11/04, 3:50pm
NVIDIA blames Intel for delaying USB 3
Intel may have stalled adoption of the USB 3.0 standard for as long as two years, NVIDIA spokesman Brian Burke says. Following an apparent PC vendor leak which claims Intel won't have any USB 3.0-capable chipsets of its own until 2011, Burke tells TGDaily that NVIDIA has learned the same news. He contends that Intel has held the industry back by creating a near monopoly in demand for its chipsets but refusing to provide significant updates.
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11/04, 3:15pm
HP working on Envy 14 notebook?
A support page on HP's website indicates that a third Envy notebook, the Envy 14, may be on the horizon. If so, the notebook would slot in between the Intel Core 2 Duo-powered Envy 13 and the Core i7-packing Envy 15 as it would, presumably, be equipped with a 14-inch screen size. It would also most likely be powered by Intel's new mobile Core i5 chips, which are due for an early 2010 release.
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11/03, 3:00pm
NVIDIA may make end-run around Intel
Broadpoint AmTech analyst Doug Freedman today revived talk of NVIDIA making its own x86 processors in a new research note. He claims that the graphics company has been recruiting "extensively" from employees of the one-time chip designer Transmeta and is using these to speed along one or more unknown designs. It may also not need to use Transmeta-like code translation as many of the original x86 architecture patents lose their effectiveness.
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11/02, 10:40pm
Connection failures report on P55 components
Intel is reportedly investigating a compatibility issue involving the iPhone and certain chipsets, according to CNET News. A number of users have reported that iTunes 9 for Windows is able to recognize the iPhone, however the device cannot sync with certain machines utilizing Intel's P55 chipset and motherboards from certain manufacturers.
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11/02, 5:50pm
Acer Aspire 8940 has quad-core, GTS 250M
Acer chose a rare Monday evening launch for an update to its Aspire notebooks. Acting as the new flagship, the 8940 takes the lead from the 8935 and use the same 18.4-inch screen but with a much faster 1.6GHz Core i7 in place of the Core 2 Quad. It further brings considerably newer GeForce GTS 250M graphics to better drive the 1080p display and, as with other Acer updates, replaces Vista with Windows 7.
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11/02, 10:50am
Maingear SHIFT is liquid-cooled, aluminum
Maingear today tackled the very high end, designer category of gaming PCs with the SHIFT. The system is specially designed by Maingear with an aluminum chassis and a rare, vertically-aligned cooling system; besides using an Asetek system to cool the processor without fans, all other components point upwards and have their heat naturally vent upwards instead of front-to-back like in most PCs. The system is also subtler with an all-black design and a pop-up port array on the top with card readers, FireWire, USB and audio.
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10/29, 1:25pm
Intel updating Core i7 processors
While Intel hasn't publicly announced its plans, the chipmaker is set to replace its popular 2.66GHz Core i7 920 CPU with a 2.88GHz Core i7 930 early on into 2010, says a Thursday report. The new chip will be based on 45nm architecture, but Fudzilla says it will otherwise retain the current chip's quad-core, eight-thread design for the LGA 1366 socket. This is a contradiction to Intel's recent plans, which see the LGA 1366 multiplier sockets open only for Extreme Edition chips, such as with the recent 3.2GHz Core i7 960.
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10/29, 9:40am
New ASUS USB 3.0 mainboards have record speeds
ASUS on Wednesday showed off one of the first USB 3.0 mainboards ever, the P7P55D/P7P55D-E, which also has a SATA 6Gbps interface for what's claimed to be record-fast transfer speeds: ASUS estimates that a 20GB HD movie takes less than 70 seconds to transfer at peak speed even with the new USB connection. Both use ASUS's hybrid processor, hybrid phase and hybrid OS technologies for faster overall performance with the ability to overclock chips, control active cooling and provide instant-on Internet access, respectively.
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10/28, 5:50pm
Apple trips may hint major hardware in 2010
Apple engineers are scaling up the number of trips to China to prepare for new products, a rumor indicates this evening. Visits to the Asian manufacturing base are reported by SAI as accelerating and may even include trips during the holidays. The exact nature of the trips isn't mentioned other than that at least one system integration engineer has been one of those making the trips.
