February 9th, 2010
Asus announces first laptops using Nvidia Optimus switchable graphics
Along with Nvidia’s announcement today that it’s upgraded its Hybrid SLI switchable graphics mobile solution to the company’s new Optimus technology, Asus has disclosed the first five laptops that will support the graphics platform, ranging from thin-and-lights to bigger, more multimedia-friendly machines.
The UL50VF-A1 (pictured above) is the one that’s making the rounds of reviewers, including PC Magazine and Laptop Magazine. Though it has a low-octane Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 processor, the Nvidia GeForce G210M discrete graphics card gives it some muscle. The 5.2-pound lightweight comes with a 15.6-inch display, 4GB of RAM, and an $850 price tag.
Specs were a little harder to come by with some of the other new Asus models, though the N61JV-X2 is already available to pre-order from Amazon.com for $899. The mainstream system features a Core i5-430M CPU, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, 500GB hard drive, 16-inch LED-backlit screen, and GeForce GT325M graphics card with 1GB of DDR3 memory. The N71Jv keeps the same video card, but boosts the display size to 17.3 inches; the N82Jv’s specs aren’t on the Internet, though we can assume it’s the fullest featured of the N models.
Xotic PC has the U30JC-A1 available for pre-order from $869. It combines a Core i3-350M processor, 13.3-inch LED-backlit display, and 512MB GeForce G310M graphics card in a 4.8-pound package. The Optimus performance for each of these laptops is still to be determined, but considering it was rare not too long ago to get a discrete graphics card in a sub-$1,000 notebook, you can’t complain too much. Doubtless they’ll be plenty more Optimus systems in the pipeline we’ll learn about in the coming weeks.
February 9th, 2010
Nvidia Optimus laptop tech switches between discrete GPU, Intel integrated graphics
Remember Hybrid SLI? For those you don’t, it was Nvidia’s solution for an ever-vexing problem for laptop makers: How can you deliver the power of a discrete graphics card without sacrificing battery life? The Hybrid SLI solution was to have an Nvidia video card work in tandem with an Nvidia motherboard (and its onboard graphics) to provide a performance boost for graphics-heavy tasks like gaming and switch to integrated graphics for other applications.
Now the graphics powerhouse hopes to do Hybrid SLI one better with its new Optimus technology. The approach is similar—combine a discrete card with integrated graphics—but with a few important tweaks. The most notable one is that unlike other similar solutions, the switching between the two modes (discrete versus integrated) is fully handled in the background by Optimus’ software. There’s no need for the user to have to switch the settings him or herself, which according to AnandTech’s lengthy report on Optimus, only occurred about 1 percent of the time. Nvidia also claims that a notebook using the Optimus solution will deliver twice the battery life of a similar portable that has a discrete GPU without the Optimus optimization.
There’s also no longer a need for a special Nvidia motherboard to make the switchable-graphics magic happen. However, that does not mean that any laptop with an Nvidia graphics card and a recent Intel CPU is Optimus-enabled. There is a great deal of software tweaking involved with Optimus, so notebook manufacturers will need to release systems that have the technology baked in. (Asus has already announced its first four Optimus laptops; see a later post with the details.) But the fact that Optimus can work with the latest Intel Core i3, i5, and i7 mobile processors, as well as many Core 2 Duo and even Atom CPUs means that many new Optimus-enabled portables should be hitting stores relatively soon.
It may be overkill for Atom-based netbooks, but for those who want to do some 3D gaming and/or video editing on their laptops, an Optimus-based solution should at least be considered if you’re looking to buy a new system in the near future.
February 8th, 2010
Can Sony compete against Apple's iPad with its own tablet PC?
Everyone seems to be getting into the tablet PC game, hoping to steal some mind (and wallet) share from Apple’s iPad, and that includes Sony. According to reports from PC World and the Financial Times, Sony’s CFO Nobuyuki Oneda recently stated that “Sony is very much interested in this segment of the market and we have [the] necessary technology.”
Considering that Sony completely whiffed on its chances to compete with the iPod and failed miserably with the Mylo family of mobile communication devices (remember those?), it might not be the best competitor to take on Steve Jobs’ latest creation. On the other hand, Sony’s e-book readers have been well received, and the company is a major laptop player. One strike against the Japanese electronics giant: Oneda already admits that “There is no denying that we are running a bit behind” Apple’s forthcoming launch.
