Zotac has been selling small, fanless desktop computers under the ZBOX CI600 nano brand since 2018, but this year’s new ZBOX CI651 nano and ZBOX CI671 nano are the first to be branded as “AI PCs” thanks to their Intel Meteor Lake processors with Intel’s AI Boost NPUs baked in.
Measuring 204x 129 x 68mm (8″ x 5.1″ x 2.7″), these systems are a bit larger than some computers in the mini PC category, but that extra space provides plenty of room for passive cooling, as well as a decent set of expansion options.
For the most part the CI651 nano and CI671 nano are virtually identical. The key difference is that the former comes with an Intel Core Ultra 5 125U processor, while the latter has a Core Ultra 7 155U chip.
Both of these processors are 15-57 watt chips with 12 CPU cores and 14 threads (2 Performance + 8 Efficiency + 2 Low-Power Efficiency), 4-core Intel Xe integrated graphics, and an Intel AI Boost AI accelerator, but the Core Ultra 7 chip supports faster CPU and graphics speeds.
While you’d get better CPU and graphics performance from an H-series chip like the Core Ultra 7 155H (which has more Performance cores and more GPU cores), Intel’s H-series processors also generate more heat, which makes them less well-suited for fanless systems like the CI600 nano series.
Under the hood, these computers both have two SODIMM slots for up to 64GB of DDR5-5200 or 5600 memory, and two M.2 2280 slots for storage. One supports PCIe 4.0 x4 SSDs only, while the other supports either PCIe 4.0 or SATA storage.
Ports include:
- 1 x HDMI 2.1
- 2 x DisplayPort 1.4
- 1 x USB 3.2 Type-C
- 4 x USB 3.2 Type-A
- 1 x USB 2.0 Type-A
- 1 x Gigabit Ethernet
- 1 x 3.5mm audio
The computer supports up to three 4K displays and features a wireless card with support for WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2.
Another question.
I have quite an old win 10 PC souped up tu run ok with an SSD valid windows licence and all. Is it feasible to more the SSD to this machine and upgrades.
PS. No I don’t want to reinstall. I want to keep my setup.
Hi,
What’s the added value of having an ai processor in the box when it’ usually in the cloud?
Is the instruction set standardized or is it an attempt from Intel to imposer their ?
“Zotac has been selling small, fanless desktop computers under the ZBOX CI600 nano brand since 2018”
Have they? I’ve been on the lookout for last year’s model and never saw it sold anywhere.
Same with several other fanless products announced over the years. It seems they are mostly vaporware, or maybe only sold to people who know the secret handshake, or the secret store where they are sold?
1 GBit Ethernet… k, thx, bye
In the eyes of the faithful, the Zotac ZBOX, once revered as a technological unicorn, has fallen short of its divine promise, akin to a broken covenant that leaves us in a state of disillusionment and disappointment.
Why, has the Zbox been unreliable?