What Zotac announced
Zotac has introduced three fanless ZBOX mini PCs based on Intel's Wildcat Lake platform. All three use passive cooling and share the same 204 × 129 × 68 mm enclosure. That chassis has a volume of 1.79 liters.
Pricing and availability are still open. Zotac lists the CI471, CI451 and CI431 nano on its website, but pricing and availability information isn't available right now. A product page is not a shelf date, so treat this as an announcement and not a launch you can buy into yet.
CNX Software adds some history. Zotac first showed the CI471 nano at Computex 2026 in June, and has only recently published full specifications for all three models.
The three models
| Model | Processor | Cores | Max turbo |
|---|---|---|---|
| CI431 nano | Core 3 304 | 5 | 4.3 GHz |
| CI451 nano | Core 5 320 | 6 | 4.6 GHz |
| CI471 nano | Core 7 350 | 6 | 4.8 GHz |
Core counts and clocks match Intel's Series 3 listing and Zotac's CI431 page. The core layouts come from TechPowerUp's coverage and Madshrimps' report on it. The Core 3 304 has 1 P-core and 4 low-power E-cores, for five cores and five threads. The Core 5 and Core 7 models have 2 P-cores and 4 low-power E-cores, for six cores and six threads.
The chips also differ in graphics and NPU. TechPowerUp reports that the Core 3 has one Xe-core running at up to 2.3 GHz, while the Core 5 and Core 7 have two Xe-cores at up to 2.5 GHz and 2.6 GHz. The integrated NPUs deliver up to 15, 16 and 17 TOPS respectively. Zotac's own CI431 page confirms the 15 TOPS figure for that model.
TechPowerUp also says Intel specifies 6 MB of Smart Cache, 15 W base power and 35 W maximum turbo power for all three processors, built on its 18A process. These are chip ratings. They do not tell you how the silent chassis will handle sustained load.
Memory, storage and ports
The specifications below match across the Zotac CI431 page and the wider coverage.
- Memory: one DDR5-6400/5600 SO-DIMM slot, up to 64 GB.
- Storage: one M.2 2280 NVMe slot, PCIe 4.0 x4. Zotac's CI431 page lists no other storage.
- Ports: two Thunderbolt 4, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A (10 Gbps) and three USB 2.0 Type-A.
- Video: HDMI 2.0b, DisplayPort 2.0 and DisplayPort over Thunderbolt 4. The CI431 page lists up to 4096×2160 at 60 Hz on HDMI and DisplayPort, with a maximum of three displays.
- Networking: 2.5 Gbps Ethernet, Bluetooth 5.4, and Wi-Fi 7. Zotac's CI431 page names the Wi-Fi module as an Intel BE200.
- Power and mounting: a 19 V/65 W adapter. The box includes a VESA mount with four screws, and the page lists a Kensington lock.
The front panel is described by Techtesters, which reports two Thunderbolt 4 ports, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port and an audio/mic combo jack on the front.
Barebone means budget extra
The systems ship without memory, storage or an operating system. Zotac's CI431 page says only "Windows 11 ready", which is not the same as Windows 11 being included. A Windows 11 license is a separate cost.
Zotac's CI431 page lists no storage and a single M.2 slot. Plan your SSD capacity up front.
With one SO-DIMM slot and one SSD slot, you also can't grow the system later with a second module or drive. Pick your RAM size carefully. 64 GB is the ceiling, and 16 or 32 GB is more likely for office and kiosk use.
Who these suit
The design points to a few uses.
- Offices and reception desks: no fan noise, a small footprint, and VESA mounting behind a display.
- Digital signage and kiosks: multiple 4K outputs with no moving parts to fail or clog with dust.
- Home or lab always-on boxes: CNX Software notes that the Core 7 350 has appeared in industrial products from AAEON and BIOSTAR, while the ZBOX CI471 is consumer-oriented. Lunar Computer adds that the Xe3 graphics already have open-source driver support in Linux 6.17 and Mesa. That is a Linux detail, but it may matter to admins who mix operating systems.
This is my own analysis, not a test result. Passive cooling in a small box usually means a trade-off between sustained performance and silence. Intel's 15 W base and 35 W turbo ratings suggest the chassis may be tuned to lean on its heatsink under load. Until independent reviews appear, we don't know how long the chips hold their turbo clocks.
Caveats
- Zotac's own product page was only available for the CI431. The CI451 and CI471 details come from news coverage, though the reports agree with one another.
- Sources differ on the chip naming. Some outlets call these Core Ultra Series 3 parts, but Zotac and Intel use Core Series 3, which is how this article refers to them.
- The sources I found for the CI471 mention no firsthand performance testing. No thermal or benchmark data is available yet.
- The front-port layout comes from a single outlet. Check Zotac's listing before buying if the front panel matters to you.
Bottom line
The ZBOX CI431, CI451 and CI471 nano bring Intel's Wildcat Lake chips to a silent chassis, with Thunderbolt 4, Wi-Fi 7 and 2.5 GbE. They are barebones, so you add RAM, SSD and a Windows license. Pricing and release dates have not been announced. Watch for reviews that show how the passive design handles sustained load before you commit.