Zotac ZBOX Nano XS AD11 Plus

If you thought Zotac’s original ZBOX Nano systems were small, you’ve got to check out the new Nano XS AD11 Plus. As we’ve mentioned in the past, Intel’s Atom and AMD’s E-Series APUs have allowed OEMs to produce some truly tiny devices, with virtually all of the base functionality of a standard PC. At 4.17” x 4.17” x 1.46”, however, the ZBOX Nano XS AD11 Plus is the smallest full system we have yested yet.

ZBOX Nano XS AD11 Plus - Front

The Zbox Nano XS AD11 Plus has a mostly aluminum enclosure, with plastic covers on the top and bottom. The front of the device is home to a 6-in-1 memory card reader (SD/SDHC/SDXC/MMC/MS/MS Pro), headphone and microphone jacks (the headphone jack doubles as an optical SPDIF output), an IR receiver, a combo eSATA and USB 2.0 port, and the power button.

ZBOX Nano XS AD11 Plus - Side

Both sides of the unit have some perforations that act as air vents (one side is intake, the other is exhaust). One side has a Kensigton lock port as well, and the back is home to all of the machines I/O.

ZBOX Nano XS AD11 Plus - Back

On the back, users will find the power jack, an HDMI output, four USB ports—two USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0—and an RJ45 gigabit LAN jack. Connectivity is very good on the Nano XS, but we do wish there were at least a couple more USB ports. Also note, the integrated WiFi and DisplayPort outputs on the "larger" previous-gen Nano are gone. WiFi now comes by way of an external USB controller.

The bottom of the machine has four rubber feet, which double as thumbscrews and hold an access panel in place and the top appears black when the system is off, but has a lighted green ring when powered on. The unit's activity LEDs are also located on the top, at the front left corner.

As we mentioned on the previous page, the ZBOX Nano XS AD11 Plus includes a standard vesa mount that gives users the ability to mount the unit right to the back of a display. Here's a pic of an original Nano affixed to the back of an LCD monitor.