Zotac is expanding its line of tiny desktop computers with a whole bunch of new ZBOX mini PCs
All of the new ZBOX E-series computers support for NVIDIA GeForce 10 series graphics, but you get a choice of CPU options: some models ship with Intel Kaby Lake chips while others are equipped with AMD Ryzen processors.
Zotac’s ZBOX M-series of more mainstream mini computers are also getting an update, as is the company’s eve tinier ZBOX P-Series. Folks looking for something a bit more powerful can also opt for Zotac’s brand new MEK Gaming PC, which is much less compact, but still pretty small for a gaming tower.
Zotac ZBOX EN1050K
More details should be revealed at Computex next week, but here’s a brief run-down of the new systems:
E-series (Magnus Gaming Series)
- ZBOX EN1050K – Compact desktop with Intel Kaby Lake/NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050
- ZBOX EK5106o – Taller model with Intel Kaby Lake Core i5/NVIDIA GeForce 1060
- ZBOX EK71070 – Intel Kaby Lake Core i7/NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070
- ZBOX ER51060 – AMD Ryzen/NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060
- ZBOX ER51070 – AMD Ryzen/NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070
M-series
- ZBOX MI553 – Intel Kaby Lake model (with Thunderbolt 3)
- ZBOX MA551 – AMD Ryzen model (without TB3)
P-Series
The Zotac ZBOX PI225 is a fanless mini computer with support for 4K displays. Zotac calls this a “card-sized PC, although it seems to be a bit larger than a typical playing card or business card. But it does seem to have at least two USB Type-C ports and a microSD card slot.
There’s also a new ZBOX PI335 model coming, which is expected to look a lot like older P-series models from the company.
MEK Gaming PC
This new “gaming first” PC features an Intel Kaby Lake Core i7 processor, GeForce GTX 1080 mini graphics, and a “low-profile” CPU cooler. And that’s about all we know for now.
via Zotac, Digital Trends and TechReport
The card-sized PC’s interesting, wonder whether either of those USB-C ports are Thunderbolt 3 capable. The mini PC with it’s also interesting since as far as I know the Intel Skull Canyon NUC is the only TB3 mini PC and we need more options in that space.
I’m pretty sure the new 7th-gen Intel NUC i7 has TB3, and I believe the i5 too. Of course they use laptop processors but I was pretty amazed at how well a Lenovo 720 performed with an eGPU in the video at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CqyLtXaYf8
Wish more of these PC’s were fanless Core M’s, so I could just connect them to every screen in my house & leave them always on.
I really dont like the slowness of Atom or the fan noise/fragility of the Core i series which ultimately requires turning them off/on so they dont break.
Is Raspberry Pi too slow for you? I have had two RPi2 connected 24/7 for almost 2 years now, with no case.
He mentioned Core M. If Intel Atoms or rebranded Atom Celeron/Pentium chips are too slow, then the Raspberry Pi 3 would be too slow as well.
What SoC is used for the P-Series?
They haven’t announced that yet, but if it’s anything like the upcoming Intel Compute Card, expect it to have a 6 watt or lower TDP, which probably means Kaby Lake-Y or Apollo Lake.