Zotac has introduced three new ZBOX mini-PCs, based on Intel and AMD silicon. The company describes them as gaming mini-PCs, but that's a stretch since none of them feature discrete graphics. However, they're still a bit more powerful than your average nettop.

The two Intel-based E-series models have an impressive spec sheet, with Haswell quad-core processors leading the charge. The EI750 is powered by a 3.2GHz Core i7 R4770R which can hit 3.9GHz on Turbo, while the EI730 features a Core i5 4570R clocked at 2.7GHz (3.2GHz Turbo). Both feature Iris 5200 graphics with 128MB of eDRAM memory.

The rest of the package includes SATA 6Gbps and mSATA 6Gbps ports, four USB 3.0 ports, 802.11ac wireless with Bluetooth 4.0 and a host of other goodies. They're available as barebones, or as Plus systems with 8GB of RAM and a 1TB 5400rpm hard drive.

There is still no word on pricing, but the choice of high-end Haswell parts means they won't come cheap.

However, if you're in the market for something even smaller that won't burn a hole in your pocket, the ZBOX nano AQ02 might be an interesting choice. It is based on an AMD A8-5545M clocked at 1.7GHz, which can hit 2.7GHz in Turbo mode. The Richland-based APU features HD 8510G graphics with 384 cores, but bear in mind that this is not a GCN GPU.