System Cost versus Performance

Please note, we did not feel the need to unify the clock speeds on the test systems - instead testing the fast, dual-core CPUs at their default clock speed. This is because the CPU architectures - and therefore IGPs - cannot be directly compared clock for clock.

Considering the Dell Inspiron Zino HD is more than just a CPU, motherboard and GPU, for the other systems, we totalled up the cost of an entire system, of comparable parts,in addition to the cost of motherboard, CPU and memory already calculated:

Case: Silverstone SST-GD05B, £60.99
Hard drive: Samsung SpinPoint F1 HD103UJ, £65.79
PSU: Be Quiet SFX 350W, £39.91
Blu-ray Optical drive:Sony BC5500S, £126.03
Wireless N: Linksys WMP600N PCI card, £32.44
Total: £325.16

While not as elegant as the tiny Zino HD, we tried to find an equally good looking case to fit with the Micro-ATX motherboards used, and also directly comparative components like the wireless and Blu-ray Optical drive found in the Dell. The ASRock ION 330HT-BD Net-top is slightly different in that it does not use a Samsung 1TB hard drive.


The CPU is faster than an Intel Atom D330, by about a third, but it's also very slow compared to more normal CPUs. The Core i3-530 system might be bigger and uses more power, but it's also three times faster. This means that its cost efficiency factor, shown below is also hugely greater because it gets jobs done faster. In fact, give the comparative system costs, even the Asrock is better value.