Product on Review: ZOTAC ZBOX OI520 Plus
Manufacturer & Sponsor: ZOTAC
Price: £293.62 GBP
Looking back over the past 30 years in my time of using PCs, I have seen the birth of home computing with the ZX81 through to the Spectrum 48K, Commodore 64 and Amiga, 386 and 486 then on to continual evolutions of what we today describe as a home PC. But what is a home PC exactly? I dare say that what you might describe as a home PC would differ to ours, would differ to what the guys in the purple shirts and most other people for that matter. The point being that a home PC is to one person overkill to another and under performing to yet someone else. We all have our own needs from a PC whether it be for simple word processing, writing emails, browsing the web or more demanding tasks such as CAD design, gaming, video editing and the like. A home PC then should be able to complete a variety of tasks if it is to be truly used in the home. Because of the many needs of the home user, PCs had to be large to house the many components needed satisfactorily deliver those needs. Today however, we see that users now want stylish, slim, compact devices such as tablet PCs and Ultrabooks. There is however still a market for the desktop pc but with space at a premium, desktop real estate has been cut down dramatically so to this end manufacturers are looking to deliver desktop pc's with as small a foot print as possible, without of course compromising on style. The mini-PC was born.
We have reviewed a couple of mini PCs (or nano PCs to give them their correct terminology) and while we were impressed by the size, the functionality was nearly always limited because of this size. Today we see another product from ZOTAC with the aptly named Sphere. Comprising of an Intel i5 Processor, 4GB of speedy DDR3 and a 500GB hard disk it has the specification to match many 'home PC' but has the footprint (or rather a diameter) of just 16cm. It has plenty of connectivity, its looks great, it is easy to upgrade if you wish, has a low power consumption rate and should perform as well as any other PC with a similar specification. What ZOTAC have created here is truly astonishing when you look back over the years on how PCs have evolved to what we see today but enough reminiscing. Time we put this product to the test...
About ZOTAC
Established in 2006, ZOTAC is the world’s largest and most innovative manufacturer of graphics cards, mini-ITX motherboards and mini-PCs. ZOTAC system components, and mini-PCs can be found in all continents around the globe.
Derived from the terms “zone,” for being distinct in the PC components and systems business, and “tact,” for our superior skill, experience, quality and manufacturing capabilities. Combined, “ZOTAC,” represents technological strength and experience blended with a fresh approach on the industry’s ever-changing needs.
Derived from the terms “zone,” for being distinct in the PC components and systems business, and “tact,” for our superior skill, experience, quality and manufacturing capabilities. Combined, “ZOTAC,” represents technological strength and experience blended with a fresh approach on the industry’s ever-changing needs.