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10/26, 2:25pm
Lenovo upgrades Idea PCs for Windows 7
Lenovo today sparked life in its IdeaCentre desktops and IdeaPad notebooks by refreshing them for Windows 7 and adding a few completely new models. The IdeaCentre B500 is one of the few all-in-one PCs built for gamers and high-end media use with both a Core 2 Quad, unnamed but dedicated graphics and a built-in JBL speaker system. It also brings a 23-inch 1080p display, 1TB of disk space and a motion remote for an unspecified price.
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10/26, 1:35pm
LG outs XNOTE R590 quad-core portable
Korea's LG has recently shown off its first netbook with Intel's Core i7 quad-core processor, the 15.6-inch XNOTE R590. Two models will be available, one with a 1.73GHz i7 and the other sporting a 1.6GHz version. Either version will ship with Windows 7 Home Premium and NVIDIA's GeForce GT 230M graphics chipset with 1GB of dedicated RAM.
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10/25, 10:15pm
MacBook Pro 6,1 and 6,2 in new firmware
The latest beta seed of Mac OS X 10.6.2 has references to new Apple portables, a Spanish site has found today. Entries exist in the 10C531 build that make references to "MacBook Pro 6,1" and MacBook Pro 6,2," neither of which exists in the market. Current MacBook Pros range between 5,1 and 5,5.
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10/21, 1:35pm
Intel launches 3.2GHz Core i7 CPU
A rumor from this summer has been confirmed, as Intel quietly updated its Core i7 chip range with a new flagship offering, the 3.2GHz i7 960. Based on the Bloomfield core, the chip can be overclocked to 3.46GHz when the Turbo Boost feature shuts down one or more cores. The 45nm chip otherwise has an 8MB L3 cache, a 4.8GTps (gigatransfers per second) Quick Path interface and a peak 130W power use.
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10/20, 12:25pm
iMac redesigned for 16:9, Core i7
Apple today completely revised its iMac with a new design and much faster performance. The series now switches to wider 16:9 aspect ratio, LED-backlit displays and a new look with edge-to-edge glass and a seamless aluminum body. The displays are also much denser and start at 1920x1080 (1080p) for a 21.5-inch display and an extremely sharp 2560x1440 for a new, largest-ever 27-inch model. Both now use color-accurate IPS (in-plane switching) displays versus the cheaper TN (twisted nematic) panel from the old 20-inch iMac.
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10/19, 10:20am
ASUS to release Android phone before 2010
At a small press conference held in Taiwan renectly, ASUS chairman and president revealed an Android-powered smarpthone from the company is due later in 2009. A Monday Digitimes article maintains chairman Jonney Shih and ASUS president and CEO Jerry Shen had a discussion with the local media and revealed this information, along with a positive outlook on the notebook market and some plans for environmentally-friendly products in the future.
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10/16, 4:30pm
Intel Atom 400, 500 series pushed to 2010
In spite of claims of an on time release, Intel's Atom processors using its Pine Trail architecture now won't show until the very start of 2010, a string of leaks have shown Thursday. The 1.66GHz N450 and 1.86GHz N470 are said by Fudzilla to ship on January 3rd and won't necessarily save battery life. Instead, the primary gain will come from moving graphics to the main processor core, reducing the number of chips from three to two and creating more space.
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10/15, 2:30pm
Rumor has iMac using quad-core Nehalem
A tentative rumor ad mid-day suggests that Apple's anticipated iMac redesign may draw on Intel's mobile Core i7 processors. Most other details aren't provided in the AppleInsider tip, but any release before early 2010 would require that Apple use some or all of the quad-core "Clarksfield" designs on the market and produce the first non-workstation quad-core Macs.
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10/13, 2:30pm
HP Pavilion dv8 comes with dv6, dv7 updates
HP this afternoon held a rare UK-first debut for one of its notebooks. The Pavilion dv8 is now HP's largest non-HDX notebook and carries an 18.4-inch, 1080p display that lets it replace a desktop. A 1.6GHz Core i7 and a dedicated GeForce GT 230M also put the dv8's performance closer to that goal.
