Zotac ZBox Blu-ray HD-ID34 Nettop / HTPC Review
Introduction and Specifications
Nettops are not nearly as popular as their mobile contemporaries, i.e. netbooks, arguably due to the lack of any significant horsepower within the tiny machines. Up until now, most nettops have been good for little more than basic Office duties, Web surfing, and occasional 720p (max) movie playback. There's a fine line that has to be walked with a nettop; there's far too little space to shove a Core i3 or better CPU in there, and besides, companies are trying to keep pricing at reasonable levels. Thus, nettops have largely been left with one main processor option: Intel's Atom family.
But the new CPU isn't the only new feature in the HD-ID33 and HD-ID34 nettops, as they are known. The only difference between the two models is the included / not included RAM and hard drive; the ID33 is better for DIYers who may already have a spare 2.5" HDD laying around and a SO-DIMM, while the ID34 ships with a 250GB 5400RPM drive and 2GB of RAM. There's also NVIDIA's next generation Ion (Ion 2) inside, which means that 1080p playback and some light-duty gaming should theoretically be no problem. Also, the exterior design has been completely revamped from Zotac's ZBox HD-ID11 that we reviewed back in May.
|
|
 |
|
| Processor Intel Atom D525 (Dual-Core, 1.80GHz) Motherboard Zotac Custom-built Next-Gen ION Operating System None Supplied - Windows 7 Ultimate Installed Memory 2GB DDR2-800 Installed Graphics NVIDIA Next Generation ION (512MB DDR3 video memory) CPU Cooling Heatsink/Fan Audio Onboard HD 8-channel audio Hard Drive 250GB 5400RPM Networking Realtek PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Atheros AR9285 802.11n Wireless Expansion 1 Mini PCIe Slot (available) |
Case
1 USB 2.0 (Front) & 1 USB 3.0 (Front)
Rear Panel I/O Ports 1 DVI (DVI-to-VGA dongle included) 1 Toslink digital audio port 1 RJ-45 Gigabit Ethernet
Accessories DVI-to-VGA adapter
Warranty and Support
|
NVIDIA's Next-Gen Ion Graphics Processor, aka the GeForce 218GT
