11/05, 1:55pm
AMD facing ATI Radeon GPU shortages
PC vendors that rely on AMD graphics cards are delaying their shipments scheduled for the first quarter of 2010 by nearly two months, say sources at the manufacturers, DigiTimes claimed on Thursday. Radeon HD 5000-series GPUs and HD 4000-series GPUs are reportedly facing shortages through a combination of factors. The shortage of the 40nm Radeon HD 5000 cards is due to a low yield at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) 40nm factories, while the 4000-series GPUs scarcity is allegedly AMD's own doing as it has scaled back production of older technology after releasing the more advanced 40nm parts.
more
11/04, 4:20pm
AMD to out two new desktop platforms next year
By May of 2010, chipmaker AMD will officially introduce two new desktop platforms, with the high-end Leo and more mainstream Dorado, says Digitimes. The information comes from motherboard makers, who revealed the Leo will be made up of current 45nm Phenom II or future six-core Thuban CPUs paired with either 890FX or 890GX northbridge and SB850 southbridge chipsets.
more
11/03, 9:30am
Intel offering Larrabee GPU to China card makers
On a recent trip to China, Intel's CEO Paul Otellini has been talking about the chipmaker's upcoming high-end Larrabee GPU with China-based graphics card makers, DigiTimes reported on Tuesday, citing sources at the card makers. They claim Intel is planning on offering preferential pricing for the GPU both on its own, as well as bundled with other Intel products. The Larrabee is expected to compete with NVIDIA's GeForce and AMD's Radeon products and is due for a 2010 launch.
more
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.
more
10/29, 4:50pm
MSI shows 16-inch CR610 notebook with Windows 7
MSI on Thursday announced the upcoming release of the CR610, a 16-inch notebook PC running on AMD's Tigris platform with an Athlon II processor. Also, the PC ships with Windows 7 preloaded onto its 2.5-inch hard drive, which can be had in 250, 320 and 500GB capacities. Up to 4GB of RAM can be specified, with graphics handled by an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4200 chipset.
more
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.
more
10/14, 6:15pm
Acer Aspire Z5610 desktop with multitouch screen
Acer today prepped for the upcoming release of the Aspire Z5610, its first all-in-one desktop with multi-touch input support. The system draws on Windows 7 for its extra touch features and has a relatively large 23-inch, 1080p display to work with. Processing power is basic and comes from a dual-core 2.6GHz Pentium, but the system brings both 4GB of RAM and relatively fast graphics from an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570.
more
10/13, 9:40am
AMD launches Radeon HD 5770, 5750
AMD's graphics label ATI today extended its next-wave hardware into the mainstream. The Radeon HD 5770 and Radeon HD 5750 scale back to a 128-bit memory bus and significantly fewer effects cores but still have the full DirectX 11 and OpenGL 3.x feature sets of the 5800 series as well as support for multi-display Eyefinity. They remain dual-slot cards but consume much less power at 108W peak for the 5770 and 86W for the 5750.
more
10/13, 12:00am
HP launches TouchSmart 300 and 600
HP early today is making an aggressive push into touchscreen PCs with two key updates to its TouchSmart home all-in-ones. The TouchSmart 300 and 600 add true multi-touch input and have significantly expanded use for the technology: they can not only use pinch-to-zoom, flicks and other gestures in the general operating system thanks to Windows 7 but in several new touch apps for the systems' custom front end. They can now navigate Hulu or Netflix streaming video, stream Pandora or Rhapsody music, or update and follow Twitter feeds all primarily using touch.
more
10/13, 12:00am
HP TouchSmart tx2 and 9100 made for Win 7
HP in gearing up for Windows 7 added two newer touchscreen PCs to its mix. The TouchSmart tx2 convertible tablet now makes better use of its multi-touch display both in the OS as well as in the new apps specific to HP's TouchSmart front end; users can watch Hulu or Netflix from the touch interface as well as update Twitter or stream Pandora and Rhapsody music. Unlike most such screens, the tx2's input isn't solely finger-oriented and will work with a stylus as well.
more
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.
more
10/13, 12:00am
Compaq outs CQ61, CQ4010, 500B and 505B
HP's sub-label Compaq tonight received three upgraded systems to ready itself for Windows 7. The Presario CQ61z refreshes the familiar 15.6-inch CQ60 with a more modern 2GHz AMD Sempron whose choice helps put the system at a particularly low $400 price (post-rebate) even while brand-new. The refresh further adds Mobility Radeon HD 4200 video in place of the older NVIDIA hardware but still has 2GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive.
more
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.
more
10/07, 8:25am
Gateway One ZX series debuts
Gateway today preempted its rivals with one of the first fully multi-touch all-in-one desktop lines. The One ZX series' staple feature lets them both take advantage of the pinch-to-zoom, scrolling and other features inherent to Windows 7 as well as a custom touchscreen front end for music, notes, photos and content sharing.