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10/13, 12:00am
HP adds ProBook 6445b, 6545b, Elite 7000
HP on Tuesday centered its pro PC updates for Windows 7 on a new high-end tower and two frugal notebooks. The Elite 7000 desktop is HP's new high-end outside of workstations and runs on Core i5 and i7 processors and has a new black, metal case more suited to a desk than the workmanlike old models; it's also the first desktop in the category for HP that allows SuSE Linux in place of Windows. Graphics have been given a large boost and can scale to as much as either a GeForce GT 230 or a Radeon HD 4650.
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10/09, 5:10pm
Envy 15 Beats touts headphones, Traktor
HP this afternoon provided fuller details of its special-run Envy 15 Beats (link active soon) notebook. It expands on the reference version by bundling a pair of Beats over-ear headphones as well as bundling Traktor LE for live DJing. Cosmetically, the model comes in the same glossy black and red as most Beats earphones.
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10/08, 3:05pm
NVIDIA says suit prevents nForce sales
NVIDIA late Wednesday said it would "postpone" any future nForce mainboard chipsets until an end is reached in the countering lawsuits between itself and Intel. As Intel alleges that NVIDIA's license doesn't cover chipsets for processors with an integrated memory controller, such as all Core i5/i7 and some newer Atom processors, NVIDIA claims that it has no choice but to freeze development of future nForce chipsets until Intel's "unfair business tactics" are either halted or cleared in court.
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10/05, 10:30am
MSI GT740 gaming notebook gets Windows 7, Core i7
MSI on Monday said it will soon follow up its first quad-core Core i7 powered notebook, the 15.4-inch GT640, with the larger 17-inch GT740 gaming notebook. Like the smaller PC, this new one will also ship with Windows 7. Another shared feature is the NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250M 3D graphics chipset, which should give it added performance beyond just the faster Intel processor.
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10/01, 3:00pm
MSI intros GT640 gaming notebook with Core i7
Taiwanese PC maker MSI has recently announced a new addition to its G Series of gaming notebooks with the 15.4-inch GT640. It ships with Intel's mobile quad-core Core i7 processor, though which models aren't known. The portable represents one of MSI's first Windows 7 systems and will have relatively quick visuals through a GeForce GTS 250M for graphics. Hard drives can be had in 250GB, 320GB or 500GB capacities, but MSI only promises up to 4GB of RAM.
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10/01, 10:55am
Dell releases Vostro 430 desktop
Dell this morning added a new mid-range tower to its home and small business line. The Vostro 430 is Dell's first system in the range to use Intel's Core i5 and, even in the base model, starts off as a quad-core desktop. Dell claims that its least expensive system is as much as five times faster than a 3.6GHz Pentium D in some tasks.
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09/28, 10:30am
HP Pavilion dv8 details confirmed
HP inadvertently confirmed its own notebook plans this morning by posting specs of its own in a technical brief. The Pavilion dv8 (not yet pictured) will be its first 18.4-inch notebook and its second system after the Envy 15 to use a mobile Core i7 processor. While it's unclear if there will be multiple stock configurations, the one model on show has the base 1.6GHz Core i7, which can clock up to 2.8GHz when less than four cores are needed.
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09/25, 4:25pm
Sager launches 15.6-inch Core i7 gaming notebook
Sager has released its first Core i7-powered gaming notebook, the 15.6-inch NP8690. The hardware maker is touting the portable PC as the world's most powerful gaming notebook of its size, with 1.6GHz, 1.73GHz or 2GHz quad-core CPUs; RAM is limited to a maximum of 4GB, however. The screen can be had with the standard 1600x900 resolution or a higher 1920x1080. Graphics are handled by NVIDIA's high-end GeForce GTX 280M. Security is also in place through a fingerprint scanner.
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09/24, 2:50pm
New iMacs said imminent
Apple could be on the verge of launching its increasingly rumored redesigned iMacs as early as next week, a new rumor suggests today. A pair of sources for AppleInsider say the company has already been assembling the new all-in-ones for the past two weeks and that large-scale buyers have been given discounts in an effort to clear excess stock. These would only last one week.
