Laptops & Desktops

November 3rd, 2009

Acer adds Core i7 to its desktop replacement

Posted by John Morris @ 7:53 pm

Categories: Notebooks, PCs, Peripherals, and Software

Tags: Desktop, Hard Drive, Nvidia GeForce, NVidia Corp., Memory, Desktop Replacement, HP Pavilion, Acer Inc., Satellite, Blu-ray

Another laptop has been added to the Core i7-Windows 7 roster. Acer’s Aspire AS8940G is an update to the company’s desktop replacement with a massive 18.4-inch display. Like most desktop replacements, the Aspire AS8940G is barely portable, weighing in at nine pounds and measuring 17.4 by 11.8 by 1.7 inches. But that leaves room for high-end components. The Aspire AS8940G-6865 is $1,350 with a 1.60GHz Intel Core i7-720QM quad-core processor, 4GB of memory, Nvidia GeForce GTS 250M with 1GB, a 500GB hard drive and a Blu-ray player.

Not every PC maker pushes things as far as 18.4-inches. But there are several competitors. The HP Pavilion dv8t Quad Edition starts at $1,300 with the 1.60GHz Core i7-720QM, 3GB of memory, Nvidia GeForce GT 230M graphics with 1GB, a 250GB hard drive and a Blu-ray player.

Toshiba has two options. The Toshiba Satellite P500 is a lower-end model with both Intel- and AMD-based configurations. The Satellite P500-ST6822 is currently $721.65 with a 2.20GHz Core 2 Duo T6600, 2GB of memory, Intel integrated graphics, 320GB hard drive and DVD burner. The $749 Satellite P500D-ST5805 has an AMD Turion II M500, 4GB of memory, ATI Radeon 4100 integrated graphics, a 500GB hard drive and DVD burner. The Qosmio X505 starts at $1,450, putting it in direct competition with the Aspire AS8940G and Pavilion dv8t. This configuration (the X505-Q830) includes the Core i7-720QM, 4GB of memory, Nvidia GeForce GTS 250M graphics with 1GB, a 320GB hard drive and Blu-ray player.

Like the Satellite P500, Sony’s AW series sticks with a dual-core processor. The VAIO VGN-AW450F/H is $1,150 with a 2.13GHz Core 2 Duo P7450, 4GB of memory, Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT graphics with 512MB, a 320GB hard drive and a Blu-ray player. One big drawback to the Satellite P500, Qosmio X505 and Sony AW series is the 720p display resolution (1680×945); the Aspire AS8940G and Pavilion dv8t offer full 1080p (1920×1080) displays. Dell and Lenovo top out at 17 inches (though the ThinkPad W700ds also has a slide-out 10.6-inch display).

November 1st, 2009

Holiday Gift Guide 2009: Laptop computers

Posted by John Morris @ 9:15 pm

Categories: Holiday Gift Guide, Notebooks, PCs, Peripherals, and Software

Tags: Processor, Hard Drive, Performance, Apple MacBook, Memory, Graphics, Laptop Computer, Netbook, Computer, Intel Corp.

This year the laptop list was a tough assignment for several reasons.

First, the emergence of a new class of ultra-thin laptops–spawned by lower-cost processors from Intel and AMD–has made things more complicated. Second, there’s a fresh crop of Windows 7 laptops, and very few of them have received full reviews. Finally, Intel is preparing to release its first 32nm processor families, Arrandale for laptops and Clarksdale for desktops, early next year, and this is likely to really shake things up.

The good news is that there’s more choice than ever at all prices ranges. The bad news is that it’s becoming very tough to choose. Here are some guidelines.

Not long ago, the laptop market was relatively straightforward. The so-called mainstream systems with 15-inch displays were the least expensive (and most commonplace) and everything smaller (thin-and-lights and ultraportables) and larger (desktop replacements) cost more–often a lot more. Today mainstream models with 15.6-inch displays still tend to be the cheapest (not counting netbooks). These will typically cost anywhere from $300 to $550, though you can easily spend more depending on the configuration. The difference is that smaller, and more portable, laptops are closing the price gap. Sure, you can still spend $2,000 or more on an “executive-class” ultraportable if you really want, but now there are many low-cost ultra-thin alternatives. These typically have displays ranging in size from 11.6 to 13.3 inches, and start at around $600. At the opposite extreme are desktop replacement laptops with 17.3-inch, or in some cases even 18.4-inch, displays. These are more expensive than mainstream systems, are typically toward entertainment or gaming applications, and are only marginally portable.

Some of the larger laptops are now offering quad-core processors, but most users will be better off with a fast dual-core processor combined with more memory. You may notice that many laptops come with a new type of system memory, DRR3, which is faster and uses less power than DDR2 memory. Most laptops use an Intel chipset with integrated graphics (Arrandale will actually put graphics processor in the same physical package with the CPU) and this has advantages in terms of battery life. But it can’t match either the integrated or discrete graphics from AMD or Nvidia in terms of performance. More computer makers are offering solid-state disks in lieu of standard hard drives, but this market has yet to materialize largely because NAND flash remains too costly, though performance has been an issue as well. Microsoft designed Windows 7 to take better advantages of SSDs, so as the price comes down, we may see some pick-up in 2011. But for now, you can ignore them.

