give you a hint as to how it looks like and it stays true to its name. Decked in black, the ZBOX Sphere OI520 sports an unusual spherical design. It is not entirely spherical, however, and it is only upon closer inspection that one realizes that it has a square base that has been integrated into its spherical design. The square base helps keep it upright and it is quite subtle and not immediately apparent, unless you look at the ZBOX Sphere OI520 from its side.

The chassis is made of thick plastic and has been given a rubberized matte finish. This serves two purposes: for one, it helps reduce fingerprints, but more importantly, it provides additional grip for the times that you want o access the ZBOX Sphere OI520 innards. This is because to open it up, one would need to grip the upper half of the case and twist it open, not unlike opening a jar of peanut butter. However, it must be noted that this task would be accomplished easier if one has big hands, because the circumference of the lid is pretty big.

Speaking of size, the ZBOX Sphere OI520 is one of Zotac’s larger Mini-PCs, since it stands at around 17cm tall and 15cm wide. Even so, as far as desktop PCs go, the ZBOX Sphere OI520 is still remarkably compact and should slot into spaces easily.

Under the lid lies the hardware and the ZBOX Sphere OI520 comes powered by a dual-core Intel Core i5-4200U processor (1.6GHz, 3MB L3 cache) that comes with Intel HD Graphics 4400 integrated graphics, and also comes equipped with Intel’s AC-3160 WiFi module, which supports Wireless-AC and also Bluetooth 4.0.

Users would need to supply their own memory and the ZBOX Sphere OI520 has two memory bays to support regular DDR3 SO-DIMM memory modules with support for speeds of up to 1600MHz and a maximum capacity of 16GB. Storage is another component that users would need to supply on their own and the ZBOX Sphere OI520 supports both regular 2.5-inch SATA 6Gbps drives and mSATA drives. This lets users install a mSATA SSD and a regular hard disk drive for the best combination of speed and capacity.

The best bit about the ZBOX Sphere OI520 is that despite its modest size, there is no shortage of ports and connectivity options. In total, it has seven USB ports (4 x USB 3.0, 3 x USB 2.0), an HDMI port, a DisplayPort, Ethernet port, a 4-in-1 memory card reader and headphones and microphone jacks. Very impressive for a device of its size.

Installation of the memory and storage components is straightforward and very easy, requiring users to only use a single screw to secure each drive in place after it has been installed, though it must be said that installing the mSATA drive, which is located on the underside is a little trickier because of the angle of entry. However, the most frustrating part of all, for us at least, is actually twisting off the cover. The cover locks into place but the locking mechanism is unreliable and can be frustrating to unlock. Apart from that, installation was an absolute cinch.

Test Setup

Here’s the test configuration of our Zotac ZBOX Sphere OI520 Mini-PC:

• Intel Core i5-4200U (1.6GHz, 3MB L3 cache)
• 16GB DDR3-1600MHz SO-DIMM
• 256GB Samsung SSD 840 EVO
• Windows 7 Ultimate (64-bit)

The list of benchmarks used:

• PCMark 8
• 3DMark 2013
• Far Cry 2
• Battlefield: Bad Company 2
• Tomb Raider

We will be pitting the ZBOX Sphere OI520 against its stablemate, the ZBOX IQ01 as well as Intel’s NUC Mini-PCs. Obviously, we fully expect the quad-core ZBOX IQ01 to come out tops but it should be a close fight between the ZBOX Sphere OI520 and the Intel NUC D54250WYB kit. We have also included results of Sapphire’s Edge VS8, which is powered by an AMD Trinity APU as well as other entertainment-focused systems such as the Lenovo IdeaCenter Horizon.

Here is a quick look at how the ZBOX Sphere OI520 compares against the ZBOX IQ01:

PCMark 8

PCMark 8 is the latest benchmarking utility from Futuremark and was designed to measure the performance of Windows 8 systems. We will be testing the system using four different scenarios, Home, Creative, Work and Storage, which simulates different workloads that a user might subject the system to.

Unsurprisingly, the ZBOX Sphere OI520 found itself bested by the more powerful ZBOX IQ01. The dual-core Core i5-4200U in the ZBOX Sphere OI520 is simply no match for the beefy quad-core Core i7-4770T processor in the ZBOX IQO1. However, its performance was comparable to the the Intel NUC D54250WYK and MacBook Air 2013, both of which are powered by a comparable Core i5-4250U processor. The Core i5-4250U differs by having a slightly lower clock speed (1.3GHz vs. 1.6Ghz) but makes up for that by having the more powerful integrated Intel HD Graphics 5000 GPU.

3DMark 2013

3DMark 2013 is the latest graphics benchmarking utility from FutureMark and we will be gauging the systems’ performance using the Cloud Gate and the more intensive Fire Strike benchmark.

