ZOTAC continues to expand its range of SFF PCs. It has just announced the ZBOX R-series of mini PCs which are Intel-based and employ a chassis that looks like the familiar ZBOX B-Series, E-Series and M-Series machines. ZOTAC calls the new R-Series a "breakthough," with enhancements focussed upon storage functionality while "providing the same power efficiency and space saving features that users expect from ZBOX".
The ZBOX RI323 and ZBOX RI531 series machines can employ two HDD/SSD storage devices into a RAID 0 or RAID 1 configuration. With the two internal drive slots users will be able to choose to create a logical drive that either improves the read/write speed, or one that provides redundancy to protect sensitive data.
Alternatively users could simply use the two drive capacity of the ZBOX R series to add a couple of drives of any size to use in non-RAID configurations or in the JBOD configuration (differently-sized drives organized into one logical unit). In addition to its 2x SATA 6Gbps interfaces, the ZBOX RI531 series models include an mSATA SSD slot.
ZOTAC pegs the new R-Series as being suitable for home and office use, yet also designed with commercial and industrial purposes in mind. In the latter markets the mini PCs may be used in digital signage, entertainment, and kiosk controllers and the COM port will make the PCs useful in various embedded scenarios.
|
Product |
ZBOX RI531 series |
ZBOX RI323 |
|
Memory |
2 x DDR3-1600 slots (up to 16GB) |
2 x DDR3-1600 slots (up to 16GB) |
|
Storage |
1 x mSATA SSD slot 2 x 2.5" SATA HDD/SSD slots |
2 x 2.5" SATA HDD/SSD slots |
|
Processor |
Intel Core i3-5010U dual core 2.1GHz, Intel HD Graphics 5500 |
Intel Processor 2961Y dual core 1.1GHz, Intel HD Graphics |
|
Display Options |
HDMI 1.4a, DisplayPort 1.2 |
HDMI 1.4a, DisplayPort 1.2 |
|
Card Reader |
3-in-1 (SD/SDHC/SDXC) |
3-in-1 (SD/SDHC/SDXC) |
|
Ethernet |
Dual 10/100/1000Mbps |
Dual 10/100/1000Mbps |
|
Wi-Fi |
802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.0 |
802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.0 |
|
USB Ports |
4 x USB 3.0 |
4 x USB 3.0 |
|
Audio |
HDMI Audio ,Headphone, Microphone |
HDMI Audio, Headphone, Microphone |
|
DirectX Support |
11.2 |
11.2 |
|
Other Features |
Intel Quick Sync Video, Intel Clear Video HD, RAID 0, RAID 1, JBOD configuration, COM port |
Intel Quick Sync Video, Intel Clear Video, RAID 0, RAID 1, JBOD configuration, COM port |
|
Windows |
Windows 7 / 8 ready |
Windows 7 / 8 ready |
|
PLUS version |
(pre-installed) |
|
As you can see in the above table, the Broadwell Core i3 powered ZBOX RI531 is available as a 'PLUS' kit including RAM and SSD fitted, it's possible that this could qualify for a free Windows 8.1 install from Microsoft. The Haswell Celeron based ZBOX RI323 is being sold as a barebones only kit. At the time of writing pricing and availability for the new R-Series has yet to be announced.
