Tech Link (Industry): Samsung Galaxy Tab™ 7.0 Plus 4G

This is going to be interesting: T-Mobile + Samsung = 4G goodness. Samsung has always been pretty aggressive this past years to nibble at Apple's heels when it comes to tablets and smart phones. I have come to love Samsung, due mainly to my experience with my Samsung Galaxy Mini, the most affordable and smallest Android-based smart phone at the time of release. As tablets and consumers became more mature and aware of the different offerings, Samsung is positioned to take on Apple, at least, on hardware-level. The only thing stopping me from getting one is the price. If it hits $199, I'll be grabbing it. Don't get me wrong, at $299 (which becomes $249 after mail-in rebate) is pretty good price, but still, after I got my HP TouchPad at a such bargain price, I am hoping that manufacturers would follow suit. Sure, hardware cost is still high at this time, but heck, demand has picked up and surely, there should be many parts manufacturers which should drive price down.

Tech Link (Industry): Intel's Maloney Talks Mobile Growth, Industry Opportunities at Computex

Nothing new, err, I mean, it's not unusual to see Intel to take a stab at Computex and show off their new line of products in the near future and at times, readily available.A new category for mobile devices has been announced, and this time, Intel smarten up and trademarked it (Ultrabook™). Unlike in the past, they let one of their "coined term" be used up by anyone (i.e. netbook and nettop).

Another interesting tidbit is that, despite what detractors are saying, Atom™ is very well alive and kicking and yes, Netbook isn't dead. Atom™ will power the next-gen fanless, yep fanless, netbook platform. Read to get the full run thru of the announcement...

Press Release: Intel Takes Popular Laptops to 'Extreme' with First-Ever Extreme Edition Mobile Processor; Adds New Desktop Chip

It is now official folks, a new king for laptop has just been launched. Prepare for a slew of mobile gamers on the road, coffee shop, parks, or just about anywhere. This processor will redefine how people used to view laptop as mere corporate office type equipment. Not that there were no gaming laptops before, but the fact that this processor can be overclocked, now that's just a kicker! Read the full press release...

High-Performing Notebook and Desktop Processors Arrive Near First Anniversary of Award-Winning Intel® Core™ Microarchitecture
SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 16, 2007 – Addressing demand for even faster laptop computers for hardcore gamers, artists and media enthusiasts, Intel Corporation today introduced its first Intel® Core™2 Extreme mobile dual-core processor -- the world's highest-performing mobile processor1 -- adopting the brand from the company's flagship desktop offerings. The company also introduced new desktop processors and said it expects to announce battery-friendly quad-core processors for laptop computers next year.

The new products come on the heels of the company's 1-year anniversary of introducing server, desktop and laptop processors based on the innovative Intel® Core™ microarchitecture.

"Laptops are the fastest-growing computing market segment, and there is increasing demand from those who crave the ultimate in video, gaming and design computing performance yet want the freedom and flexibility that a laptop brings," said Mooly Eden, Intel vice president and general manager, Mobile Platforms Group. "Due to our innovative technology and design capabilities, we can offer world-class, power-smart performance for the most demanding mobile users, and are proud to offer it under our Intel Core 2 Extreme brand -- a name that has become synonymous with ultimate performance."

The Intel Core 2 Extreme X7800 mobile dual-core processor, with both cores running at a brisk 2.6 GHz, also features mobile-specific power-saving features that help Intel's computer-maker customers deliver more energy-efficient and higher-performing designs. For example, the Intel Core 2 Extreme mobile processor X7800 offers up to 28 percent more performance2 than our previous-generation mobile processor. In addition, for experienced enthusiasts who desire more capability, the Intel Core 2 Extreme mobile processor bus ratio locks (overspeed protection) have been removed3. This offers added technical flexibility in customizing the system so OEMs can unleash even more performance.

Flagship Desktop Processor Introduced
For desktop PCs, Intel is announcing a robust set of new processors, including the flagship Intel® Core™2 Extreme QX6850 quad-core processor. Clocked at 3.0 GHz with a new, faster 1333 MHz system bus speed, the Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850 will be welcomed by game developers looking to deliver new features and performance levels. Intel also announced new Intel® Core™2 Duo and Core™2 Quad processors.

"Thanks to the Intel Core 2 Extreme quad core processor, the PC version of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter* 2 raises gaming to new heights," said Bo Anderson, CEO, GRIN Development Studio*. "Developed by GRIN and published by Ubisoft*, the game draws upon the power of Intel's next-generation multi-threaded engine to provide amazingly realistic gameplay. Intel's quad-core processor uses one core for physics, one for rendering, one for game logic and one for miscellaneous tasks, which can provide consistently higher and more stable frame rates."

Intel Core Microarchitecture – One Year Later
A year ago this month the company began introducing these innovative and energy-efficient products, and in that year Intel Core microarchitecture and its processors have achieved a number of milestones, including:

Delivering the world's first x86 software-compatible quad-core processor line for servers and PCs, as well as storage and embedded systems. To date, Intel has introduced 14 quad-core processor versions.
Receiving more than 75 independent awards and other accolades from online publications and magazine editors around the world. The full list can be reviewed at www.intel.com/pressroom/kits/core2duo/awards.htm.
Securing nearly half (224) of the 500 top-ranked high-performance computers as measured by the recently announced Top 500 Supercomputers List (www.top500.org).
Doubling the performance of laptops with Intel Core 2 Duo processors while maintaining impressive battery life4.
Paving the way for the biggest change to transistor design in 40 years that will combine the company's 45-nanometer manufacturing process and the next-generation Intel® Core™2 and Intel® Xeon® processors.

