The Zotac ZBOX PI320 pico is a desktop PC with the power of a cheap Windows tablet. That might not sound too impressive… until you realize that it’s a full-fledged Windows computer that’s small enough to hold in one hand (or slide into a pocket) and which also has 3 USB ports, HDMI and Ethernet, WiFi and Bluetooth, and Windows 8.1 software.
You can use it as a low-power desktop, a tiny media center machine, a home media server, or any number of other applications.
Zotac introduced it’s tiniest desktop in August, and now it’s available for purchase for about $200.
Update: You can find more information about the ZBOX PI320 pico in our full review.
MacMall is selling the ZBOX PI320 pico for $200, and Compsource has it for $194.
I’ve been testing the ZBOX pico for a little while, and I’m pretty impressed with what you get for the price. I’ll have a full review soon, but the short version is that it handles HD media playback with ease and it’s capable of basic tasks like web browsing and document editing. Just don’t expect miracles from a cheap, fanless, palm-sized desktop.
The ZBOX PI320 pico features an Intel Atom Z3735F quad-core Bay Trail processor, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and Windows 8.1 with Bing software. You can run Ubuntu or other Linux distributions on it, but right now you need to load a 64-bit operating system with a 32-bit bootloader and you may have to use a USB WiFi adapter since the built-in WiFi isn’t supported out of the box.
thanks for letting us know it’s now available, Rob Edgar!
I found one early last week at SabrePC: https://www.sabrepc.com/zotac-zbox-pi320-w2-zbox-pi320-intel-atom-z3735f-1-33ghz-pico-pc.html
I’d never heard of them (SabrePC) before, but there were no issues with my order.
I bought the CI320, but cant boot Ubuntu 14.04 server headless. Any tips?
But can it run Crysis?
Maybe if you have a gaming PC on the network and use Steam Streaming…. I tried it with a crappy netbook and I was impressed…
How well would this be able to run Crysis natively though?
Natively ? Maybe a slide show on the lowest setting, Does the video card in it even support DirectX ? I would be shocked if it did and even if so, it would not support DX 9 needed to run Crysis…
Well, this is the latest Intel Atom CPU meaning it comes with the latest Intel HD Graphics. So in that case, the GPU actually supports DX11. There’s probably enough shared video RAM to run Crysis. The question is whether the CPU and GPU itself is enough to run Crysis smoothly. I have a first generation Intel Atom (SoC) tablet and it’s actually pretty capable at running small games, nothing like crysis though. But I’m pretty sure by now, the Bay Trail Atoms are very capable chipsets. I’ve just never had the chance to try it out yet.
Does anyone knows if it has audio over HDMI? Or is the audio only works via audio jack?
Compsource is out of stock.Looks like everyone is. 🙁
Chromebox Killer, anyone?
Zbox bi320 is the Chromebox equivalent version… without the ChromeOS. Personally I would not pay more than $100 for a baytrail box, and would never buy a baytrail netbook. My preference is all about performance. There are frugal people and cheap people… frugal people buy Haswell celeron systems.
Cheap people aren’t the ones who buy this, people that want an actual computer for a similar price as a Chromebox buy this. Those people have some sense and have more to do than look at cat videos and obsess over the latest update having USB support.
Would be nice if you could do a review of it when possible but focused on the media center side testing xbmc, plex app or from browser, netflix (streaming sites) with different media files and HD audio dts and dolby to see what it can handle; also attempt to load OpenElec from a usb thumb drive and see if wifi, etc works. If it pass all those tests plus common tasks like browsing and Office then a new little gem could have been born :).
Asus x205ta is a better deal, about same specs and you get a laptop. Same price
I just purchased a tablet with the same specification at $165. Except for 3 USB ports and an ethernet connection, I have a screen, a battery and a 3G connection. This thing should be put to $100 or less.
Tip of the iceberg, I’m sure as time goes on that you will be able to pick up something like this for $100.
already can find a lot around $100 in China
Is it a windows or android tablet?
It’s a Windows tablet. The name is Chuwi VX8 3G. Pandawill is selling it for $165.99. Besides, Liliputing also posted an article “Windows-compatible HDMI TV stick with an Intel Bay Trail CPU” so I’m hoping onto see such devices at less than $100 soon.
That would be fantastic price. Asus x205 is same price as this zbox pico and it is a laptop. So if zbox can sell this for $200 and it doesn’t have screen or keyboard, they should be able to sell it for less. I actually have asus t100 I could use for a desktop. The screen is cracked horribly so that probably would be the best use for it.
The same company making the $70 HDMI Windows sticks, allso makes Mini-ITX boards for POS sistems, with the IvyBridge Celeron 1037U, for only $35, and you can order just one, for wholesale it’s as low as $26 a piece. You’d still nees a PSU, RAM and storage but I stil think that is crazy cheap.
https://cew.en.alibaba.com/product/1905322713-0/Mini_ITX_motherboard_PCBA_PCB_design_IvyBridge_Celeron_1037U_HTPC_AIO_PC_Digital_Signage_POS_Industrial_Control.html
Here’s a new photo of that $70 HDMI stick in a black case.
https://i01.i.aliimg.com/photo/v0/60081166447_2/2014_latest_Meegopad_Intel_Quad_Core_Z3735F.jpg
Yeah, I picked up a refurb dell venue 8 pro for $145, but I still got the zotac pi320 too– different usage intended. The lack of USB ports and HDMI out is what made the tablet unsuitable. To get the same out of the tablet, I’d need an OTG Y-cable to allow charging, plug in a usb hub, and a usb-to-hdmi display-link adapter.