Zotac ZBOX MI642 Nano Desktop Hands-On
ZOTAC's brand is synonymous with small form factor PCs, and for good reason. The company has built its business on the tiny computers it creates. Today's review unit is one of the latest from the company. ZOTAC is perhaps better known for cramming powerful desktop CPUs and graphics cards into impossibly small cases, but the company also caters to home and office users with a few devices. One such desktop is the subject of today's review, the ZOTAC ZBOC MI642 Nano.
The ZOTAC ZBOX MI642 Nano is a compact Comet Lake-powered PC crammed into a small footprint. The machine comes as a barebones kit, requiring buyers to provide their own RAM (DDR4) and storage (2.5-inch SATA drives only). We equipped our review unit with 16 GB of DDR4 RAM and a 500 GB WD Blue SSD. Our tests will show how well the ZBOX MI642 Nano fares as an office workhorse and home computer.
While ZOTAC is a big name in the small form factor world, this particular market has become heavily saturated in recent years. The ZBOX MI642 Nano has quite a few competitors, including Intel's Frost Canyon NUC (NUC10i5FNK) and Coffee Lake-powered NUC8i7BE, Lenovo's ThinkCentre M90n Nano, and Beelink's GT-R mini PC.
A quick note: while running our standard CPU stress test (running Prime95 on all threads for one hour), the ZBOX MI642 Nano shut down after about 30 minutes. We have not been able to boot the machine. As such, we were unable to complete our stress tests and our DPC latency analysis. It is likely this issue is isolated to our unit. We will update this review once Zotac has sent a replacement.
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10/2020 | Zotac ZBOX MI642 Nano i5-10210U, UHD Graphics 620 | 472 g | 51 mm | x | |||
02/2020 | Intel NUC10i7FNH i7-10710U, UHD Graphics 620 | 697 g | 51 mm | 0.00" | 0x0 | ||
02/2020 | Intel NUC10i5FNK i5-10210U, UHD Graphics 620 | 493 g | 36 mm | 0.00" | 0x0 | ||
11/2018 | Intel NUC8i7BE i7-8559U, Iris Plus Graphics 655 | 683 g | 51 mm | x | |||
08/2020 | Beelink GTR35 II-G-16512D00W64PRO-1T R5 3550H, Vega 8 | 843 g | 39 mm | x | |||
12/2019 | Lenovo ThinkCentre M90n-1 Nano i5-8265U, UHD Graphics 620 | 499 g | 22 mm | 0.00" | x |
Case and Connectivity
The ZOTAC ZBOX MI642 Nano is a tiny, square desktop. Its plastic chassis has a matte black finish that disguises the inexpensive material. Each side (save the front and rear panels) are covered in small perforations to help with airflow. Despite these holes, the case itself feels sturdy and firm. The finish also hides fingerprints and smudges, though users won't likely touch the case all that often.
There are small cutouts along the bottom to allow the included VESA mount to affix the machine to the back of a monitor. This brace is made of strong metal and painted black. When mounted, the ZBOX MI642 Nano feels secure in place and doesn't budge.
Compared to other small desktops, the ZBOX MI642 Nano is on the larger side. Its cubic case is about as tall as the Frost Lake NUC's, but the ZOTAC is about 15 mm longer and wider than Intel's tiny computer. The ZBOX is a fair bit shorter than both the Beelink GT-R and Lenovo ThinkCentre M90n Nano but is also chunkier because of its square design. The ZBOX MI642 Nano is about 161 cm2 (~25 in2), so it should fit almost anywhere without much issue. As mentioned, it can also be tucked behind a display and kept out of sight.