more
10/05, 3:15pm
Dell ZinoHD will be labeled Inspiron, specs leak
Some specs and details of the upcoming Dell Zino HD series of nettops were revealed, thanks to a recent DellZinoHD search. Two models in the Zino HD series will be offered, including the Inspiron 300 and Inspiron 400. Both have potentially been readied for Windows XP, Windows Vista or the upcoming Windows 7, with the support page also including a manual for Ubuntu.
more
10/02, 11:20am
Radeon HD 5750 performance leaked
AMD's first mainstream graphics chipset in its ATI Radeon HD 5000 series has been leaked with photos, specifications and even performance tests. The reference model seen by Chinese site MyMyPC is a dual-slot card but has a unique teardrop-shaped cooling system. It should be a slightly scaled-back version of the 5800 line with 1,120 effects cores (versus 1,440 for the 5850), a 700MHz core (down from 725MHz) and an unknown amount of 1,150MHz GDDR5 memory.
more
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.
more
09/28, 1:20pm
New dual-core ATI Radeon graphics cards seen
The ATI Radeon HD 5870 x2 and a new 5850 X2 graphics card have been spotted in photos recently. The former has been leaked earlier, and should be out on the market sometime in October. The photos show the card is ultra-long, raising questions as to whether it will fit into mid-sized or large tower cases. The single-core HD 5870 is 11 inches long, with estimates from the photos putting the dual-core version at perhaps 12 or 12.5 inches.
more
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.
more
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.
more
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.
more
09/23, 12:00am
ATI Radeon HD 5800 official
AMD's graphics label ATI tonight claimed to set a new benchmark for graphics with the Radeon HD 5800 series. The new video hardware is theoretically twice as fast as the 4870 and has an extremely large set of 1,600 stream (visual effect) cores -- enough to calculate 2.72 teraflops per second. Besides handling twice as many rendering tasks at once, the 5800 is also running a sixth-generation engine that shades and tessellates geometry more quickly, more GDDR5 memory bandwidth (150Gbps), and much improved techniques for antialiasing and anisotropic texture filtering.
more
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.
more
09/17, 9:15am
MSI X410 now official
MSI this morning took the X-Slim line into AMD's territory by officially launching the X410. The crossover, 14-inch ultraportable uses the lower end of AMD's Congo ultrathin platform and uses both an Athlon Neo processor and the newer chipset to reportedly get twice as much battery life as a regular 14-inch notebook, although MSI is silent on actual numbers. The system uses the older Radeon X1250 for integrated graphics but claims its power is enough to decode 1080i video smoothly.
more
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.
more
09/15, 12:00am
HP ProBook 5310m and Pavilion dm3
As part of a shift to ultra-thin notebooks, HP tonight launched two crossover 13.3-inch notebooks that it hopes are both fast and portable. The ProBook 5310m is unofficially the most portable full-performance notebook ever with an 0.93-inch thick body (versus Apple's 0.94 inches) and a 3.8-pound weight; it accomplishes the feat through an aluminum shell without an optical drive and, unusually, by giving the option of a full-speed 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo as well as a CULV-based 1.2GHz Celeron dual-core. Using the Celeron gives the system as much as 7 hours of battery life using the stock 4-cell battery.
more
09/15, 12:00am
HP Pavilion MS200 with Windows 7
HP's launches today have included the company's first Pavilion All-in-One PC, the MS200. The system borrows the same core design principle as the iMac and balances the entire computer on an angled stand; compared to Apple's full speed computer, though, the MS200 is consciously treated as a step above nettops and is meant as a dorm room or kitchen PC. The new offering is based on a 1.5GHz Athlon X2 and brings Radeon HD 3200 integrated video that can offload much of the 3D acceleration and movie decoding work.
more
09/14, 4:50pm
ATI Radeon HD 5700 GPUs coming in October
AMD will launch its ATI Radeon HD 5700-series GPUs, including the Radeon HD 5770 and 5750, in October, according to sources at graphics card makers. A Monday DigiTimes report maintains that ATI will also release Radeon 5800-series graphics chips on September 22nd, while the 5870 X2 (R800) has been slated for November.
more
09/10, 6:10pm
Radeon HD 5800 Eyefinity shown
AMD at a press conference today demonstrated one of the core features of its upcoming Radeon HD 5800 series graphics chipset. Nicknamed Eyefinity, the ATI-branded technology gives a single video card up to six DisplayPort outputs running at their full resolution. It can also merge these into a single picture and create a live image as large as 8192x8192 once technology allows this; current technology would still allow six 2560x1600 displays that could produce a typical resolution of 7680x3200.