Finally several PC makers have started dropping internal optical drives from some larger laptops with displays of 13, 14 or even 15-plus inches to make them thinner and lighter. This is largely a matter of personal preference, depending on how much you travel, and whether you are accustomed to downloading all of your applications and content. Many entertainment notebooks have optional Blu-ray players or burners.

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November 1st, 2009

Holiday Gift Guide 2009: Netbook computers

Posted by John Morris @ 9:07 pm

Categories: Holiday Gift Guide, Notebooks, PCs, Peripherals, and Software

Tags: Microsoft Windows 7, Battery, Microsoft Windows, Netbook, Computer, Ion, Mini 311, NB205, Eee PC 1005HA, Samsung N120

The debate over whether netbooks are a real phenomenon or a passing fad is pretty much over. Whether you consider them a distinct category, or simply an inexpensive and under-powered subnotebook, the fact remains that some 25 million shoppers will choose netbooks this year. In other words, they are here to stay.

The exact definition of a netbook remains somewhat fluid though, and it has certainly evolved over the past year. Last year the market was shifting from 9-inch netbooks to models with 10.1-inch displays. Now this niche is split between 10.1-inch displays and 11.6-inch models, and there are even a handful of models (Lenovo IdeaPad S12, Samsung NC10) with the 12.1-inch displays commonly found on ultraportable laptops. Many of the 11.6-inch netbooks also support a higher resolution of 1366×768, which is useful since you can see more and scroll less (Sony is the only one that squeezes this higher resolution onto a10.1-inch display with its VAIO W series). To add to the confusion, many of the same PC makers have started shipping laptops with the same display sizes–11.6 or 12.1 inches–paired with Intel’s ultra low-voltage, or ULV, processors typically at prices of around $600 and up. The HP Pavilion dv2 also falls into this category, though it is based on an AMD Athlon Neo dual-core processor.

One thing that hasn’t changed much, though, is the basic specs. Nearly all netbooks have the same starting configuration–an Intel Atom N270 or N20 processor, 1GB of memory and a 160GB hard drive. Not surprisingly, the performance also tends to be the same, which is to say not very good, among netbooks. After dragging its feet for more than a year, in early 2010 Intel will reportedly release new netbook platform, known as Pine Trail, which should deliver better performance. In the meantime, Nvidia has attempted to fill the void with its Ion chipset, which gives netbooks (and nettops) the graphics mojo to play HD video. Three netbooks currently offer Ion: the HP Mini 311, Lenovo IdeaPad S12 and Samsung N510. Though there were some concerns about the price and battery life, early reviews have been quite good and it’s a nice option if you want a netbook with a little more oomph.

One of the clearest distinctions between netbooks and notebooks–the operating system–is also about to disappear. Windows 7 replaces both Vista on notebooks and Windows XP. A few netbooks will offer full versions of Windows 7, but many will stick with Windows 7 Starter edition. There are two drawbacks here. First, to entice customers to choose more expensive versions of Windows 7, the Starter edition has some limitations. You may have heard that Microsoft planned some onerous restrictions, most notably a limit o the number of applications you can run at one time. They’ve since dropped that plan and now the primary distinction is that you can’t change the wallpaper/theme, which simply seems arbitrary. Second, it is likely that netbooks with any version of Windows 7 will cost more because Microsoft is charging more. If you want to upgrade your Windows XP netbook, things are a bit more complicated. Microsoft will offer a version on a USB drive (since netbooks don’t have optical drives), but you’ll need to back up all of your applications, files and settings and then reinstall them on Windows 7. The bottom line: The vast majority will simply get Windows 7 on a new netbook, and it is a big improvement in terms of usability and features.

Despite all the changes, netbooks still aren’t for everyone. But as long as you know exactly what you are getting (or giving, since this is a holiday gift guide), a netbook is a good second PC, and even in a in some specific cases, a reasonable primary PC.

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November 1st, 2009

Holiday Gift Guide 2009: Desktop computers

Posted by John Morris @ 9:04 pm

Categories: Desktops, Holiday Gift Guide, PCs, Peripherals, and Software

Tags: Hard Drive, Hewlett-Packard Co., Gateway Inc., PC, Memory, Apple iMac, Model, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Series, Graphics

A lot has changed since I made a list of desktops and checked it twice last year.

Intel released its Core i5 and Core i7 processors, based on a new design known as Nehalem, which brought significant performance improvements to desktops (not to mention servers and workstations). AMD is still playing catch-up with its processors, but on the positive side it has had a string of hits in graphics including the Radeon HD 4000 series and now the HD 5000 series. Nvidia will release new graphics processors based on its Fermi architecture early next year, but for now AMD is delivering the best bang for the buck.

But the biggest change in the world of desktops is the release of Windows 7. The problems with Windows Vista were a bit overblown, but everyone was eager for a fresh start and Windows 7 makes desktops easier to use, more capable and even a bit faster under certain circumstances. With some desktops shipping with as much as 6GB of memory now, there’s no longer any reason to buy the 32-bit version of Windows, and nearly every new desktop comes with the 64-bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium, which will still run your 32-bit applications. Windows 7 also has support for multi-touch displays built-in, so you’ll notice many more desktops and laptops that include these features such as HP’s TouchSmart 600. I’ve tried some of these new Windows 7 multi-touch PCs, and they’re intriguing, but until someone comes up with killer apps for multi-touch on PCs, it will remain a niche.

