ZOTAC International, a global innovator and manufacturer of graphics cards and mini-PCs, today starts CES 2015 with a glimpse into the future of the ZBOX product family and demos of case mods featuring the latest ZOTAC GeForce GTX 980 and GTX 970 graphics cards at a private meeting suite at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Nev. The upcoming ZOTAC ZBOX family includes an expanded ZBOX pico lineup, new E-series gaming, new passive C-series and quad display ready ZBOX mini-PCs.

"We launched major new ZBOX mini-PCs in 2014 with the passive C-series nano, gaming capable E-series and the pocketable pico series. This year we're refining the successful formula to add more features and performance while maintaining the award-winning form factors," says Tony Wong, CEO, ZOTAC International.

ZOTAC International, a leading innovator and manufacturer of graphics cards and mini-PCs, today unleashes the powerful and very efficient ZOTAC GeForce GTX 980 and GTX 970 series next generation graphics card. The NVIDIA Maxwell architecture powered ZOTAC GeForce GTX 980 and 970 series arrives with customized versions including the elite AMP! Extreme Edition and premium AMP! Omega Edition.

"ZOTAC is launching the highly anticipated GeForce GTX 980 and GTX 970 series with a big bang. We listened to our most demanding enthusiasts to create a new lineup that is truly unique and special," said Tony Wong, CEO, ZOTAC International. "The new GeForce GTX 980 and GTX 970 AMP! Extreme and AMP! Omega Editions is the start of a new era of next-level performance and overclocking capabilities from ZOTAC."

Here's the first picture of a ZOTAC-branded GeForce GTX 970 graphics card, the first one shot with its box, confirming the GTX 900 series nomenclature NVIDIA adopted. ZOTAC's card appears to be based on a non-reference PCB, and features a rather compact-looking aluminium fin-stack heatsink, which is ventilated by a pair of 80 mm spinners. The box doesn't flash any "OC" markings, so it's safe to assume that he card runs at its reference clock speeds of 1051 MHz core, 1178 MHz GPU Boost, and 7012 MHz (GDDR5-effective) memory. The card features 4 GB of memory across a 256-bit wide memory interface. Based on the 28 nm "GM204" silicon, the GeForce GTX 970 reportedly features 1,664 CUDA cores, 138 TMUs, and 32 ROPs.

ZOTAC International, a global innovator and manufacturer of graphics cards and mini-PCs, today shrinks the mini-PC further with the pocket-sized ZBOX PI320 pico. The new ZOTAC ZBOX PI320 pico delivers a superb quad-core Windows 8.1 with Bing computing experience in a compact and versatile form factor.

"ZOTAC is a major innovator when it comes to miniaturizing the traditional PC. We began our push towards smaller and smaller mini-PCs with the ZBOX nano form factor and followed up with the ZBOX nano XS," said Tony Wong, CEO, ZOTAC International. "Now with the all-new ZBOX PI320 pico, we have created our smallest mini-PC that can fit in your pocket."

Zotac announced its entry-level GeForce GT 720 graphics cards, based on NVIDIA's GK208 silicon, featuring 192 CUDA cores, and a 64-bit wide DDR3 memory interface, holding 1 GB of memory. Since the chip can make do with passive cooling in the half-height form-factor, Zotac went ahead and gave its cards the "ZONE" branding it normally associates with passively cooled high-end cards. The cards are clocked at reference speeds of 797 MHz core, and 1600 MHz DDR memory; and feature either 1 GB or 2 GB of memory.

ZOTAC International, a global innovator and manufacturer of graphics cards, today silences the powerful ZOTAC GeForce GTX 750 graphics card with a new passive cooled ZONE Edition. The ZOTAC GeForce GTX 750 ZONE Edition graphics card combines the gaming prowess of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 GPU with a zero noise cooling system to deliver a quiet PC gaming experience with class-leading features.

"The PC is the only system where you can truly experience next-generation gaming with unrivaled visual fidelity and smoothness. Our new ZOTAC GeForce GTX 750 ZONE Edition gives gamers the performance and stunning graphics they crave while operating silently to focus on the game and not fan noise," says Tony Wong, CEO, ZOTAC International.

French tech publication 01net noticed something odd about the ZBOX CI540 from ZOTAC it was reviewing. Even for a fan-less compact desktop, its Core i5-4210Y dual-core chip was idling around 80°C. The reviewer then opened it up to find that ZOTAC left the protective plastic film on the thermal pad which conducts heat from the CPU to the body intact. Temperatures dropped with that film peeled. The kicker? Reaching for that thermal pad voids your product warranty.