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09/23, 6:20pm
Radeon HD 5800 reaches three PC builders
Three custom-order PC builders today became some of the earliest to pick up AMD's ATI Radeon HD 5800 series as a video option. CyberPower has added the option to three of its systems and will see the Core i5-based Xtreme 4200 and Phenom II-based Gamer Dragon 9500 come with a Radeon HD 5850 as standard while the Core i7-founded will ship with a Radeon HD 5870. Prices start from $927 for the Gamer Dagon and mode up to $999 and $1,393 for the Xtreme 4200 and 5200 respectively.
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09/23, 5:30pm
Toshiba Qosmio X500 for US
Quickly following the UK release, Toshiba has brought out an American version of the Qosmio X500. The 18.4-inch desktop replacement notebook is the PC builder's first to use a Core i7 processor and revolves around the 1.6GHz quad-core chip's added power for games and movies. It similarly comes with a 1GB GeForce GTS 250M for video. The 1080p display is stock, though for the US release Toshiba notes that not every model will have a Blu-ray drive.
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09/23, 2:05pm
Dell Studio notebooks with Core i7
Dell today backed its Alienware updates with the addition of Intel's mobile Core i7 processor as an option to three of its self-labeled systems. The Studio XPS 16, Studio 15 and Studio 17 all have the choice of either the 1.6GHz or 1.73GHz quad-core processors as a build-to-order upgrade. The high speed choice boosts the price of a Studio 15 to $999, while the larger Studio 17 to $1,099 and the lone Studio XPS update to $1,249.
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09/23, 1:05pm
Intel Core i7 mobile now official
Intel at its second Developer Forum keynote officially unveiled its first Core i7 processors for notebooks. Once codenamed Clarksfield, the quad-core processors share the same Nehalem architecture and 45 nanometer process as the desktop part but are designed to consume much less power, although more at peak than the Core 2 Quad. The top-end Core i7 Extreme consumes 55W where regular quad Core i7 mobile chips will use 45W.
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09/23, 11:20am
Toshiba Core i7-powered Qosmio X500 dated for UK
Toshiba UK on Wednesday announced it has added a new flagship gaming notebook, the 18.4-inch Qosmio X500. The system is just the second notebook driven by Intel's mobile Core i7 CPU, which normally runs at 1.6GHz but can operate at 2.8GHz when in Turbo Boost mode. Toshiba also regards it as a media system beyond the processor and gives it both a 1080p display as well as a Blu-ray burner and HDMI-CEC support for remote control from other peripherals.
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09/23, 9:20am
Alienware Core i7 notebook and new Area/Aurora
(Updated with more specs and links) Alienware this morning touted a symbolic milestone as the first company to ship a notebook with Intel's mobile Core i7 processor. The 15-inch m15x can be equipped with a 2GHz Core i7 920XM that not only gives it a quad-core processor but should support Hyperthreading for as many as eight effective cores. Despite the clock speed, the system should outrun the Core 2 Extreme and many higher clocked dual- and quad-core older systems.
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09/22, 2:30pm
Alienware revamping PCs tomorrow
Alienware announcements slated for Wednesday and teased in recent days should include sweeping updates to three of its core product lines, a last-minute leak today shows. The company plans to unveil a redone m15x gaming notebook and is said by Engadget to be reworking both the Area-51 and Aurora gaming towers as well as their high-end ALX variants. Actual specs are unknown but are likely to involve revamped AMD, Intel and NVIDIA hardware, such as Intel's mobile Core i7 quad-core and new Radeon HD 5800 graphics.
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09/18, 12:15pm
Quad Core i7 much faster in benchmarks
Intel's upcoming Core i7 four-core parts for notebooks, nicknamed Clarksfield, should be much faster per clock cycle compared to their existing Core 2 Quad counterparts based on tests published today. Although normally clocked at just 1.73GHz, the mid-range Core i7-820QM is seen in PCPro benchmarks often coming close to, matching or outperforming the 2.53GHz Core 2 Extreme that costs significantly more than the expected $750 for the newer chip. The edge comes despite extra handicaps on the test system versus the Dell M6400 Covet used for comparison, as the Core i7 system had just half the RAM (4GB), a slower-spinning 5,400RPM hard drive and a more mainstream GeForce GT 240M graphics chip versus the workstation-grade Quadro FX 3700M in the older PC.
