ZimaBoard: Hackable mini-PC, server and single-board computer unveiled
The ZimaBoard certainly caught our attention when we saw a picture of it. The device does not look like many mini-PCs, and would not be out of place in Cyberpunk 2077. Nonetheless, it will be soon available to order on Kickstarter and from just US$69. There are actually two versions of the ZimaBoard, one called the 216 and the other the 832. The two machines share much of the same hardware, although there are a few key differences.
Starting with the similarities, all versions of the ZimaBoard have two SATA 6.0 Gb/s and two Gigabit Ethernet ports along with dual USB 3.0 Type-A connections. Additionally, there is a PCIe 2.0 4x connection that is accessible from the outside of the device. Moreover, Icewhale Technology Limited has included a Mini-DisplayPort 1.2 connection that can output in up to 4K at 60 Hz.
The ZimaBoard measures 120 x 74.5 x 25 mm and supports Linux, Windows, OpenWrt, pfSense, Android and Libreelec. Linux comes pre-installed, though. The inclusion of Windows support should allow the ZimaBoard to be used as a conventional mini-PC, despite its unusual look.
What distinguishes the ZimaBoard 216 and ZimaBoard 832 from each other is their processor, RAM and onboard storage. Both feature Intel processors, but the ZimaBoard 216 has a dual-core Intel Celeron N3350 with 2 GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 16 GB of eMMC flash storage. By contrast, the ZimaBoard 832 has a Celeron N3450, a quad-core processor, along with 8 GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 32 GB of onboard storage.
It is unclear when Icewhale Technology Limited plans to bring the Zimaboard to Kickstarter. However, you can sign up to a mailing list to receive notice of when the machine will be available to back through the crowdfunding website.