Connectivity
SD Card Reader | |
average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
Average of class Desktop (19.9 - 187, n=7, last 2 years) | |
Intel NUC8i7BE (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 UHS-II) | |
Chuwi LarkBox 4K Mini PC (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 UHS-II) | |
GMK NucBox K1 (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 UHS-) | |
Zotac ZBOX MI642 Nano (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
Zotac ZBOX-CI660 Nano (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
Chuwi GBox CWI560 (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 UHS-II) | |
Lenovo ThinkCentre M920z | |
maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB) | |
Average of class Desktop (20.6 - 215, n=6, last 2 years) | |
Chuwi LarkBox 4K Mini PC (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 UHS-II) | |
Intel NUC8i7BE (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 UHS-II) | |
GMK NucBox K1 (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 UHS-) | |
Zotac ZBOX MI642 Nano (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
Zotac ZBOX-CI660 Nano (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
Lenovo ThinkCentre M920z | |
Chuwi GBox CWI560 (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 UHS-II) |
Performance
The ZBOX MI642 Nano is aimed at home and office users. As such, it features a 10th Gen Intel Core i5-10210U CPU.
The ZBOX is well-suited for its target audience. The CPU chews through office applications without breaking a sweat. However, the ZBOX struggles with media creation and gaming, so users that want to create movies, edit photos, or play games will want to look elsewhere.
Since the ZBOX is sold only as a barebones kit, maintenance is easy. Four thumbscrews (which also act as feet) hold the bottom panel on. Once these are removed, the bottom lifts away without any clips. Users will have immediate access to the two RAM slots and the 2.5-inch drive bay. The bracket in this bay will need to be unscrewed (Phillips Head #00) and affixed to the drive with two more included screws. Further disassembly is needed to access other components like the wireless card and CPU, though this is not recommended.
It should be noted that during our testing period, we experienced issues with the wireless card. WiFi connections were not reliable. While this didn't present an issue in day-to-day use (the dropped network would reconnect within a matter of seconds), it prevented us from thoroughly analyzing WiFi performance. Large transfers over WiFi may fail due to a connection interruption.
Processor
The CPU is a low-powered ULV processor rated at 15 W, which makes sense given the compact chassis. The low base clock (1.6 GHz) reduces heat output and power draw for basic tasks. The chip can boost up to 4.2 GHz on a single core (3.9 GHz across all four) for heavy tasks, though it can only sustain this boost for a short time in the ZBOX MI642 Nano.
Performance is on par with other devices powered by the i5-10210U. The ZBOX falls just behind other small desktops with the same CPU in both single- and multi-threaded performance (based on Cinebench R20). The Comet Lake Core i7-10710U outshines the Nano by 15% in single-core performance. Multi-core testing puts the i7-10710U a staggering 95% ahead of the Nano, thanks in part to its two additional cores and four additional threads. AMD's mobile CPUs, notably the Ryzen 5-3550H (found in the Beelink GT-R) and Ryzen 7 4750U (used in the Lenovo ThinkPad X13) also edge out the Nano in multi-threaded performance by 34% and 148%, respectively.
Long-term CPU performance is stable. The ZBOX MI642 Nano put up consistent scores throughout our Cinebench R20 loop benchmark. There was no throttling detected during the test.
