How Mart Tests ZimaBoard 2 as a Compact Gaming PC
Special thanks to Mart for putting ZimaBoard 2 through an unusually ambitious set of tests and documenting the complete process in his video, Gaming on a Router – ZimaBoard 2. His experiment goes far beyond a conventional product overview: he boots Windows, opens Steam, runs Grand Theft Auto V, tests Minecraft on CachyOS, returns to ZimaOS, and finally uses the same hardware as a Proxmox virtualization host.
Despite the video’s playful title, this is not a guide to converting ZimaBoard 2 into a gaming router. Mart is asking a more interesting question: can a compact, server-focused x86 board behave like a small gaming PC when pushed outside its intended role?
The answer is nuanced. ZimaBoard 2 can boot desktop operating systems and run real PC games, but its Intel N150 processor and integrated graphics remain the performance boundary. The experiment is best understood as a demonstration of platform flexibility rather than evidence that a low-power home server can replace a dedicated gaming computer.
Watch the original test first: The video shows the physical hardware, operating-system changes, game tests, ZimaOS interface, and Proxmox workload in sequence. Watching Mart’s demonstration makes it easier to distinguish what the board successfully runs from what should be treated as an experiment.
Source note: This article reorganizes the hardware observations and tests shown in Mart’s video. It is not a step-by-step installation guide or a promise of specific gaming performance. Frame rate, stability, temperatures, driver support, and application compatibility can change with the operating system, game version, storage device, graphics settings, and cooling conditions.
The central result is straightforward: ZimaBoard 2 can move between desktop, gaming, Linux, home-server, and virtualization workloads. It does not excel equally at all of them, but that ability to change roles is precisely what makes the test useful.
Mart opens the video by placing the compact ZimaBoard 2 beside desktop gaming hardware and a running copy of Grand Theft Auto V.
Why Test Games on Hardware Designed for a Home Server?
A normal gaming PC is built around graphics performance, active cooling, upgradeable memory, and a power supply sized for demanding components. ZimaBoard 2 starts from a different set of priorities: compact size, low power consumption, silent operation, storage connectivity, networking, and support for always-on services.
Testing games on this hardware therefore answers a broader question: how far can a server-oriented x86 board move beyond its intended role?
Because the board uses the same x86 architecture found in conventional PCs, it can run operating systems and applications that would be more difficult to use on many ARM single-board computers. Mart takes advantage of that compatibility to explore four distinct roles:
- A Windows desktop with Steam and conventional PC games
- A Linux gaming machine running CachyOS
- A ZimaOS home server with browser-based application management
- A Proxmox Virtual Environment host capable of running virtual machines
The value of the experiment is not simply whether one game opens. It shows how the same board can move between desktop and server environments without being locked to one operating system.
The ZimaBoard 2 Hardware Behind the Experiment
Mart begins with a physical overview of the board and its expansion options. ZimaBoard 2 combines an Intel N150 quad-core processor with DDR5 memory, onboard eMMC storage, two SATA ports, two 2.5GbE Ethernet ports, USB connectivity, Mini DisplayPort output, and an open-ended PCIe 3.0 interface.
These hardware choices explain both the possibilities and the limits of the project:
- Intel N150 processor: Four x86 CPU cores and integrated Intel graphics in a low-power package.
- DDR5 memory: Enough for desktop applications, containers, and smaller virtual-machine workloads, although the memory is not user-upgradeable.
- Dual SATA ports: External SSDs or hard drives can hold operating systems, games, application data, and server files.
- Mini DisplayPort: Direct display output makes desktop operating-system testing possible without relying only on a browser or remote shell.
- PCIe 3.0 expansion: An upgrade path for NVMe storage, additional networking, accelerators, and experimental graphics configurations.
- Dual 2.5GbE: Networking that remains useful when the board returns to storage, gateway, and homelab duties.
The Windows Task Manager shown later in the video reports approximately 7.7GB of usable memory, indicating that Mart is testing an 8GB-class configuration. That capacity is sufficient for lightweight desktop experiments, but it becomes another constraint when Windows, a game, and background processes are active together.
The board’s open PCIe interface creates unusual expansion possibilities, although a full-size GPU requires separate planning for power, compatibility, cooling, and physical support.
PCIe Expansion Does Not Automatically Make It a Gaming PC
The full-size graphics card beside the board is visually striking, but PCIe compatibility should not be confused with a complete desktop GPU installation.
