Nice almost-all-in- one HTPC - ZOTAC Announces ZBOX with Integrated GeForce GT 520M

[keill]

Hi Esquire if u're out there...

It would be great if u guys imported these mini pc's. Don't think there's a local supplier and it surely would sell like hotcakes.

http://www.dailytech.com/Quick+Note+...ticle25367.htm

Would go great with the all those HP servers out there, slap on XBMC in client mode and control it from our smart phones - perfect.

[lestoran]

Indeed.

Like the fact that its got built in IR reciever and WLan. Also lots more ports than is the norm with this form-factor. This could be an ideal OpenElec machine.

Would like to see some real world tests vs. the AMD Brazos version to see if it can handle the super-high bitrate files the AMD struggles with a bit better though. Between the faster cpu and gpu I'm pretty sure it could.

[Paul_S]

Nice device but two issues I have:
The power consumption is not stated any where even though the manufacture advertises it as an "energy-efficient" device.
Quite convenient leaving out that crucial bit of info. My guess is about 20W at idle if you look at the other ZBox benchmarks.
The other is that the cooling is not passive - it uses a fan which is not ideal for HTPC applications IMO.

Personally I'd rather use a low power device like the Mele A1000/A2000, MK 802, etc. which are silent and much cheaper to purchase and run.

[Species8472]

I ordered a Raspberry Pi with the intention of loading XBMC on it

Much cheaper and does what I need it to.