PC Peripherals Dell zino HD - decent HTPC setup??

Gannu said:
*Blu-ray playback with the lowest CPU utilisation
*8ch LPCM decoding
*A SFF system with the lowest thermal profile
*Ability to stream high bit-rate blu-ray/hd-dvd rips off a NAS thru Gigabit LAN
Click to expand...

+1 .. well summarised
Both will satisfy these .. (Zino with Radeon 4330)
SFF wise Zino will be slightly bigger but will probably run cooler..

Gannu said:
The Apple TV was a good option but failed in so many aspects.
Click to expand...

As always with most products of apple.. :p
 
Gannu said:
I think the ION almost matches these requirements. We may see a lot of developments with newer AMD chips rivaling the ION. Intel's almost there with the G45 chip.
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Isn't there one crucial difference? Avivo is free while Purevideo isn't.

I must confess I'm not aware if there are alternate methods for HD acceleration on nV chips.
 
^Yeah it's the UVD from AVIVO which competes with the nV PureVideo HD.

But with Linux we do have VDPAU from nV as well. :D
 
@HydroXidE

Can you tell me nagative points of Zino due to which you choosed Zotac ?

Heavily thinking of Zino HD, pls share your thoughts.
 
Zino as i was saying on another thread makes a lot of sense if you buy atleast one with config of AMD AthlonTM X2 3250e + 4330 GC card. With that config but the rates zoom. This config is around 26K. Without that on basic Zino heard there can be lag in BR movies on Zino. Plus there was talk on how AMD was more power hungry than Atom. Though power consumptions at smaller levels wont be that big an issue.

But you get a 18.5 Monitor, Keyboard + Mouse, Optical drive and 500Gb HDD (Zotac has 160gb).
 
Yeah AMD AthlonTM X2 3250e + 4330 GC is awesome deal. I would like to know noise level of Zino if you are aware. Sadly So called Dells Exclusive stores dont have 1 piece for demo

Will you be able to post pics & review of Zotac MAG HD-ND01 ? Hows sound level of fan in it ?
 
@Praks

there is one comparision i found ... but just know that this is with AMD Athlon Neo X2 6850e 1.8GHz, 1MB L2 and 8gb RAM. so not fair comparision as this would cost around 35K (roughly)

in this Zotac stood its ground pretty decently. Just as Eddy said these are not meant for gaming so please look at it from HD n movie center perspective.

so a normal Zino with 3250e how good it will be still dont know.

Dell Zino HD Review | jRin.net

rest sound details are mentioned here

to feed the confusion :D

For Price n Specs Comparison

iboum.com : Future Entertainment Technology : Mini-HTPC Comparison Table
 
@antz123

Thank you for the links.

Here is my comparison.. took 1 hour preparing this :)

2hp585i.png


Have a look. After a lots of thought I am inclining towards Zino HD.

Have no idea of Zotac dealers in India (found 2-3) & mostly their after sales service.
 
@Praks - no negative points with the Zino HD. I dropped the Zino plans since I didn't want a pre-loaded Win7 PC and the dell monitor which is mandatory with the whole package. The initial investment in Zino. The one combination I like comes to 34k and I didnt want to spend that much now..

As mentioned in my previous posts as well, Zino HD (6850 + 4330HD) should be equally or if not better than the Zotac MAG with respect to computing apart from the HD capabilities that they are expected to deliver. So, if you are really inclined towards the Zino, there is no reason to look back.

Some differences between the two would be that Zino comes with 2 eSATA ports while MAG comes with one. RAM is upgradable more in Zino (upto 8gig) while Zotac comes with 2gig and upgradable upto 4gig. You have a DVD writer (upgradable to blu-ray) option within the device while in Zotac it'll have to be external (either over USB or eSATA). Zino comes with Win-7. Zotac MAG comes blank. Approx. price diff between Zino HD (6850 + 4330HD + 2gig RAM )and Zotac MAG will come to about 5-6k which is justified for all the extra stuff and not bad at all.. The rest is just form factor.

I btw got my MAG yesterday through YantraOnline (yantraonline.in).. Costed 16.5k (price + shipping) + 535 octroi :mad:

Noise levels are pretty low.. but I haven't done any real testing yet.. will post some more after a week or so..

