A few days ago, a friend sent me a computer build list, saying he wanted to buy a desktop computer. This was the configuration recommended by a vendor in the computer city. I took a look, and the configuration was good, but the price was a bit high; it was over five thousand yuan without the monitor. I asked my friend about his needs for the computer, and he said it was mainly for watching movies, browsing the internet, occasionally handling spreadsheets, making PPTs, and regularly backing up his phone photos. With these needs, there is no need to get an expensive desktop computer; a mini computer for over a thousand yuan would suffice. After my persuasion, he abandoned his original idea and purchased a domestic mini computer equipped with an Intel N5105 processor: the Zero刻 EQ59 8+512G version. My friend said the 512G hard drive capacity was a bit small and asked me to help him add another hard drive, so he sent the computer directly to me. Today, let’s take a look at how this mini computer performs.
In addition to the main unit, the packaging of the Zero刻 EQ59 also includes a power adapter, two HDMI cables, a SATA adapter cable, a wall mount bracket, and several fixing screws. This mini host is very easy to use; you just need to plug in the power, connect it to a monitor, and pair it with a keyboard and mouse to start using it.
The dimensions of the Zero刻 EQ59 main unit are only 124 x 113 x 42mm, and it weighs less than 300 grams, making it look like a TV box. Purely looking at the data, you may not have a clear concept, but if we compare it with a Logitech wireless mouse, you can intuitively see how mini it really is. The shell of the mini host is made of ABS material, with a hot-stamped “Zero刻” brand logo in the center of the top, and the Intel logo printed in the lower right corner. The overall workmanship looks quite good.
On the front of the unit, from left to right, there are the BIOS reset hole, two USB 3.0 ports, a Type-C data port, a 3.5MM headphone jack, and the power button. It should be noted that the Type-C port here can only be used for data transfer and cannot be used as a power supply port; do not connect it to the power adapter to avoid damaging the internal motherboard.
The upper rear of the unit has a row of heat dissipation holes, while the lower part has two USB 3.0 ports, two Gigabit LAN ports, two HDMI ports, and a DC power port from left to right. The two HDMI ports indicate that this mini host can directly connect to two monitors to achieve 4K 60HZ dual-screen display. Of course, additional monitors can also be expanded through the USB ports, but dual screens are generally sufficient for regular use. Some people see dual LAN ports and can’t help but think of soft routers; I can only say I’m also tempted. In a few days, I’ll get one to play with and try to flash the Synology system to see if I can turn it into a home network center integrating Windows system, soft routing, and black Synology.
The power adapter that comes with the Zero刻 EQ59 outputs 12V 3A, which means a maximum power of 36W. At this power consumption, even if it runs at full load, it won’t even use a kilowatt-hour a day even if it’s on 24 hours. Compared to a regular desktop, it can save quite a bit on electricity bills. If it’s just for document processing or watching movies, using such a mini host is much better than a regular desktop.
As a computer, the component that generates the most heat inside should be the CPU. The Intel N5105 has a TDP of 10 watts, which is a low-power processor and can be used in fanless systems. The Zero刻 EQ59 host adopts a fanless design. To ensure good heat dissipation, large heat dissipation holes are designed on both sides of the body, along with the heat dissipation holes at the back to cool the internal electronic components.
The bottom of the Zero刻 EQ59 host is designed with two silicone anti-slip pads, which work well to keep the host firmly on the desktop without shifting due to the pull of the rear cables. Additionally, the bottom of the unit has two screw holes, allowing it to be mounted to the back of the display or wall-mounted using the included bracket, making the desktop more tidy.
By unscrewing the four screws at the corners of the bottom of the host, we can easily open the host. I believe many people, like me, are particularly annoyed by the onboard memory and hard drive; upgrading requires replacing the whole machine, which is not only expensive but also risky. The Zero刻 EQ59 host uses a detachable hard drive interface and memory slot, making it convenient for us to upgrade and replace hardware in the future, which is commendable.
