Intel announced Core-Y series “Amber Lake” processors last August. The new 5W SoC are designed for laptops and 2-in-1 hybrids with built-in Gigabit WiFi, and optional LTE cellular connectivity. But that does not mean they cannot be used in other form factors, and Zotac is showcasing their tiny ZBOX Pico PI470 mini PC powered by Intel Core i7-8500Y dual core / quad thread processor at CES 2019.
Zotac Pico PI470 specifications:
- SoC – Intel Core i7-8500Y dual core quad thread Amber Lake-Y processor clocked at 1.5 GHz (base) / 4.2 GHz (turbo) with 4MB cache, Intel HD Graphics 615; 5W TDP
- System Memory – 4GB LPDDR3 memory
- Storage – 32GB eMMC storage, micro SD/SDHC/SDXC card reader
- Video Output – HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2
- Audio – HDMI audio output, 3.5mm headphone jack
- Networking & Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11ac WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5
- USB – 3x USB 3.0 ports including 1x USB type-C port
- Misc – Power button
- Power Supply – Via power barrel jack
- Dimensions – Pocket-sized
The fanless mini PC runs Windows 10 Home 64-bit, and ships with mounting system – likely compatible with VESA standard – to mount the mini PC to the back of your display.
To get a rough performance idea, I’ve compared Pentium Silver N5000 quad core Gemini Lake processor with Core i7-8500Y, and the latter is about 50% faster in Passmark CPU Mark.
The photos above and video below were shot by Brad Linder of Liliputing who came accross the computer at CES 2019.
It’s a little too early to have availability or price information, but I’d expect it to be above $300 considering One Mix 2S Yoga “Pocket” laptop based on the same processor but with more memory, storage, a display and keyboard goes for about $670.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
Support CNX Software! Donate via cryptocurrencies, become a Patron on Patreon, or purchase goods on Amazon or Aliexpress
“4.2 GHz (turbo)”
I’d love to know the exact circumstances that allow that kind of turbo over the base speed of 1.5GHz. Me thinks this is Intel massaging things again.
With a 5W TDP, I’d guess it’s for a really short amount of time. So long as it’s one core and a low duty cycle it’s probably possible
Are you sure the TDP is related to turbo/boost in any way?
Someone recently explained to me that TDP is the thing you need to look at if the CPU runs with the base clock (1.5GHz). With this base clock sustained high loads will result in 5W thermal dissipation. Turbo should be a different story (totally up to the device manufacturer and its thermal design).
@tkaiser is correct, the quoted TDP does not include turbo. Intel’s TDPs haven’t been including turbo for a long time now.
> Me thinks this is Intel massaging things again
Why do you believe this?
I would think it needs appropriate cooling for the 4.2 GHz and I would assume that this clockspeed is only possible with single-threaded loads.
BTW: As usual 7-zip to the rescue: Simply use the built-in benchmark functionality and test with 1, 2 and 4 threads to get the bigger picture: https://www.trishtech.com/2016/10/using-7-zip-lzma-benchmarking-for-your-cpu-performance/
With an applet displaying CPU clockspeeds/temperatures in parallel and by repeating the test(s) you get a definitive clue about both turbo behavior and ‘thermal performance’ of a specific machine in almost no time.
Nice HTPC, should run Kodi(Leia) and Plex super smooth, but the video output sucks HDMI 2.0 only and DP 1.2 poor.
hdmi 2.0 delivers 2160p at 60-75hz, what else do you want? useless 8k? no 5w tdp cpu is going to deliver 8k h265 decoding without active fan and without struggling quite a bit. Otherwise, if you look for a vga port this is not your device, either way.