One other new category you’ll notice on store shelves this year is the nettop. These look like small -form factor PCs, but they are actually the desktop’s answer to netbooks complete with Intel Atom processors. Some have slightly more powerful Nvidia graphics and they run Windows 7, rather than Windows XP, but don’t be fooled. Netbooks have their place, but I’m much more skeptical of nettops. The truth is there’s very little price difference between a nettop and a budget desktop, and the trade-off in terms of performance and features simply isn’t worth saving a few bucks.

As you’ll see from this year’s gift guide picks, there are plenty of better deals on desktops.

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October 27th, 2009

More laptops combine Core i7, Windows 7

Posted by John Morris @ 7:06 pm

Categories: Desktops, Notebooks, PCs, Peripherals, and Software

Tags: Hard Drive, Lenovo Group Ltd., Microsoft Windows, Graphics, Laptop Computer, IdeaPad Y550P, Studio XPS 16, Microsoft Windows 7, Processors, Notebooks

Lenovo is the latest to add the Core i7 processor to its laptop lineup. The IdeaPad Y550P is one of several consumer laptops and desktops for Windows 7 that Lenovo announced yesterday. Intel first introduced Core i7 mobile processors, based on its Nehalem microarchitecture, in late September, but they remain high-end chips with list prices ranging from $364 to more than $1,000. The vast majority of laptops still use Core 2 Duo processors, or AMD Athlon or Turion chips. The arrival of Windows 7, however, has unleashed a wave of new notebooks including more Core i7 models.

The IdeaPad Y550P is an entertainment laptop with a 15.6-inch display and Nvidia discrete graphics. Lenovo hasn’t announced the final specs but should start around $1,149 with the 1.60GHz Core i7-720QM. Lenovo announced two other new laptops, the U550, a thinner 15.6-inch mainstream model, and the 11.6-inch IdeaPad U150 ultraportable. Both use Core 2 Duo processors, and the U550 has switchable graphics (integrated and discrete). The U150 and U550 will starts at $585 and $650, respectively. Lenovo does not offer a quad-core processor on its ThinkPad business line with the exception of the 17-inch W700, a mobile workstation that offers Core 2 Quad processors, but not Core i7. Lenovo also unveiled three Windows 7 desktops–only two of which, the IdeaCentre B500 and K300, will be available in the U.S. The most interesting is the B500, an all-in-one with a 23-inch 1920×1080 display, Core 2 Duo E5400, 2GB of memory, Nvidia GeForce G210M graphics with 512M and 320GB hard drive. Final pricing hasn’t been set, but Lenovo’s release stated the B500 should start around $649. Last week, Lenovo announced Windows 7 updates for two laptops for small and medium-size businesses, the 14-inch ThinkPad SL410 and 15.6-inch SL510, but these are available only with Core 2 Duo processors.

HP is now offering Core i7 processors on several “Quad Edition” models including the 15.6-inch Pavilion dv6t, 17.3-inch dv7t and 18.4-inch dv8t. The lowest priced is the $999.99 dv6t with 1366×768 resolution display, 1.60GHz Core i7-720QM, 2GB of memory, Nvidia GeForce GT 230M graphics with 1GB and a 250GB hard drive. At the opposite extreme, HP’s premium Envy 15 is also equipped with a 15.6-inch display but with a higher resolution (1920×1080) and ATI Radeon HD 4830 graphics. It starts at $1,799.99 with the same Core i7-720QM processor, 6GB of memory, and a 500GB hard drive. The 1.73GHz Core i7-820QM adds $400 to the price. Unlike the Pavilion dv6t, the Envy 15 does not have an internal optical drive to cut down on the weight and thickness, though you can purchase an external DVD burner or a combo drive that can also play Blu-ray discs.

Acer does not yet offer a model with a Core i7 processor. Gateway, which is a division of Acer, announced an new EC series of laptops, including a 15.6-inch model, but all of the new models use a 1.30GHz Pentium SU4100 dual-core processor, one of Intel’s ULV chips designed for long battery life rather than high performance. That puts the $649.99 Gateway EC5409u more in direct competition with other thin 15.6-inch models such as Dell’s Inspiron 15z and Lenovo’s IdeaPad U550.

Dell has several models that now include the Core i7. The Studio 15 starts at $999.99 with a 15.6-inch display (720p), 1.60GHz Core i7-720QM, 4GB of memory, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 graphics with 512MB and 250GB hard drive. It competes directly with the Pavilion dv6t. The Studio XPS 16 is a higher-end model with a 1680×945 display, ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics with 1GB and a 500GB hard drive. It starts at $1,399 with the same Core i7 chip. Dell’s desktop replacement, the Studio 17, also has a Core i7 720QM starting at $1,099 (17.3-inch display, 4GB of memory, ATI Radeon HD 4650 with 1GB and a 250GB hard drive). Finally, the Alienware m15x, a gaming rig, is one of the few 15.6-inch laptops with the full menu of Core i7 processors including the 2.0GHz Core i7 920XM–the fastest mobile processor currently available.

