1 | Where the Kickstarter Stands
We're three-quarters of the way through the campaign and 1 ,700+ backers have already jumped on board—thank you!
Exclusive Kickstarter pricing is still available for the final stretch.
Below are the two headline upgrades everyone's talking about.
⚡ 4 × Faster 4 K Transcoding
Intel® Quick Sync does the heavy lifting, so a single ZimaBoard 2 can:
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direct-play 4 K files to local TVs and
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down-convert four 4 K-to-1080p streams for tablets or phones—no add-on GPU, no stutter.
Perfect for Plex, Jellyfin, or a family photo/video hub
📦 Zero-Waste Box → Desktop Stand
The shipping box isn't landfill—it's part of the product.
Pop the insert out, fold along the scored lines, slot the tabs, and you've got:
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a low-profile stand that holds the board + two 2.5" drives
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better airflow than laying the board flat
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zero extra plastic
Less packaging, tidier desk. Smart and kind of fun to build in thirty seconds.
(Fan-less cooling, dual 2.5 GbE ports, SATA & PCIe x4 are still there—they're just not today's headline.)
2 | Win a Surprise PCIe Card
To celebrate the launch we're handing out mystery PCIe cards (10 GbE NICs, WIFI, NVMe risers—who knows).
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Drop your Kickstarter backer ID in the comments.
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We'll draw winners on each platform randomly.
One prize per backer, but feel free to try your luck on all three channels.
3 | Zima Member Day: 13–15 May (EDT)
For 72 hours the whole store is up to 40 % off.
| Action | Reward |
|---|---|
| Buy ZimaBoard / ZimaBlade / ZimaCube | 🎁 Mystery accessory in the box |
| Cart ≥ $188 | FREE RE.INVENTED draw-string bag (while stock lasts) |
| Whole store | Up to 40 % off list price |
Stock heads-up
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ZimaBlade is still in pre-order—restock late May.
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Gen-1 ZimaBoard: only the 232 model remains; 832 has been retired.
Questions or order changes? Ping us: shop@icewhale.org.
4 | Four Things You Can Build on Day One
Need ideas? Here's what early testers tackled in a single weekend:
| Project | 30-minute setup | What you actually get |
|---|---|---|
| Home-theatre NAS | Flash TrueNAS SCALE → add Plex plug-in → point to your SSD/HDD pool | Streams four 4 K movies at once; CPU load stays under 60 %. |
| DIY VPN & whole-house ad-block | Slot a dual-port 2.5 GbE NIC → install OPNsense → enable WireGuard + AdGuard Home | Encrypted, tracker-free internet for every device in about an hour. |
| Self-hosted GPT notes bot | In the ZimaOS App Store click Open WebUI (it auto-pulls Ollama) → mount your Docs folder | Chat with your own documents locally—no API fees, no data leaving the box. |
| Mac/PC backup hub | Turn on SMB + Avahi in TrueNAS → enable hourly ZFS snapshots | Time-Machine for Macs & File History for PCs; rollback any file in seconds. |
Guides for all four live in our Docs hub if you want to follow along.
5 | How to Grab Your Spot
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Back ZimaBoard 2 before the countdown hits zero.
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Comment your ID to enter the PCIe raffle.
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Stack the Member-Day discount while it's live.
Thanks for building the future of local tech with us—see you in the comments!
— IceWhale Team
