Our journey continues to discover the products of Vzmore, a young company founded this year and specialized in small desktop computers. After the mini PC test Ax9 Maxwith Amd Ryzen AI 9 Hx 470 processor, today we try the younger brother iX9 Max with the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H CPU on board.
Let us therefore analyze in detail all the features and performances of the new Vzmore iX9 Max mini PC.
Design, connections and packaging
The iX9 Max retains the same refined body already used on the Ax9 Max. Aluminum case, now in dark grey, with rounded corners, dimensions equal to 135 x 131.8 x 57.7 mm and weight of 777 g. We also remember the side and rear ventilation grilles. Furthermore, the base, in black plastic, also has generous air vents, arranged at 360°. Finally, the upper side where the eye-catching company logo stands out.
Nothing new regarding complete connectivity. The front houses, in addition to the power button, the headphone input with 3.5 mm jack and three USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports and one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A Always On which allows you to charge external devices such as smartphones, headphones or mice even when the PC is turned off. Too bad for the absence of a USB-C. We also remember the SD card slot on the left side.
Let’s move on to the back where we find 2 HDMI 2.0, the input for the compact 120W power supply, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, a USB 2.0 Type-A, a USB 4.0 Type-C Dp-Alt Mode / Pd 15W, a USB 4.0 Type-C Dp-Alt Mode / Pd (Out 15 W and In 100 W) and 2 Ethernet Rj45. Finally, wireless connectivity: Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4.
We conclude with the package which includes an HDMI cable, a quick guide and a bracket for attaching the PC behind the monitor.
Technical characteristics
The heart of the Vzmore iX9 Max is the powerful Core Ultra 9 185H processor belonging to Intel’s high-end family called “Meteor Lake”. CPU with 16 cores, 22 threads, maximum frequency of 5.1 GHz and TDP up to 65W. We continue with the Intel Arc integrated graphics card, equipped with 8 Xe-Cores operating at 2.35 GHz. It has hardware acceleration for ray tracing and the Av1 codec. We also find the Intel AI Boost NPU: a dedicated coprocessor, with 11 Tops, specific for local AI processing with very low consumption.
The Vzmore iX9 Max also boasts the powerful and advanced V-Cooling cooling system based on a vapor chamber. This advanced thermal architecture replaces traditional heat pipes and allows the PC to maintain stable performance of the powerful Intel processor, pushing the continuous TDP up to 65W, remaining extremely silent (38dB). Technology that boasts 50% better thermal efficiency than standard systems and a 40% larger heat dissipation surface, according to data from Vzmore. We also remember the V-Boost Pro Intelligent Performance Tuning technology: a proprietary system developed by Vzmore, designed to optimize CPU power delivery based on the workload, pushing the hardware to its maximum potential without compromising thermal stability.
Let’s move on to the memory with 24 GB of LpDdr5 Dual-Channel RAM unfortunately soldered onto the motherboard and not expandable (Ax9 uses 32 GB divided into two banks). The storage remains unchanged with a 1TB M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 x4 NVMe SSD, replaceable with a drive of up to 4TB. We also find a slot for M.2 2242 PCIe 4 × 4 NVMe storage expansion, up to 1 TB.
Software
We continue our review with the analysis of the software. The Vzmore mini PC arrives with the Windows 11 Pro operating system fully configured, ready to use and free of unnecessary additional software (bloatware). As regards the Bios, we find three settings dedicated to Tdp and power of the cooling system:
- Silent mode: 20W
- Balanced Mode: 40W
- Performance mode: 65W with the fan clearly audible
For all our tests we left the system in Normal Mode, as per the factory configuration.
Performance and price
We conclude our review with the performance analysis of the iX9 Max. Our opinion on the Vzmore mini PC is positive. A product that can boast high performance thanks to the powerful Intel processor, supported by a fast SSD and with a good amount of RAM.
Going into detail, it is an excellent PC for Office programs, web browsing, viewing streaming content, even 4K, and suitable for photo editing and 4K video editing that is not particularly demanding.
Furthermore, this mini PC can be used with video games of all kinds, at Full HD resolution, setting a high quality in older titles such as GTA V and Fortnite and a low quality with more recent games such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Forza Horizon 6.
Applications and Windows start up quickly, with a fast SSD that reaches 6,001 MB/s reading and 4,992 MB/s writing. Mini PC which recorded, in the Geekbench benchmark, a score of 2,283 points in single core and 14,783 in multi-core. The GPU, however, reached a score of 30,314 points (OpenCl test).
Very positive opinion on the construction quality and the numerous connections available: we remember, in particular, the possibility of connecting the iX9 Max to 4 monitors simultaneously.
Mini PC equipped with an efficient integrated cooling system, with the fan clearly audible only when the PC is under stress.
Finally, the 3-year warranty and the price of the Vzmore iX9 Max, which can be purchased on company website and on Amazon for 999 euros (15% discount with code IX9TODAY valid until December 30th).
Find out more on Amazon
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