Zotac Zone Unleashed: Epic Visuals and Thrilling Gaming Power Explored!

Gaming Performance and Power Management

3DMark

Cyberpunk 2077

Steam Deck configuration, no upscaling.

Hogwarts Legacy

Low configuration, TAA.

Control

Medium configuration, no AA, DX11.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

High configuration, TAA, DX12.

Space Marine 2

Low configuration, TAA.

In comparison with the Steam Deck LCD and ASUS ROG Ally in gaming benchmarks, the Zone significantly outperforms both devices. Although it utilizes the same iGPU as the ROG Ally and features a nearly identical CPU, it can achieve up to 20% enhanced performance, particularly at reduced power (15 W and below). The quicker memory (7500 MT/s found in the Zone contrasted with 6400 MT/s in the ROG Ally) contributes to the superior results, but it is not the sole reason for the substantial disparity in performance between the Zone and Ally. Additionally, keep in mind that the Ally X is equipped with the same 7500 MT/s memory but only surpasses the original Ally by a few frames on average.

Such remarkable outcomes allow the Zotac Zone to claim its status as one of the fastest handhelds available, powered by the Radeon 780M integrated graphics. The engineers at Zotac have succeeded in extracting every bit of gaming potency from the 780M, resulting in extraordinary gaming capabilities, enabling the Zone at 15 W to compete with the ROG Ally’s performance at 18 W.

This is why it stings more to realize that the Zone is equipped with just 16 GB of memory. For instance, the console has the capability to run Forza Horizon 5 at 900p with the “Environment Geometry Quality” set to Ultra, allowing for realistic 3D ground cover and significantly enhanced LOD models. However, since this option being set to Ultra necessitates the textures also being set to Ultra, the device lacks sufficient memory to avoid stuttering, despite being capable of running the game at playable frame rates.

Returnal, another memory-intensive title, faces challenges with the 16 GB of shared memory, alongside numerous other recent AAA games that could benefit from higher texture settings but can’t due to limited memory. While 16 GB is adequate, an increase to 24 GB of RAM would have been considerably better. Especially approaching late 2024, when many titles will require more than 16 GB of memory in total (system and video memory) for smooth operation.