Dell Zino HD (a.k.a. Inspiron 400)

The Journey

Looking for a device to host some basic server applications at home I came across the Dell Zino. The machine offers me exactly what I was looking for: A CPU supporting virtualization, space for a 3.5″ HDD to keep 1 TB (or more) and energy efficiency.

Unpack-Experience

It is not a Mac. The functional brown package includes two boxes, one for the accessories (power supply, power cable, two CDs with Windows 7 and drivers) and another with keyboard and mouse – both wireless. The Zino itself was packed in foam plastic, filling the rest of the box. In the front of the machine there is a 3.5mm headphone socket, a card reader, 2x USB 2.0 sockets and the DVD tray. The power button is on top. On the back a microphone, line out, 2x eSATA, HDMI, VGA and the power socket are arranged. In addition the HDD LED, LAN socket (incl. status LED) and a button to open the case are arranged on the back side.

Power Consumption


(Measured with VOLTCRAFT® Energy Logger 4000.)

Configuration

  • AMD Athlon x2 Dual Core 3250e Processor (1.5 GHz, 64 Bit)
  • Chipset HD3200 (780G)
  • ATI Radeon HD 3200 (VGA and HDMI out)
  • 4 GB DDR2/6400 (800 MHz) RAM
  • 1 TB HDD
  • HL-DT-ST DVD+- RW GT10N

Other options to be considered

  • QNAP TS-210 NAS (brilliant, but hw virtualization missing)
  • Mac mini (nice, but too expensive and no 3.5″ HDD)
  • Fit PC (poor availability, no integrated 3.5″ HDD)
  • Notebook (integrated USV), but expensive, and no 3.5″ HDD)
  • (Update) The Pokini might also be an option, but has not been considered initially