Last week Apple announced an iMac refresh that included Core i7 and Core i5 processors on its 27-inch model, but the company does not yet offer a laptop with a Nehalem processor. There are rumors that a MacBook Pro refresh may be just around the corner, though perhaps with the upcoming Arrandale Core i3/Core i5 processors.

October 19th, 2009

Will Windows 7 have the right touch?

Posted by John Morris @ 2:07 pm

Categories: Desktops, Notebooks, PCs, Peripherals, and Software

Tags: John Morris

The touch interface has arrived on smartphones, thanks largely to the iPhone. But it hasn’t found much mainstream success on the PC despite years of trying. The imminent arrival of Windows 7, which has multi-touch support built-in, and a separate Touch Pack with sample apps and games, has rekindled interest in touch computing.

In the past few weeks, Acer, HP, Fujitsu, Lenovo and Toshiba have all announced new laptops and desktops with touchscreens and software optimized for Windows 7. Some of these are updates to systems that already offered more limited touch features; others are entirely new multi-touch models. A few are mainstream laptops, signaling that touch could be ready to break out of its convertible-tablet box and reach a wider audience. Since they are timed for the release of Windows 7 on October 22, only a handful of these new PCs have received full reviews, but here’s what to expect.

The Acer Aspire AS5738PG, the company’s first multi-touch laptop, is a mainstream laptop with a 15.6-inch multi-touch display (1,366×768). Unlike competitors, Acer isn’t offering its own touch interface or applications with the Aspire AS5738PG, Instead it is simply piggy-backing on Windows 7, which means you can use one or two fingers to launch and control applications, move and resize windows, zoom in and out when viewing photos or Web pages, browse through documents and media, and write notes. The $799.99 Aspire AS5738PG-6306 will include 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo T6600, 4GB or memory, ATI Radeon HD 4570 graphics with 512MB, a 320GB hard drive and a DVD drive.

• New Acer Laptops Add Multitouch [PC Magazine]

Fujitsu isn’t new to touch, and the company is sticking to the script with three convertible tablets for Windows 7, the LifeBook T4410 and T4310, and an updated LifeBook T5010. The T4410 and T4310 both have a 12.1-inch (1280×800) display, but with different specs, while the T5010 has a 13.3-inch display (1280×800). What distinguishes these models is a dual digitizer display, developed by Wacom, which works with both a stylus and as a capacitive multi-touch display. You can fold it flat to scribble notes or leave it open and use one or two fingers to control the system. That flexibility will definitely appeal to certain business users, but it comes at a steep price.

The dual digitizer version of the T5010, which is already available in the U.S. with a free upgrade to Windows 7, starts at $1,859 with a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo P8400, 1GB of memory, an 80GB hard drive and DVD burner. At a minimum, I’d recommend upgrading to 2GB of memory and a 120GB drive, which brings the system price to just under $2,000. The LifeBook T4410 and T4310 are not yet available in the U.S., but since Fujitsu already offers a different 12.1-inch model here, the LifeBook T2020, odds are the Windows 7 versions will find their way here.

• Fujitsu LifeBook T5010 review [PC Magazine]

HP also has a new convertible tablet–along with two all-in-one desktops–but it is banking on multi-touch for consumers as well as business. HP’s TouchSmart all-in-ones have always included a special touch interface and a suite of consumer applications and games, but the Windows 7 versions, the 20-inch TouchSmart 300 and the 23-inch TouchSmart 600, add multi-touch support and a broader set of apps including touch-enabled versions of Twitter, Hulu, Netflix, and the Rhapsody and Pandora music services. The HP TouchSmart 300-1020, a retail model available starting November 1, is $899.99 with a 2.70GHz AMD Athlon II 235e dual-core processor, 4GB of memory, ATI Radeon HD 3200 integrated graphics, a 500GB hard drive and DVD burner. The HP TouchSmart 600-1050, also a retail model available on October 22, starts at $1,199.99 with a 2.10GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6500, 4GB of memory, Nvidia GeForce G200 integrated graphics, a 750GB hard drive and DVD burner. On HP’s site, the configure-to-order version of the TouchSmart 600 will start at $1,049.99.

The TouchSmart tx2z, previously a run-of-the-mill 12.1-inch (1280×800) tablet, now has the TouchSmart interface and nearly all of the same consumer apps except for RecipeBox. Like the LifeBook T5010 it works in both pen and multi-touch modes, but it uses N-trig’s DuoSense display technology. The TouchSmart tx2z, which will be available on October 22 with Windows 7 (you can order it now), starts at $799.99 with a 2.2GHz AMD Turion X2 RM-75 processor, 2GB of memory, ATI Radeon HD 3200 integrated graphics, a 250GB hard drive and a DVD burner. Outside the U.S., the Pavilion dv3, HP’s 13.3-inch consumer laptop, is also available with multi-touch.

In addition to these consumer models, HP announced a TouchSmart 9100 Business PC with a 23-inch display, which it is positioning as a “virtual sales assistant” for retail stores, and a multi-touch 42-inch LCD monitor, the HP LD4200tm, for digital signage. The TouchSmart 9100 starts at $1,299 and the HP LD4200tm will be $2,799. Both will be available in December.

