First look: Zotac ZBOX 2019 mini PC lineup

Zotac’s 2019 lineup of mini PCs includes a half-sized desktop gaming PC, a pocket-sized PC with an Intel Amber Lake processor, and an updated version of the company’s fanless desktop.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The company also has new mini workstations and gaming desktops, tiny computers with Intel Gemini Lake processors and dual-display support, and an unusual mini desktop designed for a very specific purpose: game streaming.

Here’s a run-down of Zotac’s latest mini PCs, most of which should be available in the first or second quarter of 2019. Prices won’t be available until closer to launch.

MI553B Personal Streaming Mini PC

At first glance, this little computer looks a lot like other mini desktops from Zotac — that is until you notice the HDMI port on the front of the system. It’s not an output, it’s an input.

While the Zotac ZBOX MI553B Personal Streaming Mini PC can be used as an ordinary computer, it’s designed to be used for game streaming.

The idea is that you can run a cable from your gaming rig to this computer and let it handle the video transcoding and streaming so that you don’t overtax the resources of your primary gaming computer. It’s got an AverMedia CN311-H M.2 video capture card built-in, with support for capturing up to 4K video at 30 frames per second.

You could use it in conjunction with a gaming desktop, laptop, or any other device

Here’s an overview of the specs for this model:

• Intel Core i5-7300HQ with Intel UHD 630 graphics
• 8GB of DDR4 RAM (supports up to 32GB)
• 120GB M.2 SSD
• 2.5 inch drive bay
• Thunderbolt 3, DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 2.0 output
• Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.2
• two USB 3.1 Type-C and four USB 3.0 Type-A ports
• SDXC card reader
• Windows 10 Home + Streamlabs OBS software pre-installed

Magnus EN52070V

Speaking of gaming PCs, here’s a small form-factor model with an Intel Core i5-8300H quad-core processor, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 graphics, DisplayPort 1.4, Dual HDMI 2.0b ports, and a USB Type-C port, among other features.

Magnus EC52070D

Or you can opt for a larger model with a Core i5-8400T hexa-core processor. processor.

QK73P300 Workstation Mini PC

Aimed at professionals, this series features NVIDIA Quadro graphics rather than the consumer/gaming-oriented GeForce GPUs. For some reason this model has a previous-gen Intel Core i5-7500T processor though.

QX3P5000 Workstation

This larger model is available with up to an Intel Xeon E-2136 hexa-core processor and NVIDIA Quadro P5000 graphics.

Pico PI225-GK and Pico PI335-GK

Last and maybe actually least, Zotac is updating its smallest computers with two new models sporting Intel’s low-power Gemini Lake processors.

The physical design of these new computers should look familiar — they haven’t changed much since last year. But the Zotac ZBOX Pico PI225-GK now has an Intel Celeron N4000 dual-core processor, Intel UHD 600 graphics, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of eMMC storage, and two USB 3.0 Type-C ports that can be used to connect dual displays (or a display and other accessories).

The ZBOX Pico PI335-GK, meanwhile, has a Celeron N4100 quad-core processor with Intel UHD 600 graphics, 4GB of RAM, and 32GB of eMMC storage, but it has more ports including HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.2, Gigabit Ethernet, two USB 3.0 type-A ports, one USB 3.0 type-C port, and an SD card reader.

Basically it’s a lower-performance (and cheaper) version of the new ZBOX Pico PI470.