A graphics card may need an independent power supply, a suitable adapter or riser, compatible drivers, and enough airflow to operate safely. A long PCIe card also needs physical support so that its weight does not place excessive stress on the board or connector.
The game footage shown later in Mart’s test is accompanied by Windows Task Manager reporting Intel Graphics as the active GPU. The captured test therefore demonstrates the capabilities and limits of the N150’s integrated graphics rather than confirmed acceleration from the large discrete card shown during the introduction.
That makes the result more useful for a typical owner. It shows what the board can do in a relatively direct configuration instead of presenting a heavily modified external-GPU build as normal out-of-box performance.
Building a Windows Desktop With Two SATA Drives
For the Windows portion, Mart connects two slim SATA drives to ZimaBoard 2 and uses the packaging as a simple open mounting platform. A keyboard and display connection turn the server board into a recognizable desktop setup.
This is one area where ZimaBoard 2 differs from many compact mini PCs. Native SATA connections make it possible to separate workloads across physical drives. One SSD could contain Windows and applications while another holds games or project data.
The open layout is appropriate for testing, but a permanent installation would need better drive retention and cable management. Loose SSDs, exposed circuit boards, and unsupported connectors are vulnerable to accidental movement and should not be treated as a finished enclosure.
Mart’s Windows setup uses two SATA drives and reaches the Steam login screen, confirming that the board can operate as a conventional x86 desktop.
Windows and Steam Turn the Server Board Into a Small PC
Once Windows is running, Mart installs and opens Steam. Reaching the desktop and launching the client is not a demanding benchmark by itself, but it confirms that several parts of the system are working together:
- Windows boots from the selected storage device
- Mini DisplayPort drives the connected monitor
- USB peripherals function as conventional desktop input devices
- The network connection supports downloads and account access
- The Intel graphics driver provides hardware-accelerated desktop output
The resulting system is more comparable to a low-power office PC than a gaming desktop. Lightweight applications and older games are realistic experiments, while recent graphics-heavy titles expose the limits of the integrated GPU quickly.
Grand Theft Auto V Pushes the Intel N150 Close to Its Limit
Grand Theft Auto V is the most demanding visible test in the video. The game launches successfully, loads into the world, and allows Mart to move through Los Santos and drive a vehicle.
That is a meaningful compatibility result, but Task Manager shows how hard the system is working. During the captured test, CPU utilization reaches approximately 95%, memory use rises above 7GB of the available 7.7GB, and the integrated Intel GPU operates around 90% or higher.
While GTA V is running, Windows reports heavy CPU, memory, and integrated-graphics utilization.
Mart successfully drives through the GTA V world, but the surrounding performance data shows that the board has little unused graphics headroom.
The test proves that the game can run; it does not establish ZimaBoard 2 as an ideal GTA V system. The video does not present a controlled benchmark with consistent frame-time data, identical graphics presets, and a repeatable test route. A game opening and accepting input is different from maintaining a stable experience over several hours.
Users attempting a similar test should reduce resolution and graphics settings, close unnecessary background applications, and monitor temperatures and memory consumption. Even then, expectations should remain appropriate for an integrated low-power GPU.
Minecraft on CachyOS Is a Better Match for the Hardware
Mart next moves from Windows to CachyOS, an Arch-based Linux distribution focused on performance and desktop responsiveness. This part of the video demonstrates one of the advantages of x86 hardware: the board is not restricted to its preinstalled server operating system.
Minecraft is also a more suitable workload for the Intel N150 than a large open-world game. In the screenshot, the Minecraft debug overlay identifies the Intel N150 and Mesa Intel graphics while the frame-rate counter displays approximately 41 FPS. The game is rendering a wide landscape at a desktop resolution with a four-gigabyte Java memory allocation.
The CachyOS test shows Minecraft running on the Intel N150 integrated GPU at approximately 41 FPS in the captured scene.
One screenshot is not a full benchmark. Frame rate will change with render distance, biome complexity, entities, shaders, mods, and background activity. Nevertheless, this result is more aligned with the board’s capabilities and suggests that lightweight, older, or well-optimized games are the sensible targets.
If the goal is to play more demanding PC games on a low-power device, local game streaming is often more practical than rendering them directly. The ZimaSpace guide to streaming PC games to an R36S with ZimaBoard 2, Sunshine, Moonlight, and Tailscale shows an alternative architecture in which a more powerful PC performs the rendering.
Returning to ZimaOS Reveals the Board’s Intended Strength
After experimenting with Windows and CachyOS, Mart returns to ZimaOS. The contrast is useful: instead of asking the N150 to behave like a gaming processor, ZimaOS uses it as the center of a browser-managed home server.