Praks.. again if you are going for the Zino (which I think there is no harm in going for.. seeing your excitement, you probably should :D) .. go for 6850 + 4330HD with 2gb RAM (the config i've mentioned in my 1st reply in this thread) and the ST2410 monitor option as you can expect a good sale value for it.. 18.5" are available commonly and aren't an attractive offering any more.. RAM is always upgradable in future, and 2gig should be more than enough for now.
 
antz123 said:
Zotac mag ND01 in India is for 17.8K

I couldnt see 3gb version of Zino though... online it was 2 n 4 n 6 even sorts
Click to expand...

the one on the right 'S241231IN8' comes with 3GB (1X2GB/1X1GB)

@Praks.. you could go with this config

512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330
Athlon(TM) X2 6850e Dual-Core Processor (1.8GHz, 512Kx2, 2C)
Dell ST2410 24 " Full HD Widescreen Monitor
2GB (2X1GB) DDR2 SDRAM Memory
320GB SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

The above config will be:
Win 7 Home basic: Rs.32,842.11 + 900

and with Win 7 Home Premium: Rs.34,547.97 + 900
 
See effectively see it as 22 not 32K ... i mean Dell 24" can go for 10K brand new atleast.

secondly you have a drive + keyboard + mouse so its a sweet deal

and what you say about this :D

Panache
 
antz123 said:
secondly you have a drive + keyboard + mouse so its a sweet deal

and what you say about this :D

Panache
Click to expand...

as HTPC ??? sad IMO :(

other than a faster processor compared to the Zino and the MAG, there's nothing else attractive in it. I bet it'll be heavy and a li'l noisy too.. and definitely not power efficient..

Geforce 7100 is old.. my 3.5 yr old HP Pavilion had a GeforceGo 7200 and it just about managed to play 720p. The ION platform has Geforce 9300, 9400 and things like CUDA etc.. they are geared for HD playback.. besides, DVI and VGA.. that's old again.. no HDMI, ..no mention of Audio. This config looks old.. if a small form factor comp had to be assembled a few years back, it would probably be this.. but by today's standards it'll be blown .. Zino is a better buy compared to this by miles!
 
Yeah you are right... lets see even contemplating assembling together one.

there are some good Zotac mobo with on board power, Wifi and dual core atom with Ion. post that need 2gm ram, 500gb HDD and a decent case and a dvd writer.
 
Just an update, Visited Dell Exclusive showroom 2 days back.

Shocked to find that they had no rep who is well aware of Dell Zino HD. Luckily they had

Zino HD on display with lowest possible config. It looks good, small & very very quiet.

I tried a lot to meet Dell reps at store & find out more but I have been told sorry, No rep has more info on Zino HD, If u want they can show you laptops :p

I played my 720p rips from DVDRW of Zino. Please note, System in demo was AMD Athlon(TM) 2650e Processor & Integrated ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3200, It was not able to play Blue ray rips at all. Very very sluggish.

Now looking for a demo piece with AMD Athlon X2 3250e Dual-Core Processor & 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330, Will do a small review again & decide further.

Did anyone have a demo of Zino HD with AMD Athlon X2 3250e Dual-Core Processor & 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 ?
 
@antz123

Yes, Without LCD offer, you can have your own LCD like Samsungs/LG.

But LCD with Zino HD (18.5 inch) model is too good. I have seen it personally, Very good finish & clarity. I personally feel 21 is huge when you do normal browsing (good to watch movies). In my case I feel 18.5 widescreen is perfect.

Were you able to check demo of any Zino ?
 
no man i want a 24" LED. Present ones in market are only BenQ and Dell in that range. I am waiting for Samsung to launch XL2370 long over due. Their quality of LED is brilliant.

I was planning to go all over board otherwise for Zino... Zino fully loaded AMD 6850, 4300, dvd drive, 3gb RAM, optical drive + 24" monitor is around 35K. if i minus 14K of monitor its like Zino is for then 21K. then Zino only comeptitor is a dual core Zotac ND01. But ND01 is way lower in terms of machine as 6850 X2 is more powerful than dual core Atom and plus you get an optical drive etc....

So just hope against hope that Zino gets launched :)

Oh not to forget keyboard+mouse and Windows 7 64Bit along in Zino
 
@antz123

Looks like we two are the only ones on TE interested in Zino :p

You can take this Dell 18 inch with Zino & sell it off as a new here. Then go ahead with Samsung one. There are lots of people who look out for Dell WS monitors.

I am confused b/w AMD 3250 & AMD 6850, I will go ahead with graphics card as 4300, 3GB RAM, DVD Writer, 320 GB HDD,

All I am worried about Zotac support, I hardly found 3 main dealers in whole India, Hows their after support ?

Can you tell me which is better - Zino with (AMD 3250/6850 with ATI 4330) or Zotac with Atom processor & ION graphics ?
 
man things just get confusing as we only explore more :)

like now Zotac internationally is coming out with another nice minipc

ZOTAC - It's time to play! - Next-Generation ZOTAC ZBOX Redefines Mini-PCs

I am still waiting n checking out...

Saw these from Asus... they can also very well be similar substitutes but Indian availability is a ???

Asus Eee Box EB1501:

Link : Asus Eee Box EB1501 Hands On - Netbook Reviews

Asus Eee PC Seashell 1201N:

Asus Eee PC Seashell 1201N (black) Laptop reviews - CNET Reviews
 
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