Cinebench R15: CPU Single 64Bit | CPU Multi 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 -mmt1 | 7z b 4
Geekbench 5.5: Single-Core | Multi-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
Cinebench R20 / CPU (Single Core) | |
Average of class Desktop (174 - 853, n=30, last 2 years) | |
Intel NUC10i7FNH | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X13-20UGS00800 | |
Intel NUC8i7BE | |
Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14ARE05 | |
HP EliteBook 830 G7 | |
Intel NUC10i5FNK | |
Zotac ZBOX MI642 Nano | |
Average Intel Core i5-10210U (322 - 428, n=30) | |
LG Gram 15Z90N | |
Beelink GTR35 II-G-16512D00W64PRO-1T | |
Chuwi LarkBox 4K Mini PC |
Cinebench R20 / CPU (Multi Core) | |
Average of class Desktop (285 - 14891, n=30, last 2 years) | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X13-20UGS00800 | |
Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14ARE05 | |
Intel NUC10i7FNH | |
Intel NUC10i5FNK | |
Intel NUC8i7BE | |
Beelink GTR35 II-G-16512D00W64PRO-1T | |
HP EliteBook 830 G7 | |
Average Intel Core i5-10210U (722 - 1820, n=30) | |
Zotac ZBOX MI642 Nano | |
LG Gram 15Z90N | |
Chuwi LarkBox 4K Mini PC |
Cinebench R15 / CPU Single 64Bit | |
Average of class Desktop (76 - 319, n=34, last 2 years) | |
Intel NUC10i7FNH | |
Intel NUC8i7BE | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X13-20UGS00800 | |
HP EliteBook 830 G7 | |
Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14ARE05 | |
Lenovo ThinkCentre M920z | |
Intel NUC10i5FNK | |
Zotac ZBOX MI642 Nano | |
Average Intel Core i5-10210U (134 - 174, n=35) | |
LG Gram 15Z90N | |
Lenovo ThinkCentre M90n-1 Nano | |
Beelink GTR35 II-G-16512D00W64PRO-1T | |
Chuwi LarkBox 4K Mini PC |
Cinebench R15 / CPU Multi 64Bit | |
Average of class Desktop (128 - 6236, n=34, last 2 years) | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X13-20UGS00800 | |
Intel NUC10i7FNH | |
Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14ARE05 | |
Lenovo ThinkCentre M920z | |
Intel NUC8i7BE | |
Intel NUC10i5FNK | |
Beelink GTR35 II-G-16512D00W64PRO-1T | |
Average Intel Core i5-10210U (320 - 790, n=35) | |
LG Gram 15Z90N | |
Lenovo ThinkCentre M90n-1 Nano | |
Zotac ZBOX MI642 Nano | |
Chuwi LarkBox 4K Mini PC |
Blender / v2.79 BMW27 CPU | |
Chuwi LarkBox 4K Mini PC | |
LG Gram 15Z90N | |
Zotac ZBOX MI642 Nano | |
Average Intel Core i5-10210U (585 - 1339, n=24) | |
HP EliteBook 830 G7 | |
Intel NUC8i7BE | |
Intel NUC8i7BE | |
Beelink GTR35 II-G-16512D00W64PRO-1T | |
Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14ARE05 | |
Intel NUC10i5FNK | |
Average of class Desktop (82 - 3767, n=32, last 2 years) | |
Lenovo ThinkCentre M920z | |
Intel NUC10i7FNH | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X13-20UGS00800 |
7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 -mmt1 | |
Intel NUC8i7BE | |
Intel NUC8i7BE | |
Average of class Desktop (2563 - 8211, n=28, last 2 years) | |
HP EliteBook 830 G7 | |
Intel NUC10i7FNH | |
Lenovo ThinkCentre M920z | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X13-20UGS00800 | |
Zotac ZBOX MI642 Nano | |
Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14ARE05 | |
Intel NUC10i5FNK | |
Average Intel Core i5-10210U (3504 - 4467, n=24) | |
LG Gram 15Z90N | |
Beelink GTR35 II-G-16512D00W64PRO-1T | |
Chuwi LarkBox 4K Mini PC |
7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 | |
Average of class Desktop (3974 - 158242, n=28, last 2 years) | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X13-20UGS00800 | |
Intel NUC8i7BE | |
Intel NUC8i7BE | |
Intel NUC10i7FNH | |
Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14ARE05 | |
Lenovo ThinkCentre M920z | |
HP EliteBook 830 G7 | |
Intel NUC10i5FNK | |