Even if the ZBOX CI540 is a barebones unit, in which you drop in your own 2.5-inch HDD/SSD and SO-DIMM memory, requiring you to unscrew its body; the storage and memory compartments are located on the reverse side of the motherboard. You're not supposed to unscrew the motherboard to reveal its obverse (front) side, as there's nothing for you to "upgrade" there. The CPU is in the BGA (ball-grid array) package, and hardwired to the motherboard. The screws that let you reveal the front side are capped with warranty seals. We're not sure if it's a one-off bad piece 01net got, or an entire batch hit by one lazy hand on the production line.Update Jun 24: We received following statement from ZOTAC:
ZOTAC has found the plastic film to be isolated to preproduction units. These preproduction units were only used for press sampling and are not representative of final units shipping to retail. However, the plastic film has very little impact on the cooling capabilities of our passive ZBOX C-series nano chassis since the cooling fins that are responsible for the majority of the heat dissipation duties is below the thermal pad. The thermal pad is only used to transfer heat to the secondary heat dissipation plate integrated into the chassis for added cooling capabilities.

Nevertheless, the temperatures observed while testing under load with the erroneous plastic film still in place is still within the thermal guidelines of Intel's 100°C maximum T Junction and does not cause instability. Temperatures observed by users can vary greatly depending on room temperature and system placement since the ZBOX CI540 nano is passive cooled. We apologize for the error but assure our mass production units are not affected.

ZOTAC International, a global innovator and manufacturer of graphics cards, mainboards and mini-PCs, today starts Computex 2014 by silencing small form factor computing with a quartet of new ZBOX C-series nano mini-PCs. The new ZOTAC C-series nano mini-PCs combine a new fan-less chassis with a choice of AMD A6 APU, 4th Generation Intel Core i3, i5, or Celeron processors for an outstanding computing experience with zero noise.

"Many users demand a completely silent PC for audio production, video and audio editing, content playback and other tasks. After many years of engineering to fine tune power and heat requirements, ZOTAC is able to deliver passive cooled mini-PCs with 4th Generation Intel Core i3 and i5 processors that satisfies the noise and performance demands of users," says Carsten Berger, senior director, ZOTAC International.

ZOTAC International, a global innovator and manufacturer of graphics cards, mainboards and mini-PCs, today announces the ZOTAC GeForce GT 740 series graphics cards, the perfect upgrade to accelerate visual computing experiences. The ZOTAC GeForce GT 740 series enhances video, images and gaming tasks with a performance boost to make everything a whole lot faster and smoother.

"Visuals are a main part of our computing needs and the ZOTAC GeForce GT 740 series is the perfect everyday graphics card," says Carsten Berger, senior director, ZOTAC International. "The ZOTAC GeForce GT 740 series accelerates your regular tasks such as image and video editing, web browsing, video transcoding and gives you enough of a performance kick for casual gaming."

ZOTAC International, a global innovator and manufacturer of graphics cards, mainboards and mini-PCs, today unleashes the single most powerful graphics card ever made for gaming and professional computing - the ZOTAC GeForce GTX TITAN Z. By combining the power of two flagship NVIDIA GeForce GTX graphics processor onto a single graphics card, the ZOTAC GeForce GTX TITAN Z delivers the absolute best experience for high-quality 4K gaming and immense compute power for full-precision workloads.

"The ZOTAC GeForce GTX TITAN Z enables the most demanding users to have the power of a supercomputer in a single graphics card. A ZOTAC GeForce GTX TITAN Z will handle everything extreme enthusiasts can possibly use it for, including stunning 4K gaming and computing complex mathematical calculations," said Carsten Berger, senior director, ZOTAC International.

ZOTAC International, a global innovator and manufacturer of graphics cards, mainboards and mini-PCs, today ushers in a new era of small form factor gaming PCs with the ZBOX EN760 series, the ultimate mini-PC for demanding PC gamers. The new ZOTAC ZBOX EN760 series combines the phenomenal visuals of a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M graphics processor with the outstanding processing power of a 4th Generation Intel Core i5 processor to create a mini-PC capable of stunning 1080p gaming.

"It's the perfect time for a high-end gaming mini-PC," says Carsten Berger, senior director, ZOTAC International. "With a combination of the highly energy-efficient NVIDIA Maxwell GPU architecture and Intel Haswell CPU architecture, we created the ZOTAC ZBOX EN760 series mini-PC to deliver a smooth and phenomenal 1080p gaming experience."

ZOTAC International, a global innovator and manufacturer of graphics cards, mainboards and mini-PCs, today unveils the first ZBOX Sphere to let users express their individuality through computing. The new ZOTAC ZBOX Sphere OI520 series combines a unique orb form factor with a powerful 4th Generation Intel Core i5 processor for computing with a touch of individuality.