New Processor Pricing and Availability
The Intel Core 2 Extreme X7800 mobile processor, running at 2.6 GHz with 4 MB of L2 cache, is available to OEMs now at a cost of $851. Notebook systems will appear on the market within the next two weeks. The new Intel desktop processors are also shipping to OEMs now, with product available to end users within the next two weeks. Pricing and specifications for the new desktop processors are as follows:

Processor Number of Cores Frequency Front Side Bus (FSB) L2 Cache Price in 1,000-Unit Quantities
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850 4 3.0 GHz 1333 MHz 8 MB $999
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 4 2.66 GHz 1066 MHz 8 MB $530
Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 2 3.0 GHz 1333 MHz 4 MB $266
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2 2.66 GHz 1333 MHz 4 MB $183
Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 2 2.33 GHz 1333 MHz 4 MB $163

For more information and high-resolution images, visit the Intel Core™2 Extreme mobile processor press kit at www.intel.com/pressroom/kits/mobile/core2extreme

Source:Intel Takes Popular Laptops to 'Extreme' with First-Ever Extreme Edition Mobile Processor; Adds New Desktop Chip

Press Release: Multitude Of Innovations Boost New Intel-Based Laptops

This is very exciting times for laptop FanBoy like me. Among the features that I am drooling over is first and foremost, improved processor with 800MHz FSB, 802.11n, and using the high performance i965 chipset. This is a total senses overload. Check out the official message from Chipzilla...

Multitude Of Innovations Boost New Intel-Based Laptops

NEW YORK and SAN FRANCISCO, May 9, 2007 ? Faster processors and chipsets. Great-looking video and graphics. Stronger and faster wireless signals. Better security and manageability. Designed for energy efficiency to enable great battery life. An option to turbo-speed boot time and software application loading.

Intel Corporation today announced a host of new technologies, including faster Intel® Core™2 Duo processors, for its latest-generation Intel® Centrino® processor technology used in notebook PCs for consumers and businesses.

More than 230 Intel Centrino Duo and Intel Centrino Pro processor technology-based designs from PC manufacturers, resellers and integrators around the world are expected to take advantage of these and other features this year. Notebooks will come in a plethora of shapes and sizes, with designs ranging from fully loaded, 17-inch wide-screen models ideal for entertainment to tiny, energy-saving notebook PCs that weigh less than three pounds.

"When we introduced Intel Centrino 4 years ago, Intel changed the computing landscape with our mobile innovations," said Mooly Eden, Intel vice president and general manager, Mobile Products Group. "Now, simply said, we have improved virtually all aspects of Intel-based notebooks, the most popular and fastest growing computing market segment in the world."

At the heart of the new Intel Centrino Duo and Intel Centrino Pro processor technology-based notebooks is the next-generation of Intel's highly acclaimed Intel® Core™2 Duo processor, which delivers breakthrough mobile performance and responsiveness for demanding business users and consumers alike. Users will experience improved performance when running multiple applications simultaneously such as downloading a video clip while doing a virus scan. Additional power management features will continue to enable users to have the great battery life they have come to expect with an Intel-based notebook PC.

In addition, the Mobile Intel® 965 Express chipset family with Intel® Clear Video Technology enables an enhanced high-definition video experience. Users can also share their content with family and friends via TV easier than before with Intel® TV Wizard, which is a simplified way to connect to HD-enabled TVs. A new suite of drivers delivers robust and outstanding Windows Vista* Premium experience featuring Windows Aero*.

In order to download or upload digital content faster from the Internet, the available Intel® Next-Gen Wireless-N provides 802.11AGN WLAN capability and allows users more freedom to do more, delivering up to five times the performance for such tasks as downloads and twice the wireless access range.

Intel® Turbo Memory is an optional feature, unique to Intel technology, that can access frequently used software applications twice as fast and reduce the amount of time it takes to turn on, or boot-up, a laptop by as much as 20 percent. In turn, these faster speeds save on power consumption and increase battery life.

Notebooks That Mean Business
With a new brand specifically for business users, Intel Centrino Pro processor technology will adopt the innovative and popular features found in desktop business PCs today with Intel® vPro™ processor technology. IT departments will be able to reliably manage both desktops and notebooks and deal with what plagues them most ? security threats, cost of ownership, resource allocation, and asset management ? and do so wirelessly.

One of the key innovations designed in Intel Centrino Pro ? Intel® Active Management Technology ? provides business-class notebook PCs with wireless PC management, protection and remote repair work thereby increasing productivity, IT savings and uptime.

Smaller, Quieter and Stylish Desktop PC Designs
Intel will also use this new mobile technology foundation for a variety of smaller, quieter and high-performing consumer desktop PC designs. These computers will enable crystal clear audio, better graphics and sharper video playback and optionally include integrated 802.11n wireless support and Intel Turbo Memory.

These stylish PCs, when equipped with Intel® Viiv™ processor technology, enable consumers with notebooks based on Intel Centrino Duo processor technology and Intel® Media Share Software to browse, stream or download media files via a wireless home network. Additionally, users can save content to their Intel Centrino Duo processor technology-based laptop to enjoy their media content while on the go.