Zotac ZBOX MI642 Nano | |
Average Intel Core i5-10210U (10920 - 21679, n=24) | |
Beelink GTR35 II-G-16512D00W64PRO-1T | |
LG Gram 15Z90N | |
Chuwi LarkBox 4K Mini PC |
Geekbench 5.5 / Single-Core | |
Average of class Desktop (556 - 2241, n=29, last 2 years) | |
HP EliteBook 830 G7 | |
Intel NUC10i7FNH | |
LG Gram 15Z90N | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X13-20UGS00800 | |
Zotac ZBOX MI642 Nano | |
Intel NUC10i5FNK | |
Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14ARE05 | |
Average Intel Core i5-10210U (949 - 1133, n=27) | |
Beelink GTR35 II-G-16512D00W64PRO-1T | |
Intel NUC8i7BE | |
Chuwi LarkBox 4K Mini PC |
Geekbench 5.5 / Multi-Core | |
Average of class Desktop (844 - 24033, n=29, last 2 years) | |
Intel NUC10i7FNH | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X13-20UGS00800 | |
Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14ARE05 | |
Intel NUC10i5FNK | |
Zotac ZBOX MI642 Nano | |
HP EliteBook 830 G7 | |
Intel NUC8i7BE | |
Average Intel Core i5-10210U (2079 - 4256, n=27) | |
Beelink GTR35 II-G-16512D00W64PRO-1T | |
LG Gram 15Z90N | |
Chuwi LarkBox 4K Mini PC |
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 / 4k Preset | |
Average of class Desktop (0.88 - 44, n=28, last 2 years) | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X13-20UGS00800 | |
Intel NUC10i7FNH | |
Lenovo ThinkCentre M920z | |
Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14ARE05 | |
Intel NUC10i5FNK | |
Intel NUC8i7BE | |
Intel NUC8i7BE | |
HP EliteBook 830 G7 | |
Average Intel Core i5-10210U (2.36 - 6.28, n=24) | |
Zotac ZBOX MI642 Nano | |
Beelink GTR35 II-G-16512D00W64PRO-1T | |
Chuwi LarkBox 4K Mini PC |
LibreOffice / 20 Documents To PDF | |
Chuwi LarkBox 4K Mini PC | |
Beelink GTR35 II-G-16512D00W64PRO-1T | |
Zotac ZBOX MI642 Nano | |
HP EliteBook 830 G7 | |
Average of class Desktop (33.6 - 144.7, n=28, last 2 years) | |
Average Intel Core i5-10210U (49.6 - 80.3, n=18) | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X13-20UGS00800 | |
Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14ARE05 | |
LG Gram 15Z90N |
R Benchmark 2.5 / Overall mean | |
LG Gram 15Z90N | |
Beelink GTR35 II-G-16512D00W64PRO-1T | |
Average Intel Core i5-10210U (0.658 - 0.901, n=24) | |
Intel NUC10i5FNK | |
Zotac ZBOX MI642 Nano | |
HP EliteBook 830 G7 | |
Intel NUC10i7FNH | |
Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14ARE05 | |
Average of class Desktop (0.356 - 1.371, n=28, last 2 years) | |
Intel NUC8i7BE | |
Lenovo ThinkPad X13-20UGS00800 |
Cinebench R15: CPU Single 64Bit | CPU Multi 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 -mmt1 | 7z b 4
Geekbench 5.5: Single-Core | Multi-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
* ... smaller is better
System Performance
As the ZBOX MI642 Nano is designed for basic office and home work, it handles most tasks reasonably well. The ZBOX keeps up with most other SFF desktops in PCMark 10, save for the Digital Content Creation test. Here, the Intel UHD Graphics 620 is the choke point. The iGPU is good enough for media consumption (streaming, video conferencing) but it not well-suited for photo or video editing.
PCMark 8 - Home Score Accelerated v2 | |
Intel NUC8i7BE | |
Intel NUC10i7FNH | |
Beelink GTR35 II-G-16512D00W64PRO-1T | |
Average Intel Core i5-10210U, Intel UHD Graphics 620 (3182 - 4284, n=21) | |
Intel NUC10i5FNK | |
Zotac ZBOX MI642 Nano | |
Chuwi LarkBox 4K Mini PC |
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2 | 3455 points | |
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2 | 4879 points | |
PCMark 10 Score | 3791 points | |
Help |
Storage Devices
The ZBOX has room for only one 2.5-inch SATA drive; faster NVMe drives are not supported.