more
09/10, 3:30pm
Mobility Radeon HD 5K to cover whole range
A Chinese leak today has slipped many core details of AMD's next ATI notebook graphics platform. The Mobility Radeon HD 5000 series is expected to be a direct translation of the desktop models and should have similar lines. At the top, the 5870, 5850 and 5830 will all have a very large 1,600 shader units (effects processors) and should support CrossFire on gaming-oriented desktop replacements. The top two will support fast GDDR5 memory while the 5830 will need GDDR3.
more
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.
more
09/04, 10:15am
Radeon HD 5800 Five Parts
AMD's ATI Radeon HD 5800 line will have five models by the time it's complete, a detailed leak of data shows. The 5870 and 5850 known to be launching first are now believed by Xbit to be just upper mid-range parts that would replace the 4870 and 4850 sold today. Falling under the codename Juniper, they would use the same processor as higher-end chips but would be eclipsed by two higher-end models, Cypress and Hemlock.
more
09/01, 4:40pm
BenQ outs CULV notebooks
BenQ recently announced the launch of two notebooks powered by Intel's Consumer Ultra Low Voltage (CULV) processors. This includes the 13.3-inch Joybook S35 and 14-inch Joybook S43. Processor choices include a 1.4GHz single core Core 2 Solo, 1.3GHz Core 2 Duo SU7300, 1.2GHz Celeron 723 or 1.3GHz Celeron 743 chips. Both sport a 1366x768 resolution along with high brightness and contrast levels thanks to LED backlit screens. Graphics processing is thanks to an ATI Mobility Radeon HD4330 GPU on the S43 or Intel's integrated GMA4500M GPU on the S35.
more
08/26, 4:00pm
MSI WindTop AE2010
MSI today added a larger, faster version of its WindTop all-in-one desktop to its American lineup. In addition to a larger 20-inch touchscreen with a higher 1600x900 resolution, the easel-like PC is also the first for the US to use a processor faster than an Atom and uses a low-power, 1.5GHz AMD Athlon X2 that gives it enough power to run Windows Vista and eventually Windows 7. Switching to the new platform also gives MSI a much faster Radeon HD 3200 integrated graphics chipset for better 3D and HD processing.
more
08/26, 10:45am
Dell Studio XPS Arctic Wht
Dell today quietly added a third color option to its Studio XPS 13 and Studio XPS 16 notebooks. The Arctic White shell complements the existing black and red options and adds a color-matching leather accent at the base of the lid to improve both the aesthetics and grip of the system. As always, the palmrest and the rest of the inside notebook remain the same two-tone black and silver.
more
08/25, 10:55am
ASUS Eee Top ET20 and ET22
ASUS today catered to the US with three new Eee Top all-in-ones. The regular ET2002 and touchscreen ET2002T are the first of the systems to use NVIDIA's Ion hybrid graphics and system controller and consequently have much better graphics performance than Intel's own parts without the cost of a dedicated chipset. Both 20-inch units also break out of nettop limits with dual-core 1.6GHz Atom processors, 2GB of RAM, 320GB hard drives and DVD burners in addition to the usual 802.11n Wi-Fi and webcams.
more
08/24, 4:25pm
MSI X600 notebook now out
MSI’s ultra-low voltage 15.6-inch notebook PC, the X600 can now be purchased and is priced at $800. Part of MSI's ultra-slim X-Slim series, the X600 features a 1.4GHz Core 2 Solo CPU, a six-cell battery, a 320GB hard drive with Windows Vista Home Premium and a 15.6-inch LCD with a 1366x768 resolution, in a package that's less than one inch thick and weighs about 5.5lbs.
more
08/24, 2:25pm
ATI Radeon HD 5800 Leak
AMD's major video chipset update this fall has had its feature set and release date uncovered thanks to a slip of information Monday. The ATI Radeon HD 5800 series should be fronted by the 5850 and 5870, both high-end cards that could be the first to support Eyefinity, a technology that not unlike Matrox cards will support three displays on a single card. They are also to be AMD's first graphics cores to support DirectX 11 and OpenGL 3.1 visual effects in hardware.
more
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.
more
08/04, 4:40pm
HP Compaq 515, 610 outed
HP has released a pair of business notebooks, with the 14.0-inch Compaq 515 and 15.6-inch Compaq 610. Either sports an LED-backlit display with 1366x768 resolution, and the 515's processing power coming from a choice of AMD Athlon X2 or Turion X2 processors paired with as much as 8GB of RAM. Graphics processing is handled by the integrated ATI Radeon HD 3200 GPU. Otherwise, users can opt for a 250GB hard drive, and there is a standard-issue DVD burner and optional 2-megapixel webcam. Wi-Fi is integrated, and the systems start at 5lbs with a standard 6-cell battery.
more
07/20, 4:15pm
HP ProBook 4310s on sale
HP has recently made the highly-configurable 13.3-inch ProBook 4310s available for purchase via its webstore. The LED-backlit display itself can be had in a standard 1366x768 or ultra-bright 1366x768 resolution, and there are six processor choices, ranging from a 1.8GHz Intel Celeron dual-core CPU to a 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo.
