Jason Dunn
08-29-2008, 02:00 PM
<p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/dht/auto/1219980389.usr1.jpg" border="0" /><br />Dell's <a href="http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/desktop-studio-hybrid?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~tab=designtab" target="_blank">Studio Hybrid desktop PC</a> is an interesting computer, partially because it comes from Dell, not usually a company known for taking risks or really doing much of anything interesting when it comes to design. The Studio Hybrid is a departure for a company usually known for playing it safe; the design of the Hybrid is quite unlike anything else on the market by any major manufacturer. I purchased the Studio Hybrid the first day it was released because I needed a small, quiet computer for my <a href="http://www.digitalhomethoughts.com/news/show/89831/i-m-doing-a-digital-wall-upgrade-suggestions-welcome.html" target="_blank">"digital wall" project</a>. The day I received it, I published an <a href="http://www.digitalhomethoughts.com/news/show/90245/dell-studio-hybrid-desktop-pc-unboxing-and-first-impressions.html" target="_blank">unboxing and first impressions video</a>. After that, I used it pretty intensely for a week to see if it was what I wanted. So how did the Studio Hybrid measure up? I shot a series of three "deep dive" videos that go into as much detail as possible on this new computer from Dell. Below is part one of three - after the break is parts two and three.</p><p><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="425" height="349" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PuUUaFHqQbY&hl=en&fs=1&border=1" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PuUUaFHqQbY&hl=en&fs=1&border=1"></embed></object><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuUUaFHqQbY" target="_blank"><em>[click through to YouTube to see it in higher quality]</em></a></p><p><MORE /></p><p>Part two of three...</p><p><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="425" height="349" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vPjISA8Rw_o&hl=en&fs=1&border=1" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vPjISA8Rw_o&hl=en&fs=1&border=1"></embed></object><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPjISA8Rw_o" target="_blank"><em>[click through to YouTube to see it in higher quality]</em></a></p><p>Part three of three...</p><p><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="425" height="349" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qh3Y-NbVT3U&hl=en&fs=1&border=1" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qh3Y-NbVT3U&hl=en&fs=1&border=1"></embed></object><br /><em><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh3Y-NbVT3U" target="_blank"><em>[click through to YouTube to see it in higher quality]</em></a></em></p><p>As you can tell in the third video, I wasn't very impressed with Media Center performance. After I shot the video I did discover, however, that turning off Aero Glass resulted in a significant performance boost - which is a bit odd when you consider that Aero Glass shouldn't be used at all when the Media Center interface is in full-screen mode.</p><p>So where am I now with the Dell Studio Hybrid? It kept beeping three times when I booted it up, which is apparently a sign of a chipset failure of some sort. It also crashed Windows Vista with a blue screen of death whenever I tried to boot directly off the HDMI port. These two things together made me return the unit to Dell for a refund under their 30 day customer service policy. Sure, I could have gotten it repaired/replaced, but I took the opportunity to upgrade: I re-ordered a Studio Hybrid, same colour, hard drive space, and RAM, but I upgraded the CPU from 1.86 Ghz to 2.5 Ghz.</p><p>The 2.5 Ghz processor is a bump in every way: it's 45 nm instead of 65 nm, it has a nearly 200% faster bus speed (533 mhz bumped to 800 mhz), and the cache goes from 1 MB up to 6 MB. I wasn't thinking clearly when I ordered this thing the first time, or I would have at least gone for the 2.0 Ghz CPU. I also added in the 802.11n mini-card - you never know when wireless will come in handy. I plan on posting a follow-up video once I get it all integrated into my digital wall. And if the performance of this new unit isn't up to snuff, I'll be returning it to Dell.</p><p>If you have a YouTube account, please rate the videos, post a comment, and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/ThoughtsMedia" target="_blank">subscribe to our channel</a>. Thanks for your support!</p><p><em>Jason Dunn owns and operates <a href="http://www.thoughtsmedia.com" target="_blank">Thoughts Media Inc.</a>, a company dedicated to creating the best in online communities. He enjoys <a href="http://photos.jasondunn.com/" target="_blank">photography</a>, mobile devices, <a href="http://www.jasondunn.com" target="_blank">blogging</a>, digital media content creation/editing, and pretty much all technology. He lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his lovely wife, and his sometimes obedient dog. He likes little computers!</em></p>