Once, I thought that even a mini PC without a screen and keyboard could only be bought for under a thousand yuan with poor performance; while cheap, it had no cost-effectiveness.
However, today this Zeros EQ14 changed my mind. The price of this machine is incredibly low, with the bare system costing only 699 yuan, and the initial launch price was only 599 yuan. After testing, we believe it has a high cost-performance ratio.
So, how does its overall performance hold up?
Today we will analyze it briefly:
Zeros EQ14 Mini PC
Swipe left to see the ports
Front ports of the machine
Rear ports of the machine
Its configuration is as follows:
Intel N150 Processor
Bare system without memory (tested with 8G DDR4 3200MT/s memory installed)
Bare system without hard disk (tested with 512GB SSD installed)
Dimensions 126×126×42mm
Weight 444g (including memory and SSD)
Power cable weight 67g
Reference price 699 yuan
Its advantages and disadvantages are as follows:
Advantages!
1. Rich interfaces, strong internal expansion
2. Built-in power design
3. Affordable price, high cost-performance ratio
Disadvantages!
1. Plastic body is prone to fingerprints
2. USB-C does not support PD power supply
3. Does not support VESA mount
[Upgrade Suggestions]
This mini PC is not difficult to disassemble; after removing the screws from the bottom case, you can pull it open to install memory. Unscrew two fixed screws to remove the SSD heat sink for SSD installation.
However, further disassembly of the cooling system is relatively troublesome and not recommended for ordinary users.
To disassemble the cooling system, you need to remove the screws fixing the internal power supply; disconnect the front panel board’s connection, unscrew two fixed screws to remove the small board, then unscrew three fixed screws and one standoff for the motherboard, and disconnect the antenna to remove the motherboard, turning it over to see the cooling module.
The test machine was equipped with a single 8GB DDR4 3200MT/s memory, the machine only has one memory slot.(The processor only supports single-channel memory)
The test machine was equipped with a 512GB Samsung 980Pro SSD, the machine has two M.2 slots, one supports PCIe 3.0×1/SATA; the other supports PCIe 3.0×4.
[Purchase Suggestions]
1. High requirements for the number of interfaces
2. High requirements for space occupation
3. Price-sensitive consumers
Zeros EQ14 changed my perception of mini PCs under a thousand yuan. It achieved dual network ports, dual M.2 slots, and a built-in power design at a price of 599 yuan, compact and with decent quality, completely unlike products under a thousand yuan.
In terms of interfaces, the front of the machine has one USB-A 10Gbps, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and USB-C 10Gbps;
The back of the machine has two RJ45 network ports(Gigabit), HDMI2.0, one USB-A 10Gbps, and one USB2.0.
In terms of noise, its full-load decibel value is 33.3dB, and the fan noise is almost inaudible.(Ambient noise is 32.2dB)
The initial launch price of this Zeros EQ14 is599 yuan, currently increased to699 yuan, and the cost-performance ratio has slightly decreased. In addition, there is also a version with 16GB memory + 512GB SSD for sale at 1099 yuan.
So if you want a sufficiently cheap computer, then this mini PC is worth considering.
However, if you have high requirements for processor performance, then this computer might not be suitable for you.
Swipe left to see the centrifugal fan
Centrifugal fan
[Cooling Analysis]
The above image shows the teardown of the Zeros EQ14, a combination of a centrifugal fan and a single heat pipe.
Room temperature 25℃
Reflectivity 1.0
BIOS version: TWEQ14001
To run at the rated power consumption, we used Stress FPU for stress testing.(For Intel N series processors, we usually use Stress CPU for stress testing, but for this machine, the stress is not enough)
In full-load state, with best performance mode enabled, the CPU temperature stabilized at 71℃, power consumption 20W, and core frequency maintained at 2.9GHz.
Swipe left to see the machine temperature
Top temperature of the machine
Right side temperature of the machine
The surface temperature is shown in the above image, with the front center point at 34.7℃, the highest temperature 45.9℃ appearing at the back near the exhaust vent, the center point at 37.0℃. The highest temperature at the rear exhaust vent is 55.9℃, with the center point at 40.4℃.
Overall, the cooling performance of the Zeros EQ14 is good, with low core temperatures and noise under full load, and for the N150 processor, 20W of performance release is more than enough.
[Community Opinions Sharing]
Most computer-related products have a “price inflection point”. When the price drops below this point, the cost-performance ratio often decreases instead of increasing. For laptops, I believe this price is around 3500 yuan.
Our recommendation list also starts recommending from the 3500 yuan price range.
When it comes to mini PCs, since there are no screens, keyboards, and other peripherals, the bare system can save on hard disks and memory, allowing for lower prices. However, even so, the price of Zeros EQ14 at 599 yuan is still very low.
After actually getting it, we found its internal and external expandability is quite good, with rich interfaces and decent speeds. The machine is compact and has a decent quality, even adopting a built-in power design, completely unlike the performance expected at this price point.
Of course, to achieve this price, sacrifices must be made. The EQ14 is equipped with an Intel N150 processor, which has average performance. Although the numbers look significantly larger than those of the N95 and N100, it is actually just an overclocked version of the N100.
However, it is also difficult to find a stronger processor at this price point, and it can still handle light use.
In my view, the Zeros EQ14 is one of the few cost-effective products in this price range filled with “garbage kings”. If it could offer a version with a 2.5G network port to enrich user choices, its audience might be even broader.