• HP TouchSmart 600 review [CNET]
• Video Hands-on: HP TouchSmart tx2 Now Offers Touch Twitter, Hulu Apps [Laptop Magazine]
• HP TouchSmart 600-1055 review [PC Magazine]
• HP TouchSmart 600 review [PC World]

Lenovo decided not to wait around for Windows 7 and released its multi-touch systems, the ThinkPad X200 12.1-inch convertible tablet and the ThinkPad T400s 14.1-inch laptop, in September. Both models have capacitive multi-touch displays, but unlike the Fujitsu and HP tablets, neither ThinkPad’s display doubles as a digitizer for pen input. (The much-larger ThinkPad W700 workstation comes with a true Wacom digitizer in the palm-rest, however.) Like HP, Lenovo has its own touch interface, called SimpleTap, but it’s a bit more utilitarian. SimpleTap is basically a set of tiles that allows you to use finger gestures to adjust hardware settings including turning on or off the wireless radios, ThinkLight and microphone; viewing the Webcam; adjusting the volume or screen brightness; and locking the screen or putting the system to sleep. You can add custom tiles to launch particular apps or documents.

The ThinkPad X200 with the multi-touch display is currently available on Lenovo’s site for $1,689 with a 1.40GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400, 2GB of memory, Intel integrated graphics, a 160GB hard drive and 4-cell battery. Lenovo also offers an optional display on the ThinkPad X200 that is very bright (400 nits), and has an anti-reflective layer and a wider viewing angle. This “outdoor viewable” display is not available with multi-touch. The ThinkPad T400s starts at $1,999 with a 2.40GHz Intel Core2 Duo SP9400, 2GB of memory, Intel integrated graphics, a 120GB hard drive, DVD burner and 6-cell battery. The new SimpleTap software will be available for download later this week.

• Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Tablet Multi-Touch review [Computer Shopper]
• Lenovo ThinkPad X200 Tablet review [PC Magazine]

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had a chance to try out several of these new multi-touch applications. They’re nice extras, but I’m not convinced anyone has yet found the killer app to drive broad adoption of multi-touch computing. Still the multi-touch support in Windows 7, and the availability of touch displays on a wider variety of desktops and laptops–and at much lower prices–should do a lot to expose this technology to more users. One clear indication the technology is improving: The HP TouchSmart 600 has already picked up two Editors’ Choice awards (PC Magazine and Computer Shopper) and Lenovo’s ThinkPad X200 Multi-touch nabbed one (also PC Magazine).

October 8th, 2009

Can a laptop ever be too thin?

Posted by John Morris @ 2:14 pm

Categories: Notebooks, PCs, Peripherals, and Software

Tags: Apple MacBook Air, Apple MacBook, Dell Adamo, Laptop Computer, Notebooks, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, John Morris

Ralph Lauren is on the receiving end of a blogosphere backlash today over an apparent Photoshop job gone awry. It turns out there is such a thing as too thin. I mention this because yesterday both Dell and Sony introduced new laptops that give new meaning to ultra-thin. The trend toward mobile computing is undeniable–there’s a reason some 25 million people will choose netbooks this year. But we’re fast approaching the point where some laptops are thin purely for thin’s sake, without adding any additional user value.

The ultra-thin laptop craze began in early 2008 when Apple first pulled a MacBook Air out of an interoffice envelope. The product sparked many “MacBook Air killers” such as the ThinkPad X300, Voodoo Envy 133, and original Dell Adamo. More recently, Intel lowered prices on its ultra-low voltage chips spawning a new class of ultra-thin laptops such as the Acer Timeline series and MSI X-Slim series.

These, it turns out, were just the start. At a press event yesterday to introduce new laptop lid designs, Dell officials also gave a brief glimpse of Adamo XPS, the next version of its luxury laptop for consumers. At this point, the only thing we know for certain about the Adamo XPS is that it will be very thin, more specifically 0.4 inches. By comparison, the MacBook Air measures 0.76 inches at its thickest point (it tapers toward the front). There’s plenty of coverage of the Adamo XPS–here’s Crave’s post on yesterday’s Dell event with some photos.

Not to be outdone, Sony announced its VAIO X, an 11.1-inch ultraportable with a carbon fiber frame that the company says is the world’s lightest notebook at 1.6 pounds. I can’t argue with that. The X series doesn’t quite match the Adamo XPS’ belt size, but at 0.55 inches it is still notably thinner than even other ultra-thin laptops on the market. The VAIO X starts at $1,300 with the 11.1 inch (1366×768) display, 2.0GHz Intel Atom Z550, 2GB of memory, a 64GB SSD and Windows 7. The $1,500 Signature Collection comes in gold, as well as black, and has a 128GB SSD. Both models come with both a standard battery, rated for 3.5 hours, and an extended battery that Sony says will last for 14 hours (if that holds up in real-world testing, it will be very impressive).

