Laptop choiche

The Dell Zino HD is finally available for pre-order in the US. In the UK it is already available. We have been hearing about this device for a while now. The Zino HD looks much like other nettops, but it is not a typical nettop. While nettops usually run on low power Intel Atom processors, the Zino HD comes with an AMD processor and ATI graphics. The machine is also fairly configurable with the base version starting at as little as $229.

Whether you configure the model with integrated graphics or Radeon discrete GPU, the AMD/ATI nettop will offer better graphics performance than Intel Atom nettops with GMA 950 graphics. Another cool feature is that the customizable lid comes in a variety of colors and patterns.

Some reports at the Mozilla support site indicate that Firefox may be the reason behind netbook overheating. When opening pages heavy in multimedia (which usually include Flash elements) Firefox tends to make netbooks hotter than other browsers do.

This is not a problem with larger notebooks because they have better cooling systems with beefier heatpipes and fans capable of moving larger volumes of air. Netbooks with their small frame, however, don’t have full-fledged cooling systems and are more likely to feel the heat.

While the report is based on a study conducted on netbooks running OsX, Windows users have also reported similar overheating problems. And in case you want to test this yourself just try opening a multimedia rich page in different browsers including Firefox and feel the heat. Does your netbook tend to get hotter than usual during a prolonged browsing session in Firefox?

Shares in Sony were knocked in the recent past after the Japanese consumer electronics assembly was enforced to recall thousands of faulty notebooks for the reason that of a danger that they could scorch and reason burns. The recall influences 440,000 notebooks in Sonys Vaio TZ series that were sold transversely around the world between May 2007 and July 2008. Sony has heard of 209 cases of notebooks overheating, together with 7 in which the users experienced minor burns. A design error means that wires in close proximity to the hinge that attaches the body of the notebook to the display are imperfectly positioned and can short-circuit and overheat subsequent to long-drawn-out use.

In form factor, the AOpen XC Mini isn’t much different from other nettops currently available, but it is certainly more powerful. On the flip side it is pricier than most nettops.

Inside the glossy black shell, it packs an Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo (Penryn) processor which is significantly more powerful than the Atom processors found in most nettops. The Penryn processor also provides reasonably good gaming performance.

The nettop comes with an optical drive. It has the regular array of ports and slots. There are 6 USB 2.0ports, a 2.5 inch SATA hard drive slot, an HDMI output port, an eSATA port, gigabit LAN and Nvidia ION graphics port.

The XC Mini delivers impressive performance in benchmark tests. You can’t term it as an entry level gaming machine, but it isn’t quite a high-end nettop either.