The ultimate mini PC that allows you to fully enjoy the game even though it is compact [Gaming PC Review Part 1]

■ A powerful mini PC with the same performance as a gaming PC

As an element of a gaming PC, one of the important points is heat dissipation performance. In PC games, rich visual expressions such as "precise spatial expression" and "smooth character movement" are attractive, but on the other hand, since the CPU and GPU (graphic chip) become extremely hot, it is designed to efficiently dissipate heat. is required. Therefore, gaming PCs tend to be large in size. There are probably more than a few users who are hesitant to introduce a gaming PC because they cannot secure a place to put it.

Therefore, I would like to pay attention to Sicom's BTO PC "Premium-Line Z690FD-Mini/D5", which has the same performance as a gaming PC, but is more compact than a general desktop PC. It is a powerful and attractive model equipped with the 12th generation Core series and GeForce RTX 3060 in a body about 1/3 the size of a middle tower PC. Let's check the size and performance in the first part (this article reviews the standard configuration model).

Condensing ultra-high performance into just 16 liters

The feature of this product is its "size". The PC case uses Era ITX from Fractal Design, which is headquartered in Sweden, and has a footprint of 166 mm wide and 325 mm deep. It is about half the area of ​​a general desktop PC (middle tower PC). In addition, the height is 310 mm, which is smaller than many mini-tower PCs, and is small enough to be placed next to the TV in the living room.

Performance comparable to a gaming PC

What is surprising about this product is that it can demonstrate the performance of a gaming PC in such a compact housing. The CPU is equipped with the Core i7-12700K and the new generation CPU that was just announced at the end of October last year. In addition, memory is DDR5 standard, storage supports PCI Express 4.0 connection, and data access is also the fastest specification at this stage.

On the other hand, MSI's GeForce RTX 3060 VENTUS 2X 12G OC is installed for graphics processing. Although it is a middle-class graphic board, it is a talented player with performance that allows you to comfortably play games in a full HD environment. Now, let's check the performance of this product in the benchmark test.

First of all, we will examine "Dragon Quest X Online", which has the lowest required specs among PC games. From the beginning to the end of the test, the movement was smooth from beginning to end, and the result was "very comfortable".

Next is the benchmark software for FINAL FANTASY XIV, which has mid-range required specs, to fully check the capabilities of this product. Character movement and background scrolling were smooth throughout the entire scene, and there were no issues with graphics processing. On the other hand, I could clearly hear the fan noise of the graphics board in the scene where the processing was heavy in the second half of the test. If quietness is important, it seems necessary to adjust the resolution and image quality.

Lastly, we benchmarked this product in the so-called heavyweight game "FINAL FANTASY XV WINDOWS EDITION". In the 4K display, which requires the highest performance, I felt a subtle jerky scrolling, giving me the impression that the graphics performance was being used to the limit.

Up to this point, we have checked the characteristics of "compact and high performance" that can be said to be the biggest attraction of this product. But size and performance aren't the only things that make this product attractive.

The parts that make up this product are all masterpieces carefully selected by Cicom. In the second part, which will be released soon, we will check the inside of this product, where the company's commitment is condensed.