With their ultra-thin profiles, the Adamo XPS and Sony X series look great. So what’s the catch? I haven’t tested either yet, or seen full reviews, so I’ll wait to issue a verdict on these particular models. But generally speaking, when computer companies set out to design the thinnest possible laptop, it still entails some compromises. Many of these systems have under-powered processors (sometimes with a single core), fewer ports and connectors, and shorter battery life. Apple took a lot of flak, for example, for eliminating the Ethernet jack on the MacBook Air. Internal optical drives are long gone, though many users find that to be a fair trade-off.

Portability is, of course, important and I’m glad the days of lugging 6- to 7-pound laptops are long gone. But it reaches a point of diminishing returns. Laptop bags aren’t getting much smaller, and my Lenovo ThinkPad X series fits just fine. It could be that some of these new ultra-thin models will manage an engineering feat, and squeeze in nearly everything you’d want in a laptop. But if I have to choose, I can live with a slightly thicker ultraportable that has better performance, longer battery life and more features.

October 7th, 2009

First Clarksfield reviews: Core i7 laptops look impressive

Posted by John Morris @ 1:45 pm

Categories: PCs, Peripherals, and Software

Tags: Game, Alienware, Nvidia GeForce, Memory, Graphics, Laptop Computer, Intel Corp., Toshiba Qosmio, Clarksfield, Alienware M15x

Since Intel unveiled its Core i7 quad-core mobile processors at IDF a couple weeks ago, several PC companies have announced mainstream and desktop replacement laptops using these Clarksfield chips. Many sites have reviewed the new platform–known as Calpella–in whitebox notebooks, but so far I haven’t seen many reviews of real Core i7 laptops, partly because the industry is waiting on Windows 7.

Clarksfield is Intel’s first mobile processor that uses the Nehalem microarchitecture, which means it has an integrated memory controller and supports DDR3, a faster type of memory that uses less power. These mobile versions also have an enhanced version of Turbo Mode, which dynamically boosts the clock speed of individual cores on certain tasks; HyperThreading (four cores and eight threads); and up to 8MB of shared cache. So far Intel has released three Clarksfield chips: the 2.0GHz Core i7-920XM, 1.73GHz Core i7-820QM and 1.60GHz Core i7-720QM. These are the fastest laptop chips Intel has ever manufactured with prices ranging from $364 to more than $1,000.

You won’t find ultra-thin 13-inch laptops with these Core-i7 chips because they are simply too big and hot. But you’ll still get some choice in terms of size and weight. The laptops already announced range in display size from 15-inches–where there are several models–all the way to Toshiba’s Qosmio X505, which weighs more than 10 pounds and has an 18.4-inch display.

Here are some of the options from smallest to largest display:

Part of MSI’s G series gaming laptops, the MSI GT640 has a 15.4-inch (1680×1050) display and Core i7 processors, and the company claims it is the “best performing notebook computer for gaming.” MSI hasn’t announced pricing, but we know the GT640 will offer up to 4GB of memory, Nvidia GeForce GTS 250M graphics with 1GB and Blu-ray. With its black and red aluminum case, the GT640 weighs in at nearly 6 pounds.

Of the four Clarksfield laptops Dell is selling, three have 15.6-inch displays: the Alienware M15x, Studio 15 and Studio XPS 16 (they differ in terms of resolution and brightness). Not to be outdone by MSI, Dell bills the Alienware M15x as the “most powerful 15-inch gaming laptop in the universe,” while the Studio and Studio XPS are geared more toward entertainment. The starting configurations for all three laptops include the Core i7-720QM and a 250GB hard drive. The Alienware M15x has a new design–carried over from the larger Alienware M17x–and starts at $1,499 with 3GB of memory and Nvidia GeForce GT 240M graphics with 512MB. The Studio 15 starts at $999 with 4GB of memory and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 graphics with 512MB. And the Studio XPS 16 starts at $1,249 with the 4GB of memory and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4670 graphics with 1GB. All three also offer the Core i7-820QM, but only the Alienware M15x can be configured with the top-of-the-line Core i7-920XM, for a whopping $950.

The HP Envy 15–part of a new premium laptop line that borrows its name from the moribund Voodoo Envy 133–is also a Core i7 system based on a 15.6-inch display. The Envy 15 is one of the more portable Core i7 laptops measuring one inch thick and weighing 5.2 pounds, and it has a sleek etched magnesium case and a large glass touchpad. But it also starts at $1,799. The exact specs are unclear (HP is taking pre-orders, but it doesn’t ship until October 18), but novel options such as up to 16GB of memory and dual solid-state disks would push the price even higher.

The Asus G51J and G60J have nearly identical specs. Both offer either the Core i7-720QM or Core i7-820QM, up to 4GB of memory, Nvidia GeForce 260M graphics with 1GB, one or two hard drives, and either a DVD burner or Blu-ray player. The difference is the display–the G51J has a 15.6-inch display (1920×1200) and the G60J has a 16-inch (1366×768) display. The Asus M60J is identical to the G60J, except that it has GeForce GTX 240M graphics with 1GB. All three notebooks have the same dimensions and weigh 7.3 pounds. Asus has not yet announced the pricing.

