Zotac Refreshes Zbox Nano with AMD Brazos 2.0 APU

News
By Kevin Parrish
published

The Zbox Nano mini-PC from Zotac now comes in an AMD E2-1800 flavor.

Zotac revealed on Wednesday a version of its Zbox Nano mini-PC packing AMD's "Brazos 2.0" E2-1800 dual-core APU clocked at 1.7 GHz. This chip refreshes the Zotac device with AMD Radeon HD 7340 graphics which delivers DirectX 11 gaming and HD video playback while boosting computational and graphical processing capabilities for lightning-fast system responsiveness.

"The Zotac Zbox Nano series proves itself as a user favorite with full-scale PC usage in all rooms and locations," the company said. "The pocket-sized form factor comes extremely versatile given its new dual-core 1.7 GHz AMD Brazos 2.0 E2-1800 APU. The Brazos 2.0 platform significantly improves performance-per-wattage, incorporates native USB 3.0, native SD reader and SATA 6 GB/s support, while simultaneously reducing idle power usage. The Zbox Nano AD12 delivers more performance and provides additional connectivity while maintaining the same compact footprint."

The new Zotac Zbox Nano AD12 arrives in two favors: standard vanilla AD12 and extra beefy AD12 Plus. The overall specs include the AMD SoC, two USB 3.0 ports on the back, two USB 2.0 ports on the front, two USB 2.0 ports on the back, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11n connectivity, Bluetooth 3.0, one eSATA port, a bundled MCE-compatible remote with integrated and USB IR receivers, and a bundled VESA75/100 mount.

"High-amperage USB 2.0 ports come new in the Zbox Nano AD12, capable of replenishing the batteries of devices requiring more power for quicker charging. A pair of front-mounted USB 2.0 ports provides easy expandability to portable devices with the Zbox Nano AD12 while supplying up to 1.5-amps of high-amperage power for easy plug-and-play charge and syncing with the latest smartphones and tablets."

As for other features, both offer a 7-in-1 card reader (SD/SDHC/SDXC/MMC/MS/MS Pro/xD), DisplayPort and HDMI video output, a shared video memory architecture, and a combo analog stereo / mini-Optical S/PDIF/HDMI audio (bitstream). Both are Windows 7 with Aero user interface and DirectCompute compatible, but they don't actually come with an OS pre-installed.

The only difference between both models is that the AD12 Plus includes 2 GB of DDR3 memory and the standard "barebones" AD12 version has an empty 204-pin DDR3 SO-DIMM slot (supports up to 8 GB). The AD12 Plus also has a pre-installed 320 GB 5400RPM HDD whereas the standard AD12 doesn't, merely providing an empty slot for one 2.5-inch SATA 3-compatible HDD.

Currently pricing and availability for both are unknown (out of stock), so stay tuned.

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Kevin Parrish
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17 Comments Comment from the forums
  • obsama1
    If the standard AD12 came in at $200, it would be amazing an an HTPC. Just pop in a 4GB stick for $20, a cheap 160GB drive for $30 off of eBay, and BAM! Awesome HTPC for $250. But we all know this won't be $200, lol.
    Reply
  • freggo
    How do they get away with the use of "Nano" in their product name ?
    Apple must be too busy with Samsung or they'd sure have said something to protect their own 'Nano'.
    Reply
  • joytech22
    obsama1If the standard AD12 came in at $200, it would be amazing an an HTPC. Just pop in a 4GB stick for $20, a cheap 160GB drive for $30 off of eBay, and BAM! Awesome HTPC for $250. But we all know this won't be $200, lol.
    I actually built a HTPC with an E-450 board, I thought the performance I got out of that was quite amazing considering it's size.

    I'm certainly excited to see reviews or benchmarks on this system.


    EDIT: Nevermind, I just remembered my E-450 is at 1.8GHz and the GPU core is at 688MHz (Overclooocked)
    It'll still be interesting none-the-less to read about benchmarks but it holds no significant improvements that would make me want to upgrade.
    Reply
  • bawchicawawa
    joytech22I actually built a HTPC with an E-450 board, I thought the performance I got out of that was quite amazing considering it's size.I'm certainly excited to see reviews or benchmarks on this system.EDIT: Nevermind, I just remembered my E-450 is at 1.8GHz and the GPU core is at 688MHz (Overclooocked)In other words.. This "Generation" is a derp.
    And? That's like saying a 9800 gt can perform on the same level as a 680 when they are both at 700 mhz.

    Go away, you are stupid.
    Reply
  • joytech22
    bawchicawawaAnd? That's like saying a 9800 gt can perform on the same level as a 680 when they are both at 700 mhz.Go away, you are stupid.
    Not quite sure why you went on the offense, but for whatever reason you did.

    I think you misunderstood what I originally said. I'm saying they basically just bumped up the clocks a little in comparison to the older generation and that no real technological improvements have been made.

    Your logic is completely stupid by the way. How on Earth is it like saying a 9800gt can come anywhere close to 10% the performance of a GTX680..


    The difference between the E2-1800 and the E-450 is that the E2 is basically clocked a little higher than a stock E-450 with extra power saving capabilities and support for TWO USB 3.0 ports.
    Reply
  • yobobjm
    I don't mean to hate, but I think I'd rather have an asrock vision x as that has a decent mobile processor (i3, i5, i7) and a competent mobile gpu (7850m I think), that being said those are like $600 and this will hopefully be much cheaper.
    Reply
  • alextheblue
    joytech22Not quite sure why you went on the offense, but for whatever reason you did.I think you misunderstood what I originally said. I'm saying they basically just bumped up the clocks a little in comparison to the older generation and that no real technological improvements have been made.Your logic is completely stupid by the way. How on Earth is it like saying a 9800gt can come anywhere close to 10% the performance of a GTX680..The difference between the E2-1800 and the E-450 is that the E2 is basically clocked a little higher than a stock E-450 with extra power saving capabilities and support for TWO USB 3.0 ports.CPU clocks only went up a hair but GPU turbo went from 600 to 680 Mhz. Not a bad jump when comparing stock to stock. I'd bet you can overclock one of these just as well if not better.

    My point is that while this may not be a worthy upgrade for someone with an E-450, it's nice to get the slight bump in performance and other nice upgrades the new AD12 offers. You know, for buyers who don't already own an E-450 tinybox. :P
    Reply
  • alextheblue
    9394983 said:
    I don't mean to hate, but I think I'd rather have an asrock vision x as that has a decent mobile processor (i3, i5, i7) and a competent mobile gpu (7850m I think), that being said those are like $600 and this will hopefully be much cheaper.
    I hope you post this every time a device containing Atom pops up in a news post too. You know, since Brazos is an Atom competitor and all.

    Or when a news article about an SSD comes up that is less than 1TB, you'd better jump in and tell everyone that you'd rather have a PCIe based solution that is at least four times as large and twice as fast, and you always get a minimum of 64GB of memory to back it up.
    Reply
  • yobobjm
    alextheblueI hope you post this every time a device containing Atom pops up in a news post too. You know, since Brazos is an Atom competitor and all.Or when a news article about an SSD comes up that is less than 1TB, you'd better jump in and tell everyone that you'd rather have a PCIe based solution that is at least four times as large and twice as fast, and you always get a minimum of 64GB of memory to back it up.I mean the z-box nanos in general which do feature non brazos options. No need to be a jerk about it.
    Reply
  • mrkay
    ARG! I was hoping with the new gen to have a reason to trade up from my E-350, but there isn't enough to justify the cost. Not that there isn't value here or improvement. AMD, please take bigger steps.
    Reply