DFI's P55 Lanparty UT board pictured

Foxconn Bloodrage: Das Biest aus der Hölle

Gigabyte Netbook Features Swivel Touch Screen

Want something flashy? Gigabytes M1022 BookTop stands upright in a docking station like a Nintendo Wii console. The BookTop also sports Intels Atom in two flavors: the N270 (1.6 GHz), or the N280 (1.66 GHz). Other BookTop features include a 92-percent full-sized keyboard, a 160 GB 2.5-inch 9.5mm SATA hard drive (5400 RPM), and a WSVGA 10.1-inch LED backlit screen capable of resolutions up to 1024x600. Gigabyte said that the memory and hard drive are easily upgradable.
The S1024 ThinNote,on the other hand, is the skinny offering of the trio, weighing in at a mere 890g and is 20.8mm thick. The WSVGA 10.1-inch screens resolution isnt necessarily lower than the M1022 BookTop, but rather limited to the 16:9 aspect ratio, offering visuals at 1024x576 instead. Unfortunately, the ThinNote comes locked with the Atom N270 (1.6 GHz), however consumers will be able to choose between 60 GB and 80 GB hard drives (1.8-inch 5mm PATA @ 4200rpm).

Finally, the T1028 TouchNote brings touch screen technology to netbooks; the 10.1-inch WSVGA screen even swivels at the base and provides resolutions up to 1024x600. When available, consumers will have a choice of Atom processors: the N270 (1.6 GHz) or the N280 (1.66 GHz). Like the BookTop, the TouchNote will provide a 92-percent full-sized keyboard, and a 160 GB 2.5-inch 9.5mm SATA hard drive (5400 RPM). According to Gigabyte, the hard drive and memory are easily upgradable on this model as well.


For now, all three netbooks are listed as "Coming Soon." An official release date--or the actual pricing for that matter--hasnt been confirmed as of yet, but the netbooks are expected to cost consumers somewhere in the $500 price range. For more details on each netbook, check out their product pages listing system memory, battery, and wireless info.

Intel’s High-Performance ULV Processors: 3GHz out of Penryn

There is no denying that when it comes to processor speed, the Intel’s (NASDAQ:INTC) CPU leaves its competition standing. Things are about to get much quicker for this high-speed processor as a 3GHz or more will be released in the second quarter of 2009.

PC Health Hardwar Monitor

I am using 6600 and the idle System's Temperature is 30C and Under full LOAD it never go beyond 45C , Even tho my system case is kinda old moderate Air Flow . I am using this processor with INTEL stocked HSF BUT i m using ARTIC SILVER 5 instead of Intels Original Thermal Paste, and its doing a great job of keeping Temp down . Even tho its Overclocked. on Gigabyte Ga-965-DS3.

Intel's Nehalem and X58 Express spotted at Computex 2008

Intel's upcoming X58 Express chipset which will support Nehalem processors has been spotted at Computex 2008. The kind folks at Micro Star International (MSI) allowed roaming bit-tech journalists to take a few pics of the “Tylersberg” X58 Express chipset, and a sneak peek at the new LGA1366 CPU socket.

"First, the CPU and its new socket: while the roadmaps say the high-end Nehalem to be launched in Q4 will have up to eight cores, the one MSI had in its office was just a quad-core but with eight threads. The socket is still LGA, but instead of the 775 used on current boards, this one now features 1366 pins and is slightly rectangular – not Pentium Pro rectangular, but simply a stretched out square. The back of the socket now has a metal backplate to brace itself and I’m afraid you’ll be buying a new heatsink too because the socket fittings have changed since LGA775. In fact, the whole area that needs to be exclusively for “Intel CPU use” is now apparently over twice the volume of that compared to LGA775 giving motherboard manufacturers even less space to shoehorn in additional components."


(Intel's Tylersberg X58 Express)

D-VISION USB Digital Microscope

Description:
D-VISION USB Digital Microscope

With a true 2.0MP CMOS Sensor Chip producing high definition 1600X1200 still images/ AVI video with 24bit RGB true color!

