General Use & Functionality

Just like the other units from Zotac, the ZBOX AD06 lights up with a green ring when turned on. You may adjust how and when the light is turned on within the BIOS. The unit is rather quiet as long as you don't push it, but it does emit noticeable noise levels when utilized heavily. This does not come across as a disturbance, and it is still quieter than the Nano versions from Zotac.

Performance

PCMark 07

3DMark 06

Due to the embedded Radeon HD 7340, the ZBOX AD06 does manage to break the 1000 point mark in 3D Mark 06. You should be able to play basic games, which may be enough for casual gamers, but it should be obvious that the AD06 is not geared towards that crowd; it is really meant to be used as a compact workhorse or HTPC.

Power Consumption

That said, power consumption in standby is good. Do not let yourself be fooled by the graph above. The difference to the other devices is miniscule. The ZBOX AD06 really shines when it comes to idling - only drawing 13.6 W.


The trend continues when looking at movie playback. When running 1080P clips, the entire unit only pulls 16.8 W out of the socket, while it manages to stay well below 30 W - 27.7 W with a full load. At this point, it should be apparent that the main advantage of the AD06 lies in media playback and general task-taking in combination with low power consumption.

CPU Utilization

CPU utilization is also quite low when playing back 1080P content, so you can safely partake in a bit of multi-tasking while watching a fluid movie.

Temperatures

While Zotac does ensure that their boxes run flawlessly, even under extreme conditions like FurMark, their units do become quite toasty. Nothing to worry about, but 74° Celsius means that the AD06 is quite warm to the touch, and the fan does spin up abit to keep things cool.