Compact 2.67 litre box gives graphics boost to compact / mobile workstations over Thunderbolt 3
Zotac has unveiled a new external GPU Box that plugs into a compact desktop or mobile workstation to boost GPU performance for rendering, real time viz, AI and other workflows.
The ZBox Pro External GPU Box features an embedded workstation-grade MXM3.1 Type-B form factor Nvidia RTX Ada Generation laptop GPU that is typically used in mobile workstations. It connects to the workstation via Thunderbolt 3.
There are three versions: the ZBox Pro AD2000 with Nvidia RTX 2000 Ada (8 GB), the AD3500 with RTX 3500 Ada (12 GB) and AD5000 with RTX 5000 Ada (16 GB), all rated at 115 watts.
The GPU Box has three integrated DisplayPort 1.4a video outputs, to support up to three additional displays.
The compact 2.67 litre, 185mm x 185mm x 65mm design is VESA mount ready, so can be attached to the back of a monitor.
According to Zotac, the External GPU Box is ideal for shared GPU access amongst small to mid-sized teams.
In an architectural practice it could be used to give a CAD/BIM workstation a GPU boost when it’s needed for real time visualisation or reality modelling.
CAD/BIM software like Revit and Archicad typically has relatively low GPU requirements, compared to a real time viz tool like Enscape or Twinmotion.
Zotac also offers the ZBox Q Series Mini PC (pictured below), which features a 13th Gen Intel Core i7 CPU and a choice of Nvidia RTX 2000 or 3500 Ada Generation GPUs. The ultra-small form factor is comes in at 210mm x 203mm x 62.2mm.
