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ZOTAC dives into nettop market with MAG mini PC

by Parm Mann on 6 October 2009, 16:46

Tags: MAG, ZOTAC

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qaudj

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Seeing as it already offers a range of NVIDIA ION-based mini-ITX platforms, Hong Kong's ZOTAC International has decided to take the next logical step and sell its hardware in a complete PC package.

The company's first solution takes the form of a nettop dubbed MAG - which, we're told, stands for "Mini All-in-one Giant".

Bizarre branding aside, the ZOTAC MAG seems a decent little package. The system measures just 186mm x 189mm x 38mm, and inside you'll find NVIDIA's ION chipset - complete with GeForce 9400M IGP - accompanied by either a single-core Intel Atom 230 or dual-core Intel Atom 330 processor.

That's joined by 2GB of DDR2 memory, a 160GB hard drive and plenty of connectivity options - including HDMI, VGA, optical S/PDIF, Gigabit Ethernet, Wireless N, eSATA and six USB ports. There's even a four-in-one card reader, and ZOTAC throws in a VESA monitor mount to allow users to attach MAG to the rear of big-screen displays. Ideal HTPC scenario, we reckon.

What's interesting is that ZOTAC doesn't ship the system with any form of pre-installed operating system. Users are instead encouraged to "choose what they want to run", and with ZOTAC saving on licensing, we'd hope to see a portion of those savings passed on to the consumer.

Sadly, there's no official word on pricing or availability just yet, but it could be one to keep an eye out for. In the meantime, ZOTAC's complete specification - for both single-core and dual-core models - can be found below.

Product Name MAG HD-ND01 MAG HD-NS01
CPU Intel Atom 330 (dual-core) Intel Atom 230 (single-core)
GPU NVIDIA ION
Display Options HDMI (Digital 8-channel LPCM Audio) and VGA
Memory 2GB DDR2-800
Hard disk 160GB 5400RPM 2.5”
Memory Card Reader 4-in-1 (SD/MS/MS Pro/xD)
SATA eSATA 3.0Gbp/s
PATA NA
Ethernet 10/100/1000Mbps
WiFi 802.11n integrated
USB 2.0 6 (4 on back panel, 1 on front panel, 1 on top panel)
Audio Onboard analog stereo high-definition audio
8-Channel LPCM digital audio (HDMI)
Optical S/PDIF audio output
DirectX support DirectX 10 with Shader Model 4.0
Other hardware features OpenGL 3.1 compatible, NVIDIA PhysX ready, NVIDIA CUDA ready, NVIDIA PureVideo HD technology
HDCP Yes
Software Features nView Multi-Display
Windows capability Windows Vista/7 with aero user interface compatible


HEXUS Forums :: 17 Comments

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Sounds great, if priced correctly i could easily see myself buying about 3 of these for media PCs.

But i do still feal bitter to zotac about the 9300itx i bought, which I ‘assumed’ would have wake from USB……. :(
Pretty sexy, but they could have added a bigger HDD.
Very nearly perfect for HTPC but I might use it as a mini-home server. Have a big NAS box for data and use this as a server for email and keeping user accounts in one place.

As an HTPC is fails immediately for me. No room for a TV tuner
cjs150
As an HTPC is fails immediately for me. No room for a TV tuner
You could always *gasp* not watch TV!

Surely a bigger fail as HTPC is the lack of an optical drive… :crazy:
cjs150
As an HTPC is fails immediately for me. No room for a TV tuner

if only someone could invent a tv tuner that attached to a USB port :)