"ZOTAC is expanding the ZBOX lineup to go beyond the traditional square form factor and the ZBOX Sphere is our first design concept that we're putting into production," said Carsten Berger, senior director, ZOTAC International. "The new ZBOX Sphere form factor is also one of our easiest to customize too, the top twists off for tool-less upgrades."

Zotac announced the GeForce GTX 750 Ti Thunderbolt graphics card. Exclusive to the Greater China region, the card is a typical mid-range graphics card for its target market, featuring a meaty cooler, strong VRM, and an overall product design that looks a couple of notches above its class. It's a typical dual-slot, full-height PCI-Express 3.0 x16 card, and has nothing to do with Thunderbolt (the interface). The card features a sexy new cooling solution that hasn't made its way to Western markets yet. It features a pair of 90 mm hybrid impellers, which ventilate a large aluminium fin stack heatsink, covered by a groovy aluminium shroud. Under the hood is a custom design PCB with a 4-phase VRM. It offers factory overclocked speeds of 1229 MHz core (vs. 1020 MHz reference), 1320 MHz GPU Boost (vs. 1085 MHz reference), and 6.00 GHz memory (vs. 5400 MHz reference), making it the highest clocked GTX 750 Ti in existence. It's expected to be priced at 1,199 RMB (US $194).

ZOTAC International, a global innovator and manufacturer of graphics cards, mainboards and mini-PCs, today launches new performance and flagship graphics cards with the GeForce GTX 750 family and new GTX Titan Black. The new ZOTAC GeForce GTX 750 family ushers in a new era of performance PC gaming with the next-generation NVIDIA Maxwell architecture while the new ZOTAC GeForce GTX Titan Black injects the venerable flagship series with greater compute power.

"We're embarking on a new generation of NVIDIA graphics architecture with the new ZOTAC GeForce GTX 750 family graphics cards," said Carsten Berger, senior director, ZOTAC International. "The new Maxwell architecture enables us to raise performance by 25-percent while cutting power consumption in half compared to the previous generation."

ZOTAC International, a global innovator and manufacturer of graphics cards, mainboards and mini-PCs, today combines the power of 3rd Generation Intel Core i3 processing with NVIDIA GeForce GT 640 graphics to create the ultimate 4K ready HTPC. The new ZBOX ID45 series delivers the perfect synergy of energy-efficiency and high-quality video processing in a compact form factor.

"ZOTAC has always married the capabilities of energy-efficient Intel processors with incredible NVIDIA GeForce graphics since the first ZBOX shipped with NVIDIA ION," said Carsten Berger, senior director, ZOTAC International. "The latest ZBOX ID45 series pushes that synergy even further with greater performance while maintaining excellent energy-efficiency."

ZOTAC International, a global innovator and manufacturer of graphics cards, mainboards and mini-PCs, today turbo boosts the 4th Generation Intel Core ZBOX nano series with the new ZBOX ID68 and ID69 series mini-PCs. The new ZBOX nano duo integrate Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors with Intel Turbo Boost technology to take the palm-sized form factor to new performance heights.

"The new ZBOX nano ID68 and ID69 series are our most powerful palm-sized mini-PCs yet. The addition of Intel Turbo Boost technology enables the two ZBOX nano ID68 and ID69 series to deliver performance comparable to much larger systems while consuming much less energy," said Carsten Berger, senior director, ZOTAC international.

At first glance maybe some would think that a Google Nexus Q found its way onto a table in Zotac's CES booth. But no, that black orb seen in the shots below is a new ZBOX mini PC.

Dubbed ZBOX 01520, the spherical-ish compact system is powered by a 1.7 GHz Core i3-4010U dual-core processor, and can be equipped with up to 16 GB of memory (SO-DIMM) and one 2.5-inch storage solution (the Plus version comes with 4 GB of RAM and a 500 GB HDD), as well as with one mSATA solid state drive. Zotac's orb also features 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, Gigabit LAN, a 4-in-1 card reader, four USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports, and an HDMI output. No word on pricing yet.

ZOTAC International, a global innovator and manufacturer of graphics cards, mainboards, mini-PCs and accessories, today releases the new ZBOX nano ID67 series with 4th Generation Intel Core technology. The new ZOTAC ZBOX nano ID67 series incorporates the latest Intel Core i3 4010U processor for great day-to-day performance and excellent energy efficiency.

"Our engineers continue to boost performance of our ZBOX mini-PCs. The latest ZBOX nano ID67 series raises the bar for CPU and GPU performance for that class and form factor," said Carsten Berger, senior director, ZOTAC International. "It's amazing what kind of performance we're able to extract out of such a tiny form factor."