The D-Vision Microscope is a fully functional magnification device which can easily be operated by plugging directly into your computer enabling you to magnify objects up to 200x. Enhanced with adjustable light control wheel with 6 white LED lights and a 2.0MP digital camera, the D-Vision Microscope can capture high quality images and videos (AVI).
The New Upgraded USB Digital Microscope is equipped with a true 2.0MP CMOS Sensor Chip produces high definition 1600 X 1200 still image/ AVI video with 24bit RGB true color! With 6 LED Light Wheel Control behind the lens, it provides powerful illumination of your subject without the heat of incandescent lights. This product simply turns your Windows PC into a powerful digital microscope with a magnification range from 10 X to an incredible 200 X !
The full package includes a user friendly image processing software, a lens cover and a detachable stand. Additionally, this high end digital microscope requires no batteries, receiving its power directly from the computer’s USB power. The D-Vision Microscope’s compact and innovative design, as well as its easy accessibility option make it a perfect candidate for classroom projects for scientific teaching and research.
Other uses for the D-Vision Microscope include:

●Classroom teaching aid
●Scientific and laboratory research tool including dissection and examination of specimen
●Medical analysis such as dermatological examinations, etc
●Reading Aid
●Industrial Inspection
●Computer Parts inspection
●Textile Inspection
●Jewelry Inspection
●Collections/Coin Inspection
●Printing Inspection

We also have developed a professional yet easy-to-use image processing (Upgradeable) software for our USB Digital Microscope, this software has handy features such as controlling the image/video quality, resolution, size, time elapse etc., making it a perfect candidate for microscopic inspection in many industries like archaeology, biology, pathology, textile, jewelry etc.
Specifications:
Image Sensor
2.0Mega Pixels

Video Capture Resolution
1600×1200,1280×1024,640×480,320×240

Still Image Capture Resolution
1600×1200,1280×1024,640×480,320×240

Color
24bit RGB

Lens
Dual Axis27x&100x Microscope Lens

Focus Range
Manual Focus From 10mm to Infinity

Flicker Frequency
50Hz/60Hz

Frame Rate
Max 30f/s under 600 Lux Brightness

Magnification Ratio
10x to 200x

Shutter Speed
1 sec. To 1/1000sec.

Video Format
AVI format

White Balance
Auto

Exposure
Auto

Light Source
6 LED White Lights (Adjustable Light Intensity)

PC Interface
Mini USB 2.0

Operation System
Windows 2000/XP/Vista

OSD Language
English

Power Supply
5V DC from USB Port

Size
110mm(L) ×33mm(R)

Accessories:
A1-Alloy Stand
Safety Cover
User Guide
CD ROM (Driver)
Gift Box

CONTINENTAL USA CUSTOMERS ONLY
$129.95 DELIVERED

CANADA CUSTOMERS ONLY
$139.95 DELIVERED

ALL OTHER CUSTOMERS E-MAIL US FOR PRICE QUOTE

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http://www.chinadepot.com/microscope.html
General details:

Computex 2008 - Part 8

Chris Cloran, AMD's Corporate VP and GM of Computing Solutions Group (Notebook Division), was heading the Puma launch and in this slide, compares video quality performance of the new IGP versus that of Intel's current GM965 class. Of course this comparison will change shortly as Intel's Centrino 2 platform takes off in a couple of months.

OCZ DDR3-1600 Platinum Triple Channel 6Gb Kit

"We take a look at OCZ's DDR3-1600 Platinum Triple Channel 6Gb Kit. These modules are rated to run at 800Mhz and offers an extremely low latency of 7-7-7-24."



Tags : DDR3 DDR3 1600 Memory OCZ OCZ technology pc3 12800 ram Review tri channel Triple Channel 6gb kit



Posted on Feb 26, 2009, 1:10 AM UTC by Winston Chim
Source : OCZ Technology

Product Name OCZ Triple Channel DDR3-1600 6Gb Kit
Category Memory
Manufacturer OCZ Technology
Prices from Compare3D
Featured OCZ 3xDDR3-1600 Platinum 6Gb Kit USD $ 114.99 (3 sellers)
Similar OCZ DDR3 6GB (3x2) Platinum 1333Mhz GBP £ 86.76 (4 sellers)


Introduction Specifications and Features Closer Look: The Modules 6Gb Kit Installation Test Setup and Procedures CPU-Z and Everest Sandra Pro 2009 Futuremark Suite Gaming and ScienceMark 2 Overclocking Verdict and Conclusion
Introduction
The launch of Intel's Core i7 processor last November has been one of the most anticipated releases of 2008. Although it did require a new motherboard and new triple channel DDR3 memory ... the performance from these new processors was phenomenal, receiving rave reviews from around the world. It quickly became the processor of choice for the extreme gamer and hardcore enthusiasts.

Many manufacturers, especially Intel partners, saw this as a good opportunity to introduce new products to cater for these new Core i7 processors. In no time we saw the release of new motherboards featuring Intel's X58 chipset from Asus, ASRock, DFI, Gigabyte, MSI and many more. Then, the first batch of triple channel memory modules started to appear from Corsair, A-dat, Kingston and OCZ Technology.





