Zotac’s new ZBOX Edge CI343 is a small, fanless computer that measures just 32mm (1.26 inches) high, supports up to 16GB of DDR5 RAM, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, and support for up to three displays.
Powered by a 6-watt Intel Processor N100 quad-core Alder Lake-N chip, it’s basically a big sibling to the recently introduced ZBOX Pro PI339 Pico. But since this model has a larger chassis, there’s support for a few extra ports, as well as additional space for passive heat dissipation, which might have some impact on sustained performance.
The computer measures 147 x 147 x 32mm (5.8″ x 5.8″ x 1.26″) and features a set of ports that include:
- 1 x HDMI 2.0b (4K/60Hz)
- 1 x DisplayPort 1.4 (4K/60Hz)
- 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C (w/DisplayPort Alt Mode)
- 2 x USB 3.1 Type-A
- 2 x Gigabit Ethernet
- 1 x 3.5mm audio combo jack
- 1 x microSDXC card reader
Under the hood there’s also an M.2 2280 slot for a PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe or SATA SSD and a single SODIMM slot for up to 16GB of DDR5-3800 memory. The system also has a wireless card with support for WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2.
Zotac says the computer’s small size makes it easy to mount to a wall or the back of a display, or to place on a desk that may not have enough space for a larger tower PC.
While the 6-watt Intel N100 chip isn’t exactly a powerhouse, it should be good enough to let you use the computer as a media center, file server, or for basic computing. Like a lot of small, fanless PCs, the ZBOX Edge CI343 could also be used in business settings as a digital signage, point-of-sales, or kiosk system, among other things.
So far Zotac is only showing a barebones model of the system that ships without memory or storage, but it’s possible that the company could add pre-configured systems that ship with Windows 11 in the future.
