Zotac’s Fusion-based Zbox AD03 Blu-ray HTPC gets reviewed, smiled upon

While AMD’s Zacate E-350 APU has managed to find its way into a number of laptops, it’s not exactly simple to find a desktop based on Fusion right now. Thankfully, Zotac was champing at the bit to be one of the first, and its Zbox AD03 / AD03 Plus has just hit the test bench over at Hot Hardware . All told, the results were fairly predictable, with the Fusion APU running laps around the prior Atom-based version . Of course, “laps” is a relative term, and while it hasn’t single-handedly redefined the SFF PC sector, it has provided a real alternative to Intel’s stable of underwhelming nettop chips. Across the board, the Zacate E-350 managed to hold its own, with the only real issue being “lackluster Flash video acceleration.” We’re told that updated drivers are expected to remedy that, however, so there’s really little to gripe about from a numbers standpoint. As for value proposition? The AD03 Plus (ringing up at $529.99) seems like a worse deal with its skimpy 2GB of RAM and (comparatively sluggish) 250GB HDD, while the barebones AD03 (which lists for $439.99) could be turned into quite the powerhouse with 4GB of memory and a speedy SSD. Head on down to the source link to get your nerd on, but only if you’re interested in scratching that DIY itch that’s been so bothersome of late. Zotac’s Fusion-based Zbox AD03 Blu-ray HTPC gets reviewed, smiled upon originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Feb 2011 17:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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