New; Dell ZINO HD (1 Viewer)

[etheesdad]

Dell have just released some neat mITX HTPC's starting at $229

They use 2650e CPU in combo with HD3200 on board. Very neat little machines for those looking for a simple, affordable HTPC client.

More HERE

 

[Spragleknas]

Yes, but it looks like their pairing a non-HT3 CPU w/HD3200, which is not the best solution for playback of ie. 1080i

 

[etheesdad]

I dont think anyone's pretending they are the 'best solution for playback' but at $229 they do represent excellent value for money, and a capable machine for most HTPC tasks.

Do you know of anything in this price range with an HT3 CPU? - if so please post details

 

[Spragleknas]

Then again, with options for an Athlon X2 or Neo X2, up to 8GB or RAM, up to 1 TB of storage, an ATI Radeon HD 4330 512MB card, and upgrades to various different versions of Windows 7, the pricing does tend to creep up. That said, Dell has a pretty decent pre-configured option on its site: For $649 you'll get AMD's Athlon 2850e, 4GB of DDR2, ATI Radeon HD 4330, 500GB HDD, Windows 7 Home Premium, integrated 2.1 HD audio and a 20" Dell ST2010 widescreen HD monitor.

 

[etheesdad]

For those looking to equate pricing with capabilities, it breaks down like this:

$289 (3250e CPU upgrade) - 1080p h.264 blu-ray rip / MKV playback, 480p streaming flash video, 5.1 AC3/DTS over HDMI

$339 (6850e CPU upgrade) - 1080p h.264 blu-ray rip / MKV playback, 720p streaming flash video, 5.1 AC3/DTS over HDMI

$364 (3250e CPU + 4330 GPU upgrade) - 1080p h.264 blu-ray rip / MKV playback, 480p streaming flash video, 7.1 LPCM and 5.1 AC3/DTS over HDMI

$414 (6850e CPU + 4330 GPU upgrade) - 1080p h.264 blu-ray rip / MKV playback, 720p streaming flash video, 7.1 LPCM and 5.1 AC3/DTS over HDMI

source

Even at $414 its still way more affordable (and more capable) than an Asrock ION

And they look prettier

 

[ichessblumen]

nice, little thingy. tried to google some pics with open enclosure but had nothing found. it seems there is no possibility to squeeze in a tv card eh?

 

[etheesdad]

nice, little thingy. tried to google some pics with open enclosure but had nothing found. it seems there is no possibility to squeeze in a tv card eh?

It would be a USB jobbie methinks (see pics of back of case)

 

[ichessblumen]

yeah think so too. would be great if I could find a pic with a ripped off "hat", coz dell's offering an optional gfx card (4330) and I'm keen to know where they crammed it into the housing.

 

[etheesdad]

yeah think so too. would be great if I could find a pic with a ripped off "hat", coz dell's offering an optional gfx card (4330) and I'm keen to know where they crammed it into the housing.

it uses an MXM slot

 

[VdR]

Anybody any experience with this one as an MP client?

It is definitely one of the best looking microITX solutions and in the basic specification also nicely priced. Pity it does not have S/Pdif and a remote.

Would it play HD content without issues? Is there a way to get 5.1 sound (through HDMI maybe)? What would be the best way to get a remote on it?

VdR