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09/15, 12:00am
New HP Envies bring Core i7, more
HP this morning revived its sleeping Envy label for two new systems targeted at the same slim but high-speed designs as the MacBook Pro. The Envy 13 and 15 are both housed in aluminum-and-black shells and drop the usual optical drive to shed weight and thickness: the 13-inch model is relatively light at just over 3.7 pounds and is 0.8 inches thick, while even the larger 15-inch system is slightly over 5.1 pounds and under an inch. Both also draw on Monster's Beats PC audio to produce better built-in audio than most notebooks, get color accurate displays, and have a MacBook-like trackpad nicknamed the "clickpad" that hides the main button underneath the surface.
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09/08, 9:35am
Dell Studio XPS 8000 unveiled
Dell quickly seized on the launch of Intel's Lynnfield architecture by introducing a new system to take advantage of it. The Studio XPS 8000 is a smaller, less costly counterpart to the Studio XPS 435 (to be rebranded as the 9000) and starts off with a 2.66GHz Core i5 and more modest Radeon HD 4350 dedicated graphics to give most of what higher-end users expect but without having to scale up to a full Core i7 system and mid-range visuals. It continues to share the basic chassis concept of the 435 and has both a tray for peripherals and cooling designed for airflow first.
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09/08, 7:35am
Intel Lynnfield Official
Intel today brought its most recent chip architecture into the mainstream with the official start to Lynnfield, its lower-cost but also more advanced desktop platform. The design is headlined by updated Core i7 and new Core i5 processors that build not only the memory controller but also a 16X PCI Express interface directly into the processor die, leaving just a single chip on the mainboard to control the remaining PCI Express slots and other mainboard duties. The gesture cuts lag in talking directly to graphics hardware and reduces the footprint of the system.
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09/07, 12:20pm
HP CULV and Core i7 notebooks leak
HP's impending plans to revamp its notebook line have likely been uncovered in advance today courtesy of a pair of leaks (one, two). Leading the group should be the Pavilion dv8, one of the first systems to use Intel's mobile Core i7; it should be an 18.4-inch desktop replacement with an early 1.6GHz quad-core processor that scales up to 2.8GHz when it can ramp down one or more cores. It's also expected that the system would come with a Blu-ray drive as well as 4GB of RAM and 640GB of storage, likely spread across two disks.
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08/31, 3:45pm
Intel Core i5 Desk Sept 8
Intel's desktop Core i5 and i7 processors and its matching P55 platform are slated to appear in exactly a week, mainboard producers claimed today. A launch is expected on September 8th that should involve three processors already rumored for next month; these would include the 2.93GHz Core i7 870, 2.8GHz Core i7 860 and 2.66GHz Core i5 750. All of these are quad-core, but only the Core i7 models will have Hyperthreading and support as many as eight program threads at once.
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08/25, 10:50pm
Mobile Core i7, touch Win
MSI has confirmed the introduction of mobile Core i7 processors with several of its upcoming Windows 7-based notebooks . The company is set to ship 15.4- and 17-inch notebooks based on the Core i7 7200M, Core i7 8200M, and Core i7 920XM CPUs. Along with the high-end notebooks, MSI is also set to release a Wind U150 netbook featuring a touchscreen and Intel's next-generation Pine Trail platform.
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08/19, 4:35pm
Fujitsu Celsius Ultra PC
Fujitsu's Celsius Ultra gaming PC, which is claimed to be the fastest air-cooled gaming system around, has been priced and images have been captured, as it has been tested by an independent source. The 3.33GHz Intel Core i7-powered system sports dual EVGA GeForce GTX 295 graphics cards set up in a 4-way SLI configuration on a single board. Each card has 1.8GB of dedicated RMA. The cards' cooling capabilities haven't been modified, though their speeds have been slightly increased. There is also 12GB of RAM onboard.