ZOTAC International, a global innovator and manufacturer of graphics cards, mainboards and mini-PCs, today previews the upcoming ZBOX Steam Machine mini-PC with Steam OS at The Consumer Electronics Show 2014 in Las Vegas, Nev. The ZOTAC ZBOX Steam Machine is engineered from the ground up for breathtaking gaming performance in a compact mini-PC form factor that's a fraction the size of traditional mini-ITX based gaming systems.

"ZOTAC is pleased to work with Valve Software to create the ZBOX Steam Machine. Valve's SteamOS is a game-changer to the PC gaming market that enables us to deliver a game console experience that's superior to the latest next-generation console," said Carsten Berger, senior director, ZOTAC International. "Gamers can expect the latest Intel Core processor and NVIDIA GeForce GTX graphics processor in the upcoming ZOTAC ZBOX Steam Machine for stunning visuals and world-class features."

Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Counter-Strike, Dota 2, Half-Life, Left 4 Dead, Portal, and Team Fortress) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced over one dozen Steam Machine designs now in production from leading manufacturers and targeted for release in 2014. The lineup of Steam Machines announced today offers a wide variety of price and performance options made possible by the Steam Machine's open design, with systems starting as low as $499 and top end systems rivaling today's bleeding edge gaming PCs.

Every Steam Machine includes an innovative Steam Controller designed for use with a wide variety of game genres, and is powered by the SteamOS, a custom OS built atop Linux. "The first generation Steam Machines offers something for every gamer, which is a critical part of extending Steam into the living room," said Gabe Newell of Valve. "With over 3,000 games and more than 65 million gamers on Steam, it's important to offer gamers a variety of Steam Machines that allow them to select what makes the most sense for them."

ZOTAC International, a global innovator and manufacturer of graphics cards, mainboards and mini-PCs, today reveals the flagship GeForce GTX 780 TI AMP! Edition graphics card. The new addition to the ZOTAC GeForce GTX 780 Ti family takes the world's most powerful GPU and cranks up the clock speeds for unrivaled smoothness and performance.

"There's no doubt our ZOTAC GeForce GTX 780 Ti is a high-performance beast, but at ZOTAC that is never enough. Our enthusiastic engineers modified the GeForce GTX 780 Ti even further by installing our Triple-Silencer Enhanced Cooling System, which lowers temperatures and noise levels an additional 10 degrees Celsius and 15dBA, to create the awesome ZOTAC GeForce GTX 780 Ti AMP! Edition," said Carsten Berger, senior director, ZOTAC International. "It looks just as good as it performs too."

ZOTAC International, a global innovator and manufacturer of graphics cards, mainboards and mini-PCs, today elevates the ZBOX nano form factor with quad-core processing power. The new ZOTAC ZBOX nano AQ01 series harnesses the latest AMD A4-5000 Kabini APU to deliver outstanding CPU and GPU processing while maintaining excellent energy-efficiency.

"Our ZBOX nano form factor is well-regarded for its compact size and energy-efficiency. With the latest AMD A4-5000 APU, we're able to boost performance all around while reducing maximum energy consumption compared to our previous generation with the ZOTAC ZBOX nano AQ01 series," said Carsten Berger, senior director, ZOTAC International.

Zotac rolled out special edition bundles of its various GeForce GTX 700 series graphics cards in Japan, which include 30-day gameplay coupons to Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn, Square Enix' smash-hit RPG. Among the cards with the offer are GeForce GTX 780 and GTX 780 AMP! Edition based on the company's dual-slot Triple Silencer cooling solution (ZTGTX780-3GD5FF14R03 and ZTGTX780-3GD5AMPFF14R04); GeForce GTX 760 TwinCooler (ZTGTX760-2GD5FF14R04); and GTX 660 Dual-Silencer (ZTGTX660-2GD5FF14R02). The cards don't appear to come with price-premiums.

ZOTAC International, a global innovator and manufacturer of graphics cards, mainboards and mini-PCs, today upgrades the ZBOX mini-PC lineup with 4th Generation Intel Core technology. The trio of new ZBOXes deliver improved CPU performance paired with supercharged integrated graphics for an excellent experience for everyday computing tasks.

"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.

ZOTAC International, a global innovator and manufacturer of graphics cards, mainboards, mini-PCs and accessories, today announces enhancements to the Extended Warranty Program in Europe to better benefit end users. The Extended Warranty Program enhancements now include ZBOX mini-PCs and an increased registration deadline of 28-days instead of the former 14-days for all ZOTAC graphics cards, mainboards and mini-PCs in select regions.

"ZOTAC stands by the quality of its hardware. By including the ZBOX mini-PCs to the Extended Warranty Program, we are providing excellent warranty coverage for an additional 3-years for up to 5-years of total coverage," says Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC International. "Increasing the registration deadline to 28-days enables our customers and end users to relax and have plenty of time to register their ZOTAC graphics card, mainboards or mini-PC for the Extended Warranty Program as well."