Benchmarks: Power, Temperature and Noise
We knew that the Core i5 processor would imbue the Zbox ID89 Plus with mighty CPU speed and lacklustre GPU performance, but what's more of a question mark is how the desktop chip impacts other variables such as power consumption, temperature and noise.
The efficiency of today's chips is impressive, with Zotac's entire system drawing just 19 watts when idle.
Cranking up the load by applying Prime95 to all available cores can make full-blown desktops seem particularly thirsty, but again Zotac's pint-sized machine is fairly conservative; drawing 40 watts from the mains in a worst-case-scenario is hardly a worry.
There's only one fan in the Zbox ID89 Plus and, when the system's idle, you'd hardly know it's there; it is very quiet.
In a worst-case scenario - Prime95 hammering all cores - noise level rises to 38.6dB. The system is audible at this point, yet the constant hum is far from intrusive.
Zotac has done a good job in keeping noise levels down to a minimum and the agreeable acoustics don't come at the expense of thermal performance. During testing, CPU temperature was recorded at 31ºC when idle and 65ºC under maximum load, remaining well within the thermal limits.
