Article: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7200 Preview (Intel® Core™ for Mobile)

Wow, what do you know, I failed to post this again like the Bad Axe one. Sounds like I am too busy last month that I tend to forget I am doing things. In any case, I decided to do some tweaking with the Conroe's little brother, Merom and see how it goes in the desktop. Check it out...

The Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7000 series of processors is the successor processor to the Apple* baby which is the first "Core" processor, the Intel® Core™ Duo T2000 series. This processor is the younger brother of Conroe (desktop) and Woodcrest (server). It shares all the features of the desktop and server brothers, only that, this processor is targetted for mobile computing.

Source:Article: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7200 Preview (Intel® Core™ for Mobile)

Article: Intel® Core™ Duo T2600 Preview (The Calm Before The Storm)

I finally got time to upload the review today. Sorry for the typo and if there's any critical mistake, please let me know. If you haven't seen how Yonah performs, check this out. Expand for more...

The Intel® Core™ Duo T2000 series of processors is the first processor to ever receive the "Core" branding, even before Conroe, Merom, and Woodcrest is given birth. It was first given limelight in January of this year, along with Apple's thrust to use Intel processors in its line of products. And while it is the first time for the world to hear, officially, about Mobile on Desktop, enthusiasts has already been playing with such concept long before and if you are an Intel enthusiast, then you would have already heard, or better yet, own an Asus P4GD1 + Asus CT-479 + Intel® Pentium® M.

Source:Intel® Core™ Duo T2600 Preview (The Calm Before The Storm)

Press Release: AOpen MoDT Series Enters the Era of 64-bit Ultra-speed Computing Comprehensive Support for Intel® Core™ 2 Duo CPU (Merom)

Wow, another great news for the enthusiasts! Their line up of miniPC Duo and MoDT will now support the new processor from Chipzilla, Merom, that is the Conroe counterpart for mobile. Expand for more...

[Taipei, Taiwan] AOpen’s world famous miniPC Duo and MoDT (Mobile on Desktop) technology, using Mobile Computing technology in Desktop computer, anticipate supporting Core™ 2 Duo from now on. With the development name code Merom, Core™ 2 Duo is the CPU for the new generation notebook, that Intel® is going to introduce in the world on August 28. These products include AOpen miniPC Duo MP945-X / -VX / -VXR and MoDT Motherboard Series i975Xa-YDG, i945GTm-VHL / i945GMm-HL and i945GTt-VFA / i945GMt-FA. These products will be integrated with the Core™ 2 Duo (Merom) CPU to have unexpected top performance with optimized compatibility!

“AOpen is devoted to delivering consumers newer, more efficient and more energy-saving information appliance including AOpen miniPC Duo, which is world famous for its compact size and energy-saving, and the new generation MoDT motherboards, developed with innovative thinking. Also, in order to fulfill AOpen’s commitment to consumers, while Intel® is introducing their more computing-efficient and energy-saving Core™ 2 Duo (Merom) CPUs, the series of AOpen’s miniPC Duo and MoDT motherboards will provide supports synchronously. Thus those high quality products, which have been very efficient and energy-saving, will have an enhanced value as a whole!” said Mr. Tony Yang, the Marketing Senior Director. “From now on, all consumers in the world that buy AOpen miniPC Duo and the MoDT Series motherboards using i945 and i975 chipsets can choose complete Intel® Core™ 2 Duo (Merom) CPU. Moreover, for consumers who have already bought the products mentioned above, they can feel the AOpen’s sincerity in taking care of loyal consumers. They only need to visit AOpen’s website and download new BIOS and dedicated drivers designed for Intel® Core™ 2 Duo (Merom) of the products mentioned above. Then they can enjoy immediately the performance of better computing-efficiency and more economical energy-saving that is brought by Intel® Core™ 2 Duo (Merom) CPU!” followed the Senior Director Yang.

AOpen miniPC Duo MP945-VX / MP945-VXR can be integrated with complete Microsoft® Windows XP MCE™ 2005 operating system and remote control to become the most compact desktop globally with Viiv™ technology. Also, the built-in IEEE 802.11 b+g wireless network, 5.1 channel Dolby surround, the feature of S/PDIF digital output, the slim slot-in DVD±RW drive and 2.5’ HDD with large capacity for notebooks can meet the needs of digital homes with all features. AOpen miniPC Duo also provides DVI digital video output and TV signal output of S-Video / Y-Pb-PR. It not only can be connected to the LCD monitor of a computer, but also directly connected to the big size TV in the living room to bring you unprecedented and best visual enperience.