Intel's new Core i7 processors may be all singing and dancing, but one of the hardest hurdle for consumers to overcome ... is cost. If you want to take advantage of all this new technology, you'll be looking at a new motherboard, new triple channel DDR3 ram and of course the new Core i7 processor itself. All-in-all, a pretty big upgrade with a price tag to match! I guess this is the kind of price premium one has to pay for all this new technology. But hopefully the cost will come down during the course of 2009.

Over the past few months we've taken a look at triple channel memory from Corsair, A-data, Kingston, and now it's now the turn of OCZ Technology. There's one interesting fact that many people don't realise ... OCZ were one of the first manufacturers to introduce and release their triple channel DDR3 memory kits before anyone else. Being memory experts, their modules not only performs ... but also carry a wealth of certifications from Intel, Nvidia and AMD.





We already seen how successful OCZ Technology have become over the past year or so. And this is evident from the huge range of innovative products in their catalogue. These include their new "Fatal1ty" Series, the infamous NIA (Neural Impulse Actuator), a new range of gaming peripherals, and then there's the usual flash media, SSDs, PSUs, cooling products and DIY notebooks. Wow, what a list!

In this review, we'll be taking a look at the OCZ Platinum DDR2-1600 Triple Channel 6Gb kit. The Platinum Series are optimized with leading-edge Enhanced Latency and Enhanced Bandwidth technology to deliver the highest overclocks and tightest timings. These modules are rated PC3-12800 and are able to run at 800Mhz, and what's more they also feature their innovative XTC heatspreader which helps to provide effecient cooling. Here's a little blurb taken from OCZ's website ...

"XTC (Xtreme Thermal Convection) heatspreaders optimize the thermal management of memory modules by promoting greater airflow by means of micro-convection throughout what is usually the dead air space inside conventional heatspreader designs. In this manner, build-up of heat is avoided and thermal dissipation of the memory components is offloaded more efficiently through the honeycomb design. At the same time, mechanical stability is maintained."





Although these modules are optimised to run with Intel Core i7 processors, they do not feature Intel Extreme Memory Profiles (XMP). This doesn't mean that these Platinum Series are no good ... quite the opposite. OCZ's Platinum modules are designed to offers the latest extreme speeds, ideal for overlocking enthusiasts. What makes these modules different from the rest, is that they offer an extremely low latency of 7-7-7-24, while maintaining a low voltage of 1.65V. Most triple channel DDR3-1600 kits have a memory latency of 8-8-8-24. If you require XMP ready kits ... then you might want to take a look at OCZ's Intel Extreme Series.



The labelling and classification of DDR3 memory can be a little confusing at times, but I'll try and give you some DDR3 terminology ... More information can be found HERE

- PC3-6400 : DDR3-800 : 200FSB : 400Mhz (800Mhz)
- PC3-8500 : DDR3-1066 : 266FSB : 533Mhz (1066Mhz)
- PC3-10666 : DDR3-1333 : 333FSB : 667Mhz (1333Mhz)
- PC3-12800 : DDR3-1600 : 400FSB : 800Mhz (1600Mhz)
- PC3-14400 : DDR3-1800 : 450FSB : 900Mhz (1800Mhz)
- PC3-15000 : DDR3-1866 : 466FSB : 933Mhz (1866Mhz)
- PC3-16000 : DDR3-2000 : 500FSB : 1000Mhz (2000Mhz)



In our tests we'll be installing these modules on a Gigabyte EX58-Extreme motherboard, along with our Intel Core i7 - 920 processor and a Geforce GTX285 OC graphics card, PC Power & Cooling 860W PSU, running Windows Vista. We'll be comparing these modules with others

OK, let's not waste any more time and take a closer look at the OCZ Platinum DDR3-1600 PC3-12800 Triple Channel 6Gb Kit ...

Toshiba Portege A100 Centrino 12"SuperView WiFi (2.2Kg

Highlights: Beautiful Ultra-Portable / Absolutely 100% Brand New Condition
- Centrino Intel Pentium-M 1.4Ghz with SpeedStep Technology
- 512mb DDR333 (2x512mb) Upgradeable to 1Gb
- 40Gb ATA100 5400RPM Upgradeable to 100Gb
- Bright 12.1inch XGA Clear SuperView Display(1024x768)

- Internal DVD + CD-Writer Combo Drive
- Internal Intel WiFi 802.11b
- Firewire Ports + 4-USB2.0 Ports

- Licensed Xp-Professional with Complete recovery DVD
- Tested 180-minute Battery!
- Store Warranty: 3month Parts + 6-Months Service


Our Take: After the initial rush to get UMPCs (Ultra-Mobile PC) users began to realize an 8.9" display is too small for everyday use and that in today's world it is still difficult to live without an optical drive. Moreover, as benchmarks have shown, an ATOM processor is not necessarily "faster" than the older Pentium-M variants. If you co not believe us there is an article about it and . After the hype, it maybe time to take a 2nd look at the old reliable Pentium-M. discover why it is one of the CoolTOYZ favorite laptops.