We tested our unit with a 500 GB WD Blue 3D NAND SSD, which offers consistent and adequate read and write speeds. The drive is not as fast as other solutions on the market but balances cost and storage space, which may entice cost-conscious home and office users. Other small desktop options, such as the BeeLink GT-R, have support for more drive options, including multiple NVMe drive bays.
Zotac ZBOX MI642 Nano Western Digital WD Blue 3D WDBNCE5000PNC | Intel NUC10i7FNH Kingston RBUSNS8154P3256GJ1 | Intel NUC10i5FNK Kingston RBUSNS8154P3256GJ1 | Beelink GTR35 II-G-16512D00W64PRO-1T Silicon Motion AZW 512G NV428 | Lenovo ThinkCentre M90n-1 Nano Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ | Average Western Digital WD Blue 3D WDBNCE5000PNC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6 | ||||||
Write 4K | 105.9 | 442.4 318% | 58.4 -45% | 161.9 53% | 130 23% | 105.9 0% |
Read 4K | 39.15 | 371.1 848% | 30.24 -23% | 52.8 35% | 45.61 17% | 39.2 0% |
Write 4K Q32T1 | 320.5 | 373.8 17% | 448.5 40% | 285 -11% | 365.3 14% | 321 0% |
Read 4K Q32T1 | 342.1 | 374.9 10% | 391.4 14% | 324 -5% | 350.2 2% | 342 0% |
Write Seq Q32T1 | 514 | 893 74% | 914 78% | 1579 207% | 2986 481% | 514 0% |
Read Seq Q32T1 | 554 | 1582 186% | 1583 186% | 2018 264% | 3565 544% | 554 0% |
Write 4K Q8T8 | 330.8 | 399.1 21% | 402.3 22% | 530 60% | 368.7 11% | 331 0% |
Read 4K Q8T8 | 391.8 | 688 76% | 680 74% | 738 88% | 790 102% | 392 0% |
AS SSD | ||||||
Seq Read | 507 | 1306 158% | 1318 160% | 1382 173% | 1668 229% | 507 0% |
Seq Write | 413.8 | 611 48% | 616 49% | 1413 241% | 1150 178% | 414 0% |
4K Read | 36.75 | 21.53 -41% | 26.44 -28% | 35.27 -4% | 48.46 32% | 36.8 0% |
4K Write | 88.5 | 53.5 -40% | 61.3 -31% | 98.6 11% | 116.5 32% | 88.5 0% |
4K-64 Read | 369.4 | 652 77% | 650 76% | 696 88% | 726 97% | 369 0% |
4K-64 Write | 193.7 | 648 235% | 642 231% | 814 320% | 1074 454% | 193.7 0% |
Access Time Read * | 0.103 | 0.114 -11% | 0.11 -7% | 0.063 39% | 0.039 62% | 0.103 -0% |
Access Time Write * | 0.095 | 0.07 26% | 0.07 26% | 0.114 -20% | 0.032 66% | 0.095 -0% |
Score Read | 457 | 804 76% | 808 77% | 869 90% | 942 106% | 457 0% |
Score Write | 324 | 762 135% | 765 136% | 1054 225% | 1305 303% | 324 0% |
Score Total | 1023 | 1944 90% | 1955 91% | 2377 132% | 2716 165% | 1023 0% |
Copy ISO MB/s | 482.5 | 976 102% | 576 19% | 1228 155% | 483 0% | |
Copy Program MB/s | 191.9 | 346 80% | 328.9 71% | 261.7 36% | 191.9 0% | |
Copy Game MB/s | 248.9 | 735 195% | 471.2 89% | 658 164% | 249 0% |
* ... smaller is better
Graphics Performance and Gaming
Unlike some of ZOTAC's other small desktops, the ZBOX MI642 Nano is not intended for graphical work. The onboard Intel UHD Graphics 620 iGPU is decent enough for streaming content and simple photo touch-ups, but it struggles with moderately complex image editing and is not suited for video editing.