AOpen i975Xa-YDG is the top flagship of MoDT series motherboards. Also, it is the best presentation of that AOpen successfully uses its research and development ability and product originality. i975Xa-YDG integrates the powerful scalability of i975X chipset for desktop computers and the powerful computing and energy-saving of notebook CPU to create unprecedented total value. It includes the feature of overclock in 1MHz without re-starting the computer, integrated system turn on/off and Multi-function remote control for AV control and overclock control. It provides 2 PCI-Express x16 expansion slots, and supports ATI CrossFire dual graphic card technology and SATA II Hot-Swap feature that can be plug-and-play. The noise level of the fan in work is lower than 26dB. It also has 7.1 channel Hi-Fi Dolby surround output. Concluded from above, it’s the best choice for overclocking and game players.

i945GTm-VHL uses i945GT+ICH7M-DH chipset and its top performance can meet the needs of general offices, SOHO and household consumers as well as comprehensive supports for Viiv™ technology. It is designed based on Micro ATX standard specification and is one of the most popular and mainstream products among MoDT series motherboards. Also, i945GTt-VFA also uses i945GT+ICH7M-DH chipset but is designed based on the specific Flex ATX (mini ITX) to reduce the motherboard size dramatically. It retains related scalability that desktop computers require within its compact design, second only to the AOpen MiniPC. It also supports all Viiv™ technology! It is ideal for those who demand for scalability and compact size

Source:AOpen MoDT Series Enters the Era of 64-bit Ultra-speed Computing Comprehensive Support for Intel® Core™ 2 Duo CPU (Merom)

Tech Link (MoDT): AOpen MP945-VX SFF

The dogs over at Gruntville had some testing spree with a very attractive Mobile on Desktop platform (MoDT) based on AOpen MP945-VX. This is within the segment as an AOpen Mini PC MP915 I reviewed back in April. Anyway, this new platform suppors dual core system, so it's more powerful. Expand this article for more...

In the first of several reviews highlighting Intel’s’ Mobile on Desktop initiative, I will be looking at AOpen’s foray into the sub-miniature SFF systems – The MP945-VX.


First a little background:
Founded in 1996, AOpen was the first to deliver a 24x CD-ROM drive (1997)
Introduced:

The first “Colored” motherboard in pink the “AX3S Pro Sweet Kiss” (2000)
The first BareBook (Forerunner to the WhiteBook). (2001)
The first DVD+RW drive (2001)
The first XC Cube systems(2003)
The first Desktop Motherboard using the Intel Pentium M CPU - AOpen i855GMEm-LFS (2004)
The smallest Intel based PC, the Mini PC - code name: Pandora (2005)
The highest rated power supply, 700W (2005)

A full series of Intel Viiv platforms for digital home entertainment (2006)
This leads us to the newest sub-miniature SFF release from AOpen, the MP945-VX. This is an incredibly clean looking machine, reminiscent of the Apple Mini. It pulls away from the SFF crowd with an extremely small footprint, distinctive brushed aluminum case, High Definition 8 Channel Audio, Multi-TV out with 1080i resolution support and the ability to handle the T2700 CPU at 2.33ghz. The system is also Intel Viiv compliant which opens up a whole new area of multimedia benefits.
From the sleek brushed aluminum case, slot load DVD+RW, Integrated power button & indicator, 1080i resolution support, ingenious air flow design, Intel 945GM+ICH7M-DH and 667Mhz DDR2 RAM the MP945-VX is a truly innovative system.

Source:Gruntville

Tech Link (MoDT): AOpen miniPC MP915-B Super Multi System Review

PCStats has a new review up on their site. And it's none other than a really cute and really attractive AOpen Mini PC. If you have been visiting my site and checking my HomeGrown articles about this particular Mobile on Desktop (MoDT) you'll know that, yep, FanBoy have reviewed this AOpen MiniPc for quite some time already.

There is little doubt that Small Form Factor (SFF) computers have revolutionized the way technology fits into the home, media room, and our lives. Yet as computers continue to advance by leaps and bounds, the whole the small form factor PC trend seems to be stuck on the initial chassis design Shuttle Computers first introduced in 2001. Now mind you, the toaster-sized SFF PC box isn't bad, it just doesn't fit into all situations.

Source:PCStats

Tech Link (Processor): Intel's Core Duo meets the desktop

I have posted this a long time ago, about 5months already, about the possibility of a i975 + Crossfire + SLI and Mobile Processor. Back then, Dothan was the craze and every enthusiasts who have tested Asus CT-479 + Dothan knows how powerful it really is. The product was actually made into public release during Q1-Q2 and already, they were making a splash. Heck, this combo is so powerful, it can even beat A*'s top of the line CPU (at the time of writing of course).

So, after a long period of waiting, this combo came to be accepted by the enthusiasts and there were already a few reviews flying off the web. Many have praised the whole system combo, well, why not? It offers great performance at a lesser power consumption, with minimal heat, and can be very silent!

