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Small form-factor, modular computer maker Xi3 made headlines last week by partnering with Valve to introduce a “Steam Box,” a Linux-based computer designed to run Valve’s popular platform for downloading and playing PC games.

But the Steam Box isn’t the only new computer from Xi3. The company also introduced a tiny PC called the Z3RO Pro which can be used as a home theater PC or for other basic computing tasks.

The Z3RO measures 4.9″ x 3.6″ x 1.9″ and the company says it’s about the size of a small paperback book. Under the hood it has a 64-bit, dual core x86 processor running at 1.65 GHz.

Xi3 hasn’t said which x86 processor the system uses, but since the entire computer operates at 15 watts, I’m guessing it’s not a speed demon.

Other specs include 4GB of RAM, from 16GB to 1TB of solid state storage, 4 eSATA 3.0 ports, 1 HDMI/DisplayPort and 1 mini DisplayPort, and Gigabit Ethernet.

The system should be able to handle Windows or most Linux-based operating systems, and it will ship with openSUSE Linux 11.2.

Xi3 plans to begin selling the Z3RO Pro Computer in the second quarter of 2013 for $399 and up.

via SlashGear and Xi3 press release