Moving up the ladder, there are two 17-inch models, the Dell Studio 17 and MSI’s GT740. The Studio 17’s display measures 17.3 inches and has a resolution of 1440×900. It starts at $1,099 with the Core i7-720QM, 4GB of memory, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 graphics with 1GB, a 250GB hard drive and a big 9-cell battery. MSI announced the GT740 yesterday, and it hasn’t disclosed the pricing or exact specs (since it is part of the gaming line, it’s safe to assume it will be relatively high-priced). But we know it will have a 17-inch display, up to 4GB of memory, Nvidia GeForce GTS 250M graphics with 1GB, a 250GB or larger hard drive and either a DVD drive or Blu-ray. One nice surprise is that it is relatively lightweight (for a full desktop replacement) at 7.1 pounds. By comparison the Dell Studio 17 has a starting weight of 7.9 pounds with a 6-cell battery.

That’s nothing compared with the Qosmio X505, which has a travel weight of nearly 12 pounds including the power brick. Then again, if you want a laptop with an 18.4-inch display with a full HD resolution (1920×1080), you’re probably not a frequent flier. The design is identical to the older Qosmio X305, but Toshiba has toned down the color scheme–this model is mostly glossy black with some red accents. The Qosmio is the one Clarksfield system that has actually gotten a couple of hands-on reviews. PC Magazine posted a review within days of Intel’s announcement, but it is based on a pre-production model with the Core i7-820QM and dual 400GB 5,400rpm hard drives. This week Laptop Magazine published a review based on a final configuration with the Core i7-720QM, 6GB of memory, a 320GB 7,200rpm hard drive and 64GB SSD, and a Blu-ray player.

Both reviews found the overall performance was significantly better than what was arguably the fastest desktop replacement available, the Alienware M17x (PC Magazine wrote that the Qosmio X505 “made a mockery of the Core 2 Extreme processor in the Alienware M17x”). The caveat is that the Qosmio X505 has the Nvidia GeForce GTS 250M with 1GB, a very good but not top-of-the-line card, and Toshiba does not currently plan to offer higher-end GPUs. As a result, gaming laptops such as Alienware M17x, which can be configured with two GeForce GTX 280Ms, will still outperform the Qosmio X505 on 3D games, but these highly-specialized configurations cost thousands of dollars more. The Qosmio X505, as tested by Laptop Magazine, will cost $1,899.

These days, with netbooks and even some budget laptops under $400, that still qualifies as a very high-priced laptop. Considering this is easily Intel’s most powerful laptop chip, though, the starting prices on this first crop of notebooks of $900 to just under $2,000 seem reasonable. Intel is hoping that there are enough users out there that still care enough about performance to spend more. If not, there’s always the 32nm Arrandale just around the corner.

October 5th, 2009

Adobe and Nvidia bring GPU computing to the masses

Posted by John Morris @ 7:20 pm

Categories: Notebooks, PCs, Peripherals, and Software

Tags: Adobe Systems Inc., NVidia Corp., Video, Computing, Graphics, Netbook, GPU, Ion, Mini 311, John Morris

Adobe and Nvidia announced that the next version of the Flash player will take advantage of Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs) to improve online video. Adobe Flash Player 10.1, which will be in beta by the end of this year, will be designed to get a boost from Nvidia’s GeForce, Ion and Tegra chips.

Netbooks and nettops based on the Ion platform will benefit from Flash 10.1, since online video is an area where Intel’s Atom platform currently falls short. But the new player, the first released under Adobe’s Open Screen Project, is part of a broader effort to have a consistent browser-based Flash runtime that works across all devices from PCs running Windows, Mac OS or Linux to smartphones. Adobe also announced it would release the Flash 10.1 runtime for Windows Mobile, Palm’s webOS, Android, Symbian, and eventually BlackBerry (the iPhone is still missing). Smartphones using Nvidia’s Tegra will also get the GPU acceleration.

The benefits for smartphones are pretty clear–they don’t even support Flash today. But what do laptops and Ion-based netbooks, which run Windows and Flash and can play 720p video, get out of it? Using the GPU to handle video playback should reduce the load on the CPU, and ensure smooth HD video playback, even on budget laptops and netbooks that struggle with those intensive tasks.

Last week, I spent a couple of days at Nvidia’s GPU Technology Conference, and it was clear that the company has made a lot of inroads with GPU computing for the sorts of high-performance applications in universities, medical research, oil and gas exploration, and finance. But its efforts to promote the GPU as a co-processor for consumer applications are really just getting going. Applications such as Elemental Technologies Badaboom, MotionDSP’s vReveal and Cyberlink’s PowerDirector 8 have been around for a while. Adobe Photoshop CS4, which has been shipping for about a year, has several “Accelerated Canvas” features that use the GPU to improve the responsiveness of the program when working with large images. But a Flash runtime with GPU acceleration should make the benefits of GPU computing, on certain tasks, more obvious to millions of users.

Whether they’ll be using Ion netbooks, however, remains to be seen. HP is the only major company currently shipping an Ion netbook, the Mini 311. The Lenovo IdeaPad S12 and Samsung N510 are now scheduled to ship sometime after the Windows 7 launch on October 22. Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang told the UK-based reviews site that Intel was trying to “suffocate” Ion, but the technology will continue to exist because it helps computer companies to differentiate their netbooks.