Anyway, the latest review comes from Bit-Tech (THG and AMDtech have theirs up as well). Check it out, if you're still holding back on your purchase because of Conroe. But actually, this rig is not to be passed up even if anyone is expecting Conroe? Why? Because the motherboard is still forward-compatible with Merom, Conroe's mobile counterpart.

What's faster than an AMD Athlon FX-60? Well, an Intel Core Duo overclocked on a fantastic AOpen board based on the 975X chipset. We get to grips with Intel's portable processing powerhouse in a desktop board and contemplate - is this a sign of things to come?

Source:BitTech

Tech Link (Motherboard): Intel Core Duo: AOpen i975Xa-YDG to the Rescue

Heh, AMDTech's new article, to "rescue" the...Intel® Core™ Duo? What's to be rescued? The processor would work great even on motherboard based on Asus' i945 solution! In any case, they have a review up for the very impressive Yonah/Merom motherboard, that has support for Crossfire and SLI, what more can you ask for? The benchtests is comprehensive, it lists a slew of of comparison between a mobile Intel® Core™ Duo T2400 (1.83GHz with Corsair Pro DDR2-667@CL3-3-3-8 RAM) against a server AMD Opteron 165/175 (with OCZ EB DDR1-400@CL3-3-3-8, remember it is an EB series).

The Chipzila mobile setup beat the A* server system in almost all of the benchmarks, most of the shortcomings came from I/O rather than those that has great CPU attention. The mobile processor also overclocks so well, which according to the article, easily breaks 50% on the clock frequency. Of course, the motherboard has to be tweaked, but nothing out of the ordinary such as voltmodding or anything, but just a quick jumper change settings.

Anyway, since it is AMDTech, the usual bashing still appears:

There was no real incentive to compare the AOpen board and our processor to other Intel offerings as the entire lineup will be changing shortly, not to mention it would have been an embarrassment for the NetBurst based processors - especially during the thermal and power testing. We did not have the entire Core Duo product line in house yet so this option was off the table in doing cost comparative analysis against other Intel or AMD products. However, we will be providing a full platform comparison in an upcoming HTPC article centered on the Core Duo, Pentium D 805/920, and AMD X2 processors

Anyway, if you can stomach and skip the bashign (don't worry, not too much this time around), head on there and check their article.

Source:AMDTech

Review: AOpen Mini PC MP915 Review (Mobile on Desktop Realization)

While it is not something new for the hardcore hardware enthusiasts, and embedded computing industry, a small-footprint system is not something common for the typical consumers and mainstream computing industry. While Small Form Factor systems has been in circulation for quite sometime, it hasn't reached peak maturity due to the fact that the component within it are those made for desktop computing, with the the exceptions of a few that makes use of mobile processor. But still, SFF that use mobile processors and chipsets are still not able to reach that even smaller footprint because subcomponents are still based on desktop peripherals such as power supply, hard drive, optical drive, and even regular full height memory modules.

In this aspect of ultra-small, and even highly portable desktop computing, AOpen develop a complete system that not only meets the needed size, but also went ahead and make it into a very aesthically pleasing system which they aptly call MiniPC. The components that made up the MiniPC are all well thought out, from the power supply, to memory modules to cooling, processor, and hard drive. Many will smirk at it as a clone of MacMini and it is really not that different when looking at the exterior of the system. However, the MiniPC in the testbench today is a bit more flexible than the MacMini and can actually compete in this target market segment.

Read the full scoop:AOpen Mini PC MP915 Review (Mobile on Desktop Realization)

Brag: MiniPC Review almost ready for posting

I have just finished all the necessary tasks that I need to do with the MiniPC review item that I have. I can't stress how much I am impressed with this little wonder-in-a-box. It looks much like a Mac Mini, but it isn't and can actually run various OS from Microsoft* Windows*, to Ubuntu*.

I already have the benchmarks screenshots, some of the product shots, as well as some of the nitty gritty detail such as "overclocking" portion. Anyway, I just want to post the brag so that those who might be wondering when I'm going to post review will have an idea. I am targetting on posting the review by Sunday because of work, work, work, and tending to the family while wifey is away. In the meantime, you may want to check the official Mini PC site here.

Article: Yonah + i975X + XFire + (SLI?)

Oh my, what else can you ask for? Truly, a dream come true for enthusiasts, overclockers, and even for users who just likes a silent but powerful rig. This is a must see. Expand this item to see the whole image, in the meantime, here's a crop version.


And here's the whole picture for you to drool over!
Be ready for the i975 Drool Picture

There's not much info as of the moment, the manufacturer is AOpen. I'll post more info as I get them...

Update: 12/29/2005
This link just came in, an easy overclock of 800Mhz FSB from 667Mhz FSB!

Update: 12/30/2005
Found a better motherboard imagere here. Shweeet!