The Zero刻 EQ59 host has two hard drive interfaces; one is a SATA3 protocol M.2 2280 interface, which comes with a 512G solid-state drive, and the other is a SATA3 interface extended via a soft cable, allowing for the installation of a 2.5-inch mechanical or solid-state hard drive for greater storage capacity.
In terms of memory, the Zero刻 EQ59 supports dual-channel LPDDR4 memory with a maximum speed of 2933 MHz and supports up to 16GB of memory. The machine comes with an 8G 2666 MHz memory stick, and we can add another 8G memory stick to achieve 16GB dual-channel, thus improving performance.
The Zero刻 EQ59 is equipped with a wireless network card that supports dual-band WiFi of 2.4G and 5GHz, and Bluetooth 4.0. Although it does not support WiFi 6, it is sufficient for use. The network card also adopts a detachable design, so you can upgrade the wireless module later if needed.
The Zero刻 EQ59 host comes pre-installed with a genuine Windows 11 operating system. Just plug in the power and monitor, add a keyboard and mouse, and you can start using it directly. Compared to many mini hosts with similar prices and configurations, this is much more convenient, and even those who don’t understand computer knowledge can easily handle it.
As usual, I first installed the Lu Master to check the hardware configuration. The detailed configuration is as follows:
The N5105 processor is an Intel 11th generation Celeron processor, manufactured using Intel’s 10nm process, with 4 cores and 4 threads, a base frequency of 2.0GHz, and a maximum turbo frequency of 2.9 GHz, providing performance roughly equivalent to an i5-5287U, so the performance is quite good.
The integrated graphics is the Intel UHD Graphics (Tiger Lake G4), with 128M of video memory, supporting 4K 60Hz, and can support up to 3 monitors.
The wireless network card model is Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165, supporting 802.11AC, and dual-band WiFi of 2.4 & 5 GHz, with a tested connection speed of 433M per second.
The wired network card adopts the RTL81 series Gigabit network card with dual Gigabit ports.
Using Lu Master, the actual score was 230,000. Looking at other bloggers’ evaluations, the 16G memory version can score close to 300,000, so it can fully handle daily office work and audio-visual entertainment.
I connected an external 4K monitor with a resolution of 3840*2160, and it played 4K 60HZ movies without any pressure.
I tested the SSD speed using AS SSD Benchmark, with a sequential read speed of 503MB/s and a sequential write speed of 462MB/s. This speed is acceptable among SATA protocol hard drives, and the 4K performance is also good. Unfortunately, it does not support NVMe; otherwise, the speed would be even faster.
I tested it, and daily office software opens and operates without issues, with no significant lag. Due to having only 8G of memory, opening too many browser tabs can fill the memory. I recommend adding another 8G memory stick to form a dual-channel 16G setup, which will allow you to open more web pages simultaneously. I also tested Photoshop, and the operation was quite smooth. It seems that for ordinary users, it can also serve as a main machine.
I changed the version of WIN11, enabled the Android subsystem, and installed common short video platforms to try watching short videos. Still, due to the 8G memory, there were some lags when watching short videos; it should improve after upgrading to 16G of memory.
Some friends place the mini host in the living room connected to the TV to replace the TV box, which is also feasible, but it’s best to pair it with a remote keyboard and mouse for easier operation.
Through these days of use, I find that the Zero刻 EQ59 mini host can meet the basic needs of ordinary users for internet access, office work, and audio-visual entertainment. The actual maximum power consumption is around 26W, which is quite energy-efficient. However, there are also some issues; after all, it is a low-power host with limited performance. Don’t open too many web pages, or it may become laggy. Additionally, during sustained high-load operation, the CPU temperature can be quite high. If it could be changed to a metal body, the heat dissipation would be better. Those capable can DIY it a bit. In a few days, I will try to flash the Synology system to see if I can turn it into a home network center integrating Windows system, soft routing, and black Synology. Those interested can stay tuned!