Zotac’s MEK Mini is a desktop gaming PC that ships with a 65 watt Intel Core i7-8700 hexa-core processor, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 graphics, 16GB of RAM, a 240GB PCIe NVMe SSD and a 2TB hard drive.
But what’s unusual about the MEK Mini is that it’s about half the size of a typical gaming desktop. It measures just 10.3″ x 10.2″ x 5.4″ and features a mini graphics card (which can be removed and upgraded).
Zotac showed off some MEK Mini prototypes at CES in January, but now the company is officially launching the compact gaming desktop. It should be available in stores soon, although there’s no word on the price or precise release date.
Cramming that hardware into a small space could present cooling challenges, but the company says the MEK Mini has 360 degrees of ventilation and a cooling system designed to circulate air through the case to keep the system cool without generating too much noise.
You can open up the case by flipping a switch to remove a side panel. The memory and storage are accessible and upgradable.
The computer features Zotac’s SPECTRA 2.0 Lighting effects which light up the logo and two strips on the front of the MEK Mini. There are no ports on the front, but there are USB 3.0 Type-C and Type-A ports, a headset jack, and an SD card reader on top.
On the back there are four USB 3.1 ports, dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, two DisplayPort 1.4 ports, one HDMI 2.0b port, a USB Type-C port, and a DVI port.
Zotac says the system can support up to 4 displays at once.
The computer ships with Windows 10 Home 64-bit software, and it’s available either as a standalone system or in a bundle with a keyboard and mouse.
I like everything about it except “ports on the top” – that seems like a terrible design choice, they will be dust-sinks… unless all those vents mean the airflow is out the top (which would suck up dust from around the base, so I doubt it…)