ZOTAC ZBOX pico PI320 Review
Conclusion
The results of the benchmarks place the ZOTAC PI320 as a machine that can handle basic work tasks, such as running Microsoft Office applications and web browsing as well as being a good thin-client option. It also handles streaming videos perfectly well which makes it just as qualified at being a HTPC. If on the same network as your main gaming machine, it also throws down in the gaming arena as well utilising Steam’s In-Home Streaming. You have all of these options in a box that is just a bit larger than an SSD, that uses less than 20W of power and is perfectly silent, which is a pretty crazy thought.
The PI320 is not without its downsides, I would have liked to have seen at least one USB3 Port, it would have been nice to see a gigabit lan port and it would have been really nice to see a pouch that you could use to transport the ZBOX in – I admit this last one is very minor, but in the back of my mind I can only think about the gloss finish the PI320 picking up scratches and dust like nothing else, when being taken about.
The only place I could find the PI320 had it up for sale at £160. which considering you get a fully licensed Windows 8 machine, with enough power to work as an out-and-out office machine or a thin client, a HTPC machine running XBMC or even streaming games using Steam is very impressive overall, and worthy of the DavePlays Silver Award.
