Zotac Zbox NANO-VD01 VIA Nano X2 U4025 1.2GHZ 2GB DDR3 320GB WiFi BT HDMI DisplayPort USB3.0 Mini PC

Comment:
This might be okay as a basic Windows file server for someone on a tight budget, but don't buy this if you think you're getting a good deal on a multimedia desktop. This would handle Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials, since it runs faster than my previous Atom D525 server which ran it just fine, and the eSATA is a nice touch for external eSATA RAID boxes (I wish Zotac put eSATA on their bigger MiniPC's). I'm skeptical that this would run Windows Server 8 in any configuration though, and Aero is pretty much a no-go what with faulty drivers causing graphics glitches here and there. For a multimedia desktop, check out the E-450 equipped Zotac units. The AD04 is a better deal than the AD11 because you can build it with a 64GB SSD and 4GB of RAM for cheaper than the AD11, which only comes in a Plus model with 2GB and 64GB mSATA SSD. Or you could put a larger SSD in the AD04. The downside to the AD04 is that it doesn't have eSATA, but it does have USB 3.0 at least. All of the other specs are the same except that the AD04 also has DisplayPort along with HDMI.Perhaps Windows 8 will be better with this since Windows 8 does away with Aero altogether. We'll have to see how/if VIA improves their drivers for it though.

Comment:
Paired it with a 320GB SSD Drive, 4GB RAM, and performance in Win7 is snappy. Only real complaint is video playback. Get picture stuttering in WMP, VLC and XBMC. I initially thought it was unable to handle files in .wmv container but then realized it was doing same in SD format. So now I am puzzled as to what the problem really is.