Zotac is well known for their graphics cards and their ITX mainboards for all types of platforms. The company has also made a name for itself with their wide range of compact systems based on low-power platforms like the Atom. Zotac managed to reduce the overall size of such a system even further while keeping performance at a peak with the small form-factor ZBOX nano XS AD13 Plus unit.
Provided By: Zotac
Price: $315
Closer Look:
The Zotac Zbox nano XS AD13 pc comes in a black box with green accents. On the front you have a large picture of the Zbox itself. Across the bottom a number of features are listed.
The back of the packaging tells you a little about the ZBOX. Additionally ZOTAC has included ther layout of the ZBOX in photos.
Opening up the packaging, We find the user manuals and drivers are included in a nice envelope on top and under you will find your ZBOX packed securely for shipping.
Included in the box you will find the manual and driver envelope, IR receiver,Remote with 2 batteries, 802.11n USB adapter, power adapter and digital audio adapter.
The front of the ZBOX is outfitted with a number of connections for your convenience First we have the power button hidden behind a smoked plastic screen, following this we have a 6 in 1 card reader followed closely by a combo USB/eSATA port, and of course the audio I/O. Air vents on both sides of the ZBOX allow for air to pass through the cooling assembly within. Zotac has also added an opening for a Kensington lock to be attached.
The back of the ZBOX includes HDMI, dual USB 3.0 along with Gbit ethernet and high-current USB 2.0.
The bottom of the ZBOX houses the model number and product description along with four small rubber feet that also act as screws holding the bottom cover in place. There are four triangular cut outs that go with the included VESA mount.
The ZBOX has a single SODIMM slot which is occupied by a 2GB DDR3 1333mhz stick made by Kingston along with a mSATA 64GB SSD, this drive uses a Phison controller.
Features & Specifications:
Testing:
The ZBOX scores a 3.9 on the Windows Experience Index.
The 64GB Kingston SSD that is included with the system has exceptional performance. While it may not be up to SATA III specs it does offer enhanced speed over a standard HDD as shown in the ATTO Disk Benchmark results.
3DMark was utilized to gauge its general graphical performance and to figure out whether the embedded AMD Radeon HD 7340 can be used in such a setting.
Conclusion:
The Zotac ZBOX Nano XS AD13 Plus is a great for a number of specific scenarios like Streaming movies over your home network, listing to music, spreadsheets, and documents along with playing some PC games. The use of a quality SSD really does make things go much quicker during every-day use, it is slightly let down by the weak CPU in the system but, that’s the price one needs to pay for the form factor. There are plenty of bundled peripherals, and the included remote is a nice add on for HTPC users. The IR receiver extender is a nice touch by Zotac, making sure that the unit’s remote is usable at all times, irrespective of the way the PC is mounted. The SPDIF connector ensures compatibility with older receivers, and the HDMI output is also able to carry audio. One is unlikely to regret purchasing a unit as long as the drawbacks outlined in this review are well understood. The ZBOX Nano XS AD13 Plus has an MSRP of $315. That’s a very fair price considering the hardware and accessories included with the system.
The ZBOX Nano XS AD13 Plus receive the Xtreme Tech Junkie’s Xtreme Award!