Enhance your mobile lifestyle and express yourself with the attractive 2.2Kg Portégé A100. Designed for the most mobile business users, students and individuals, the Portégé A100 delivers exceptional on-the-road performance with a 12inch Clear SuperView / full color display, built-in wireless networking, plus integrated CDRW/DVD Combo drive, and a Full set of expansion ports. The Toshiba Portege A100 is a smart choice if you want the style and portability of the iBook without the limitations and premium price of the Mac platform.

With its pearl-white casing and clean lines, the Toshiba Portege A100 looks unmistakably like an iBook - – note the white, reinforced, A4- sized body, 12-inch screen and svelte dimensions. If not for the Centrino sticker on the palm rest and Toshiba label, most people will easily mistake the A100 for an Apple machine. The Lid is an attractive pearl white clear coat / glossy white finish. Open up the A100 and you'll see a white bezel surrounding the screen and a white keyboard centred in a matt silver chassis. Apple clone or not, the Portege A100 looks good.



Beyond the stylish exterior, the A100 carries the full Centrino certification which means that there's an Intel Pentium M CPU inside, as well as an Intel wireless networking card. Looking at the Intel Pentium M CPU first, you'll find a 1.4GHz chip, which is more than powerful enough for a notebook like this. The Intel Pentium M CPU is based on the new micro architecture optimized for mobile PCs which is more efficient, consumes less energy and runs longer with the batteries as compared to standard modern systems. It's equipped with the low-voltage 400MHz system bus, 1MB L2 cache that disables blocks unused, and special functions for reducing platform's power consumption. The CPU supports the advanced Intel® SpeedStep® technology with several frequencies and voltage values. Benchmarks tests shows it to be equivalent to an Intel Penitum4 2.6Ghz Processor. The processor is supported by 512MB of PC2100 DDR SDRAM (expandable to 1GB), and a 40GB hard disk.

The 12.1in. TFT screen with a 1024x768 resolution is superb. It is enhanced with Toshiba's Clear SuperView technology - the latest in LCD screen technology commonly known in the industry as anti-reflective. This technology has one much praise for its high-gloss, sharp contrast, anti-reflective finish. This new anti-reflective technology has sharp contrast ratios (the difference between the deepest black and lightest white pixels), produces clearer and more colorful images, absorbs most external ambient light and has wider viewing angles than traditional notebook screens. It is not only superb for playing DVD and computer games, but also good for presentation to client and deskwork, giving users excellent experience on both digital entertainment and productivity. Once you have seen this technology for yourself, you won’t believe your eyes.The display's Graphics is provided by Intel's 855GM Graphics Controller comes with 64MB of shared memory.



The integrated CD-WRITER/DVD Combo drive allows writing CDs and reading of DVDs at maximum speed. You also get a good set of connectivity options. Connectivity include Intel's Pro Wireless Network Connection 802.11b (802.11g optional), a V.90 modem, 10/100Base-T, four USB 2.0 ports, one SD slot, composite TV-out, FireWire and two PC Card slots. The removable Lithium-ion battery is tested to power the system for up to an impressive 2.5 hours.

Intel GMA950 & xf86-video-intel 2.1.0

It was earlier this month that version 2.1.0 of the xf86-video-intel driver was released, which among other things had introduced open-source Linux graphics support for the G33, Q33, and Q35 chipsets as well as fixing a horde of bugs and adding PCI IDs for the 945GME, 965GME, and 965GLE chips. As our last Intel graphics performance article was looking at the Q965 back in May, in this article we have enclosed some benchmarks from Intel's GMA 950 IGP using the new xf86-video-intel 2.1.0 driver.



The motherboard we had used when carrying out these latest tests was the ASRock Conroe1333-DVI/H R2.0. This ATX motherboard uses Intel's 945G/945GC A2 Chipset with the ICH7 Southbridge and boasts support for dual-core 1333MHz FSB LGA-775 processors. Offered by the ASRock Conroe1333-DVI/H R2.0 motherboard is an onboard VGA D-Sub connector for the integrated GMA 950 graphics, while also included is a DVI graphics HDCP-capable adapter. We will be featuring a review of the Conroe1333-DVI/H R2.0 later in the month.

