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Mini PCs for Creators, NUC Rivals, AMD-powered ZBOXes: ZOTAC at CES

btarunr

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ZOTAC isn't just a graphics card major, but over the years developed a thriving lineup of compact desktops, mini PCs, and compact gaming desktops. The big buzzword this CES is "creator," and the company unveiled its new Inspire Studio line of compact desktops targeting creators, which are physically similar to the ZBOX Magnus. These are 5.85-liter (volume) boxes that take up minimal space on your desk, but pack serious hardware: a 9th gen Core i7 processor, GeForce RTX 2060 Super graphics, M.2 NVMe storage, and modern networking that include 802.11ax WLAN and 2.5 GbE wired Ethernet.

Next up is the ZBOX Edge. ZOTAC has been pushing the limits of compact desktops, and the ZBOX Edge MI643 is their latest creation. With an ultra-thin design that involves a 2.85 cm tall body and the ability to tuck it away behind your monitor, the MI643 packs a Core i5-10210U quad-core "Comet Lake" processor, DDR4 SO-DIMM memory, M.2 NVMe SSD storage, 802.11ac WLAN, dual 1 GbE networking, and Bluetooth 5.0. A more economical variant of this is the CI341, with 3.21 cm height, Celeron N4100 SoC, M.2 SATA storage, and SO-DIMM memory slots.



The ZBOX Magnus E-series of compact gaming desktops has been upgraded with GeForce RTX 20-Super series graphics. The EC72070S packs a GeForce RTX 2070 Super desktop graphics card and 9th gen Core i7 H-series processor; while the EC52060S packs 9th gen Core i5 and RTX 2060 Super graphics. What caught our eye, though, was the EN92080V, powered by a powerful Core i9-9880H 8-core/16-thread processor, and desktop RTX 2080 Super graphics that's more than capable of 4K UHD gaming. 2.5 GbE and 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 WLAN make an appear across the refreshed Magnus Series.



The ZBOX nano line of tiny 820 cc desktops that are roughly palm-sized, also received some hardware updates. The MA621 and CA621 are almost identical to the point of the latter featuring an additional 2.5-inch SATA bay. The two new get AMD Ryzen 3 3200U "Picasso" processors with Radeon Vega 3 iGPU. On the other side of the lineup, the MI662 nano, MI642 nano, MI622 nano, and their C-series variants that feature an additional drive-bay, now come with 10th generation Intel "Comet Lake" processors.

Lastly, there's the MEK Mini tower-type gaming desktop, with some hardware updates, which include a Core i7-9700 processor, GeForce RTX 2070 Super graphics, M.2 NVMe + SATA HDD storage, 16 GB of RAM, and Killer NIC.

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