Introduction

Dell is certainly no stranger to the small form factor (SFF) PC market as its current product mix includes several SFF systems including the Dell Studio Hybrid, the Dell Studio Slim Desktop PC, and the Dell Inspiron 537s Slim Desktop PC. Their latest SFF entry, the Inspiron Zino HD, attempts to fill a gap in their product lineup – the need for an inexpensive consumer-oriented desktop PC that also handles today’s growing library of digital media content available locally and over the Internet.

With a form factor that measures 7.8 x 7.8 x 3.4 inches, it’s easy to draw comparisons to the Apple Mac mini in terms of size and looks. Both systems are square; both have rounded corners; and yes, both are sexy in their own right (although I still think the Mac mini is a tad bit sexier).

However, the Zino HD competes at a market segment below the Mac mini and the Dell Studio Hybrid PC. It’s an entry level PC for the masses that delivers everyday computing capabilities just powerful enough to handle multimedia tasks typically found in home theater PCs. Couple the system with Windows 7 Home Premium and you instantly have the makings for a complete inexpensive home theater PC running Windows Media Center.

Specifications

Our review unit has the following specifications:

• AMD Athlon Neo X2 6850e clocked at 1.8GHz (dual-core processor)
• 2GB DDR2 800MHz SDRAM
• 250GB 7200RPM SATA HDD
• Integrated ATI Radeon HD3200 graphics
• Windows Vista SP1 Home Basic Edition
• 8X DVD+/-RW
• Integrated 2.1 HD Audio

Dell also packages a wired USB keyboard and laser mouse with the Zino HD.It should be noted that the base Zino HD system comes the AMD Athlon 2650e processor clocked at 1.6GHz. We got this system on Black Friday when Dell ran a special discount on the Zino HD – with the standard price lowered to $199. We opted for the high-end dual-core AMD Athlon Neo X2 6850e which brought the entire system price up to $279 at the time. You can also outfit the Zino HD with a discrete ATI Radeon HD4330 graphics card for a bit more graphics oomph.

Packaging and a look around

It took approximately a little over a week for Dell to get the Zino HD into our hands. Here are the unboxing pictures that we took of the desktop.

There isn’t much packaged with the Inspiron Zino HD. You get the desktop PC, an AC adapter, keyboard, mouse, and some user manuals. To help keep the Zino HD nice and small, Dell utilizes a laptop AC adapter instead of a normal PC power supply.

The outer glossy finish is an absolute fingerprint magnet so you’ll want to keep a cloth handy to wipe off prints and dust.

The front of the Zino HD features a headphone jack, two USB 2.0 ports, a media card reader, and a DVD drive up near the top. It’s a shame Dell didn’t opt for a slot-load DVD drive instead of a laptop DVD drive but that probably would have raised the price of the system. The power button resides at the lower right corner of the top of the system.

On the back, you’ll find a vent, power connector, VGA connector, HDMI output, two eSATA ports, two USB 2.0 ports, an Ethernet port, an audio line-out port, and a microphone-in port.

The inclusion of two eSATA ports is certainly a nice feature since the Zino HD only has room for one internal hard drive. If you’re planning to use the Zino HD as a DVR or a multimedia PC, then having loads of disk space becomes critical.

There’s also a Kensington lock port to help secure the system.

Here’s the bottom of the Zino HD.

Performance

Our base system came configured with Windows Vista Home Basic Service Pack 1. Thankfully, Dell opted to NOT bundle loads of bloat-ware on the Zino HD. There’s nothing worse than a new computer system bundled with third party applications you’ll never use. You’ll find several Dell software utilities on the Zino HD and that’s it.

With specs like an AMD Athlon Neo X2 processor, the Inspiron Zino HD is certainly no speed demon. However, the system is more than adequate enough to handle everyday computing and multimedia tasks. Tasks such as surfing the web, checking email, working with office productivity applications, light multimedia tasks, and video playback are all easily handled by the Zino HD.

In fact, since the Zino HD is outfitted with a low-power AMD Athlon processor, the Zino HD has much more in common with today’s thin-and-light notebook PC’s than other inexpensive desktop PCs out there. To that end, our benchmarks here compare the Zino HD with our current favorite thin-and-light notebook, the ASUS UL30A-X3, which utilizes the Intel CULV Core 2 Duo SU7300 clocked at 1.3GHz.

At the processor and system level, the Zino HD was comparable in performance with the UL30A notebook. There were benchmarks where the higher-clocked AMD Athlon Neo X2 processor won and there were benchmarks where the SU7300 processor won – but nothing by a wide margin. Here are the results for your viewing pleasure.

Sandra Processor Arithmetic

Sandra Processor Multimedia

Sandra Cryptography

At a system level, the Zino HD eeks out performance gains over the UL30A-X3.