Other hardware components had included an Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 processor and 2 x 1024MB of OCZ Reaper HPC 2GB PC2-8500 memory. The operating system used was Fedora 7 with the 2.6.21-1.3228.fc7 kernel and we had upgraded the X.Org drivers from Fedora Rawhide, which includes the Intel 2.1.0 Linux display driver. The graphics processor used for comparison was the ATI Radeon X800XL 256MB PCI Express x16 solution with the open-source ATI Radeon 6.6.3 driver. The benchmarks used in this graphics comparison were Enemy Territory, Doom 3, and Unreal Tournament 2004; however, there are some missing textures present with Doom 3 using the open-source ATI/Intel drivers. This article is intended to offer just a glance at the level of performance offered by the Intel GMA 950 using the latest driver compared to the Radeon X800XL. Additional benchmarks will be published in the near future.

AMD Opteron 2356 Quad-Core "Barcelona

In the Linux benchmarks comparing the Xeon E5320 to the Opteron 2356 processors, Barcelona technology was the clear winner. However, that was to be expected. The Xeon E5320 "Clovertown" represents Intel's initial quad-core design, which has been surpassed by Intel's Harpertown. In addition, the E5320 processors are clocked at 1.83GHz, which is in starch contrast to the Opteron 2356 CPUs running at 2.30GHz. With the available hardware at hand, however, those are the results to show.

If you are interested in comparing your system's performance to the single and dual AMD Opteron 2356 configurations, install the Phoronix Test Suite for your distribution and then proceed to run phoronix-test-suite benchmark michael-30964-29321-9146. Doing so will run the same benchmarks in an identical configuration to the tests performed in this article using the Phoronix Test Suite. If you are unfamiliar with the Phoronix Test Suite, check out this article. You can also view these results on PTS Global.

When it comes to comparing four versus eight Barcelona cores, there was of course strong performance advantages most notably in the GCC compilation tests thanks to twice the number of jobs. In Nexuiz, SPECViewPerf, and the other tests, the additional processor hadn't shed any advantages but some small loses due to the software packages not being SMP-optimized. Ubuntu 8.04 LTS is using the GCC 4.2 branch, but once it upgrades against GCC 4.3 in Ubuntu 8.10 "Intrepid Ibex", there should be additional performance advantages due to the SSE4a instruction set and other optimizations.

As we have yet to test Intel's Xeon E5400 "Harpertown" processors we cannot say a winner in the Intel vs. AMD processing war for quad-core CPUs. However, with the Harpertown parts being clocked higher and other Intel advancements, benchmarks published so far on this topic show Intel taking the performance crown for both raw performance and performance-per-watt. AMD does have the benefit, however, for offering 4-way capabilities.

The only disturbance we ran into with the Opteron 2356 processors were PowerNow technology not working with Ubuntu 8.04 Beta with the Linux 2.6.24 kernel. We suspect, however, that this issue should be addressed in the near future with cpufreq.

As far as pricing goes, a single AMD Opteron 2356 will set you back $670 USD. On the Intel side, their 2.33GHz Xeon E5410 Harpertown only costs $284.99 and their 2.66GHz part will run you $500 USD.

While AMD may not be the winner this round on the server/workstation front, they are hard at work on developing their K10 successor known as Fusion. Exact details surrounding AMD's Fusion is still scare, but it will combine general CPU and GPU cores into a single processor package. This new architecture will increase the CPU performance in multi-parallel computing tasks while the modular CPU cores will continue to crunch numbers and handle the traditional tasks. The computing core codenames for the Fusion timeframe are Bulldozer, a native octal-core Sandtiger, and a low-power Bobcat. Coming up sooner on AMD's roadmap will be their Opteron quad-core refresh known as Montreal, which will feature 12MB of L3 cache.

We'll have more Linux benchmarks of the AMD Opteron 2300 processors (and Intel's Harpertown processors, hopefully) in the near future under different environments along with reviews of the Tyan Thunder n3600M and Gigabyte 3CESL v1.4 motherboards.

Haier X6 UMPC: Intel Core 2 Duo inside Arima design

Contract manufacturer Arima sure struck gold with its UM650 handtop. Because even though Haier's IDF-unveiled X6 UMPC (immortalized by gipigrl) sports a different keyboard, it still marks the fourth time that the Taiwanese unit has been rebranded.



In addition to its keyboard, the X6 strikes out on its own with a reported choice of processors: Intel's Core 2 Duo 1.83GHz L2500 and 1.66GHz L2400. Quite a departure from the 1GHz VIA C7-M tucked inside Arima's split-keypad model.

What really makes me question the processor options is that the X6 was one of the new devices showcased in conjunction with the announcement of Intel's Ultra Mobile Platform 2007. And unless it's a pick-and-choose kind of platform, UMPCs and MIDs using it are supposed to be running on the A100 or A110 processor.