Gaming is also out of the question; the box can handle light titles at the lowest resolutions and settings, but modern 3D games are far out of reach. Most will even refuse to load.
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 8616 points | |
3DMark Fire Strike Score | 1131 points | |
Help |
Emissions & Power Consumption
System Noise
The ZBOX has a single fan inside of its heat sink array. The fan is always spinning when the machine is in use, creating a low but constant hum that cannot be heard from about 24 inches from the device. Under heavy load, the fan ramps up steadily to 44 dB(A). Its pitch cuts through atmospheric noise, making the fan noticeable in a quiet office.
Noise Level
Idle |
| 27.8 / 33.9 / 33.9 dB(A) |
Load |
| 43.7 / 43.7 dB(A) |
| ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min: , med: , max: Earthworks M23R, Arta (15 cm distance) environment noise: 27.8 dB(A) |
Temperature
The ZBOX MI642 Nano manages heat output reasonably well. Because of its small case, there is little room for airflow through the case. The chassis gets toasty under load as a result, reaching 50° C over the CPU. As such, nothing should be placed on top of the case so as not to restrict airflow or choke heat dissipation. Keep in mind that air is sucked in through the right side of the machine and heat is exhausted out the left; these vents should be left unobstructed.
We could not adequately analyze the machine's performance or processor temperatures under stress as the ZBOX shut down halfway through our standard CPU stress test (running Prime95 for an hour). After it shut down, we were unable to boot the machine or get it to reliably POST. This issue likely affects only our unit.
Power Consumption
Thanks to its ULV processor, the ZBOX MI642 Nano consumes little power. When idle, the machine draws less than 10 Watts. Under load, the ZBOX pulls about 33 Watts on average with an initial spike north of 50 Watts. Considering the AC adapter is rated at 65 Watts, this is within reason. There was no peculiar power draw behavior during our tests.
Off / Standby | 0.46 / 0.47 Watt |
Idle | 8.9 / 9 / 9.9 Watt |
Load |
33 / 58 Watt |
Pros
Cons
Preliminary Verdict
The ZOTAC ZBOX MI642 Nano is not a remarkable device, especially for US$500. It doesn't break any boundaries by cramming a powerful GPU into a small case. It doesn't boast any unique features. In that regard, the ZBOX MI642 Nano fails to stand out among the growing ocean of small form factor desktops.
In fact, the ZBOX MI642 Nano falls short in some key areas, most notably storage options and port selection. The lack of NVMe support sticks out like a sore thumb, considering many small desktops support the speedy format. Additionally, the absence of Thunderbolt severely limits the adaptability of the ZBOX MI642 Nano.
What the ZOTAC ZBOX MI642 Nano does well, though, is offer reliable computing performance. The Core i5-10210U remains consistent, even under extended load, making it a good option for office workers that need a steady machine for 8+ hours a day. Its compact footprint and solid VESA mount may also be attractive for users that want to tuck their machine out of sight.
We do have to note the issue our particular unit encountered during our stress test; while running Prime95, the device shut off. We have not been able to get the machine to boot since. It is very likely this issue is relegated to our unit and not the cause of a systemic problem, but it prevented us from adequately analyzing certain tests (e.g., DPC latency).
The ZBOX's main competition comes out on top in multiple areas. For roughly $150-200 more, the Beelink GT-R offers slightly better CPU performance, significantly better graphics, and includes 16 GB of DDR4 RAM, a speedy NVMe SSD, and a large SATA hard drive. For the same cost as the ZBOX MI642 Nano, Intel's Frost Canyon NUC boasts the same CPU in a smaller package and has support for an NVMe drive, though it sheds some ports.
For the money, the ZOTAC ZBOX MI642 Nano offers consistent CPU performance in a compact case. However, it is outclassed by many other small form factor options currently on the market.
While we were not able to test some areas of our analysis due to a system failure, we plan to retest the ZOTAC ZBOX MI642 Nano once we receive a replacement unit.