New ZOTAC H55-ITX WiFi combines Intel® Core™ i3, Core™ i5 or Core™ i7 processors with mini-ITX

HONG KONG – Jan. 7, 2009 – ZOTAC International, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards and mini-PCs, today unveils its latest next-generation high-performance mini-ITX platform – the socket LGA1156 compatible ZOTAC H55-ITX WiFi. Loaded with compatibility with the latest processors, memory technology and ATX-equivalent expansion capabilities, the ZOTAC H55-ITX WiFi is the ultimate platform for users that demand big system performance in a small form factor package.

Support for the latest generation of Intel® Core™ i3, Core™ i5 and Core™ i7 takes the ZOTAC H55-ITX WiFi to performance levels previously unattainable by the mini-ITX form factor. The ZOTAC H55-ITX WiFi supports Intel® QuickPath technology for lightning-fast communications to high-speed dual-channel DDR3 memory for superior bandwidth and quicker memory access that delivers the chart-topping performance enthusiasts and performance-hungry users desire.

“Since Intel® announced its latest generation of Nehalem CPUs, there’s been great demand for a mini-ITX platform for the CPUs, unfortunately the power consumption and heat output of the original Intel® Core™ i7 900 series would’ve been too high for such a small form factor,” said Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC International (MCO), Ltd. “With the latest generation of Intel® Core™ i3, Core™ i5 and Core™ i7 processors, greater energy efficiency and improved thermal management, the ZOTAC H55-ITX WiFi is able to deliver a mini-ITX platform capable of accommodating the new high-performance processors with no compromises.“

Beyond the support for the latest Intel® Core™ i3, Core™ i5 and Core™ i7 processors, the ZOTAC H55-ITX WiFi supports the powerful Intel® HD Graphics processor integrated in the latest generation of Intel® Core™ processors. When the ZOTAC H55-ITX WiFi is paired with Intel® Core™ processors with Intel® HD graphics, the ZOTAC H55-ITX WiFi becomes a powerful home theater PC platform with premium Blu-ray playback capabilities.

Intel® Clear Video HD technology with AVC/H.264, VC-1 and MPEG-2 hardware decode delivers smooth video playback of high-definition sources, including Blu-ray, while new xvYCC color and HD sharpness technology delivers crystal clear visuals with stunning precise colors. New dual video decode technology enables the ZOTAC H55-ITX WiFi to decode Blu-ray picture-in-picture content using the graphics processor, freeing up the CPU for other tasks.

“Intel® Core™ processors with Intel® HD graphics and the ZOTAC H55-ITX WiFi platform is perfect for home theater PCs no matter what type of video formats the user may watch,” Mr. Berger said. “In addition to top-notch HD video playback capabilities, Intel® Core™ processors with Intel® HD graphics and the ZOTAC H55-ITX WiFi features technologies that enhance standard definition content such as enhanced DVD upscaling (8x8 polyphase), advanced de-interlacing, sharpness enhancement and noise reduction.”

Premium audio output is supported by the ZOTAC H55-ITX WiFi, enabling users to send raw Dolby® TrueHD and DTS®-HD Master Audio audio tracks from high-definition Blu-ray movies to an audio receiver over HDMI. High-definition 7.1-channel analog audio outputs are also available on the ZOTAC H55-ITX WiFi for top-notch analog audio quality.

For users that demand greater graphics power and want to take advantage of NVIDIA® CUDA™ and PhysX® technology, the ZOTAC H55-ITX WiFi features a full-speed PCI Express x16 slot for compatibility with the latest graphics cards.

“Combining the ZOTAC H55-ITX WiFi with a ZOTAC GeForce® series graphics card, users can have the best performance available from the processor and graphics processor that’ll take on anything you can throw at it including the most demanding games, applications and high-definition video playback,” Mr. Berger said.

Topping off the features and capabilities of the ZOTAC H55-ITX WiFi are six SATA 3.0Gb/s ports, one eSATA 3.0Gb/s, digital optical S/PDIF output, plenty of USB 2.0 ports and integrated 802.11n WiFi. The integrated 802.11n WiFi features dual-stream technology for wireless network transfers at speeds up to 300Mb/s – triple that of standard 100Mb/s wired networking – for wired performance without the wires.

It’s time to play with the ZOTAC H55-ITX WiFi.

General details
• New ZOTAC H55-ITX WiFi
• Intel® H55 Express chipset
• Intel® Core™ i3, Core™ i5, Core™ i7 compatible
• LGA1156 socket
• Intel® QuickPath bus
• Intel® Clear Video HD technology
• HDMI x.v.Color, xvYCC Color & Deep Color technologies
• Video de-interlacing, sharpness detail and noise reduction technologies
• Hardware MPEG2, VC-1 & H.264/AVC decode
• Dual-video decode for Blu-ray picture-in-picture
• High-quality 8x8 polyphase DVD upscaling
• PCI Express 2.0 x16 expansion
• Dual-link DVI output (up to 2560x1600)
• HDMI output
• HDCP compliant
• 6 SATA 3.0 Gb/s + 1 eSATA
• Gigabit Ethernet
• Onboard 802.11n (300Mb/s) WiFi
• Microsoft® DirectX® 10 with Shader Model 4.0 compatible
• OpenGL® 2.1 compatible
• Mini-ITX form factor

Product Name ZOTAC H55-ITX WiFi
Chipset Intel® H55 Express
South Bridge NA (single-chip solution)
Display Options DVI, HDMI
HDCP Compliant Yes
HDMI Audio Premium Audio (Dolby® TrueHD & DTS®-HD Master Audio bitstream)
Processor Support Intel® Core™ i3, Core™ i5, Core™ i7
LGA1156 socket
System Bus Intel® QuickPath
Memory support DDR3-1066/1333
Memory capacity 2 DIMMs, up to 8GB
Expansion 1 PCI Express 2.0 x16
1 Mini PCI Express (occupied by WiFi module)
SATA 6 SATA 3.0 Gb/s
1 eSATA (3.0Gb/s)
WiFi 802.11n (300Mb/s)
Ethernet 10/100/1000Mbps
Firewire NA
USB 2.0 10 on back panel, 4 via pin header
Audio Onboard 7.1-channel high-definition audio
Optical S/PDIF output
DirectX® support DirectX® 10 with Shader Model 4.0
Other hardware features OpenGL 2.1 compatible, Intel® Clear Video HD technology, DVD upscaling, noise reduction, HDMI x.v.Color, xvYCC Color, Deep Color
Windows® 7 capability Certified for Windows® 7 premium®

About ZOTAC International (MCO) Limited
ZOTAC International is a part of PC Partner Ltd. Group. ZOTAC is a leading manufacturer graphics cards, motherboard and mini-PC manufacturer in the world with over 10 years of quality manufacturing experience. The ZOTAC philosophy is to deliver the latest products at competitive prices without sacrificing quality.
For further information please visit www.zotac.com