Haier has apparently also gone on record with a 4- to 5-hour battery estimate and $1163 price tag.

Something just isn't right . . .

[Reg Hardware | UMPCPortal]

Technorati: arima um650, gigabyte u60, haier x6, medion md rim 1000, tango wings
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Intel's Pentium 4 3.4GHz processors

Prescott and Northwood ramp up
by Scott Wasson — 12:00 AM on March 22, 2004


BACK ON SUPERBOWL Sunday, while the world was distracted by Janet Jackson's boobie, Intel quietly introduced its new Pentium 4 "Prescott" processor. As if football and the peep show weren't enough distraction, Intel also unleashed its Pentium 4 Extreme Edition processor running at 3.4GHz, an exotic new CPU capable of putting up some mind-numbing benchmark scores.
Amid the spectacle of wardrobe malfunctions and abnormally large caches, some noteworthy developments got a little lost. For one, the new Prescott processor was a shockingly major replumbing of the familiar Pentium 4, with an uber-deep 31-stage pipeline and a host of internal tweaks. These changes made Prescott usually a little slower, clock for clock, than the previous Pentium 4. What's more, Intel was launching a pair of products, the Pentium 4 3.4GHz and 3.4'E' GHz processors, that didn't appear to exist yet. We were testing old and new Pentium 4 cores, Northwood and Prescott, at 3.2GHz, but not beyond. Only the P4 Extreme Edition was available for review at 3.4GHz.

The fact that samples weren't available to the press was a bad omen. Over the ensuing days and weeks, it became clear Prescott supplies were tight at any speed. However, about three weeks ago, Intel made good on its promise to follow up with samples of its Pentium 4 3.4GHz chips when they became available. Today, at last, we can show you how they perform.

Reintroducing Prescott
If you aren't familiar with the new Pentium 4 Prescott processor core, you really should go read our initial review of it. The changes from the older Northwood core are too complex to summarize easily. That said, I'll make a feeble attempt. Prescott includes larger caches, a much deeper main pipeline, SSE3 instructions, improved data prefetching, revised Hyper-Threading, and enough microarchitectural tweaks to kill a horse. Most importantly, Prescott is manufactured using Intel's new 90nm fabrication process, making it a smaller chip than the 130nm Northwood, despite having a much higher transistor count.



Northwood 3.4GHz (left) and Prescott 3.4GHz (right)

Test notes
Generally, the deeper we get into the technical stuff, the happier I am. However, I'm none too excited about making these articles difficult to read. So, as you peruse the following pages and glance over test results for no less than eighteen different CPUs, please keep a few things in mind.

First, Intel distinguishes the new Prescott Pentium 4 from the regular ol' Northood P4 by tacking an "E" on to the end of the name, after the clock speed. So when you're reading our graphs and see a Pentium 4 "E" processor, think Prescott. The Pentium 4 "C" you'll see here is simply a Northwood chip. It gets the "C" tag because it has an 800MHz bus, while older versions of that chip did not. (All the Pentium 4s we've tested here have an 800MHz bus.) Forgive the confusion, but we've tried to stick to Intel's naming scheme where possible, and confusion may be the natural outcome of that effort.

Next, you may recall from our original Prescott review that we actually published a complete set of benchmark results for the Northwood 3.4GHz processor way back then. We accomplished this feat by disabling the L3 cache on our Pentium 4 Extreme Edition 3.4GHz processor, effectively making it a Pentium 4 Northwood running at 3.4GHz. We've used the actual Northwood 3.4GHz to verify that our "simulated" Northwood 3.4GHz results were correct, but we didn't rerun every test, because we're confident our results are representative.

Finally, watch the line graphs that come after our usual bar graphs to see how each CPU type scales with clock speeds or model number increments. We will be keeping an eye on Northwood versus Prescott in particular, because that's a key issue. We're wondering whether Prescott performance gets relatively stronger as clock speeds go up, because Prescott is intended to run at high clock frequencies. In fact, it's slated to hit 4GHz or so by year's end, while Northwood will be phased out.

Mini-ITX GM45 motherboard by MSI

MSI has announced a new motherboard, based on Intel's GM45 chipset. The IM-GM45 is suited for a Home Theater PC (HTPC) or a compact home server.


The GM45 northbridge is linked to Intel's ICH9M-E southbridge, the board supports 45nm Core 2 mobile Socket P processors. The two SO-DIMM memory slots can house up to 4 GB DDR2 at 667 or 800 MHz. Intel's GMA X4500 is integrated, supporting DirectX 10 and hardware acceleration of MPEG2, H.264 and VC1 formats. The card has three outputs, D-Sub, DVI and HDMI. The motherboard features four SATA-II ports, a PCI-slot, one IDE-connector, Mini card slot for a wireless network card, two Gbit LAN ports, eigh USB ports, two PS/2 connectors and 7.1 audio.