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08/10, 10:20am
NV SLI on Core i5 and i7
NVIDIA today broke some ground by confirming that Intel and mainboard producers such as ASUS, EVGA, GigaByte and MSI have all licensed SLI for use with upcoming Core i5 and i7 systems. The gesture gives tested mainboards based on Intel's P55 chipset support for using two or more GeForce graphics cards in tandem. Many Intel chipsets to date have focused instead on ATI's equvialent, CrossFire, though AMD's ownership of ATI is likely to help drive Intel's addition of the NVIDIA option.
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08/06, 5:10pm
iBuyPower Chimera Killer
iBuyPower wound down its afternoon with a new Chimera Killer Special Edition PC. The new model is tailored just to the hardcore gaming market with a Killer Xeno Pro standard in every model to hopefully lower latency by reducing the overhead of Ethernet traffic. Every system also has a special flame art case with an illuminated side window and a small display to show the heat levels inside the case.
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08/03, 11:30am
Intel Westmere Spotted
Intel's six-core Xeon processor, known as Westmere, has been seen in a leak of an engineering sample today [caution: may not be safe for work). Still identified as a mainstream Core i7 chip by software, the Xeon W5590 example runs at a relatively low 2.4GHz clock speed but has 12MB of Level 3 cache shared between all cores and 256KB of Level 2 cache for each core. With Hyperthreading, which runs up to two program threads on a single core, the system shows as many as 12 effective cores.
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07/31, 5:30pm
Acer gaming Predator PC
Acer on Friday released the specs and pricing for its upcoming Predator-series flagship PC, the ASG7710-A41. The upgrades to the gaming PC include a 3.06GHz Intel Core i7-950 CPU, which is faster than the 2.93GHz i7-940-based model currently available in the US. The new PC retains the same Intel X58 Express chipset and 1TB hard drive, but ups the ante with two NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 graphics cards with 1GB of RAM as opposed to the US model's single GeForce GTX 260. Both share 6GB of RAM, however, with a maximum capacity for 12GB.
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07/28, 4:25pm
A-DATA outs 4GB DRAM
Taiwan-based A-DATA announced on Tuesday it will soon release single 4GB DDR3 DRAM modules as part of its performance memory offerings. The high-capacity sticks will be available in the U-DIMM configuration for desktop applications, SO-DIMM for notebooks and unbuffered ECC-DIMM/ECC Registered DIMM for workstations and servers. Other than the higher capacity, A-DATA touts less energy use than when using two sticks to achieve the same total capacity.
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07/21, 10:15am
Intel Core i5 i3 Sept 6
Intel's first truly mainstream, desktop processors based on its Nehalem architecture should be ready in less than two months, a leaked roadmap shows. The first three processors tipped earlier are now reportedly due to arrive on September 6th and, as promised, should be headlined by the quad-core 2.66GHz Core i5 750, 2.8GHz Core i7 860, and 2.93GHz Core i7 870. New, however is word that the i5 part won't support Hyperthreading but that all three will overclock substantially in Turbo Boost mode, reaching as high as 3.2GHz, 3.46GHz and 3.6GHz each when one or more cores can be shut down.
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07/17, 9:50am
Intel Calpella at IDF Sept
Intel's Developer Forum in late September should mark the formal debut for its Calpella notebook platform and should serve as an opportunity to showcase its upcoming ultra-mobile technology as well, a leak indicated today. As part of an updated product roadmap, the semiconductor firm should provide detailed specs of Calpella and, presumably, the mobile Core i5 and i7 processors it will use. The overall platform is believed to ship in the fall.
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07/15, 12:15pm
Mobile Core i7 i5 Roadmap
Virtually all the essential details for Intel's first mobile chips based on the Nehalem architecture have escaped today courtesy of a roadmap. It now says the quad-core Clarksfield processors at 1.6GHz, 1.73GHz and 2GHz will be named the i7-720QM, i7-820QM and i7-920XM respectively with 8MB of cache on all but the slowest model. In a surprise, however, all three will also have dramatic headroom for increased clock speeds and should scale up to 2.8GHz, 3.06GHz and 3.2GHz. It's implied in the Impress leak that these speeds will come through Turbo Boost, a feature that shuts down one or more of the cores in return for higher clock speeds for tasks that don't need every core.
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