Dell Studio Hybrid (Core 2 Duo T8100 Processor 2.1GHz, 2GB RAM)

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It's hard for us to recommend the Dell Studio Hybrid desktop for any practical purpose. As a desktop for productivity, you can get more bang-for-your-buck from a typical budget-priced midtower PC. And if your goal is either space-saving or using this system as a media PC, we'd instead point you to a similarly priced laptop, which has an integrated display, will perform most of the same functions, and is also portable. Still, we imagine that for some of you, the Studio Hybrid's unique design holds plenty of appeal. Compared with other desktops in its small-scale cohort, Dell's entry is actually one of the best equipped. If aesthetics are your chief concern, the Studio Hybrid will reward you with its good looks and respectable computing power.

Editors' note :

This review is based on tests done by our sister site CNET.com. As such, please note that there may be slight differences in the testing procedure and ratings system. For more information on the actual tests conducted on the product, please inquire directly at the site where the article was originally published. References made to some of other products in this review may not be available or applicable in Asia. Please check directly with your local distributor for details.

The Studio Hybrid starts at US$499, but upgrades to the processor, memory, hard drive, and wireless networking adapter pushed our review configuration up to US$874. When the Studio Hybrid first appeared to the world in April, it wore a bamboo sleeve. Our review unit came with the translucent gray plastic sleeve, and you can buy other plastic ones for US$20 each. The bamboo shell is also available, for an extra US$130.

The Studio Hybrid's clever stand gives you multiple positioning options.

Standing upright with the sleeve on, the Studio Hybrid measures 196.5mm tall by 71.5mm wide by 211.5mm deep. Take the unit off its stand, remove the sleeve, and lay it flat, and its dimensions change to 61.3mm tall by 183.8 wide by 177.6mm deep. Compared with the Mac Mini or the forthcoming Asus Eee Box, the Studio Hybrid is a bit bigger in either configuration, but it's also clearly smaller than your average midtower PC. You can take the Studio Hybrid off its stand by simply pulling the two apart, and the sleeve slides off once you remove a screw. You can even reconfigure the stand to support the system horizontally. However, if you want to change its position, you can do so easily.

While it might be tempting to classify the Studio Hybrid as part of the recent Netbook/Nettop trend in small, cheap computers, the Dell's base price and specifications elevate it out of that category. Even the base US$499 configuration skirts the edge. And unlike the Shuttle XPC K-4500 or the Eee Box, the Studio Hybrid has an optical drive, which would seem to disqualify it from the cloud computing club. Thus, it's fair to treat the Studio Hybrid as a competitor to standard desktops in its price range.

	Dell Studio Hybrid	Gateway DX4200
Price	US$874	US$749
CPU	2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T8100	2.2GHz AMD Phenom X4 9550
Memory	2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM	6GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Graphics	128MB (shared) Intel GMA X3100 integrated graphics chip	256MB ATI Radeon HD 3450
Hard drives	250GB, 5,400rpm	640GB, 7,200rpm
Optical drive	dual-layer DVD burner	dual-layer DVD burner
Networking	Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11n wireless	Gigabit Ethernet
Operating system	Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (32-bit)	Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit)
TV Tuner	No	No

Based on this comparison, it should be obvious that the Dell system fails the specs-for-the-dollar test. Even forgetting that the Gateway DX4200 is a 64-bit system (although with perhaps more memory than is really useful at the moment), its discrete graphics card, full-size desktop hard drive, and its lower price tag are clear indicators that it will deliver more performance for the price. And true, the Gateway can't answer the Dell's wireless networking capability, but that's easily solved with an after-market upgrade.

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