Primarily known for its range of NVIDIA-based graphics cards, ZOTAC has been building a steady stream of small-form-factor PCs that can be considered forerunners to Intel's four-inch-square NUC.
At CeBIT 2013 in Hannover, ZOTAC demonstrated what's currently dubbed the ZBOX ID89. Housed in the familiar-looking chassis that we've seen before, ZOTAC has beefed-up the innards of this barebones units somewhat.
The ID89 contains a socketed LGA1155 processor. Spatial considerations limit the choice of chips to 45W models, but it's good to see socketed CPUs, meaning you can install the one of your choice. Keeping the chip cool is a heatsink that reminds us of a low-end graphics card.
There's no space for discrete graphics, so Intel's HD Graphics takes over the duties, outputting via either HDMI or DVI. The small interior means that laptop-orientated SO-DIMMs are used. ZOTAC includes a SATA card that sits on top of the memory, into which any regular 2.5in drive can be attached. The laptop references continue with the potential inclusion of a wireless card seen on the bottom-right.
Outputs-wise, there's USB 3.0, USB 2.0, card reader, dual Gigabit LAN, and S/PDIF. It's unclear from our discussions with ZOTAC whether the ID89 will ship in pure barebone form, encompassing motherboard and chassis alone, or whether semi-complete SKUs, complete with chip and WiFi card, will also be made available.
We like the idea of shoehorning a goodly amount of power into a small box, but fear the cost of 45W Intel chips will make the ID89 an unnecessarily expensive proposition. What do you think?