Intel expects hundreds of notebook models in a range of prices to be widely available now. For detailed Intel product pricing, visit www.intel.com/go/processor_pricing. Additionally, a range of consumer desktop PC designs based on the Intel Core™ 2 Duo processor and Intel® Viiv™ processor technology are also available now.

View the complete Intel® Centrino® processor technology press kit at http://www.intel.com/pressroom/kits/centrino.

Source:Multitude Of Innovations Boost New Intel-Based Laptops

Tech Link (Mobile): Intel Centrino Pro - Robson demonstration

It's a slow news day today, and I thought it'll be an exciting week because of the much hyped Barcelona announcement last Monday. Anyway, since I have not much analysis going on, I figure I'll share a good demo about Intel® Robson technology or Intel® Turbo Memory as it is officially named. Hexus.Tv has a good video up and running, just be sure you have a good net connection to enjoy it without interruption.

So what exactly can a gig of built-in Flash memory do for your notebook? Intel gave us a sneak peek - and you will be surprised how much extra performance Intel Turbo Memory (aka Robson) can provide.

Source:Intel Centrino Pro - Robson demonstration

Press Release: Intel Keeps Mobile Engine Humming, Fueled By Silicon Technology Advances

Exciting times indeed, MIDs or Mobile Internet Devices will invade the consumers next year. MIDs, in a simple terms, is bigger than a smart phone but a lot smaller than laptop, making them fit in the middle (pun intended, yay). Check out the full press release straight from the source, Intel.

Intel Keeps Mobile Engine Humming, Fueled By Silicon Technology Advances

Innovation, Processing Performance and Cooperation Key to Moving Forward Faster
INTEL DEVELOPER FORUM, Beijing, April 18, 2007 ? Describing the latest trends in mobile computing at the Intel Developer Forum today, Intel Corporation executives said that personalization and content are key drivers behind increased demand for notebook PCs and mobile Internet devices (MIDs).

"The Internet is one of the driving forces in today's PC market and there is a desire for the Internet to be mobile," said David (Dadi) Perlmutter, Intel senior vice president and general manager, Mobility Group. "Intel is serving the market today with notebook PCs, and will expand its reach by adding WiMax to notebooks as well as small form factor MIDs in 2008."

Perlmutter continued by discussing the importance of high-performance processors to enable users to have mobile access to the internet. Intel continues to provide high-performance processors based on innovative silicon technology that delivers energy efficiency and great battery life needed by users on-the-go including the next generation Centrino processor technology "Santa Rosa."

Due in May, Santa Rosa processor technology is comprised of a next-generation Intel® Core™2 Duo processor, the Mobile Intel® 965 Express chipset family, Intel® Next-Gen Wireless-N Network Connection, Intel® 82566MM and 82566MC Gigabit Network Connection, and optional Intel® Turbo memory. Perlmutter demonstrated how Intel Turbo Memory decreases resume time from notebook hibernation, thus increasing productivity and reducing system power consumption.

In the first half of 2008, Santa Rosa will be refreshed with Intel's innovative 45nm Hi-k dual core mobile processor, codenamed "Penryn." Later in 2008, Perlmutter said Intel will deliver "Montevina" processor technology, also with Penryn, for greater performance and energy efficiency. With approximately 40 percent smaller components, Montevina will be ideal for mini- and sub-notebooks, and will include integrated hardware decode for high-definition video.

For the first time, Intel will make its integrated Wi-Fi/WiMAX solution available as an option with Montevina-based notebooks, enabling people to connect to Wi-Fi and WiMAX networks worldwide. Mobile WiMAX provides multi-megabit speed, greater throughput and wider range versus other wireless broadband technologies, which is crucial as consumers increasingly want to access user-generated content, high-definition videos, music, photos and other large data files while on the go.

Redefining Mobility with Innovation, Integration
Anand Chandrasekher, Intel senior vice president and general manager of the Ultra Mobility Group, described the evolution of the personal mobile Internet, outlined changes in Intel's silicon roadmap that will create radical reductions in power requirements and innovative new packaging technology, and disclosed a range of leading industry players Intel is working with to establish the MID and ultra-mobile PC (UMPC) categories.

Chandrasekher introduced the Intel® Ultra Mobile platform 2007 (formerly codenamed "McCaslin") for MIDs and UMPCs and said systems will be available over the summer from Aigo*, Asus*, Fujitsu*, Haier*, HTC* and Samsung*. The Intel Ultra Mobile platform 2007 is based on the Intel processor A100 and A110, the Intel 945GU Express Chipset and the Intel ICH7U I/O Controller Hub.

"Today's environment is primed for a truly personal, mobile Internet experience and the Intel Ultra Mobile platform 2007 combines the flexibility of a PC with the mobility of a handheld device," said Chandrasekher. "But we will not stop here. In 2008, Intel will deliver an entirely new platform based on Intel?s 45nm low-power microarchitecture designed from the ground up to let people to carry their personal mobile Internet in their pocket."

Pulling in the schedule by half a year, Chandrasekher said Intel will deliver its next-generation platform for MIDs and UMPCs ? codenamed "Menlow" ? in the first half of 2008. While demonstrating the world's first working Menlow-based prototype, he said it will be based on a new 45nm Hi-k low power microarchitecture-based processor, codenamed "Silverthorne," and next-generation chipset, codenamed "Poulsbo."

Chandrasekher also announced the formation of the Mobile Internet Device Innovation Alliance. Together, alliance members will work on engineering challenges, including power management, wireless communications, and software integration, that are associated with delivering the full Internet in ever-smaller MID form factors.