So how can Sony compete when Apple clearly has momentum (from its built-in fanboy audience, if not a more skeptical general public) and may be able to create an iPad ecosystem of customized apps that extends the successful iPhone infrastructure? It may release a tablet with its own app store, but Sony’s previous attempts at these marketplaces (be it for music or otherwise) have flopped. It could create one running a version of Windows 7, though that wouldn’t necessarily have apps that are specifically designed to run for the device. Let’s not forget that there have been Windows-based tablets for some time now, and they’ve only attracted a niche audience.
Is Sony the top company to challenge the iPad? If not, who else is best equipped to rumble with Apple, tablet style? And how can they beat the iPad at its own game (running simultaneous apps would be a good place to start)? Or can they? Let us know in the TalkBack Section.
February 7th, 2010
Lenovo ThinkPad X201T tablet with Core i7 CPU coming soon?
Intel’s latest launch of mobile processors is yielding more laptop refreshes, such as a number of Lenovo ThinkPads. Last week, the Core i3 CPU suited up for the new ThinkPad T410i, T410si and T510i, and now Engadget is reporting that the ThinkPad X201T convertible tablet will be available with a Core i7 processor.
While the X201T appears already to be on sale in Australia, it’s just hit the FCC here in the States. The new CPU in question is the dual-core Core i7-620LM, which is packed inside along with 4GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive. A 12.1-inch LED-backlit touchscreen is a holdover from the X200T and is par for the course in terms of (most) tablet PC display sizes; a fingerprint scanner and 8-cell battery appear to be other standard features. Current pricing for the X200T configs ranges from roughly $1,500 to $1,750—the updated model with new CPU may command a premium on those prices, however. Needless to say, no release date has been announced yet.
February 4th, 2010
HP makes new G62t budget laptop available starting at $599.99
Without much fanfare, HP has put up the new G62t laptop for sale on its Website. For $599.99, you get a system with a new Intel Core i3-330M processor, 3GB of DDR3 RAM, 160GB hard drive, DVD burner, 15.6-inch LED-backlit display, and Windows 7 Home Premium. You can upgrade it all the way up to a Core i7-620M CPU, 4GB of memory, 500GB hard drive, and a Blu-ray reader/DVD writer combo drive, though maybe you want a different laptop if you’re going to all that trouble. Regardless, you’re stuck with Intel’s integrated graphics no matter the configuration.
Then again, the G62t looks less like a typical HP laptop—as Engadget points out, it resembles the HP Envy instead. And at half the price, it might be a good deal if you can live with the more pedestrian specs.
February 4th, 2010
Gateway recharges its FX gaming desktops with Core i7 CPUs, Radeon HD 5850 graphics
Gateway’s successful line of midrange FX gaming PCs gets a bit of a makeover, sporting new processors and a new graphics card. In order to keep the price well below $2,000, the company doesn’t go for the highest-performing components, but the new parts should provide noticeable improvement over the previous lineup. Both the $1,699.99 FX6831-03 and the $1,299.99 FX6831-01 feature an Intel Core i7-860 quad-core processor, ATI Radeon HD 5850 graphics card and 1.5TB hard drive. The cheaper FX comes with 8GB of DDR3 RAM, while the FX6831-03 has twice that amount and also comes with a Blu-ray drive in addition to a DVD burner.
Gateway has also updated its SX small-form-factor PCs and DX line of “multimedia” computers. The $559.99 SX2840-01 sports a Core i3-530 dual-core processor, integrated Intel graphics, 6GB of DDR3 RAM, 1TB hard drive, DVD burner, and HDMI output for those who want a media PC to connect to their HDTV. The DX4831-03 offers a Core i5-650 dual-core CPU, 8GB of DDR3 RAM, 1TB hard drive, both a Blu-ray drive and DVD writer, and a low-end nVidia GeForce GT220 graphics card for some mild gaming thrills. The new DX model costs $849.99.
February 3rd, 2010
Intel reveals more details of its six-core Westmere chip
No sooner had I posted a story on upcoming six-core processors than Intel held a press conference to discuss its Westmere six-core processor–among other products–in more detail. The purpose of the briefing was to preview the papers that Intel will present at a major semiconductor conference, known as ISSCC 2010, which takes place next week in San Francisco.