The dashboard provides access to storage, networking, system information, and installed services. The App Store shown in the video includes categories for media, productivity, networking, AI, development, and other self-hosted workloads.
Visible applications include Ollama, Immich, Calibre-Web, Hermes, OpenClaw, and other services. These workloads use the same hardware in a way that is better suited to an always-on, low-power system. New owners can follow the official ZimaBoard 2 getting-started guide for first boot, storage connections, device discovery, and ZimaOS setup.
After the gaming experiments, Mart opens the ZimaOS App Store and returns the board to its primary role as a self-hosted application platform.
The transition helps explain what makes the board different from a sealed NAS appliance. ZimaOS provides an accessible default experience, while the x86 platform leaves room for Windows, Linux, and other server operating systems when a project requires them.
Proxmox Turns the Same Board Into a Virtualization Host
The final major test uses Proxmox Virtual Environment. This returns the experiment to server territory while demonstrating a more advanced use of the hardware.
In Mart’s system monitor, the Intel N150 host is running a QEMU process associated with a Windows 7 virtual machine. The monitor reports approximately 7.49GiB of total memory and displays individual CPU-core activity, storage consumption, network traffic, process usage, and temperatures around the low-to-mid 40°C range at the captured moment.
The Proxmox test shows the N150 host running a QEMU-based Windows 7 virtual machine while system resources are monitored.
An 8GB configuration requires careful virtual-machine allocation. Memory assigned to a guest is no longer available to the host or other services, so one modest VM is a more realistic target than a dense virtualization cluster. The 16GB version provides more flexibility for users who intend to combine several containers and virtual machines.
What Each Test Actually Demonstrates
| Test | What the Video Demonstrates | What It Does Not Prove |
|---|---|---|
| Windows and Steam | ZimaBoard 2 can boot Windows and operate as a conventional x86 desktop. | That every Windows driver, peripheral, or application will work without configuration. |
| Grand Theft Auto V | The game launches and runs using the Intel N150 integrated graphics. | Stable frame rates, high graphics settings, or performance comparable to a gaming PC. |
| Minecraft on CachyOS | A Linux gaming environment runs Minecraft at approximately 41 FPS in the captured scene. | Identical performance across all worlds, settings, shaders, mods, and game versions. |
| ZimaOS | The same hardware can return to browser-managed storage and self-hosted applications. | That installing an app removes the need to plan storage, backups, permissions, and updates. |
| Proxmox | The board can act as a virtualization host and run a Windows guest through QEMU. | That an 8GB system is suitable for many large virtual machines at the same time. |
Who Should Try a Project Like This?
This experiment is most relevant to users who value flexibility more than maximum performance.
- Homelab builders can compare Windows, Linux, ZimaOS, and Proxmox on one compact x86 platform.
- Linux beginners can test desktop distributions without committing their primary computer.
- Retro and lightweight gamers can explore less demanding titles on integrated graphics.
- Developers and makers can prototype unusual combinations of storage, networking, virtualization, and desktop software.
- Home-server owners can temporarily use the board for experiments before returning it to an always-on server role.
It is not the right starting point for someone whose main goal is current AAA gaming, high-refresh-rate output, or a polished console-like experience. A dedicated gaming PC or handheld will deliver better graphics performance with fewer compromises.
The video title may also attract readers who genuinely want to build a network gateway. That is a separate project: the guide to building a wireless router and firewall with ZimaBoard2 covers router operating systems, network interfaces, and gateway configuration rather than local game rendering.
Mart’s Test Shows Flexibility, Not a Secret Gaming Machine
The most interesting part of “Gaming on a Router” is not that ZimaBoard 2 replaces a gaming computer. It does not. The Intel N150 and integrated graphics are visibly close to their limits during the GTA V test, and memory capacity becomes important once Windows and a demanding application are running together.
The stronger conclusion is that a compact server board can move through several identities. It can boot Windows and Steam, run a real PC game, switch to a performance-focused Linux desktop, return to ZimaOS for self-hosted applications, and then operate as a Proxmox virtualization host.
That range is what distinguishes ZimaBoard 2 from single-purpose networking and storage appliances. Gaming is the stress test; platform freedom is the real result.
Watch Mart’s complete ZimaBoard 2 experiment for the hardware overview, Windows and GTA V test, CachyOS Minecraft gameplay, ZimaOS tour, and Proxmox demonstration. For more build ideas, join the ZimaSpace Discord community
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