As this is a customisable system, Dell offers a variety of upgrades and options at the time of purchase. You can choose from a larger hard drive, more RAM and so on. The system itself offers no obvious means to access the internal hardware, however. We hate to say 'never' to a determined enthusiast, but most mainstream users will consider the Zino HD a closed case with an upgrade path similar to that of the Mac mini.
Outstripping the Atom
Rather than using a hybrid design, like the Studio Hybrid, which could serve as a PC for both productivity and home-entertainment purposes, Dell has cast the Zino HD firmly as a home-entertainment PC. Its AMD Athlon X2 3250e CPU is faster than the Intel Atom CPUs we're used to seeing in nettops, like the Acer AspireRevo R3600, but the 3250e chip is designed primarily for efficiency.
We're big fans of the 3250e, as it strikes a reasonable balance between cost and performance that makes sense for a desktop. With the right video chip, the Zino would make a respectable home-entertainment PC that, unlike Atom-based PCs, won't choke when you try to perform the occasional basic PC task, like browsing the Web or viewing photos. The £20 802.11n wireless card is a living-room-friendly networking option too. You can also boost the 500GB hard drive to 1TB for an extra £90. In general, the Zino HD's features seem fair for its price. We just wish you didn't have to spend an extra £61 on an upgraded graphics chip for it to meet its full potential as a living-room PC.
The charts below provide a good example of the benefits of the 3250e CPU, compared to an Atom. In every test, the Zino bests the Atom-powered AspireRevo R3600, taking half as long to perform basic tasks. We're not surprised to see the Zino HD fall behind the Mac mini in some tests, as Apple's machine boasts a fully-fledged Intel Core 2 Duo CPU. Just note that you do actually get more performance from the ZinoHD than from the AspireRevo and its nettop chip.
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
 |
Rendering multiple CPUs | |
Rendering single CPU |
Conclusion
Splash out on a few upgrades and the Dell Inspiron Zino HD should make a respectable living-room media hub.
Additional editing by Charles Kloet
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