HONG KONG – Sept. 8, 2010 – ZOTAC International, a leading innovator and the world’s largest channel manufacturer of graphics cards, motherboards and mini-PCs, today announces the new ZOTAC ZBOX Blu-ray series mini-PCs — the world’s first shipping mini-PCs with an integrated slot-load Blu-ray drive and slim and stylish design. The new ZOTAC ZBOX Blu-ray mini-PCs combine a powerful graphics processor with an energy-efficient system processor, premium integrated features and class-leading expansion capabilities to form mini-PCs capable of deliver premium high-definition video playback online and offline.

Next-Generation NVIDIA ION graphics technology with 16 unified shaders and 512MB of DDR3 memory enables the ZOTAC ZBOX Blu-ray series to deliver stunning high-definition Blu-ray video playback at resolutions up to 1080p. Hardware-accelerated Adobe Flash video support enables smooth playback of streaming high-definition content.

A new dual-core Intel Atom D525 processor delivers a performance punch for daily use while sipping minimal amounts of power for energy-efficient computing with the ZOTAC ZBOX Blu-ray series. Intel HyperThreading technology enables the ZOTAC ZBOX Blu-ray series to process up to four threads for superior responsiveness for everyday use.

A built-in slot-load Blu-ray drive capable of 4x Blu-ray, 8x DVD and 24x CD speeds enables playback of Blu-ray and DVD movies and ability to write to DVD±R/RW and CD±R/RW discs with the ZOTAC ZBOX Blu-ray series. A Blu-ray ready copy of Cyberlink PowerDVD 8 is included with the ZOTAC ZBOX Blu-ray series to let users instantly take advantage of high-definition Blu-ray playback with Microsoft Windows 7 and Vista operating systems.

“The ZOTAC ZBOX Blu-ray series is more than just a system for playing games and watching movies. The ZOTAC ZBOX Blu-ray series is the ultimate multimedia hub for all your entertainment needs and replaces the function of multiple electronics devices. With the ZOTAC ZBOX Blu-ray series, we are bringing the ability to view Blu-ray movies, streaming Internet video, downloaded videos, store and access your music collection, listen to Internet radio, browse the web, play games and even manage your social networking profiles into a single device,” said Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC International.

Two USB 3.0 ports are available on the ZOTAC ZBOX Blu-ray series for external expansion and enables connection to external storage, video peripherals and other devices at speeds up to 10-times faster than USB 2.0. Internal expansion capabilities of the ZBOX Blu-ray series include one mini-PCI Express slot, two 200-pin DDR2 SO-DIMM slots and room for one 2.5-inch SATA hard drive or SSD drive.

Integrated dual-stream 802.11n WiFi technology enables lightning-fast network transfers up to 300Mb/s without the hassle of wires when networking the ZOTAC ZBOX Blu-ray series. When using wired networking, the ZOTAC ZBOX Blu-ray series supports speeds up to 1000Mb/s.

“Mini-PCs typically have limited upgrade capabilities, but we have addressed these limitations with the ZOTAC ZBOX Blu-ray series. With a combination of mini-PCI Express, USB 3.0 and eSATA expansion capabilities, the ZOTAC ZBOX Blu-ray series is in a league of its own.“

The ZOTAC ZBOX Blu-ray series are shipping in two models – the ZBOX Blu-ray HD-ID33 and HD-ID34. The ZOTAC ZBOX Blu-ray HD-ID33 is a customizable media mini-PC that lets users install their own memory, hard drive and operating system to build the perfect mini-PC while the ZOTAC ZBOX Blu-ray HD-ID34 ships with 2GB of DDR2-800 memory and a 250GB 5400RPM hard drive preinstalled – the user only needs to install an operating system.

ZOTAC announces the first mini-PCs with integrated slot-load Blu-ray drives - Systems 2