Tuesday, July 29, 2008

New Dell Studio Hybrid - Cool Factor!

If you have not seen the new Dell Studio Hybrid PC Computer yet, perhaps that picture says it all. It's so cool! Heck, I am almost sold just on the design and color options (interchangeable nonetheless!) alone, as it definitely stands out.
I liked how this picture gave a better feel for proportion - allowing you to see how it compares to the size of a standard DVD or CDROM. Size and weight specifications (with sleeve on):
Length: 7.75 inches
Height: 2.8 inches
Depth: 8.3 inches
Weight: 4.8 pounds (with stand) - AWESOME in my opinion! I hate moving weighty "desktops" around!
The new Dell Studio Hybrid Desktop is VERY small as you can see, but it has quite a bit of functionality from the technical specifications:
  • This is a full-fledged modern Intel Dual-Core Intel Core-2 Duo system, with current processor options including:
  • Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5750 (2.00GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
  • Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5850 (2.16GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
  • Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T8100 (2.1GHz/800Mhz FSB/3MB cache)
  • Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9300 (2.5GHz/800Mhz FSB/6MB cache)
  • Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9500 (2.6GHz/800Mhz FSB/6MB cache)
  • You can have up to 4GB RAM put in here;
  • Option of up to 320GB SATA Drive
  • It runs Windows Vista -- various editions, including 64-bit Vista I would assume since the processsors are Intel EMT64, though I didn't see an option to order Vista specifically in 64-bit flavor - and, since I don't know much about Microsoft Vista in general, I have no idea what options even exist. :)
  • For networking, it has integrated Gigabit Ethernet NIC (nice!) (RJ45) for super-fast LAN connection, plus built-in wireless "draft-N" Wi-Fi
  • Five USB 2.0 compliant ports, IEEE1394a port (4-pin), HDMI video connector, DVI video connector, and an AC adapter connector (of course)
  • For audio: Digital Audio: S/P DIF Out; Analog Audio: Headphone (front); Line-in / Line-out (back); has Intel High Definition Audio 2.0 features.
  • Oh, and I really like this choice: 8X Slot Load CD/DVD Writer (DVD+/-RW) OR 6X Slot Load Blu-ray/CD/DVD Combo Drive - that makes this thing an interesting media-player option too.
  • Integrated Intel X3100 Video Card. This is the only thing I don't particularly like the sounds of, since I prefer using an NVidia accellerated-graphics card, but I understand why integration is NEEDED to pull this off. A full-fledged high-end Nvidia GeForce 8800 or 9800 would be nearly half the size of this whole computer and probably double (or more) the power consumption :)
Speaking of power consumption, one of the main selling points with this product is that it is rather "eco" in that it uses much less packaging, and uses far less power than a conventional "normal" desktop PC. Dell claims as much as 70% power reduction compared to a normal PC! Sweet! (and, as I sit here on a hot day typing on my conventional desktop, I can't help thinking how much less air-conditioning would be required!) And, this Dell Studio Hybrid surely should handle most corporate-desktop needs: thus, it makes a lot of sense for saving power and desk space all in one!

I have been contemplating buying a new computer (or two) for testing out various operating systems on. I actually don't care at all about Vista, but instead about Linux and other open-source operating systems. I'm hoping Ubuntu Linux 64-bit edition would run on this thing, and for the price of a "base model" or whatever, I think I will try it out (the sick part is I will have to pay for Vista even though I have no plan to ever use it! arggh!) But, as I started out saying, the size alone has my interest, as I can easily find room for it. And, I love the whole power-savings idea!

So, I am leaning towards the no-monitor option (already have one on a switchbox) and the T8100 Intel processor, plus 4GB RAM. It's pricing out at around $900 or so with the config I have entered, which isn't TOO bad. Actually, I am now wondering about availability and ship-dates. We shall see.

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