Zotac MEK1 System Performance Benchmark Results
Zotac MEK1’s CPU and Memory Benchmark Results
For the performance benchmark, I tested the Zotac MEK1 with some of the most popular synthetic benchmark tools and utilities available. Below are screenshots of the MEK1’s CPUz and GPUz.
As expected, the Core i7-7700 is a bit dated compared to the newer 8th gen Core i7-8700K 6 core processor and it’s a tad slower compared to the unlocked Core i7-7700K. Nevertheless, it’s still very much capable of handling day to day desktop operation and gaming sessions. For comparison, my Core i7-8700K test system got 512.2 points on single thread and 3737.6 point on multi thread. An AMD Ryzen 7 1700X CPU yields around 446 point on single thread and around 4813 on multi thread score.
In Cinebench R15, the MEK1 got a score of 884 points; it’s a bit faster than an AMD Ryzen 5 1500X that scored only 819. But it’s still slower compared to the newer 8700K’s 1420 points and 1700X’s 1705 points.
When it comes to memory, the 16GB memory capacity is plenty enough to handle most of the modern day task and multi-tasking operation. However at 2400MHz, it’s not the fastest around. Although, the performance difference between a 2400MHz memory kit and a faster 3000MHz is, most of the time, unnoticeable; unless you’re running a memory intensive application.
Zotac MEK1’s Storage Benchmark Results
The MEK1 has two storage drives installed and their performance difference is like night and day. It looks like Zotac combined the fastest and slowest storage drives available in the market. Like I said earlier, I would prefer that Zotac used Seagate’s FireCuda instead or a 7200RPM hard drive. A 5400 RPM hard drive is just too slow in my opinion, especially if you’re going to use it as a game drive. You can see the results below.
Above you can see the Phison-controlled NVMe SSD has a very fast read write speeds, compared to Seagate’s Barracuda 5400RPM hard drive. You can see the same scenario on the rest of the storage benchmark scores below.
For comparison, the WD Black 3D NVMe 1TB SSD scores 3442MB/s seq. read and 2841 MB/s seq. write in CrystalDiskMark 5.1.2. The performance of the M.2 NVMe SSD on the MEK1 is somewhat similar to a Kingston A1000 NVMe SSD.
As for the 2.5″ Seagate Barracuda 5400 RPM drive, it only got around 139 MB/s seq. read and around 120 MB/s seq. write. In comparison, a full-sized 3.5″ Seagate Barracuda Pro (12TB) scores around 264 MB/s seq. read and 263 MB/s seq. write. I know it’s not a fair comparison, but I’m just showing to you what a 7200 RPM hard drive could do. Like I said earlier, Seagate has a 2.5″ FireCuda SSHD that could provide better performance since it’s a hybrid drive (HDD+SSD cache). There’s also the 2.5″ WD Black 7200 RPM hard drive, although I think the FireCuda would yield better results thanks to its SSD cache.
Zotac MEK1 Overall System Benchmark Results
Finally, using PCMark 8’s Creative tests and PCMark 10’s Benchmark suite, the overall performance of the Zotac MEK1 is far from bad at all. The scores shows that it’s still a very capable system that can do modern-day application and operation. Generally speaking, anything higher or faster than the Core i7-7700 CPU, like the newer 6-core and 8-core processors both from Intel and AMD respectively, could outperform the MEK1’s CPU easily. However, quad core CPUs like the Ryzen 5 1500X and other slower dual core processors could easily be outperformed by the MEK1’s CPU.
Now let’s proceed to the more important part of this review, after all this is a gaming PC. How good is the Zotac MEK1 Gaming PC when it comes to gaming? Check out the gaming benchmark results on the next page.