Here are some additional details on the six-core chip that Intel has confirmed:
The six-core version of Westmere will be available in both desktop (Gulftown) and dual-socket server versions. Not surprisingly, it shares a lot of the same features with the dual-core Core i3 and Core i5 Westmeres including Hyper-Threading (12 threads for a six-core chip), Turbo Boost for improved performance on tasks that are not multi-threaded, an integrated memory controller, and features designed to make it more power-efficient.
But there are some differences too. Gulftown does not have a graphics controller in the same package, which makes sense given that it is designed for enthusiast desktops and will be paired with discrete graphics. It also has a larger data cache–a total of 12MB of L3 compared with 4MB on the dual-core versions–which when combined with the extra cores results in a chip that is larger and contains 1.17 billion transistors. Intel said it uses some of those extra transistors to speed up tasks such as data encryption and decryption.
Here’s how the six-core chip will look in a dual-socket server, meaning one that uses two of these processors:
And here’s a slide showing how the actual chip compares to the dual-core version currently available in mainstream laptops and desktops:
February 3rd, 2010
Intel, AMD set to release first six-core desktop chips
In the next few months, both Intel and AMD are slated to release the industry’s first six-core processors for desktop PCs. Chip makers are pitching these multi-core chips for multi-tasking and multimedia, but real-world consumer applications for six CPU cores remain limited, and for now these are likely to appeal only to PC enthusiasts with deep pockets.
Intel had been expected to release its Gulftown six-core processor sometime in early 2010. Citing desktop component companies in Asia, the site DigiTimes reported this week that Intel will announce the first Gulftown chip, the Core i7 980X, on March 16. Separately DigiTimes reported that AMD’s six-core counterpart, known as Thuban, will be launched sometime in May. AMD is expected to release three versions of the Phenom II X6 1000T series.
Six-core processors are nothing new in servers where many tasks are easily distributed across many CPU cores each running multiple threads. Intel has been shipping the six-core Xeon 7400, known as Dunnington, since 2008, and its successor, Nehalem-EX with up to eight processing cores, is due out any day now. AMD released its first six-core Opteron server chip, known as Istanbul, in June 2009. It will be followed this year by a new six-core design–two of which will be combined in a single 12-core processor known as Magny-Cours. These monsters are for high-end servers with sockets for using multiple processors, and there’s a real market for them. During AMD’s recent earnings call, CEO Dirk Meyer said six-core Opterons accounted for half the company’s server units and 60 percent of server revenue last quarter.
Things haven’t progressed as quickly on the client side where price trumps performance and, in the case of laptops, quad-cores still use too much power and give off too much heat. Intel announced the first quad-core processor in late 2006, but it was really two 65nm chips in a single package. One year later AMD one-upped Intel with the first true quad-core on a single chip, but the Barcelona launch went badly and it took AMD months to fix problems. Meanwhile Intel kept pushing Penryn-based multi-chip packages including 65nm Kentsfield and later 45nm Yorkfield Core 2 Quads until late 2008, when the company finally introduced its first monolithic quad-core, the Core i7, also at 45nm but based on the Nehalem microarchitecture.
In recent months both Intel and AMD have introduced more quad-core chips and lowered prices (last September AMD released the first sub-$100 quad-core), but the majority of laptops and desktops still rely on dual-core processors. It’s telling that Intel chose to introduce its first 32nm Westmere processors earlier this month as dual-core Arrandale and Clarkdale chips designed for mainstream laptops and desktops, respectively.
The Gulftown six-core processor will also be based on Intel’s new 32nm process technology, but it is designed for an entirely different audience. Though Intel hasn’t given many details, Gulftown has been on the roadmap for some time. Here’s a slide from Executive Vice President Sean Maloney’s keynote at the Intel Developer Forum in September 2009. At the same event, Intel employees were publicly demonstrating early working silicon (here’s a YouTube video on one Gulftown demo). Some sites have speculated that Apple will be the first to get Gulftown as part of a refresh of its Mac Pro desktop line–and there’s some precedent for that.