45nm High-k Metal Gate Transistors Technology Leadership
Intel's next-generation processors for the ultra-mobile, mobile, desktop, workstation and server segments will be based on the company's leading 45nm silicon process technology that uses its revolutionary high-k metal gate transistors.

During his Technology Insight presentation, Intel Senior Fellow Mark Bohr said the company now has working versions of its Silverthorne processor based on its 45nm Hi-k low power microarchitecture for MIDs and UMPCs. Silverthorne joins already working versions of its 45nm Hi-k Intel Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad and Intel Xeon family of processors. Today, Intel has more than 15 different 45nm Hi-k product designs in various stages of development, and will have two 45nm manufacturing fabs in production by the end of the year, with four in production by the second half of 2008.

Intel's long-standing research and technology pipeline has led to innovative advances in silicon technology that in turn allow the company to continuously deliver the cost and performance benefits of Moore's Law. In 2003, Intel was the first to introduce strained silicon technology to greatly increase the speed of its transistors on its 90nm process.

Intel is already working on technology for 32nm, 22nm and beyond. Bohr described several options that Intel is researching for future technology generations, including tri-gate transistors, Indium Antimonide quantum well transistors and carbon nanotube interconnects.

View Intel Developer Forum Day 2 news disclosures.

View product information for the Intel® Ultra Mobile Platform 2007 at www.intel.com/products/mid/ultramobile2007.htm

View the complete Intel Developer Forum press kit at http://www.intel.com/pressroom/idf.

Source:Intel Keeps Mobile Engine Humming, Fueled By Silicon Technology Advances

Tech Link (Mobile): Overclocking Merom: The Dell XPS M1710

A new laptop has come to town, and brings with it an overclocking monster Merom processor (Conroe's mobile brother). And the cool thing about this processor, it has higher multi unlock. This is just so hot, I want this one so bad for my AOpen i975Xa-YDG. Check it out and join me with the drool, and kudos to ExtremeTech for the great article!

Dell XPS M1710 Review
April 12, 2007

By Loyd Case
Until recently, if you wanted to overclock your laptop, you needed one with a desktop CPU. Those were pretty common in the Pentium 4 days, but we've seen fewer of them since the advent of the mobile Core 2 Duo CPUs, originally code-named Merom. A few OEMs expose settings in their BIOS setups that allow you to tweak FSB speeds, but those are pretty rare, and the clock multiplier has remained locked.

Then Dell began shipping their high-end XPS M1710 mobile PC with something they call the "Core 2 Duo T7600G." The "G" is significant, because if you order one, you get a notebook with a multiplier unlocked CPU and the ability to overclock the XPS M1710 in the BIOS setup.


In its review of the XPS M1710, PC Magazine gave the original XPS M1710 4 out of 5 stars (equivalent to an 8 out of 10 here on ExtremeTech), and liked what they saw. We took essentially the same configuration but equipped with the clock-unlocked CPU.

The purpose here is to check out performance. Obviously battery life will be seriously degraded if you push the clock rate of the CPU to its maximum overclocked setting. So we didn't run any battery life tests, though we did check to see how the system handled using SpeedStep when overclocked.

Let's take a quick tour of the XPS M1710 before diving into the benchmark numbers. Continued... The XPS M1710 is the latest iteration of Dell's high-end gaming laptops, and includes a 17-inch display with a native resolution of 1920x1200 pixels, 2GB of DDR2/667 memory and a combo DVD+/-RW-and-Blu-ray drive.

As noted earlier, this particular XPS unit arrived with an Intel Core 2 Duo T7600G multiplier unlocked. Rounding out the system's capabilities is a mobile GeForce 7950

GTX with 512MB of video memory. Windows Vista is included with this system, loaded onto an 80GB, 7200RPM hard drive.

The XPS M1710 includes a plethora of connectors—with both DVI and analog VGA for monitor connections. Also included are four USB 2.0 ports on the back, two more on the left side and a 4-pin FireWire port on the right side. Two audio jacks—one stereo output and one input—are also available. A small slot accepts SD/MMC/Sony Memory Stick flash memory cards. The M1710 supports both wired (gigabit) and wireless (802.11b/g) networking. Continued... Now that we've had a brief look at the hardware, let's take a look at the area of interest in the BIOS setup—overclocking.

You press the F2 key to get into BIOS setup. There, you'll find a comprehensive BIOS setup program, that is, comprehensive for a system from a mainstream supplier like Dell. We're interested in the section under "Performance" labeled "CPU Overclock Support."

Here you can pick a CPU clock frequency ranging from the default (2.33GHz) all the way to 3.17GHz. What you're really doing with the slider is adjusting the CPU multiplier, ranging from the default 14x all the way to 19x.

It's pretty neat that you can tweak the clock frequency so easily, though as you do so, the power usage naturally goes up. We ran three sets of tests—one at the default 2.33Ghz, another at the maximum 3.17GHz and one at the fastest "quiet" setting, which turned out to be 2.83GHz (equating to a 17x multiplier.)

This approach has the advantage of simplicity. Someone trying to dip their toes in the overclocking waters can easily make tweaks. We actually were able to run the system at the full 3.17GHz, completing out performance tests. However, the top speed has some issues, which we'll discuss shortly.

The 2.83GHz speed was the fastest speed we could set in the BIOS setup without the system fans spinning up to full speed. At 3.17GHz, the system fans were quite noisy, and had that unpleasant, high-pitched whine often associated with small cooling fans. At 2.83GHz, the system was as quiet at idle as at 2.33GHz, and even running full bore, the fan noise only stepped up slightly.