The ZBOX Sphere OI520’s Core i5-4200U processor is paired with the Intel HD Graphics 4400 integrated GPU, which, frankly speaking, is not the greatest of integrated GPUs. And this is evidenced by its results on 3DMark 2013. Even the MacBook Air was quicker, by around 7% on the less intensive Cloud Gate scenario and over 25% on the more intensive Fire Storm scenario. It was also beaten by the Lenovo IdeaCenter Horizon, which is powered by an NVIDIA GeForce GT 620M GPU that was first announced over two years ago. Graphics, we think, is not going to be one of the ZBOX Sphere OI520’s strong suits.

Gaming Benchmarks (Far Cry 2, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Tomb Raider)

Next we move on to gaming performance using real world benchmarks and we begin with testing at 1080p resolution on Far Cry 2 and Tomb Raider. Expectedly, the ZBOX Sphere OI520’s showing on Far Cry 2 was not encouraging as it failed to even manage playable frame rates of above 30 fps on “Medium” settings. When we increased the graphics settings to “Very High”, frame rates fell even further to just 16.42 fps, making the game mostly unplayable. At least the ZBOX IQ01 could manage decently playable frame rates at “Medium” settings. The AIOs with their discrete entry-level GPUs, managed to do better, even if only on the “Medium” settings.

If the ZBOX Sphere OI520 cannot even handle Far Cry 2, it goes without saying that that Tomb Raider would be too much to ask of it. At Full-HD resolution with the graphics settings turned only to “Normal”, the ZBOX Sphere OI520 only managed a paltry 12.7fps. If its any consolation, the ZBOX IQ01 and HP Recline 27 both failed to get any sort of playable frame rates. Clearly, a decent mid-range discrete GPU such as the GeForce GTX 765M or GeForce GTX 850 is required to play this game smoothly. 

Now we turn to results at a more modest 1024 x 768 pixels resolution, and thankfully, the ZBOX Sphere OI520 managed playable frame rates on Far Cry 2 at the “High” setting. And was about on a par with the Intel NUC D54250WYK kit and the older NUC DC3217BY kit. However, the ZBOX IQ01 was still significantly faster.

Finally, we were disappointed that ZBOX Sphere OI520 did not manage to break the 30 fps playable threshold mark on Battlefield: Bad Company 2, and managed only 28.31 fps instead, which is about comparable to the Intel NUC D54250WYK kit’s 29.4 fps. Overall, we were disappointed that the ZBOX Sphere OI520 failed to handle a four-year old game convincingly. 

Conclusion

All things considered, the Zotac ZBOX Sphere OI520 can best be summed up as an interesting addition to any living room, especially if what you are looking for is a HTPC or if your intention is to give your old TV some "smart TV" functions.

Performance-wise, the ZBOX Sphere OI520 is decent, but its weak integrated GPU does mean it suffers when it comes to graphics intensive tasks. If you all intend to do is to run productivity apps, browse the web and watch high-definition videos, the ZBOX Sphere OI520 will handle those tasks brilliantly. That said, some sort of flash storage will also be necessary to ensure a smooth computing experience - thankfully prices of SSDs are at an all-time low.

However, if you are thinking of gaming, the Intel HD Graphics 4400 integrated GPU simply does not have the necessary chops. Given that most Mini-PCs rely on integrated GPUs, it is no wonder that this is a problem that plagues all of them. If gaming is one of your requisites, be sure to pick a Mini-PC that comes with one of Intel’s newer Iris Pro integrated GPUs or invest in a SFF (small form factor) system that you can spec your own discrete graphics solution.

Pricing has often been a deterring factor for users who are interested to dabble in Mini-PCs, but fortunately, the ZBOX Sphere OI520 is quite reasonably priced at S$659 - substantially cheaper than the S$879 ZBOX IQ01. Do remember, however, that one has to factor in the cost of storage, memory and OS. If one is on a budget, 4GB of RAM and a typical 500GB 2.5-inch form factor hard disk drive can be had for around $120. However, if you were to spec it similarly to our test unit, you are looking a more a considerable sum of S$380 (16GB memory kits cost a lot and to be honest, 8GB is more than sufficient), add to that the cost of a copy of Windows OS and you are looking at a total cost of about S$1160.

At this price, Intel’s NUC D54250WKY kit Mini-PC is a more affordable alternative since it costs around S$900 inclusive of all components and OS, and is also much smaller. But, the NUC D54250WKY kit does not have half as many outputs as the ZBOX Sphere OI520 and does not look anywhere near as interesting.

And at the risk of sounding like a broken record (we mention this in every Mini-PC review), with prices beginning from S$788, Apple’s Mac Mini is a worthy alternative even if it is powered by the older Ivy Bridge processors since at this price it comes fully assembled with a working OS out of the box.

Even so, what the ZBOX Sphere OI520 has going for it is an interesting and compact design, a wealth of connectivity options, including support for Wireless-AC, the ability to accommodate both an mSATA drive and regular 2.5-inch drive, and finally and perhaps most importantly, a less intimidating price tag.

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