Pricing and availability isn't known yet.

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Mini-ITX GM45 motherboard by MSI

MSI has announced a new motherboard, based on Intel's GM45 chipset. The IM-GM45 is suited for a Home Theater PC (HTPC) or a compact home server.


The GM45 northbridge is linked to Intel's ICH9M-E southbridge, the board supports 45nm Core 2 mobile Socket P processors. The two SO-DIMM memory slots can house up to 4 GB DDR2 at 667 or 800 MHz. Intel's GMA X4500 is integrated, supporting DirectX 10 and hardware acceleration of MPEG2, H.264 and VC1 formats. The card has three outputs, D-Sub, DVI and HDMI. The motherboard features four SATA-II ports, a PCI-slot, one IDE-connector, Mini card slot for a wireless network card, two Gbit LAN ports, eigh USB ports, two PS/2 connectors and 7.1 audio.


Pricing and availability isn't known yet.

Intel's Rural Connectivity Platform: 60-Mile Wi-Fi

Intel has announced the Rural Connectivity Platform (RCP), a solution designed to send data as far as 60 miles to provide Wi-Fi connectivity in rural areas. That maximum distance, according to the company, is limited only by the curvature of the earth...



"Already, Intel has installed and tested the hardware in India, Panama, Vietnam, and South Africa," writes MIT Technology Review's Kate Greene. "Later this year, the company will sell the device in India, with a target price below $500. The point-to-point technology will require two nodes, which could provide full back-end infrastructure for less than $1,000."



"The key aspect that allows for the long transmission distance of the RCP system required a rewrite of the communication rules used by Wi-Fi routers," explains DailyTech's Shane McGlaun. "Typical routers used to wire homes and offices send out data and wait for an acknowledgement from the receiving system that the data arrived. If the acknowledgement isn't received in a timely manner the common wireless router send the data again assuming it was lost. The Intel RCP system does away with the need for acknowledgements and frees up more bandwidth for sending data."

Sharp's Willcom D4 uses Intel's Atom processor.

NEW YORK | Intel Corp.'s push to create and boost new categories of small, cheap Internet-connected devices is taking the world's largest chip maker in some unusual directions.

It's investing in wireless networks or even buying them outright. It's relying on software that isn't from Microsoft. And it's looking at making processors cheaper and smaller rather than faster and faster.

To Chief Executive Paul Otellini, it's all part of bringing the Internet to new places and people, and computer makers are responding.

"I've not seen energy like this from our customers in a long, long time," Mr. Otellini said. "Everyone views this as being sort of hyperexpansive to the existing market."

A centerpiece of the strategy is the Atom processor, which packs the power of a PC-class processor from six years ago into the smallest space yet - 25 Atoms will fit on a square inch. It's intended for mobile Internet devices (MID) - iPhone-like tablets that provide a "full" Internet experience, better than that available on cell phones.

Somewhat larger than the MID is what Intel calls the "netbook," a small, cheap laptop. Taiwan's AsusTek has had a breakout hit in this category with its eeePC, which starts at $300 and uses an Intel chip. Other manufacturers, including Hewlett-Packard Co., are entering the space, too, though HP is using a chip from Via Technologies Inc.

Mr. Otellini isn't concerned that low-power processors could "cannibalize," or steal, sales from Intel's high-end, high-margin products.


Sharp's Willcom D4 uses Intel's Atom processor.

"If a higher-priced notebook isn't substantially better and doesn't offer more utility, shame on us," he said. "If there's cannibalization, I'd rather be the cannibal than someone else."


Paul Otellini, president and chief executive of Intel, talks about moving in directions that are unusual for the 40-year-old company, including investing in wireless networks and relying on software that isn't from Microsoft. Intel's Atom processor is above left.

Bill Hughes, an analyst at the research firm In-Stat, noted that a relatively small group is behind the demand for netbooks, which some stores have had trouble keeping in stock.

"It's growing fast because it's very small," Mr. Hughes said. "It will continue to be a niche for the foreseeable future."

Intel's Classmate 2 netbook unveiled, reviewed, compared

Intel has shown an improved version of its subnotebook, aimed at the education market and developing countries
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Intel unveiled its second-generation Classmate PC with a 9-inch screen and webcam at the Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai. It looks a bit more robust than the previous 7-inch version but still has a Celeron M processor, not a new Atom. Intel's Classmate PC site has side-by-side specifications.