The disadvantage with this approach is that you really won't see the best possible performance. The weakness in the hardware chain is the Intel mobile 945 chipset, which supports DDR2/667 memory at best. There are no tweaks in the BIOS setup for memory speeds, nor for FSB settings. All you can adjust is the CPU multiplier. This can create imbalances between the FSB and the memory clocks.

Now that we understand how Dell permits the system to be overclocked, let's take a look at the impact on performance. Continued... We ran only a pair of benchmarks—PCMark05 and 3DMark06. There were two reasons for this: First, we were running on Windows Vista, and benchmarking on Vista is considerably more time consuming than on Windows XP. You have to let the system "settle" for a half hour after a reboot. You also need to run several conditioning runs before an actual recorded benchmark run, because of Vista's capability to optimize for frequently run applications. We saw scores in 3DMark06 increase by more than 5% after several conditioning runs and a couple of reboots.

Given that and our desire to run at three different clock speeds, the number of performance tests we could run was limited. We ran these synthetic benchmarks because they often quickly expose either stability or performance issues. With that in mind, let's take a look at our results.

Windows Experience Scores
The WEI score didn't change, no matter the CPU clock frequency, since the bottleneck wasn't the CPU. The Windows Experience Score is always the lowest of the subsystem scores. In the case of the XPS M1710, the WEI score of 4.7 was bottlenecked by system memory, which also scored 4.7.

The CPU subsystem score "out of the box" was 5.2. Curiously, the CPU subsystem score for both 2.83GHz and 3.17GHz was 5.6, further demonstrating the limitation of pushing past 2.83GHz. But the real bottleneck in this system is the relatively slow memory. Continued... PCMark05 consists of a series of synthetic benchmark suites, each designed to test an individual subsystem, such as memory, processor, and hard drive. The test auto-detects which CPU you're using and loads dynamic libraries optimized for the processor under test for each function. So an Athlon 64 would run code tweaked to run best on its architecture, while a P4 running the same test would run different code optimized for that processor. Many of the tests are small enough to fit into the large L2 caches of modern processors, so those with higher clock speeds have an advantage. It's an idealized view of performance. In the real world, application optimizations can vary widely.

With PCMark05, we do see increases in the CPU score when we jack up the multiplier, although this results in diminishing returns as you increase the clock multiplier. It's also interesting to see how the performance scales in the memory tests as well even though we're not increasing the front-side bus clock or the memory speed. Continued... Though 3DMark06 is a synthetic benchmark, it's perhaps less "synthetic" than PCMark, since it tries to simulate what goes on inside a game engine. We show here both the standard 3DMark score and the results of both 3DMark CPU tests.

Here's where we run into an interesting anomaly: The scores at the highest clock speed for the standard test are barely faster than at 2.83GHz. The CPU scores are actually lower at 3.17GHz than at 2.83GHz. This behavior is repeatable. What's going on?

Even at idle, the system fans are spinning at nearly top speed when running the system at 3.17GHz. When the 3DMark06 CPU tests kicked in, the fans got even louder, yet the scores dropped. We believe that the Core 2 Duo CPU was throttling down at some stages of the benchmark, which of course will affect performance. Continued... We all know from experience that Core 2 CPUs—even the laptop variants—often have a lot of headroom to run at higher clock speeds. So it's no surprise that Intel is starting to dip its toes in the unlocked-mobile-CPU waters. Given the space constraints of even a beefy laptop like the XPS M1710, there are limits to the cooling solutions that can be built into a compact chassis. If you consider the potential heat and power issues with overclocking, this generally means people will run an overclocked M1710 on wall power and clock back to the standard frequency when running on battery power.

Read about Overclocking Core 2 Motherboards.

The limitation of Dell's approach—allowing only multiplier adjustments—permits only one type of overclocking. It would have been interesting to have the option of altering both the FSB speed and the clock multiplier. Even so, being restricted to DDR2/667 creates another performance bottleneck, which is exacerbated as you increase the CPU multiplier.

Note that buying the XPS M1710 with the T7600G Core 2 Duo processor will cost you an extra $275. Whether the added $275 for the privilege of overclocking your laptop is worth it to you is a personal choice. Given the overall system price of $4,375, though, that added $275 is a relatively small amount.

If you're willing to forego Blu-ray and live with Windows Vista Home Premium instead of Vista Ultimate Edition, you can buy the system for about a thousand bucks less—$3,379—and still get the T7600G. That may be a more viable option for most users.

Dell and Intel should be lauded for allowing even limited overclocking. Big notebook systems like the XPS M1710 tend to get used mostly as desktop replacements, as well as LAN parties, so being connected to wall power is fairly common. We'd certainly be happy to run one of these systems at 2.83GHz all day long.

Source:Overclocking Merom: The Dell XPS M1710

Tech Link (Mobile): Most Overclockable and Upgradeable Laptop On The Horizon! Asus C90's impending arrival..

Ok, this is really cool. Asus* is developing a laptop for the enthusiasts, well, it's actually a whitebook laptop but it so happen that it will be very very nice for the eager, willing, and able enthusiasts. I mean, who would replace their CPU on their laptop, upgradeable video card, and add lots of noisy fans to overclock? I am thinking that this laptop should also be compatible with their external video card upgrade solution, the Asus* XG Station. Too bad, it probably won't be compatible with Mobile Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme Edition.

