Besides integrating UHD Blu-Ray players or DVD writer drives, the new VivoMini HTPCs come with internal PSUs and generous room for storage expansions. These mini PCs are powered by Intel's 35 W Core T CPUs that bridge the gap between the ULV chips and the desktop processors. Additionally, there is support for up to 32 GB of RAM and up to 4 HDDs.

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DVD and Blu-Ray players / burners are rarely seen on desktop PCs these days, as consumers prefer to stream or download their content from the cloud and also use USB sticks / portable storage devices. Premium UHD Blu-Players are still sought after by true cinephiles, but these usually come at spicy price. A good alternative for these devices would be a small form-factor HTPC that comes with a Blu-Ray player. Asus may have the perfect answer in this case, as its latest VivoMini models are specifically designed to replace as many media devices as possible for the living room, plus it is the world first mini PC to integrate a UHD Blu-Ray player.



The Asus VivoMini VC65-C1 small form-factor HTPCs are larger than most mini PCs due to the integrated power adapter and upgradability potential, not to mention the UHD Blu-Ray player that is considered a premium feature. Performance-wise, these new HTPCs bridge the gap between Intel’s NUCs and Zotac’s mini PCs with desktop-like features, as they integrate an intel B360 chipset and can support 35W CPUs like the Core i7-8700T / i5-8400T.



Asus is planning to release four variants, each designed for a specific budget, but all of these share several features such as:

• Dual DDR4 SO-DIMM slots for up to 32 GB of RAM

• Intel UHD Graphics 630 iGPU

• M.2-2280 slot for PCIe NVMe storage with Intel Optane support

• Support for 2x 2.5-inch SATA 3 HDDs with ODD or up to 4x HDDs without ODD

• SDXC card reader

• WiFi + Bluetooth module (optional)

• GbE port

• USB-A 3.1 Gen 1 + USB-A 3.1 Gen 2 (frontal ports), 3x USB-A 3.1 + USB-C Gen 2 (back ports)

• DisplayPort 1.2 + D-Sub + HDMI 2.0 video outputs

• Dual audio jacks

• COM port

• Internal 90 W power source

• Grey aluminum chassis



The budget versions will be powered by Pentium Gold G5400T or Celeron G4900T CPUs, but it is unclear how much storage and RAM these would integrate. The low-mid-range VC65-C1G3066ZN variant will be powered by a Core i3-8110T CPU coupled with 8 GB of RAM and 1 TB HDD, plus a UHD Blu-Player, while the mid-range VC65-C1G5011ZN will feature a Core i5-8400T CPU, 8 GB of RAM, 500 GB HDD + 128 GB NVMe SSD storage combo, and a DVD-RW drive. Last but not least, the high-end VC65-C1G7010ZN will be powered by a Core i7-8700T CPU coupled with 16 GB of RAM, 500 GB HDD + 128 GB NVMe SSD storage combo, and a UHD Blu-ray player.



No info on prices and availability at this moment.