Zotac’s latest small form-factor desktop computer is the company’s first to feature an Intel Skylake processor.

The Zotac ZBOX MI551 is a desktop computer that measures 7.4″ x 7.4″ 2″ and which houses an Intel Core i5-6400T quad-core processor with Intel HD 530 graphics.

mi551_00

Zotac sells most of its ZBOX computers as barebones systems, which means you’ll need to supply your own storage, memory, and operating system. But the company also sells Plus models which come with some of those features pre-loaded.

For example, there will be a ZBOX MI551 Plus that comes with 4GB Of RAM and 120GB of solid state storage, but no operating system.

Whether you opt for the barebones or Plus model, here’s what you get with the ZBOX MI551:

  • 2 DisplayPort jacks with support for 3840 x 2160p resolutions at 60 Hz
  • HDMI port with support for 4096 x 2160 resolutions at 24 Hz
  • 1 USB 3.1 Type C port, 2 USB 3.0 ports, 1 USB 2.0 port
  • 2 Gigabit Ethernet ports
  • 802.11ac WiFi
  • Bluetooth 4.0
  • Infrared port
  • SDXC card reader
  • 2.5″ SATA drive slot
  • M.2 SATA SSD slot
  • 2 DDR3L-1600 SODIMM slots for up to 16GB of RAM

via Zotac

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14 replies on “Zotac ZBOX MI551 is a Skylake-powered mini PC”

  1. I have Alienware Alpha i7 4665t wich is slightly bigger than the Nuc paired with 16 gb ram and 500 ssd as my main pc. That’s a powerfull mini pc right there.

  2. Their low end celeron and pentium models are fine though, the Zotac boxes with the overheating problems tend to be the ones with either discrete graphics or iris pro (high TDP)

  3. Ya, I can live with a hot box but not to the point that the CPU gets severely throttled back due to overheating.

  4. Ya, these are impressive specs for a box this size but it has the same ugly look as previous mini PCs from Zotac. The nicest looking Zotac mini PCs I’ve seen have been the fanless Nano series.

    Also, these Zotac mini PCs are famous for overheating despite having the loud fan constantly spinning.

  5. Judging by the pictures, it looks like there are actually two USB 3.0 ports (on the back) – the lone USB 2.0 port is presumably the one in the middle if the fan grill (with a gray cover/insert)

  6. If I am going to buy an i5, it will be in a 65W+ part optimized for performance, it will be put in a mini-itx tower with a full-size atx power supply and be paired with a separate graphics card. It will have windows and its main purpose is to run games. I am expecting that the Zotac box and my box will be within $100 of each other (minus the graphics card).

  7. Would buy one if it had an i7 and up to 16gb of RAM. One day hope to have a powerful mini PC as my main desktop computer!

    1. Intel’s own high-end i7 NUC, the one with 6100 Iris graphics, could easily replace most people’s desktops.

      I’d kinda like to see one with a quad-core CPU in a NUC sized box – But all Intel NUCs are dual-core, I suspect the form factor is just too small for the slightly higher wattage quad core mobile CPUs…

  8. Quad core i5?? That’s a pretty serious spec in a small box. Just a shame I don’t like the look of those plasticky Zotac cases.

    1. And every single Zotac box has an overheating issue in one way or another. Save your money and run away.

      1. Gotta assume that this box has a small/loud fan to keep temps down.

        I just built an i&-6700 microATX box – All passive cooling except one case fan. Temps very acceptable. But my box, and the 120mm fan, is probably 4-8 times bigger than this Zotac… And the Zotac’s CPU is only half the TDP. DO the Math. It’s gonna get hot or noisy or both.

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