Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico review: A pocket PC with Intel Celeron N6211 and 4 GB of RAM
In addition to the well-known GeForce graphics cards, with the ZBOX series, Zotac also offers a number of compact desktop PCs. In the pico series, Zotac fits a complete PC into a tiny 0.18-Liter case. This is about half the size of a conventional DVD case. There is no active cooling, which also means that only very efficient components are used. The SoC is called Intel Celeron N6211 and belongs to the Elkhart Lake series. With its low TDP, this SoC is very well suited for this usage scenario. In terms of working memory, there is 4 GB, which cannot be expanded. The storage solution is also fixed, offering only 128 GB. This compact computer is available for 370 Euros (~$378), including Windows 11 Pro. As usual, Zotac offers a 36-month warranty with the option to extend this to 60 months after the registration.
Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico in Detail
Case
The Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico is kept completely in black. The aluminum case also serves as the cooling element, also resulting in its surface structure. Visually and haptically, the device appears to be of a very high quality, and due to its compact case, the Mini PC is also very robust. Those who don't want to place the PC directly on the desk can also attach it directly to the monitor using the included VESA mount.
At barely 300 grams (~10.6 oz), the Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico is very light, and the 20-Watt power supply adds another 140 grams (~5 oz).
Connection Equipment
Considering its diminutive size, the Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico comes with good connection equipment. Three USB 3.1 connections are sufficient for regular office users, and the single USB Type-C connection also uses the 3.1 standard. However, unfortunately this cannot be used for charging. WLAN and LAN, as well as an SD card reader are also available, and you can connect up to two displays simultaneously using HDMI and DisplayPort.
SD Card Reader
While the built-in microSD card reader offers USB-3 speeds, it is unable to use the full performance of our test card (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60).
SD Card Reader | |
average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
Average of class Desktop (last 2 years) | |
Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico (AV PRO MICROSD V60) | |
AC6-M Mini-PC (AV PRO MICROSD V60) | |
Newsmay AC8 N6005 (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB) | |
Average of class Desktop (last 2 years) | |
Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico (AV PRO MICROSD V60) | |
AC6-M Mini-PC (AV PRO MICROSD V60) | |
Newsmay AC8 N6005 (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) |
Communication
Zotac uses a very current Wi-Fi module in the ZBOX PI336 pico. The Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX210 produces very good transfer rates in the test and also works in the 6 GHz band, as long as the router supports this. The RJ-45 connection represents an alternative to the WLAN module, offering transfer rates up to 1 Gbps.
Warranty
According to the warranty conditions, when purchasing the Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico, Zotac offers a 36-month warranty for countries in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India. Those who register their device with the manufacturer after the purchase can also extend the warranty to 60 months for free.
Performance
Processor
The Intel Celeron N6211 used here delivers a very low performance that is only sufficient for the simplest office tasks. Correspondingly, our test unit only places in the lower end of our test field. Even the AC6-M Mini PC is able to surpass the PI336 pico from Zotac often significantly. The problem often lies in the limited 4 GB of RAM, which prevents a better and smoother operation.
On the other hand, the SoC has a basic clock speed of 1.2 GHz and reaches up to 3.0 GHz in Turbo operation, if the conditions allow for this. In our test unit, the PL values are 6 and 20 watts, but the 20 watts are never reached. In our practical test, the Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico already had some problems to maintain the PL1 constantly, so we should only see about 1.7 GHz constantly under load.
You can find additional comparisons and benchmarks in our CPU comparison chart.
* ... smaller is better
Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico in the Cinebench R15 Multi loop
Our load test, where we simulate load with the Cinebench R15 Multi loop, shows that the cooling system of the Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico is sufficient to prevent thermal throttling. At an average of 127.4 points, the result remains stable across all 50 runs.
Application Performance and Storage Solution
The system performance corresponds to the weak processor. Subjectively, you can use the Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico for doing some work, if you give the system sufficient time. Unfortunately, latencies when opening various applications are part of everyday operation here. The built-in eMMC storage with 128 GB is sufficient and also offers space for some smaller applications to handle everyday tasks, in addition to the Windows installation. However, the low amount of working memory causes problems from time to time. For example, we were unable to get even a single successful run with PCMark 10, so we cannot give you any comparison values. The storage cannot be expanded. Alternatively, you can only use the SD card reader. As we already mentioned above, the transfer rates offered by the card reader are even lower.
In the DPC latencies, the Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico is also unable to convince us completely. On the other hand, the competitors do even considerably worse in some parts here. But nonetheless, the Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico has very significant problems when reproducing 4K video material. The CPU is quickly utilized to 100%, resulting in a stuttering video reproduction. This means that we don't consider it to be usable as a streaming client.
DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
AC6-M Mini-PC, Intel Celeron J4125 | |
Newsmay AC8 N6005, Intel Pentium Silver N6005 | |
GMK NucBox K1, Intel Celeron J4125 | |
Morefine S500+, AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX | |
MSI Cubi 5 10M, Intel Core i3-10110U | |
Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico, Intel Celeron N6211 | |
Minisforum EliteMini HX90, AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX | |
Minisforum EliteMini TH50, Intel Core i5-11320H |
* ... smaller is better
AIDA64 / Memory Copy | |
Average of class Desktop (53867 - 88386, n=10, last 2 years) | |
Intel NUC5i3RYK | |
Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
Average Intel Celeron N6211 () | |
AC6-M Mini-PC | |
Beelink GK Mini | |
Newsmay AC8 N6005 |
AIDA64 / Memory Read | |
Average of class Desktop (54278 - 94830, n=10, last 2 years) | |
Intel NUC5i3RYK | |
Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
Average Intel Celeron N6211 () | |
AC6-M Mini-PC | |
Beelink GK Mini | |
Newsmay AC8 N6005 |
AIDA64 / Memory Write | |
Average of class Desktop (70063 - 84869, n=10, last 2 years) | |
Intel NUC5i3RYK | |
Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
Average Intel Celeron N6211 () | |
AC6-M Mini-PC | |
Beelink GK Mini | |
Newsmay AC8 N6005 |
AIDA64 / Memory Latency | |
Newsmay AC8 N6005 | |
AC6-M Mini-PC | |
Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico | |
Average Intel Celeron N6211 () | |
Intel NUC5i3RYK | |
Average of class Desktop (68.3 - 89.3, n=10, last 2 years) | |
Beelink GK Mini |
* ... smaller is better
Graphics Card
The iGPU of the Elkhart Lake SoC offers a similar performance as we already saw in the CPU tests. Due to the weak dual-core CPU, the iGPU is also unable to perform wonders here. However, the competitors with the Intel Celeron J4125 can still be slightly surpassed overall. But you shouldn't demand more than pure 2D output from the iGPU. The iGPU is not suited for gaming and is unable to reproduce even older games smoothly.
low | med. | high | ultra | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dota 2 Reborn (2015) | 24.3 | 10.9 | 5.8 | 5.2 |
Final Fantasy XV Benchmark (2018) | 3.45 | 1.66 | ||
X-Plane 11.11 (2018) | 7.76 | 4.97 | 4.64 | |
Strange Brigade (2018) | 9.2 |
3DMark 11 Performance | 701 points | |
3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score | 20892 points | |
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 2873 points | |
3DMark Fire Strike Score | 489 points | |
Help |
Emissions
Noise Emissions
There are no noise emissions in the Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico. Since the system is cooled completely passively, it is suited for some special application areas. We also did not notice any other noises in our test unit, for example, when accessing the storage.
Temperatures
For the stress test, we run Prime95 and FurMark simultaneously. The CPU and iGPU have to share the configured TDP, so that neither component can develop its full performance. The SoC has a clock speed of almost 1.4 GHz, heating up to 78 °C (172 °F) at times. At the same time, we determined the average temperature at 73 °C (163 °F). During regular usage when surfing the Internet or running office applications, the SoC also reaches its limits quickly, which means that you can also expect high temperatures here at times. Due to the passive cooling, the cooling phase is also very sluggish. For this reason, we would recommend that you place the device in a well-vented area.
Power Consumption
The power consumption of the Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico is definitely one of its strengths. Due to the efficient SoC, the power consumption during idle operation remains significantly lower than 10 watts. Even under load, our measurement device only shows a maximum of 11.8 watts. The power supply is able to provide up to 20 watts.
Off / Standby | ![]() ![]() |
Idle | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Load |
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Power Consumption With External Monitor
Pros
Cons
Verdict - A weak office PC
The Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico is a tiny PC with a case volume of barely 0.18 Liters. With the Intel Celeron N6211, you get a dual-core processor, which in combination with 4 GB of RAM just barely fulfills the system requirements for Windows 11. It will quickly become clear that there isn't much headroom for additional applications. With this, the Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico also has a hard time to keep up with the competitors. The system could use more working memory, which would also lower some latencies when opening various applications. We also don't think that it is optimal to use a dual-core SoC nowadays. The competitors based on an Intel Celeron J4125 are able to achieve better results and give a better subjective impression in our tests. That processor offers four native cores and can also be cooled passively with its low power consumption.
The Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico is an extremely compact and silent PC, but with its performance, it might have a hard time making it into the wish list of potential buyers.
On the other hand, the connection equipment is good, and the Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico offers all the necessary port options. In addition, there is also a card reader, even if it is only in the microSD format.
The Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico is available for about 370 Euros (~$378, for example from Mindfactory in Germany), which is not very affordable considering the offered performance. At least, a Windows 11 Professional license is included in the purchase, as well as an option for 60 months of warranty. To get that, you have to register the device as a first buyer with the manufacturer, otherwise you only get the standard warranty duration of 36 months.
An alternative to the Zotac ZBOX PI336 pico might be the MSI Cubi5 10M, if you can make do without the passive cooling. It is available from Amazon and offers significantly more performance.