News 

The front panel has everything you'd expect from a compact desktop PC: an optical drive, in this case a slot-loading DVD writer, but a Blu-ray drive is an option. There's also a memory card reader and two USB ports. There are a further three USB ports on the rear, plus FireWire and Gigabit ethernet. HDMI and DVI outputs mean you can easily connect the Studio Hybrid to an HD TV, or even use both to drive a pair of monitors.

The internal components would more normally be found in a laptop, rather than a desktop PC. The Intel Core 2 Duo T5750 is runs at speedy 2GHz and, along with the 2GB of RAM, produced an impressive 158 in our Shopper benchmarks, and 2674 in PCMark Vantage.

Our test model was fitted with a 320GB hard disk - plenty

ADVERTISEMENT

of space for your photos and videos. It also has Draft-N WiFi built-in, which is one less cable to clutter up your desk. The translucent cover extends 25mm past the back of the unit; this helps keep the cables out of sight, making the Hybrid appear neater. There's an external power supply - just like a laptop - but its one of the smallest we've ever seen, measuring 16x64x165mm.

This Studio Hybrid would cost £519 including VAT if you were to specify the same options on Dell's website (although you'd have to add £29 if you wanted the red shell). This is more than twice the price of the Atom-powered Asus Eee Box, see here.

However, while the Eee Box is fine for day-to-day desktop tasks like browsing the web, the Studio Hybrid is a far more powerful, fully featured PC. It's essentially the same difference between a well-specified laptop and the budget ultra-portable Eee PC 901. But while Eee PCs are small and easy to carry, the Eee Box doesn't have the second benefit. Instead, you'll notice how underpowered the Eee Box is when you connect it to a large display, especially when compared to the Studio Hybrid, which can handle tasks like video editing.

Look out for the full review and our final verdict in Computer Shopper issue 249.