After some cajoling and no small amount of arm twisting, ZOTAC allowed us to take this shot inside the unreleased ZBOX:



At first glance there's not to be gleaned from this image, but appearances can be deceptive. The most obvious component on show is the Kingston RAM, in this case a 4GB DDR3 1333MHz SODIMM which certainly gives credence to claims that the smaller-than-nano ZBOX is no slouch in the performance department.

The second component, centrally located on the PCB, takes a little bit more close inspection but reveals itself to be a 40GB Intel 310 Series SSD. Fitting an SSD into this form factor, even if only an optional component, is quite the game changer and pushes real-world productivity performance to near that of a desktop. Power consumption should also be commensurately lower than an equivalent mechanical drive, which shouldn't be under estimated in a set-top product.



That shot of one side of the PCB is all we can show unfortunately; the CPU, additional storage (if any) and other chipset features remain unknown for now.


Out thanks to ZOTAC for this advanced look at some new and upcoming products.