Zotac’s new ZBOX HD-ID11 has taken the media box and upgraded it to full computing power. And did I mention that this thing is tiny. The new ZBOX is slim, shiny, and is a born partner matched up next to a flatscreen TV. And the HD-ID11 is available now and ships out for a measly $250. This will get you a dual-core Atom D510 with Ion 2 and 1 GB of RAM, plus b/g/n WiFi, HDMI and VGA.
The Zotac ZBOX HD-ID11 is at worst a media box, and at best a multi-media mini machine with some pretty serious computing firepower for its size. It won’t compete with Alien or Origin PC in the gaming arena, but the Ion 2 and D510 should give you plenty of juice for some fairly robust games, and even fast playback of 1080p video. Its 1 GB of RAM is sufficient for a dedicated media box, and the ZBOX has 6 dedicated USB ports, optical S/PDIF, eSATA and a card reader.
You can pick one up now from Newegg.com.
Here’s the latest press release from Zotac:
Next-Generation ZOTAC ZBOX Redefines Mini-PCs
New ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID11 redefines mini-PC with next-generation NVIDIA® ION™ technology
HONG KONG – Mar. 2, 2010 – ZOTAC International, the world’s largest channel manufacturer, today redefines the mini-PC experience with a new generation of eco friendly small form factor platform powered by next-generation NVIDIA® ION™ technology – the new ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID11 mini-PC. The new ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID11 mini-PC supercharges the eco friendly computing experience with premium graphics processing, complete high definition playback capabilities and a premium Windows® 7 experience with Aero® user interface.
Premium graphics processing power forms the heart of the ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID11 mini-PC with a new Next-Generation NVIDIA® ION™ graphics processor with 16 unified shaders and 512MB of DDR3 graphics memory complete with NVIDIA® CUDA™ and NVIDIA® PureVideo™ HD technologies for a superior eco friendly computing experience that goes well beyond simple web browsing.
NVIDIA® CUDA™ technology harnesses the power of the NVIDIA® ION™ graphics processor in the ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID11 to energize popular video processing and image editing applications for performance that dominates traditional CPUs. CUDA™ technology also enables support for DirectCompute and OpenCL powered applications on the ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID11 for complete compatibility with general purpose GPU computing applications.
“Software companies took a big step in the last year to enable GPU-acceleration in their applications. Users can edit movies using Super LoiLoScope, enhance the quality of low-quality videos using vReveal and convert video files for use with portable media players using Badaboom with CUDA™ technology and our new ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID11 mini-PC using just the graphics processor,” said Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC International. “Just because the ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID11 mini-PC is small in size doesn’t mean it can’t deliver big system performance.
The ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID11 mini-PC offers robust high definition playback capabilities with GPU accelerated decoding of popular formats such as AVC, VC-1 and Blu-ray movie titles, dual-stream hardware acceleration for Blu-ray picture-in-picture extra features, dynamic contrast and color stretch for spectacular picture clarity, and other visual enhancing post-processing and features thanks to NVIDIA® PureVideo™ HD technology. GPU acceleration is just the beginning of the high definition playback capabilities of the ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID11 mini-PC.
Streaming high definition Internet video on popular sites such as YouTube™, Vimeo™ and Hulu™ render smoothly and flawlessly in full screen with the ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID11 and Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1. Video stuttering is a faint thought of the past with the ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID11 with NVIDIA® ION™ graphics technology.
HDMI 1.3a connectivity ensures the ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID11 can connect to the latest monitors and televisions with the best visual quality available and support the latest technologies such as xvYCC Color, Deep color and high-resolution 7.1-channel digital surround sound. New xvYCC Color and Deep color technologies enable a wider range of colors and higher bit depths up to 48-bit color when connecting the ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID11 to compatible displays for richer colors and greater details.
“The ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID11 mini-PC is perfect for home theater PC use as well daily usage. Watching high-definition movies with premium audio tracks is a rewarding experience with the ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID11 mini-PC.” Mr. Berger said. “The amount of clarity high-resolution 7.1-channel digital surround sound audio brings to the experience is phenomenal and can’t be put into words.”
The ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID11 mini-PCs deliver a premium Windows® 7 experience with Aero® user interface with the NVIDIA® ION™ graphics processor. Windows® 7 features such as Aero® peek, Aero® shake and GPU accelerated media transcoding is fully supported by the ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID11 for a fully featured premium eco friendly computing experience.
Behind the powerful NVIDIA® ION™ graphics in the ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID11 and is an energy-efficient Intel® Atom™ processor with Intel® HyperThreading technology. A dual-core Intel® Atom D510 powers the ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID11 for a powerful combination that delivers unrivaled performance and energy-efficiency.
Customizing the internals of the ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID11 mini-PC is quick and easy for end users with a new tool-less case design. Users can simply remove two thumb screws to access the internals of the ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID11 mini-PC and master the mini-PC with ease.
“We designed the ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID11 with our end users in mind. With the new ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID11 and HD-IS11, users can equip the mini-PC with components of their choice,” Mr. Berger said.
Internal expansion inside the ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID11 include space for a single 2.5-inch hard drive and one 200-pin DDR2 SODIMM slot. Greater expansion is achievable externally via six USB 2.0 ports, one eSATA 3.0 Gb/s port and a 6-in-1 memory card reader capable of reading SD, SDHC, MMC, MS, MS Pro and xD memory cards for limitless expansion capabilities.
It’s time to play with the ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID11 with Next-Generation NVIDIA® ION™ technology.
General details
- New ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID11
- Next-Generation NVIDIA® ION™ platform
- NVIDIA® CUDA™ technology
- NVIDIA® PureVideo™ HD technology
- Intel® NM10 Express chipset
- Intel® HyperThreading technology
- ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID11
o Intel® Atom™ D510
o Dual-core
o 1.66 GHz (667 MHz front-side bus)
- Tool-less case design
- VESA monitor mount included
- HDMI (1080p) & Dual-link DVI outputs
- HDMI 1.3a compliant
- xvYCC Color and Deep Color support
- HDCP compliant
- Microsoft® DirectCompute ready
- Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1 decode acceleration
- OpenCL compliant
- Gigabit Ethernet
- Onboard 802.11n WiFi
- Microsoft® DirectX® 10.1 with Shader Model 4.1 compatible
- OpenGL® 3.2 compatible
- Microsoft® Windows® 7 with premium Aero® user interface ready
