Review on ZOTAC ZBOX-CI325NANO-U Series Nano Fan-Less Mini PC Intel N3160 Quad-Core CPU Silent Performance Barebone System SSD & RAM Not Included, No OS by Sean Liu

I ordered two of these on September 6th 2016 and they didn't arrive until September 16th. Of course, I didn't use 2-day shipping, I used free standard shipping; However, I've never had anything from Revain take so long, even with free shipping. I hope this isn't a trend. This test refers to two passively cooled ZOTAC ZBOX C-Series Mini PCs with an Intel N3150 quad-core processor and Intel HD Graphics Barebones (ZBOX-CI323NANO-U). I abandoned the base configuration as I wanted to use two Samsung SSDs and Crucial RAM. One device is equipped with a 250 GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD with 8 GB (two 4 GB sticks) Crucial DDR3L 1600 (PC3L-12800) SODIMM RAM. The second ZBOX has a Samsung 750 EVO 250GB SSD of the same brand and RAM. I'm saying goodbye to traditional low-power PCs and hiring them as my primary wireless PC and weather station monitoring PC/Server. I will be using a radio computer with my ICOM 7200 HF transceiver to operate in digital mode while the weather station records data 24/7 from my weather and climate station and relays this information to the NWS and publicly to the WU. . It will also work with radar software and connect to multiple monitors throughout the home. I've been using a custom PC for too long and it was using way too much power for my liking. I expect that with the new ZBOX mini pcs my electricity bill will go down and I won't have to clean the pc as often as there is no fan. I bought them for several reasons. 1) Low power consumption and 2) no fan = less dust. I've built several dozen PCs since 2004 and I've had no major problems setting them up and running Windows. But these ZBOXes are probably the most difficult PC setups I've ever had to work with. The BIOS is very picky. The motherboards I've dabbled with in the past have allowed you to simply install RAM, SSD and other components, then boot up, change the boot priority to the attached DVD player and go to Windows setup. However, with the ZBOX it took forever, it seemed to find the right settings to get it to boot from DVD after saving/resetting/power cycling dozens of times. Then after I was able to get to the Windows setup screen, I found that neither USB 3.0 nor USB 2.0 worked, so I couldn't get through the interactive setup menu in Windows. You can't just use your own OEM copy of Windows and a portable DVD drive. Also, you can't just transfer your copy of Windows to a USB flash drive and set everything up like that. Apparently, USB 3.0 drivers don't come standard with Braswell, and neither of the USB 2.0 ports worked on these two mini PCs during installation. Therefore, you need to use ZOTAC Win7 ISO Creator to create a bootable flash drive (or ISO for DVD) containing the USB drivers. How painful it was to come here. It worked and I was able to continue installing Windows. Then, after logging in, I found that I couldn't activate Windows! Okay sorry. All these problems and now I'm stuck with a windows activation problem. Conclude that it has something to do with the manufacturer ZOTAC Win7 ISO. It partitioned the drive in such a way that I couldn't activate Windows as usual; I think I need the active part and it didn't appear after using the ZOTAC ISO. I followed some online instructions using my own Windows ISO copy and only added the USB 3.0 drivers, nothing else. This worked great and after a second clean install of Windows I was able to register/activate Windows. Finally. Now back to the product. The size is great and one of the things I really like. It does get warm, but no hotter than the bottom of a regular laptop. The system read about 135°F and maxed out at 147°F at one point, but still well below TJmax at 194°F. The outside doesn't get hot enough that you can't touch it, so no problem. Love the fact that it doesn't have a fan and that the processor is designed to dissipate heat, making for a quieter workspace and no dust collection/cleaning issues = no noisy fan! I haven't tested the graphics in situations other than simple ones like word processing and web browsing. I'm glad I have the ability to expand this device with up to three monitors. One VGA, one HDMI and one DisplayPort. I would recommend this to others who are looking for a small, compact, quiet PC for a basic workstation. Players go elsewhere. Seems like I'm the only one having had trouble booting into Windows 7 but thought I'd share my experience. After installing Windows, I really like these PCs. They have earned a place on my desk as the computer I always use. Should anything change in the coming weeks and months I will update my review below.