Anyway, it does look like an improved version of Verified By Intel®, or for the layman, it's called Laptop BTO (Build-to-Order) platform, which should be good for consumers, giving them the freedom and option to mix/match laptop component much like a DIY-PC. Expand for more...

We were at Asus headquarters today and got some hands on time with the upcoming C90 desktop replacement style notebook. The C90 is going to be one of, if not the most, customizable notebooks on the market to date. Every aspect of it will be upgradeable and it will use the Intel Conroe processor platform.

Image1

The C90 will be a whitebook machine, meaning customers and resellers will be able to buy the barebone C90 notebook and drop in the components that they want. The basic specs on the machine are as follows:

• Supports Intel Conroe desktop processor platform, 1.86GHz - 2.66 GHz (E6700)


• 15.4" screen


• 2.0 Megapixel camera built-in


• HDMI


• Bluetooth


• TV-Tuner integrated


• E-SATA


• 8-in-1 media card reader


• 802.11n


• Graphics: NVidia (???? -- we can't tell)


• Finger Print reader


• HD-DVD and Blu-Ray drive capable


• 3 USB ports


• Piano gloss finish with inlaid pattern

Image2

Asus emphasized that every component for the C90 will be upgradeable. You name it: Processor, LCD, hard drive, memory, graphics card (and we can't say everything about the graphics card for a little while because Asus asked us not to, cough), optical drive -- take the old one out and put a new component it, all within minutes. The notebook is designed around the core principle of it being easy to upgrade.

Image3

Upgrade until your hearts content
Image4

The C90 has a glossy finish on top
Image5

Asus C90 underside, check out all of those vents!
Image6

And an even more giant vent on the back side!
Image7

A look at the left side ports
Image8

DVD drive
Image9

Image10
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2.0 MP web camera
Image11

The C90 should be hitting the market in the mid-May time frame, though no specific date has been set.

Source:Asus C90 Customizable Notebook Hands on at Asus Headquarters

Press Release: Intel Serves Up 'Pro' To Go

Intel is on a rage, they have been releasing numerous products on the market and most, if not all, are certified blockbusters. This 'Pro' for mobile should be great in the corporate. Way to go Chipzilla, expand for more...

Intel Serves Up 'Pro' To Go
Intel® Centrino® Pro Gives IT Managers Wireless Management and Security Capabilities
SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 4, 2007 -- Under a new brand called Intel® Centrino® Pro processor technology, Intel Corporation today announced it will extend its innovative and popular features designed for desktop business PCs called Intel® vPro™ processor technology into its forthcoming high-performance laptop offering. IT departments will be able to reliably manage both desktops and notebooks and deal with what plagues them most – security threats, cost of ownership, resource allocation, and asset management -- and do so wirelessly.

"Intel Centrino Pro processor technology brings the best of our offering with Intel vPro processor technology and adds it right into our highly successful Intel Centrino brand for laptops," said Mooly Eden, vice president of Intel Mobile Products Group. "This is an ideal time for this product as we continue to see notebook penetration rates increasing in business."

With Intel Centrino Pro processor technology, IT managers will be able to manage and protect their notebooks over Wi-Fi. In addition, administrators can manage both wired notebooks and desktop PCs regardless of their power state or the health of the PC***. The result is better protected PCs, increased IT department compliance, more accurate PC inventories, fewer desk-side visits and less interruption to business.

Major Companies Already Deploying vPro

Businesses have quickly recognized the significant potential time and cost savings from the manageability features of Intel vPro processor technology, and are rapidly deploying the technology. More than 200 business deployments are underway worldwide, ranging from the thousands to tens of thousands of PCs per customer including 3M*, BMW*, FujiFilm*, ING*, Johns Hopkins*, Pioneer* and Verizon*. Many of these customers will add Intel Centrino Pro processor technology to their deployments when it is available later this year.

There is broad industry corporate software support for Intel Centrino Pro processor technology with software applications and solutions being offered from such companies as Altiris*, CA Inc.*, Cisco*, Credant Technologies*, Hitachi JP1*, HP*, Microsoft*, LANDesk* and Trend Micro*.

Intel Centrino Pro processor technology will be available in the second quarter this year as part of the company's planned introduction of the next generation Centrino processor technology code named 'Santa Rosa.' Both business and consumer notebook users will benefit from the highly acclaimed Intel® Core™2 Duo processors, which are at the heart of the platform. The latest versions offer higher performance while also delivering outstanding energy efficiency and battery life.

A new wireless component, Intel® Next-Gen Wireless-N will give users more freedom to do more, farther away from their access points with support for the draft 802.11n specification delivering up to five times the performance** and twice the wireless range**. Users will also enjoy improved graphics performance and support for Microsoft Windows Vista's latest graphic interface Aero*. In addition, the optional Intel® Turbo Memory means users can experience up to two times faster performance when loading frequently-used applications, and up to a 20 percent faster boot time.4

Click here for an Intel® Centrino® Pro processor technology quote sheet.

Case studies for Intel® vPro™ technology can be found at http://www.intel.com/business/vpro/casestudies.

Intel, the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom.

Source:Intel Serves Up 'Pro' To Go

Tech Link (Graphics): ASUS XG Station Preview

vr-zone has a cool preview of the Asus* XG-Station I posted sometime ago. Though nothing new has been shared, it's great to know that it'll go mass production and will be available next quarter (Q2). It will initially launched bundled with a graphics card to avoid compatibility issues. Expand for more...

