Zotac MAG review – excellent price for an Nvidia ION nettop

Zotac MAG review summary

Powerful mini PCs are getting more and more popular. Big names like Acer, Asus or MSI offer such computers, called nettops. But there are less known producers on the market with excellent devices, one of the best being the Zotac MAG.

This is in fact a fully equipped mini computer with dual core Atom processor + Nvidia ION graphics, 2 GB of RAM, good storage and connectivity. However, it doesn’t come with an OS, you’ll have to install this one later. Price is however the best you’ll get on such a device: only $299 , at least $50 bucks cheaper than any other similarly equipped mini PCs.

Pros:

• dual-core Atom D330 processor with Nvidia ION and 2 GB of RAM
• 160 GB storage space
• Gigabit Lan and Wi-Fi N
• 6xUSB slots, eSATA, VGA, HDMI, Crad-reader
• excellent price for the features it offers
• can be placed vertically on your desk with the stand offered in the pack or mounted on the back of a display via the VESA system (mounting kit with all necessary pieces included)
• measures only 7.4 x 1.5 x 7.3 inches and weighs 3 pounds

Cons:

• comes with no Operating System
• has no integrated optical drive
• might be a little bit noisy if you plan to use it on the desk, close to your years
• doesn’t come with included keyboard/mouse

Conclusion:

All in all, the Zotac MAG is a good nettop. Offers excellent features and hardware for its price, making it a good pick for more experienced users. However, those expecting it to work out of the box, won’t be delighted with the lack of pre-installed OS, especially since this device lacks an optical unit and might be a little difficult for them to install Windows/Linux from an USB flash-drive.

Zotac MAG - powerful nettop with an amazing price

In fact, it would have been smarter from Zotac to target the MAG nettop only towards experienced users, by making it a barebone, thus allowing buyers to add RAM, HDD and OS later. This way is just something in between and I’m not sure how many will go for it. Especially since it lacks the backup of a strong brand.

I do recommend it nonetheless for its excellent price, hardware and overall build quality, although solutions like the Aspire Revo AR3610 from Acer seem somehow more appealing (with included OS, keyboard and mouse).

Prices, versions and where to buy

Like i’ve said, you can get the Zotac MAG mini PC for only $299 $275. An excellent price for what it has to offer and right now it is the cheapest nettop with dual-core ATOM and ION graphics.

For that kind of money you will end-up with a good compact system, suitable for most everyday activities and perfect for a compact HTPC you can easily hide behind a screen. So definitely a device that is worth the $299 price; but be careful, there’s no OS on it, like I’ve told you before.