The Mini 311 has yet to receive the full review treatment, but earlier today Laptop Magazine posted some early test results, which look very good, but I’m waiting for the battery life results to reach a verdict on Ion.

September 23rd, 2009

Intel: 32nm is just the beginning

Posted by John Morris @ 11:06 am

Categories: Desktops, Notebooks, PCs, Peripherals, and Software

Tags: Graphics, Intel Corp., Chip, GPU, Westmere, Sandy Bridge, Process Technology, Larrabee, Semiconductors, Processors

Intel hasn’t released its 32nm Westmere processors yet, but executives spent the first day of the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) talking about technology even farther down road. In his keynote, executive VP Sean Maloney gave a glimpse of a desktop running Sandy Bridge, the new microarchitecture that comes after Westmere, also at 32nm (they’ll talk more about that today). Even further out, CEO Paul Otellini showed the world’s first working 22nm chip–an SRAM test chip the size of a fingernail with 2.9 billion transistors.

The message from Intel’s was clear: Moore’s Law is alive and well. Why does this matter? Obviously there’s a big economic incentive. Finer process technology enables chipmakers to manufacture smaller processors, which lowers cost, with more transistors, which lets chip designers improve performance and add new features.

But there’s another reason too. As it expands into new markets beyond the PC–something Intel now refers to as the “continuum”–it is running up against a host of potential competitors, especially companies such as Qualcomm and Samsung that are designing more powerful mobile processors, not only for smartphones but also for smartbooks and netbooks. Meanwhile an old rival, AMD, has spun-off its manufacturing to a new company, GlobalFoundries, and found a partner with deep pockets. Earlier this year Intel vowed to spend $7 billion over the next two years on advanced manufacturing, and the heavy spending is clearly yielding results. These public demonstrations of future technology are a clear signal to both competitors and customers that Intel has no plans to let up.

Next up for Intel is Westmere, which will be the first 32nm processor, though with the second generation of the company’s high-k and metal gate (HK+MG) technology. (Intel execs love to point out that they’ve shipped more than 200 million 45nm chips with HK+MG transistors while competitors such as TSMC and AMD are still working on the technology.) Aside from process technology, the major difference in Westmere is that it will include both the 32nm CPU and a 45nm graphics processing unit (GPU)–in the same package, not on the same physical piece of silicon (or “on-die”). Current desktops and notebooks use either integrated graphics in a separate chipset (the northbridge) or a discrete graphics processing unit (GPU). Intel has also posted a new Westmere video in which engineers talk a bit about the challenges of integrating the GPU in the package and the level of performance it should offer. Maloney focused on two other features, HyperThreading (two cores, four threads) and Turbo Mode, which he said will improve responsiveness even on simple tasks such as synchronizing content between a PC and an iPod.

Lately there’s been some talk that Westmere may arrive early–mainly because Intel said it would be “shipping for revenue in the fourth quarter”–but the schedule hasn’t changed. Intel will start selling the Clarksdale desktop and Arrandale mobile versions to its customers in the fourth quarter, and they will show up in desktops and laptops in the first quarter of 2010.

In Intel’s “tick-tock” development cadence, Westmere is a tick (a shrink from 45nm to 32nm), which will be followed by a new Sandy Bridge microarchitecture, the tock, at the same process node. Intel executives will talk more about Sandy Bridge today, but what we do know is that it will include a new GPU on-die and it will use the AVX (Advanced Vector Extensions) instructions that Intel has developed to speed-up floating-point calculations in intensive applications such as multimedia, scientific research and financial modeling. Sandy Bridge is scheduled to ship in late 2010.

Intel also gave the first public demonstration of the “early silicon” for its mysterious Larrabee discrete GPU. In a demo during Maloney’s keynote, research scientist Bill Mark showed how his team can put a popular 3D game, id Software’s Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, into the company’s ray tracing engine and run it in real-time using task parallelism. He emphasized the ease of programming Larrabee using C++ and said doing something similar on a standard GPU would be “quite painful.” There’s still no word on how or when Intel plans to bring Larrabee to market. While everyone has assumed that Larrabee will be sold as a discrete GPU, interestingly Maloney said at the conclusion of the demo that Intel “will be “incorporating this into a future CPU at some point.” The Larrabee demo had the help of an upcoming 32nm high-end desktop CPU, Gulftown, which will have six cores and 12 threads. Not coincidentally, AMD revealed earlier this week that it would also release a six-core desktop processor, code-named Thuban, sometime in 2010.

If all goes according to plan, Intel will release processors based on its 22nm “tick” in late 2011. This node will use the third generation of Intel’s HK+MG technology, and it will likely integrate not only the GPU–as in Sandy Bridge–but other new functions as well. As Intel pushes the limits of process scaling, it will need to go beyond HK+MG and come up with other innovations. Some of the possibilities specifically mentioned in yesterday’s sessions include the use of compound semiconductors such as Gallium Arsenide, already widely used in communications; new lithography tools such as EUV (Extreme Ultra Violet), which has a shorter wavelength to print finer circuitry; and 3D chip stacking to increase density and combine different types of chips in a single package.

All of these pose major technical challenges, but given Intel’s track record of late, Moore’s Law is probably safe for several more generations.