Zotac Upgrades ZBOX Mini-PC with Haswell

By Kevin Parrish
published

Three Zotac ZBOX mini-PCs now have Haswell desktop processors.

Zotac International said that it has updated its ZBOX line of mini-PCs with fourth-generation Intel core "Haswell" processors. There are six SKUs in all, three that are barebones and three "plus" sizes that pack the missing memory and 2.5 inch hard drive. All six units are now available to purchase.

"The latest 4th Generation Intel Core powered ZBOX delivers the power of Intel's Haswell architecture into our compact ZBOX mini-PC platform. With the latest generation architecture, we're able to fine tune these ZBOXes for greater CPU and GPU performance while maintaining the excellent energy efficiency our mini-PCs are renowned for," says Carsten Berger, senior director, ZOTAC International.

According to the specs, the entry-level ID91 model packs a dual-core Intel Core i3-4130T clocked at 2.9 GHz, Intel HD Graphics 4400, HDMI and DVI-I outputs, two USB 3.0 ports, and two USB 2.0 ports. The ID92 kicks the specs up a notch with a dual-core Intel Core i5-4570T with a clock speed up to 3.6 GHz, Intel HD Graphics 4600, dual DisplayPort and DVI-I outputs, four USB 3.0 ports and one mSATA 6.0 Gb/s connection.

Finally, there's the top-of-the-line model, the IQ01 version stuffed with Intel's Core i7-4770T clocked up to 3.7 GHz, Intel HD Graphics 4600, dual DisplayPort and DVI-I outputs, four USB 3.0 ports and one mSATA 6.0 Gb/s connector. All three also include Wireless AC and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, dual Gigabit Ethernet networking, high-amperage USB charging capability, a 4-in-1 card reader, onboard analog stereo HD audio, support for a hard drive, and a bundled VESA 75/100 mount.

As for the "plus" models, these have 4 GB of DDR3 memory and a 500 GB hard drive already installed. That said, all six SKUs have two 204-pin DDR3 SO-DIMM slots supporting up to 16 GB of DDR3-1600 memory.

"When the ZBOX ID92 or IQ01 is combined with the ZOTAC DisplayPort to Dual HDMI adapter, the ZBOXes can drive a single 4K display that requires four independent HDMI inputs via Intel Collage Display technology for stunning pixel-perfect details," reads the company press release.

To see Zotac's complete line of ZBOX products, head here.

Kevin Parrish
7 Comments Comment from the forums
  • heffeque
    Wow... these things are "a bit" faster than my Zotac AD04...
    Reply
  • antilycus
    or you can get a PICO compatible Mini ITX case and get a real processor and a real gpu by packing it with an AMD A series APU. Full desktop power, small small space.
    Reply
  • heffeque
    12042780 said:
    or you can get a PICO compatible Mini ITX case and get a real processor and a real gpu by packing it with an AMD A series APU. Full desktop power, small small space.

    I prefer to give my money to AMD than to Intel, but I doubt that an A series APU can beat a Hashwell CPU.
    Reply
  • TeKEffect
    I'm tired of cinavia on my ps3 stopping my audio. I was looking at one of these to run xbmc. Anyone have a better idea?
    Reply
  • rwinches
    ^^
    Tons of Android TV/PC Sticks that run XBMC for much less.
    Go to Freaktab TV/PC section and you will get up to speed on what is offered and how to get the most performance out of these affordable kits
    Plenty of Custom ROMs that get rid of bloat and recommendations for addons like remotes, game controlers and keyboards/trackpads.
    Reply
  • heffeque
    12043040 said:
    I'm tired of cinavia on my ps3 stopping my audio. I was looking at one of these to run xbmc. Anyone have a better idea?
    OpenElec is what you need, and it works perfectly even on underpowered hardware like the Zbox AD04, so it'll probably work even better on these puppies (saving driver problems with newer hardware).

    Cheers!
    Reply
  • techguy911
    I have a lenovo Q190 with Multimedia remote that is backlit sure you can buy a stick,set top box for much less but none of them come with a hard drive and a real OS you can use this as a desktop PC powerful enough to play games.
    I use it for XBMC it is very quick for such a computer win8 boots in less than 3 secs and you can load any other OS if you want as well.
    I had a boxee but now there is no more support and it is very limited compared to XBMC best thing is i can load anything XBMC,openelec,linux any distro,windows media center,Plex,boxee,mythtv,hulu desktop, and much more.
    The multimedia remote is best i have seen so far the optical thumb mouse is nice and keyboard much easier to type on than boxee remote.
    Trying running office on a roku not going to happen sad thing is lenovo discontinued the series it was best seller for small pc's they had there are still some stock around you have to really look around though.
    One really neat feature the remote has a 3 mode power switch on with no back light,on with back light and off to save battery life.
    Reply