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00:00If you know me, or if you follow my channel, you'll know that I like small computer cases,
00:07particularly ITX cases when it comes to custom builds, but this is a pre-built barebone system
00:13made by Zotac.
00:14This is the EK7 1080, and this is one of the smallest, if not the smallest system out there
00:19with a full-sized GTX 1080.
00:21So not an MXM card, not a laptop card, it's the full-fat GTX 1080 from a desktop stuck
00:27into a very small 5.8 liter case.
00:30So previously, Zotac made a very similar product to this, the EN1080K, it was a very powerful
00:35water-cooled system, but there were three kind of issues to it.
00:38First it used an MXM card, it didn't have the full-sized GTX 1080, and second, it was
00:43expensive.
00:44That thing started at $2,000.
00:45Thirdly, the EN1080K needed two AC adapters, it basically had two 300 watt AC adapters
00:51that would plug into the back, and it was just honestly unsightly and just unwieldy
00:54for a product this small to need two AC adapters.
00:58So this one, the EK7 1080, has been updated, if you want to call it that, but now it starts
01:03at $1,500, which I think is a pretty fair price for what this thing includes.
01:07So for the base model, $1,500, you're not getting RAM, you're not getting storage, but
01:11you're getting basically everything else, which I'll discuss in a little bit.
01:14Now if you think you're one of those people that can build a custom PC for seven bucks
01:17that's going to compare to this, I mean, in this market, with the crypto mining happening
01:22and all the GPU pricing being as wonky, it's really difficult for me to kind of compare
01:26this thing to what a regular build would cost right now.
01:29If you're trying to buy a GTX 1080 at a regular $500 or $600 price point, it's going to be
01:33nearly impossible.
01:34People are charging like $800, $900 for that stuff, which sucks.
01:37So the pricing on this thing is actually pretty good if you consider the current market.
01:41It's fair if you consider regular pricing.
01:44This system runs a single AC adapter.
01:46It's this one, the 330 watt behemoth.
01:49It's really large, but because it's external, it keeps your case size small.
01:53So this 5.8 liter device can sit on your media center, your table, whatever you want, and
01:57this thing can sit under your table, in a cabinet, whatever.
02:00So it keeps this thing kind of cleaner and smaller.
02:03Now they're able to do that because this thing is running a laptop CPU, the 7700HQ.
02:08So this is a 45 watt CPU.
02:10The previous generation was a desktop CPU.
02:12It used more energy and it produced more heat.
02:14Now obviously that one's going to be a little more powerful in terms of its boost clock,
02:18but this thing is very comparable and it uses a little bit less energy, so you don't
02:21have to spend as much effort cooling this system down.
02:24The last main feature about this mini PC, and probably its best feature, is that this
02:28thing is holding a full-sized GTX 1080.
02:31This is the reference card, the founder's edition, and they're able to fit all the processing
02:34power from this into here, and this has a full computer inside.
02:38This is just a graphics card, and the performance on the GTX 1080 combined with the 7700HQ is
02:43excellent.
02:44The desktop grade version of the 1080 is a very capable card, and it'll push excellent
02:48frame rates across pretty much every single game that I play.
02:51Now I don't play super graphically intense stuff like GT5 and stuff, because the truth
02:54is I don't find those games all that exciting.
02:56I like more competitive stuff, like I don't do the single player games that much, but
03:01single player, multiplayer, competitive, non-competitive, this thing's going to crush it.
03:06It's also a strong performer in VR, and because it's small, you can put it in your backpack
03:09and you now have a relatively portable VR capable system.
03:13Now thermal performance is something I think a lot of people are interested in, because
03:16it's such a small case, and the previous generation, the EN1080K, had water cooling, but this one
03:23is air cooled.
03:24Now the fan noise is controllable in the BIOS, but if I just left it at standard settings,
03:27it's quiet on idle, but during games it can get pretty loud.
03:30Now you're not putting the system in front of your face like a laptop, like you're not
03:33playing right on top of this thing, so obviously the decibel rating is just for reference so
03:38you understand what's going on.
03:39It really depends on how close you sit to this machine.
03:42When I set this up on my table, I had it about 3 or 4 feet away from me, and I didn't
03:45find the fan noise annoying or anything.
03:48Now there is some thermal throttling, not a lot, it's hard to pick up on it unless you're
03:53actually running a monitoring program, so I actually didn't notice that there was throttling
03:56in-game.
03:57The frame rates didn't drop, but when I looked at the logs, there was some throttling around
04:00the 1 hour mark.
04:01Now you can control the fans in the BIOS, so if you set the fans more aggressively,
04:05it'll get rid of the throttling, but it becomes louder.
04:07So this system, 7700HQ GTX 1080, great performance, and if you pump up the fans, yeah, it doesn't
04:14throttle, but I kind of expected this system to just run a little bit quieter.
04:17The performance is good, and if you set it right, it won't throttle, but it's a little
04:21loud.
04:22On standard settings, it's quieter, it's just that it can throttle if you play for long
04:25periods of time.
04:26For ports, we're looking at 5 USB-As, a USB Type-C, which doesn't support Thunderbolt
04:313, and we have an SD card, audio jacks, and a pair of Ethernet in the back.
04:35It's obviously not as port-filled as like a full desktop system, but for content creation
04:39or gaming, this should do the trick.
04:42In terms of upgradability, even though it has a desktop GTX 1080 in there, it's not
04:45an easy thing to upgrade.
04:46I actually think that they say it's not upgradable, but I think you could if you really wanted
04:50to.
04:51You can see the riser in there, and you can see the PCIe connection, so I feel like if
04:54you had a small enough card in the future that could fit into this space, it could just
04:58connect up, but I'm not entirely sure.
05:00In terms of the other stuff, the drives and the memory are all located on the bottom,
05:04and you can swap that stuff out pretty readily.
05:06There's room for two drives and one stick of Intel Optane memory, and it can hold up
05:10to 32 gigs of RAM.
05:12So overall, the upgradability is good, it's just not as good as a regular desktop system.
05:16I do like this thing, a lot.
05:18It's not for everyone.
05:19If you're into small cases, like I am, and you like something that's just really clean
05:23and relatively modern-looking that can sit on your table or your media center if you
05:27have this up in your living room or something, this is a pretty good pickup.
05:30Okay, hope you guys enjoyed this video.
05:31Thumbs if you liked it, subs if you loved it.
05:33See you guys next time.