Computer Planet’s Manta is one of a growing number of mini-ITX machines that challenge fullsized rigs for performance, and this one comes inside NZXT’s Manta chassis, which has an adventurous exterior. It isn’t the small, boxy unit normally associated with mini-ITX – its panels, roof and rear are made with subtle curves that look great.
Computer Planet has opted for the black and red version of this case, so its soft, attractive metal panels are bordered with red plastic. There’s a window on one side, a smart power button and no gaudy logos – it’s a great-looking machine.
However, there’s no denying that it’s a little large for a mini-ITX rig. The Manta’s bulging panels result in a 245mm width and 426mm height – dimensions we usually associate with micro-ATX builds or even smaller ATX cases. NZXT has used the bulk well, though, kitting out the Manta with a good selection of features.
The base is dominated by a sturdy metal shroud that hides a full-sized PSU and hard disk, and there’s enough space at the front to accommodate a 280mm radiators without clashing with hefty graphics cards. There’s space for two roof-mounted case fans and a 120mm exhaust as well. Cable management is more akin to larger cases too. The Manta has a red, raised section that Computer Planet has used to hide most of the power cables, with the bottom shroud hiding the rest.
It all ensures a neat build, and Computer Planet has also done good work in continuing the Manta’s black and red theme. It’s fitted two Aerocool Dead Silent fans to the Corsair Hydro H110i v2 liquid-cooling unit and three more around the rest of the case. The Asus motherboard carries on the colour scheme, the graphics card has a two-toned heatsink and the Corsair memory is red too.
Of course, the mini-ITX form factor still has limitations. The motherboard has no free PCI-E or memory slots, there’s no room for an extra hard disk, and the two 2.5in bays can’t be properly used without the GPU and Corsair radiator being moved first. The M.2 slot that holds the boot drive is also on the back of the motherboard, which sits behind the motherboard tray, so access requires you to remove the motherboard entirely.
Thankfully, the Manta won’t need extra components any time soon. The Core i7-6700K is a solid start, and Computer Planet has overclocked its four Hyper-Threaded cores from 4GHz to 4.9GHz with a 1.39V vcore. That’s a huge tweak, especially for a mini-ITX machine – even Scan’s full-sized 3XS Z170 Vengeance Ti only runs the same silicon at 4.7GHz.
Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 980 Ti is another familiar high-end component, with 2,816 stream processors enabling 4K gaming on one GPU. The card deployed here is MSI’s Gaming G6 variant, which has three overclocking profiles. Computer Planet has loaded the Gaming Mode, which boosts the 1000MHz GPU frequency to 1140MHz.
Elsewhere, there’s a fast 256GB Samsung SM951 NVMe boot drive, a 2TB hard disk and 16GB of 3000MHz DDR4 memory. Meanwhile, the Asus Z170i Pro Gaming is an accomplished mini-ITX board. It offers SupremeFX audio and dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi, while the I/O panel has four USB 3 ports, USB 3.1 Type-A connectors, five audio jacks and an optical S/PDIF output. It’s also great to see Corsair’s RM750X PSU in this machine, offering 80 Plus Gold efficiency and fan-free operation under low loads.
Finally, you get a solid warranty, with a whole three years of collect and return cover for both parts and labour.
The huge CPU overclock helped the Computer Planet to deliver stunning application benchmark speeds. Its image editing score of 67,665 was around 300 points beyond the aforementioned full-sized Scan machine, and it extended this lead in our multi-threaded video encoding test, with a result of 346,183 – more than 10,000 points ahead of the 3XS rig.
The Manta fared well in our game tests too, with great results at 2,560 x 1,440 and a solidly playable minimum of 39fps in The Witcher 3 at 4K. Even Fallout 4 hit our borderline playable 25fps minimum target at 4K with Ultra settings – it will be even smoother at High settings. Only Crysis 3 failed our 4K playability test, but its minimum of 24fps will increase if you’re prepared to tweak the settings.
The Manta’s 3x PCI-E NVMe SSD offered amazing results too, with read and write speeds of 1,995MB/sec and 1,215MB/sec respectively. That’s far quicker than the SATA drive in the aforementioned, similarly priced Scan PC.
The Computer Planet’s smaller size hindered its thermal and aural performance, which isn’t surprising when you consider the overclock. Its CPU delta T of 70°C matches the Scan, with both chips throttling back to 4GHz under heavy loads, and the Manta’s GPU delta T of 60°C is pretty hot too. Both results are within thermal limits, but the Manta clearly has a hot interior. Not surprisingly, the Manta also gets noisy when stress tested, although the low rumble isn’t irritating.
There’s plenty to like about Computer Planet’s Manta. It’s rapid in applications and games, its mini-ITX case is wellmade and smart, and Computer Planet has used consistent colours, while taking care over its build and component choices. It isn’t perfect – it’s a little large for a mini-ITX machine, while lacking the upgrade room of machines that are only slightly bigger, and it also gets hot inside. However, if you’re looking for storming performance in a smallish, good-looking machine, the Manta delivers the goods. MIKE JENNINGS
VERDICT
A smart and good-looking mini-ITX machine with an amazing overclock and great performance, although it’s big for a mini-ITX rig and it gets hot.
SPECIFICATIONS
CPU 4GHz Intel Core i7-6700K overclocked to 4.9GHz
Motherboard Asus Z170i Pro Gaming
Memory 16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000MHz DDR4
Graphics MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB
Storage 256GB Samsung SM951 M.2 SSD; 2TB hard disk Case NZXT Manta
Cooling CPU: Corsair Hydro H100i GTX with 2 x 120mm fans; GPU: 2 x 90mm fans rear: 1 x 120mm fans; roof: 2 x 120mm fans
PSU Corsair RM750X
Ports Front: 2 x USB 3, 2 x audio; rear: 4 x USB 3, 2 x USB 3.1 Type-A, 2 x USB 2, 1 x PS/2, 1 x optical S/PDIF, 5 x audio
Operating system Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Warranty Three years parts and labour collect and return