When XG Station, the world's first external graphics for notebooks from ASUS made their first appearance over at CES back in January, it has stirred up huge interests from the media and consumers. This time round, ASUS plans to demo a more finalized version of their XG Station over at the upcoming CeBIT but the feature set remains the same as before.

XG1 is able to accommodate a double slot graphics card that requires up to 150W power (GeForce 8800GTS is possible we heard), supports 2 x USB 2.0 ports, 5.1 audio channels with Dolby headphones technology, real-time adjustment of GPU clocks, volume control, LCD display of GPU temperature, fan speed and games FPS.

At start, ASUS plans to bundle and sell the EN7900GS graphics card together with XG1 to avoid any compatibility issues but there are plans for selling XG1 alone without graphics card at a later date. Currently, Magma Electronics has a similar offering called ExpressBox that sells for a hefty US$729 but it doesn't come with features like USB, audio and LCD display features. Not to worry as we heard that the XG1 will be available at a very competitive and reasonable price.

Although XG1 possess some really neat features but it still has its downsides like limited bandwidth and requires external display. Since XG1 is linked up to the notebook through the ExpressCard slot, therefore the graphics card slotted into the PCIe x16 slot inside the XG1 has a reduced bandwidth from full x16 (4GB/s in each direction) to just x1 (250MB/s in each direction). Certainly graphics and video performance will suffer a considerable hit. Also another downside is that XG1 needs to be hooked up to a display monitor since there is no video-in capability in the current notebooks so you can't play games on your notebook screen.

XG1 will be entering mass production in April and retail availability in May timeframe.

What's Next?
To really make an impact in the market, ASUS will have to solve the two tricky issues facing XG1 currently. Some good news to cheer about is that ASUS's strong R&D has made a major breakthrough recently and alleviate the problems completely. The next generation XG Station will have full x16 bandwidth, smaller form factor and is able to output to notebooks for display. ASUS also plans to adopt the cabled PCI Express specs for their future XG Station. However, we can't go into details right now so stay tuned for more announcements from ASUS in the near future.

Source:ASUS XG Station Preview

Brag: Mobile Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme Edition?

The naughty folks at HKEPC posted some cool stuff about Intel roadmap. It would seem that Intel is planning to release an uber processor for mobile use! Woah, that's crazy stuff. While I know some would think "why would a laptop user buy that", it is important to note that while the processor is "mobile", it can actually be used as a desktop processor on specialized platform.

If anyone hasn't heard of MoDT (Mobile on Desktop), this is one platform where I see such processor being offered. Of course, mobile warriors who love to game on their laptop anytime rather than stucked on their bulky desktop will also benefit.

This processor is also good for custom-made high-end computing, such as a multimedia enconding device portable and small enough not to clutter a table. I am so excited about this new prouduct. Check out the specs and price below (click image for full picture).



Source:Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme Edition for laptop?

Tech Link (Storage): Samsung's Solid State Disk Drive Unveiled

Wohooo, this is just so nice. I can't help but drool over these technologies. It's so nice to have such ultra super fast storage system. I'm lovin' it already, well, I just hope the price is lovable too.

In May 2006, Samsung was the first to come out with a consumer 32 GB flash-based solid state drive for mobile PCs, opening up the category for other solid state drive manufacturers. This article explores the solid state drive technology that might replace our aging hard drives in only a couple of years.

Source:Samsung's Solid State Disk Drive Unveiled

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)

Tech Link (Platform): Intel Core 2 Duo in Notebooks: Centrino Duo Platform Refreshed

I almost forgot to do a posting today, it's holiday so I got myself the needed rest. In any case, I browsed the web today and can't find any interesting info. My InBox is also not having anything from my contacts and friends, so, I dropped XBitLabs a visit. I saw that they have a Merom on the test bench so it should be interesting. Expand to read their thoughts...

Conclusion

The today’s results can hardly help us make any final conclusions. The thing is that we are still under great impression from the success of new CPUs on Core microarchitecture in the desktop market. Unfortunately, the situation with the mobile Core 2 Duo processors is not as rosy. While the desktop Core 2 Duo processors became significantly faster and set new performance records, the mobile Core 2 Duo couldn’t provide the same significant performance improvement compared with their predecessors – Core Duo CPUs.

According to our tests, Core 2 Duo are faster than Core Duo in all applications, however the average performance improvement (provided the clock speed is equal) is less than 10%. And this is a purely evolutional change. In other words, despite all significant micro-architectural improvements that were introduced when shifting from Core Duo to Core 2 Duo, the practical performance increase in the mobile platforms didn’t prove up to our expectations. Of course, video application are working much faster now, sometimes even 20% faster, but video editing is not a really typical task for mobile platforms. So, the significance of the mobile Core 2 Duo launch is not in the higher performance, but in the Intel 64-bit modes support that has been introduced in the notebook platforms with the arrival of the new generation of mobile processors.

In addition, I would also like to say that higher performance of the Core 2 Duo processors is not free and results in higher power consumption. As a result, mobile platforms equipped with Core 2 Duo processors run slightly less on battery than the systems featuring Core Duo inside. However, I have to be fair here: the performance improvement is still higher than the power consumption loss.

In conclusion, I would like to point out again that the arrival of mobile Core 2 Duo processors will not cause any revolutionary changes in the notebook market. Especially, since Intel is not updating the entire platform just yet, but offers to use new CPUs in the old Napa platform. So, if you already have a Napa based notebook with the dual-core Core Duo CPU, there is hardly any real need to upgrade.

