Zotac’s latest small form factor desktop computers are bigger than an Intel NUC, but also a lot more powerful. The Zotac ZBOX MI574 is powered by an Intel Core i7-9700 octa-core processor, while the Zotac ZBOX MI554 features a hexa-core Intel Core i5-9400 chip.
Both of those are 65 watt, 9th-gen Intel Core “Coffee Lake” processors.
And both computers measure about 7.3″ x 7.3″ x 2.7″ which means that they may be bigger than an NUC… but they’re smaller than a breadbox, and a lot smaller than a typical desktop computer.
As far as I can tell, the new Zotac ZBOX M-series computers aren’t available for purchase yet, but they both showed up on the Zotac website recently.
So we know that both systems support up to 64GB of DDR4-2666 memory (via 2 SODIMM slots), feature an M.2 2280 slot with support for PCie x4 NVMe storage and an M.2Â 2242 slot for an optional SATA III SSD.
Ports include:
- 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C
- 6 x USB 3.0 Type-A
- 2 x Gigabit Ethernet
- SDXC card reader
- 1 x DisplayPort 1.2 (4096 x 2160 @ 60 HZ)
- 2 x HDMI 2.0 (3840 2160 @ 60 Hz)
- 3.5mm mic jack
- 3.5mm headphone/line out
There are also dual antenna connectors and support for 802.11ac WiFi and Bluetooth 5.0.
Zotac describes the computers as “whisper quiet,” but they won’t be completely silent, since the chassis isn’t large enough to allow passive cooling of a 65 watt processor. Instead, the ZBOX MI554 and MI574 feature a combination of a fan and heat sink solution and a chassis with a lot of ventilation.
There’s no word on pricing for the new models yet. But a barebones, previous-gen Zotac ZBOX MI553-U with a 45 watt Intel Core i5-7300HQ will currently set you back about $350.
thanks Olivier!