more
07/16, 2:20pm
Dell Inspiron 13 Early
Dell today signaled that further revamps of its Inspiron notebooks were coming through the low-key Singapore launch of a new Inspiron 13. Borrowing design cues from the just-launched Inspiron 17, it also has a rounded design and a 16:9, LED-backlit display but a more modest 1366x768 picture. Besides the switch to a wider ratio, though, it also strips out the optical drive and drops nearly a full pound to reach 4lb. in standard trim.
more
07/16, 8:50am
Dell Inspiron 17
Dell today filled out its mainstream notebooks with the Inspiron 17. The desktop notebook switches to the same 16:9 aspect ratio display and thinner, more efficent LED backlighting as newer Inspirons but, matching its 17.3-inch size, has a much higher 1600x900 resolution as standard. Processors are also generally faster in standard trim and scale up to a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo.
more
07/15, 11:45am
MSI adds 16-inch notebooks
The recently introduced Classic series of notebooks from MSI, which kicked off with the 14-inch CR400 notebook last week, was just expanded with the promised arrival of the 16-inch CX600 and CR600. Either is wedge-shaped and sports 45-degree edges, as well as the same imprint finish as the CR400. The 1366x768 resolution displays are LED-backlit, while the touchpad buttons are brushed metal. Where they begin to differ is in their graphics processing powers, as the CX600 runs an ATI Mobility Radeon HD4330 3D card with 512MB of RAM, while the CR600 has NVIDIA's GeForce 8200M G GPU that shares system memory and adds an HDMI port.
more
07/10, 4:20pm
ASUS notebooks in Italy
Four new notebook PCs from ASUS have appeared in Italy, including the 15.6-inch K50AB and K50IJ, the 17.3-inch K70AB and ultrathin 15.6-inch U50VG, some of which were shown at CeBIT in Germany a few months back. The official release of the notebooks for Italy also revealed some further specs, including the K50AB's AMD Turion 2.3GHz CPU and 4GB of RAM. Graphics are handled by ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 that sports 512MB of dedicated memory, while users work on an LED-backlight, 1366x768 resolution LCD.
more
07/08, 5:15pm
MSI intros 14-inch EX460
MSI will soon add to its Entertainment-series of notebook PCs with the 14-inch EX460. The system is relatively advanced with an LED-backlit display and ships with a 512MB version of ATI's Mobility Radeon HD 4330 graphics chipset, giving it better than usual video in the class. General processing power is courtesy of an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, though its clock speed is not specified. It's not known how much RAM the EX460 ships with, but the twin DDR2 slots can hold up to 4GB.
more
07/08, 9:40am
6th Laptop Hunters Ad
Microsoft has returned to its ad campaign with the first ad in its "Laptop Hunters" campaign in weeks. The TV spot sees couple Matt and Olivia tasked with finding a system at Best Buy with a large screen, long battery life and good support for pictures at $700. They dismiss a 13-inch plastic MacBook as "too small" and too expensive at $1,000, eventually settling on an HP Pavilion dv7 exactly matching their target price. In comparing the Mac and Windows lines, Microsoft is direct and emphasizes absolute price over features.
more
07/06, 4:05pm
Medion intros netbook
PC maker Medion recently announced it will soon offer its 11.6-inch Akoya Mini E1312 netbook. The screen has a 1366x768 resolution and is paired with an HDMI output for a similar resolution on a TV, with graphics processing coming via an ATI Radeon Xpress 1250 chipset. Rather than choose Intel's Atom, Medion instead opts for AMD's low-power 1.5GHz Sempron 210U, and there is 1GB of RAM onboard. The 160GB hard drive will be preloaded with Windows XP.
more
07/02, 9:45am
Radeon HD 4200 Leak
AMD is developing an integrated graphics chipset for budget PCs that could take the performance crown in the category, a leaked roadmap shows. Codenamed RS880 but likely to be badged Radeon HD 4200 when it ships, the design will have a new graphics core that should run about 15 percent faster than "anything comparable" on the market, implying that NVIDIA's GeForce 9400 or 9400M may be the primary targets. The Inquirer adds that it should support AMD's Stream general-purpose computing technology and, by extension, would eventually support OpenCL.
more
06/25, 8:30am
Gateway NV Notebooks
Gateway has quickly followed up on its desktop news with the addition of a relatively high-style but more frugal notebook line intended for the back-to-school audience. The NV series has a minimalist, glossy design with a relatively sturdy barrel hinge and touch-sensitive shortcut keys. At the same time, the notebooks keep costs down with a 15.6-inch, 1366x768 (but LED-backlit) display and lower-end AMD or Intel mobile chips.
more