A for the real revolution in the mobile market, we should wait for the next spring, when the expanded Core 2 Duo processor family with higher frequency models in it will acquire a new chipset with better integrated graphics and Robson technology, as well as a new wireless network component with higher data transfer rate.

Source:Intel Core 2 Duo in Notebooks: Centrino Duo Platform Refreshed

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)

Brag: My Yonah...

So I figure, "I posted Merom, why not post Yonah as well?". So there, another brag post from the official FanBoy of this site, yay (many called me that in an effort to "hurt me", sadly, they failed miserably, I'm even proud to be one!). This Yonah is really a nifty processor, very very cool. Compared to Merom in terms of temperature, I really can't tell which is cooler. In terms of acoustics/fan noise, both performs equally. Performance wise, well, I guess I'll put it thru the hoops and see the difference and/or similarity.

Brag: My Merom

Oh well, being so busy is such a blessing and a curse. It ensures that I still have a job, and it also ensures that I don't have time for my hobby, yay! So I guess, I prefer my job than my hobby so yeah, that's it. Anyway, I am playing with some Merom lovin' build.

It's a nice little system. It's not so small really, it's a Merom on a full ATX board. I'll post more information as soon as I have some time. I even put it in Crossfire mode and played some serious games such as FarCry and Doom3 (yeah, old titles). I haven't tried Oblivion but I am guessing it will be ok as far as memory, cpu and motherboard is concerned but I am not sure about my Crossfire GPU.

So till next posting, standby for my short write up, assuming, I manage to squeeze some time.

Tech Link (Processor): Intel Pentium M 740 1.73GHz socket 479 Processor Review

PCStats whips out a review of a dying breed of processor. Expand for more..

The Pentium M was Intel's first mobile processor designed from the ground up. Previously, mobile processor lines were just low power versions of the desktop variety... to disastrous results. When energy consumption is not an issue the Pentium 4 is perfectly adequate for desktops, however to stick it into a notebook is akin to running a hot plate off your laptop battery.

While the Pentium M processor is compatible with the Pentium 4 bus the CPU uses the Socket 479 form factor, so there is no intercompatibility. If you'd like to run a Pentium M processor in a desktop system, you'll have to get yourself a Socket 479 motherboard or small formfactor PC system.

Source:Intel Pentium M 740 1.73GHz socket 479 Processor Review

Tech Link (Platform): Apple Adds Core 2 Duo to All iMacs, Introduces New 24" Model

Ok, I know it's from DailyTech and some AMDroids kept posting comment (like I will publish it) that I am an idiot calling DailyTech as AMDTech (aka Anandtech). Well, keep on whining, coz I don't care. TGDaily is still THG for me, and DailyTech will always be AMDTech for me. Bah! So on with the news bit, AMDTech has a news post about Apple* iMac now posses the power of Conroe!!! Expand for more...

Merom-powered iMacs available for immediate purchase online


Apple fans have been waiting anxiously for news of new products on September 12th, including the long-awaited iTunes Movie Store. However, visitors to Apple's online store got a surprise today as the iMac lineup received a quiet but significant update.

Apple has added the Core 2 Duo chip to the entire iMac family while simultaneously lowering prices. The base-level iMac now comes with a 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo, and costs only $999.

The star of the show, naturally, is the brand-new 24" iMac, affectionately dubbed by some as the "iMac HD." Its 24" screen is up to 40% brighter than the previous iMac, and features a 1920x1200 resolution, and is able to show 1080p content with no scaling. The inclusion of a FireWire 800 port on the 24" iMac allows for high-speed video copying as well. Standard equipment on the 24" iMac includes a 2.13GHz Core 2 processor, 1GB of DDR2 (unfortunately for upgraders, it comes in a 2x512MB configuration), a 250GB SATA hard drive, a double-layer 8x SuperDrive, and an nVidia 7300GT graphics card. This base configuration costs $1999 and is upgradable with more RAM, up to a 2.33GHz CPU and an nVidia 7600GT with 256MB of GDDR3.

All new Core 2 Duo iMacs are available for purchase immediately, with shipping dates of "within 24 hours" for the base model and up to "2-4 business days" for the new 24" model.


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Source:Apple Adds Core 2 Duo to All iMacs, Introduces New 24" Model

Tech Link(Industry): Core 2 Duo Arrives for Notebooks

Sorry about the late news posting. It's just that, I really missed this one. In any case, while AMDTech says there's really not much fanfare about the release of this baby, well, it is not entirely accurate since when the new uA was launched last July for the desktop, there was a lot of worldwide events. And since all processor flavors from server, desktop and mobile is now unified, then the event really does include this processor. Now imagine this, does every release of processor based on the same uA really needs separate worldwide events? I don't think so. Anyway, expand for more....

Today Intel is expected to officially launch the Core 2 Duo processor for mobile platforms. Based on the Merom core, Core 2 Duo is arguably the industry's most anticipated mobile processor launch of this year. Judging from performance comparisons of its desktop counterpart, Conroe, Core 2 Duo should deliver some very impressive performance benchmarks in notebooks, which will also be announced this week. While Intel had a launch party for Core 2 Duo earlier last month, today marks the official day when products with Core 2 Duo processors become available. Expect major manufacturers such as Dell, Lenovo, Sony and others to release notebooks based on the new platform.

Source:Core 2 Duo Arrives for Notebooks