As a technology and digital blogger, I enjoy tinkering with various electronic products, which has led to a clutter of electronic parts scattered around my home. To make matters worse, my study is not very spacious, and fitting a desk and bookshelf already makes it feel cramped, not to mention squeezing in a desktop PC. However, I use my computer for office work 90% of the time, and if I want to play games, using my phone is more convenient. Considering various factors, I feel that a mini PC or an all-in-one computer is more suitable for my home.

Interestingly, the official team at Zero刻 recently reached out to me to test their latest EQ59 mini PC. This product is about the size of a TV box but is equipped with an Intel 11th generation processor, dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, and dual HDMI ports. In addition to functioning as a Windows PC, it can unlock various other uses. Next, I will share with you whether it’s worth buying from aspects like appearance, configuration, and user experience.

The Zero刻 EQ59 directly lists its configuration parameters on the product packaging. It features an Intel 11th generation Celeron N5105 processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 500GB M.2 SSD. The overall performance of this mini PC is sufficient for light office work, web browsing, and home media playback, and at a price of under 1000 yuan, it won’t break the bank.

Besides the main unit, it comes with a power adapter, two HDMI cables, a mounting bracket, and a manual. Notably, the design of the mounting bracket is clever; it can fix the main unit to the monitor’s mounting hole, turning the monitor into an all-in-one computer, thus further optimizing desktop space.

Compared to other mini PCs, the Zero刻 EQ59 also adopts a boxy design but is slightly smaller, measuring just 124*113mm, about the size of mainstream TV boxes on the market. In terms of details, its front logo features a mirrored plating process, which, against the backdrop of the black matte body, provides a high-tech visual experience.

On the lower right corner of the body, there is an Intel logo, highlighting its identity as a device powered by an Intel 11th generation processor. Regarding the performance of this processor, I have conducted specific tests later.

Next, let’s turn our attention to the front of the unit. From left to right, there are two USB 3.0 ports, one Type-C port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and the power button. It’s worth noting that while this Type-C port supports DP display protocol, it cannot be used as a power port, which is somewhat disappointing.

In addition to the two USB 3.0 ports on the front, the back of the Zero刻 EQ59 also features two USB 3.0 ports, which is sufficient for most usage scenarios.

Interestingly, this mini PC is also equipped with two Gigabit Ethernet ports and HDMI ports, indicating that it can function as a soft router, NAS, etc. The two HDMI ports along with the Type-C port mean it can connect up to three displays simultaneously, which is suitable for users with multi-screen setups or stock trading needs.

Seeing the small size of the mini PC, some might worry about its heat dissipation. In this regard, the Zero刻 EQ59 uses a large area heat sink and fan system, and has designed heat dissipation holes on the back and both sides, keeping the device’s temperature within a lower range. In actual tests, after running for about an hour, the device’s temperature was around 45℃, which is quite good for heat dissipation performance among similar products.

Although the Zero刻 EQ59 is compact, it has also been designed with great expandability in mind. By unscrewing four screws on the back of the unit, you can open the rear cover and see that this mini PC provides an HDD expansion slot, allowing users to install a 2.5-inch hard drive according to their needs for greater storage space.

Moreover, in addition to the 8GB DDR4 2933MHz memory that comes with the machine, the Zero刻 EQ59 also supports dual-channel memory, allowing for a maximum installation of 16GB, making it comparable to flagship products in terms of both memory speed and capacity.

Continuing downward, you can see that next to the memory is a 512GB M.2 SSD, which can also be expanded, supporting a maximum of 2TB SSD storage. At the same time, I feel that the design of the motherboard in this mini PC is very compact, and the spatial layout of various components is quite reasonable, taking performance, heat dissipation, and user experience into account.

As mentioned earlier, the Zero刻 EQ59 is powered by an Intel 11th generation Celeron N5105 processor, which supports four cores and four threads, with a base frequency of 2.0GHz and a maximum turbo frequency of 2.9GHz. Additionally, after further optimization by Zero刻, this processor’s TDP has been raised to 15W, outperforming the 5th generation low-power Core i5 and 8th generation Core i3 processors. In terms of graphics, the Zero刻 EQ59 uses Intel UHD Graphics, with a frequency range of 450MHz-800MHz, making it one of the best value-for-money mini PCs on the market for under 1000 yuan.

Based on the scores from the Lu Master benchmarking tool, the Zero刻 EQ59 scored nearly 260,000 points, which aligns with my expectations. After all, we cannot expect a mini PC priced under 1000 yuan to run large software or play AAA games, right? However, overall, the performance of the Zero刻 EQ59 is sufficient for office workers who do not frequently play games.

Generally, most mini PCs come as barebones or at most pre-installed with a Linux system, but to my surprise, the Zero刻 EQ59 comes pre-installed with a genuine version of Windows 11 Professional, which is quite considerate, as it saves users the hassle of additional setup.

Through practical testing, I found that the Zero刻 EQ59 handles video streaming, web browsing, and document processing smoothly without lag. Even when multiple large software applications are opened simultaneously, it works well for daily office use.

Additionally, I also tried using the Zero刻 EQ59 for video editing, and it handled color grading, adding effects, and subtitle processing without issues. The only downside was that it was a bit slow during the final export, but it still performed adequately for emergency use.

Of course, besides office usage, many people buy mini PCs for various functionalities. The Zero刻 EQ59 evidently puts effort into this aspect as well; it can serve as a soft router, NAS, gaming console, download machine, or living room HTPC, among others. There are many possibilities, and later when I have time, I will create a tutorial to further explore the potential uses of this mini PC. If you’re interested, feel free to follow along.