Sandra File System

Sandra Memory Bandwidth

PC Mark 2005

POV-Ray

Geekbench

From a graphics perspective, the integrated ATI Radeon HD3200 graphics is a definite improvement over any Intel integrated graphics solution – but you probably know that already. Here are some of the benchmarks for the Zino HD as compared to our reference ASUS UL30A-X3 which utilizes the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD.

3D Mark 2006

Cinebench R10

As for the all-important video performance tests (important for anyone who wants to use the Zino HD as a potential HTPC), we ran the system through a battery of video file formats – everything from standard definition clips to 720p/1080p high definition video clips, as well as several different formats and encodings. The Zino HD’s processor and ATI Radeon graphics chipset easily handled all of our video formats. Although we did not have a Blu-ray drive handy for testing, we did download and play back several 1080p movies in H.264 format without any difficulties.

Flash video playback was also smooth thanks to the latest Adobe Flash 10.1 beta with hardware acceleration.

Upgrades

Upgrading the Zino HD can be somewhat challenging. Memory is upgraded by accessing the bottom of the system while drive upgrades require access from the top of the system.

To gain access to the two SO-DIMM memory slots, simply remove the two screws towards the bottom  rear of the unit. Pop off the lower cover and you’ll see the following.

Upgrading the drives is the more challenging aspect as it requires the removal of several layers and screws. The top of the desktop is popped off simply by pressing the back upper button.

You then need to remove another layer to gain access to the inner workings of the Zino HD.

To upgrade the internal hard drive, you’ll need to remove the DVD drive which sits atop the hard drive. We decided to skip this step for now but yes, it’s indeed possible to do these upgrades in the future. Stay tuned for future projects where we upgrade the internal hard drive and possibly also upgrade the DVD drive to an internal Blu-ray drive.

Windows Media Center

We’ve seen the performance numbers, and we know the Zino HD can handle all sorts of video formats, but what would running Windows Media Center be like with the system? To test this, we installed Windows 7 Ultimate on the Zino HD and played around with Windows Media Center.

To get the full HTPC experience, the Zino HD was connected to an Onkyo A/V receiver via HDMI which then routed the video to a 46 inch Samsung 1080p LCD display.

We had no issues getting a 1080p picture right up to our display. Audio even automatically routed through the HDMI connection to the receiver – sweet.

We then repeated our battery of video playback tests within Windows Media Center – including playing back 720p and 1080p video content against our Samsung display. The Zino HD had no problems at all decoding all the various formats and displaying a consistent stutter-free image on the screen. CPU utilization hovered between 20 to 60 percent depending upon the file format and the resolution.

Navigating through Windows Media Center wasn’t a problem either – that is until you placed some load on the Zino HD. Start up a 720p video and try to navigate through MCE and you’ll quickly notice delays in handling user input and rendering graphical transitions. It’s not horrible by any means but it is indeed noticeable. 

The one thing we didn’t get a chance to test with the Zino HD was in handling live TV recording. Based on other reviews on the Internet, we suspect the Zino HD should have no problems recording HDTV content, although it might be hard for the system to keep up with multiple streams and play back HD content simultaneously. That’s a test we hope to try out in the next few weeks as we upgrade the hard drive on the Zino HD.

However, if you’re looking for an inexpensive PC to play back HD and SD video content onto a big screen display, then do consider the Inspiron Zino HD.

About the only real complaints with the Inspiron Zino HD was the inability for the unit to completely fill the entire Samsung 1080p display. I fiddled with all the settings and updated the drivers to the latest Catalyst versions but nothing worked. We were left with a thin black band around the entire edge of the display. You’ll get used to it but it’s still annoying to see. It should also be noted that some folks were having trouble getting the system to fill a 720p display. We’ll test that out in the weeks to come also.

And finally, it would have been nice if Dell coupled an internal IR receiver with the Zino HD. Thankfully I had a Windows Media Center remote and receiver handy.

Summary

Combining elements of the Mac mini with the power-consumption and performance of thin-and-light notebooks, the Dell Inspiron Zino HD truly is an attractive and affordable entry-level PC for the masses. The system’s stylish design and compact form factor allows it to fit in nicely – whether in cramped quarters or in living room environments.

Performance is about what you would expect from a low-end PC but more importantly, the Zino HD is capable of handling high definition video playback – essential for anyone looking to create an inexpensive home theater PC.

Could the system be better? Of course. We would have liked to have seen a CULV Intel processor on the inside, an integrated IR receiver, and a bundled remote control but these are minor issues.

At the end of the day, the Dell Inspiron Zino HD is a winner in the entry-level PC market segment.

Pros

• Compact form factor
• Inexpensive
• Good HTPC solution
• Fairly quiet
• No bloat-ware

Cons

• No DVD slot drive
• No built-in IR receiver

Technorati Tags: Dell Inspiron Zino HD Review