Cyberpower Zeus Mini Evo I-970

[HEXUS]

One of the thinnest PCs to feature a Core i5 CPU and GTX 970 graphics.

Read more.

[Tunnah]

OK that's pretty nifty.

[Pob255]

User upgrades are never going to be easy, noise levels can be bothersome and the default 120GB SSD is too cramped for a rig of this ilk.

A couple of compromises are to be expected, yet with a storage upgrade and tweaked fan profiles the Zeus Mini Evo could have the makings of a great small-form-factor gaming PC that delivers plenty of punch at the £999 price point.

I'm not sure how you can say "upgrades are never going to be easy" as every part inside that case is a standard off the shelf part, I can only assume you mean that it'll be tricky because of the lack of space and it's one of those cases you need to take apart to get to bits.
It might be a bit fiddly to upgrade but it'll be a whole lot easier than many pre-built systems that use non/uncommon standard components inside.

You also say it runs too hot and the fans are too noisy but that tweaking the fan profiles could make it a better system??

Some days I think that the main review and conclusion are written by two different people.

p.s. I think a good part of the graphics card throttling is probably because the cpu rad and it's exhaust air is right over the back of the graphics card, so all the heat from the cpu is being dumped onto the back of the graphics card, nothing to do with the fan profiles.

[Graywoodford]

i quite like the case

[idris]

User upgrades are never going to be easy, noise levels can be bothersome and the default 120GB SSD is too cramped for a rig of this ilk.

A couple of compromises are to be expected, yet with a storage upgrade and tweaked fan profiles the Zeus Mini Evo could have the makings of a great small-form-factor gaming PC that delivers plenty of punch at the £999 price point.

I'm not sure how you can say "upgrades are never going to be easy" as every part inside that case is a standard off the shelf part, I can only assume you mean that it'll be tricky because of the lack of space and it's one of those cases you need to take apart to get to bits.
It might be a bit fiddly to upgrade but it'll be a whole lot easier than many pre-built systems that use non/uncommon standard components inside.

You also say it runs too hot and the fans are too noisy but that tweaking the fan profiles could make it a better system??

Some days I think that the main review and conclusion are written by two different people.

p.s. I think a good part of the graphics card throttling is probably because the cpu rad and it's exhaust air is right over the back of the graphics card, so all the heat from the cpu is being dumped onto the back of the graphics card, nothing to do with the fan profiles.

Did you happen to miss a few pieces when reading & being selective on quotes to bring about your point?

Have another read. You may spot things like:
" The MSI graphics card, for example, is one of few GTX 970s whose fans spin at all times, and the system fans are set to full speed in BIOS"

...and what does that mean when the system is at idle?

Overall, I thought the review was quite positive! Thank you for reviewing another SFF, Hex!

[RAJA666]

Good article for my planned SFF graphic workstation build.

[Myss_tree]

I don't get this obssession with no input ports on a case front.
Sure its aesthetically minimalist and clean but practically its a non starter unless you have clear access on both sides and top which then kind of defeats the point of a SFF as its designed to fit in a small space.