ZOTAC ZBOX Nano AQ01 Plus Review

ZOTAC’s first quad-core ZBOX Nano mini PC is in the spotlight, featuring AMD’s Kabini A4-5000 APU, USB 3.0 and a plethora of functionality.

Product on Review: ZBOX Nano AQ01 Plus
Manufacturer & Sponsor: ZOTAC
Price: £250 GBP / $360 USD

Prolific in the graphics card arena, ZOTAC are also known for their passion in the mini-ITX motherboard and mini PC markets too. The ZBOX is a product-line which has been an extremely successful avenue for the brand and today we are to look at ZOTAC’s very first quad-core ZBOX nano mini PC.

The AQ01 Plus features within the ZBOX nano series and proudly hosts the AMD A4-5000 APU which delivers integrated AMD Radeon DX11 capable graphics and a whole host of useful features such as dual display support, USB 3.0, bluetooth 4.0 and much more!

ZOTAC on their AQ01 Plus

Embrace quad processor cores in a palm-sized form factor with the ZOTAC ZBOX nano AQ01 series. Powered by the latest high-performance AMD APU, the ZOTAC ZBOX nano AQ01 series ushers in a new era of palm-sized computing that offers whisper-quiet noise levels, outstanding energy-efficiency and rich AMD Radeon HD graphics.

WATCH THE VIDEO REVIEW – VORTEZ TV

Benchmarks: Windows 7 Boot & Power

We install Windows 7 on the ZBOX, bring it right up-to-date and then use a digital stopwatch to time the bootup period. To measure the power consumption, we load up 3DMark and then use a power energy monitor to view wattage.

Benchmarks: Cinebench & X264 HD

In order to test the effiency of the APU within our ZBOX, Cinebench is used first of all – this gives a processing score. We then use X264 HD to demonstrate how the APU performs in terms of encoding media files.

Benchmarks: 3DMark, Tomb Raider & DIRT Showdown

Our ZBOX uses an integrated chip: AMD Radeon HD 8330. To test how effective the 3D capabilities are we run two benchmark tests within 3DMark and then we use the benchmarking tool within Tomb Raider and DIRT Showdown to obtain average framerate

Conclusion

After spending a reasonable amount of time with the AQ01 Plus we can confidently affirm this unit is a very handy piece of kit to have around.

As can be expected from the ZBOX Nano series, all of the components fit inside a very sleek, compact enclosure. Since the AQ01 Plus is so dainty it will tuck away easily – whether this is behind a monitor via the VESA mount or next to the TV.

The only aspect that you need to take care of is the operating system install. ZOTAC do not provide an OS with this unit but they do provide memory and HDD storage which is a definite bonus – some mini PCs leave this responsibility in the user’s hands. The option of having a SATA 3 controller means that devices such as a SATA 6GB/s SSD can be upgraded to in order to maximise transfer rates.

At a cost of £250 (GBP) / $360 (USD) the AQ01 Plus is actually quite reasonably priced when you examine what’s under the lid. This unit isn’t really aimed at gamers but it will handle low-end and less demanding titles, ZOTAC have designed AQ01 Plus for media and general usage instead and for this purpose it performs well.

The AQ01 Plus is a dainty mini PC which is more than suitable to use as part of a home theatre setup. It comes with countless ports and functionality and thanks to its physical dimensions, can be nearly stored out of sight.

Pros
+ Compact, small footprint
+ Ideal as part of home theatre system
+ Plenty of ports & functionality
+ Memory & HDD included
+ Option to upgrade memory & HDD capacity
+ SATA 3 ready – can upgrade to SSD
+ Dual display support

Cons
– APU fan can be noisy
– No OS included