Zotac ZBOX nano XS AD11 PLUS AMD E-450 1.65 GHz Dual-Core All-in-One with 64 GB mSATA SSD and 2 GB DDR3 Desktop Computer Barebones ZBOXNXS-AD11-PLUS-U

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Price: $289.99 $200.00   

Product Feature

• AMD Radeon HD 6320 GPU, AMD Dual-Core Processor E-450 (1.65 GHz), AMD M1 Chipset, 64GB mSATA, 2GB DDR3 SO-DIMM
• Universal Video Decoder (UVD), Blu-ray hardware decode acceleration, Adobe Flash Player 10.1 acceleration, Microsoft DirectX 11 compatible, Direct Compute ready, OpenGL 4.1 compatible, OpenCL compatible, Bundled 802.11n USB Wi-Fi adapter
• IR receiver, 6-in-1 Memory card reader (MMC/SD/SDHC/SDXC/MS/MS Pro), combo eSATA/USB 2.0 port, Combo mini-Optical S/PDIF / Audio output, Microphone input
• 2 USB 3.0 ports, 10/100/1000 Ethernet (RJ45), 2 USB 2.0 ports (tablet charging capable)
• HDMI (1080p with 8-channel audio), HDCP compliant
• 4.173in x 4.173in x 1.46in, 0.75lbs

Product Description

Experience a high-definition computing experience with rich graphics and web content with the extra small and pocketable ZOTAC ZBOX nano XS AD11 Plus. An AMD E-450 with Radeon HD 6320 graphics processing forms the heart of the ZOTAC ZBOX nano XS AD11 Plus and delivers stunning hardware-accelerated HD video online and offline, outstanding system-responsiveness and Microsoft DirectX 11 compatibility.

Zotac ZBOX nano XS AD11 PLUS AMD E-450 1.65 GHz Dual-Core All-in-One with 64 GB mSATA SSD and 2 GB DDR3 Desktop Computer Barebones ZBOXNXS-AD11-PLUS-U Review

We purchased the AD11 Plus to stream movies and TV from the internet after we discontinued our on-demand cable TV service. (We have a 46" HDTV connected with an HDMI cable. We have been using an HP Pavilion Slimline that has become unreliable due to a flakey connector that causes the power to shut completely off with no warning at all; power comes back after jiggling the PS wires/motherboard connector... oh sorry, I digress, that's a separate story thick with poor HP customer service and other intrigue.)

We love the small form factor, elegant design, and solid construction of the AD11. It was very simple to install windows 7 home premium and drivers using an optical drive connected to one of the two USB 2.0 ports and a wireless keyboard/trackball combo attached through the other. Drivers were then updated with the latest versions through the internet.

Then we started to see what it could do:
Boot up was about 30 seconds from the SSD, OK but not stellar. Wakeup from sleep was only a few seconds, nice. Win 7 functions were quick and smooth. Internet search through our gigabit wired network was also very responsive. We didn't try the wireless.

Youtube streaming was great at all resolutions. CPU peaked out at around 50-60%. Standard definition streaming from Amazon VOD and Netflix was equally good. HOWEVER, HD Netflix was a bust - the picture quality was good, but frames were lost and the audio went out of sync as the CPU cores hovered between 95 and 100%.

I searched around the internet and especially on the Zotac forum and found that others have had similar problems that stem from the way that Netflix/silverlight is encoded - such that it has to be handled by the underpowered CPU while the GPU is loafing. I downloaded and installed accelerator software for the Radeon chipset in the AD11 from the AMD website - this was suggested by a posting on the Zotac website. Unfortunately, this made no difference at all. No HD from Netflix is a major show stopper for us.
The other big negative was the fan noise. The AD11 was pretty quiet when we first turned it on. But after a few minutes with standard resolution streaming (60% CPU usage) the sound was very distracting, especially during the quieter moments of the movie we were watching.

Sorry to say, we returned it to Amazon for a refund... darn, we really wanted to like it!

BUT, there is good news - we think we did find an answer for our HTPC quest while investigating the HD Netflix problem on the Zotac forum. Just not for how to fix the AD11, instead, we saw a YouTube review for the Zotac ID82 Plus that contains an i3 processor with plenty of power to handle the HD and is nearly silent! The ID82 is about the size of a Mac Mini but less expensive if you already have a Win7 license (4x the volume of the AD11) and is still much smaller than our Slimline. We can't wait to try it as soon as we get our refund for the AD11.

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