Similarly Thuban has been part of AMD’s roadmap at least since the company’s analyst day last fall (below is the slide from Senior Vice President Rick Bergman’s presentation). Unlike Gulftown, Thuban along with the rest of AMD’s desktop and laptop processors will continue to be manufactured using a 45nm process until 2011. Pricing for the Phenom II X6 1000Ts is unknown, but it is likely to be significantly less than Gulftown given that AMD’s highest-priced desktop processor, the quad-core 3.4GHz Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition, currently sells for $195.
The question is whether PC enthusiasts will chase these core counts or stick with less-costly chips and spend the rest on better video cards, more memory and other system components such as Blu-ray drives. While it will be interesting to see just what kind of numbers a fast six-core multi-threaded processor with lots of cache can put up on benchmarks, adoption of these high-end chips is likely to be a long, slow process.
February 2nd, 2010
Fujitsu releases LifeBook T900 tablet PC with Core i5, i7 CPUs and miniscule LifeBook UH900 multi-touch netbook
Fujitsu has stayed committed to Windows-based tablet PC’s longer than most, and it’s not stopping now. The company has just made its new LifeBook T900 series available on its Website, a 13.3-inch portable most notable for packing some of Intel’s latest mobile processors. Fujitsu offers a pair of base configurations: Both sport a Core i5-520M CPU, 2GB of DDR3 RAM, 160GB hard drive, DVD writer, and LED-backlit display and run Windows 7 Professional. The $1,989 version offers capacitive multi-touch screen capabilities in addition to pen input, while you get pen input only for $100 less. Upgrade options include Core i5-540M and Core i7-620M processors, up to 8GB of RAM, hard drives up to 500GB capacity, or a 64GB or 128GB solid state drive. Not surprisingly given the form factor, you’re stuck with integrated graphics, though this might be a gamer’s last choice for a fragging system.
While Fujitsu has beefed up its tablet, it’s whittled the netbook down to the LifeBook UH900 (pictured above), which also has that multi-touch screen, though it’s damn near Lilliputian at just 5.6 inches. The company calls it a mini-notebook, or you could think of it as a MID, but whatever it is, it’s equipped like a netbook save for the tiny LCD. It comes with an Intel Atom Z530 processor, 2GB of DDR2 RAM, a 62GB solid state drive, built-in GPS receiver, and Windows 7 Home Premium. How you’re really going to easily operate a Windows 7 system on a microscopic screen is a major question, but if you’re up for the challenge, Futjisu is selling the UH900 for $849 after a $50 instant discount and $100 mail-in rebate.
February 1st, 2010
Alienware M11x "gaming netbook" ready for pre-order at $799
Dell’s gaming arm is introducing some heft into the pipsqueak world of netbooks with its M11x system, which was introduced at CES a couple of weeks ago. Alienware won’t call the laptop the “n” word, but it’s clearly marketing it to those who find the usual Atom-based portable lacking in the ability to play games more visually complicated than Solitaire.
Though the M11x won’t be available until March 1, Dell has decided to let folks pre-order the machine on its site. The base config is priced at $799, which includes an Intel Pentium SU4100 1.3GHz processor, 2GB of DDR3 RAM, a 160GB hard drive, and Windows 7 Home Premium. Most notable is the new nVidia GeForce GT 335M graphics card with 1GB of graphics memory, which will power the 11.6-inch LED-backlit display. Dell claims that the M11x will deliver “the graphics power of a 15-inch laptop in an 11-inch form factor.”
Upgrades include a beefier Core 2 Duo SU7300 CPU for $100 more, 2GB more RAM for an extra $50 (or 8GB total for a whopping $350 extra), and larger hard drives (250GB, 320GB, or 500GB) or a 256GB solid-state drive for a staggering $570 more. Color choices include black or silver, and as is Alienware’s way, you can choose different color options for the system’s LED lighting.
Will it play Crysis? Supposedly to the tune of 50 frames per second at high settings. Until it’s benchmarked by third-party reviewers we can’t be sure about that claim, but you have to give Alienware a little credit for rethinking the Windows-based low-cost laptop. Does that mean you’ll buy one at a price at which you can get a 14-inch or 15-inch notebook for the same price? Let us know in the TalkBack section.
Sean Portnoy spent several years as an editor at Computer Shopper magazine, most recently serving as online executive editor. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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