AP says:

Classmates are based on Intel's design and include its processors, but they are built by other manufacturers and sold under a variety of brand names. The first generation went on sale in March 2007 with the 7-inch screen and fewer functions. Intel said it has sold "tens of thousands" of the machines but declined to provide more specific data.



CNet has a review, Intel Classmate PC (9-inch), which says:

Compared with the original, this Classmate PC looks less like a toy and more like a traditional laptop computer, even as it keeps a somewhat thick, plastic chassis with slightly rounded corners. The new Classmate also keeps the removable snap on leather cover, which doubles as a convenient carry handle. The rugged design makes it more than a pound heavier than the Eee PC, but it also feels significantly sturdier.


The keyboard is about the same size as on the original Classmate and is designed for those with smaller fingers. However, the keys have been rearranged into a more traditional layout, correcting a few niggling problems with the older version, such as a missing right-shift key. The touch pad is now a traditional rectangular surface, instead of the visually interesting, but hard-to-use round version on the older Classmate. Intel added a Webcam, positioned above the screen, in this revision, which is a cool extra for such an inexpensive system.




The major disappointment is that the larger screen still has the same old resolution: 800 x 480 pixels. Still, says CNet, it has more ports than a MacBook Air....

Forbes magazine compares the $489 Classmate 2 with the OLPC XO, saying: "the Classmate hardly feels like a leap forward in educational hardware as much as a gray, shrunken version of any typical Intel-powered laptop". (Harsh? In real life, the XO looks amazingly naff.) Still:

In Forbes.com's tests, the XO's Wi-Fi connection was weak and finicky. When it did connect, Flash or Java-based sites like YouTube or Yahoo! Games suffered from crippling sputters and stalls, thanks to the XO's small memory capacity.


Intel's Classmate, on the other hand, connected to the same Wi-Fi network and was playing 9-inch videos of Korean break dancing within seconds. Other dynamic Web sites, like games and photo sites, also loaded without a hitch.

That means that as the computing world shifts to the Web from the increasingly irrelevant desktop, Intel's Classmate could flourish while the XO is left behind. For all of OLPC's brilliant bells and whistles, the nonprofit has created a closed platform that isn't capable of using Windows programs -- not to mention a constantly evolving ecosystem of Web applications.




Forbes's conclusion:

But the most important factor by far in the Classmate's favor? Once that rural Indian nine-year-old gets a peak at YouTube, the XO doesn't stand a chance.



Intel, of course, also supports the use of Linux on Classmate PCs, not just Windows.

Update: Here's Intel's press release.

Intel 32nm Microprocessor is Alive

Intel's first public demonstration of the Intel 32nm Microprocessor -- code named Westmere -- in San Francisco on February 10, 2009.
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Convertible Ultra-Mobile Laptop – Intel Convertible Classmate PC “Net-vertible”

CES 2009 will be a veritable tech paradise, and among the many amazing releases coming in the next year, one to watch out for is the Intel Convertible Classmate PC laptop. Set for its official unveiling at the show, the convertible Classmate PC ultra-mobile laptop is the newest 8.9-incher to hit the market, boasting a durable chassis matched by equally hard-hitting features. The Classmate PC laptop will sport a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, a 60GB HDD and Windows XP operating system. Dubbed the “net-vertible,” the laptop’s 8.9-inch touch-screen display swivels, offering the convenience of a tablet computer. The Classmate PC laptop will reportedly start shipping in mid-January. No word yet on pricing though. Intel
via Laptop Magazine

All in: Ultra Mobile Laptops | 12.16.08 3:25 PM | Permalink



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The Chips

With a new microarchitecture comes a new naming system and while it makes sense for Intel to ditch the Duo/Quad suffixes that's about the only sensible thing that we get with Nehalem's marketing. The new name has already been announced, Nehalem is officially known as the Intel Core i7 processor. Model numbers are back of course and the three chips that Intel is announcing today are the 965, 940 and 920. The specs break down like this:

Processor Clock Speed QPI Speed (GT/sec) L3 Cache Memory Speed Support TDP Unlocked? Price
Intel Core i7-965 Extreme Edition 3.20GHz 6.4 8MB DDR3-1066 130W Yes $999
Intel Core i7-940 2.93GHz 4.8 8MB DDR3-1066 130W No $562
Intel Core i7-920 2.66GHz 4.8 8MB DDR3-1066 130W No $284



Obviously there's no changing Intel's naming system now, but I'd just like to voice my disapproval with regards to the naming system. It just doesn't sound very good.

These chips aren't launching today, Intel is simply letting us talk about them today. You can expect an official launch with availability by the end of the month.

The Socket

By moving the memory controller on-die Intel dramatically increased the pincount of its processor. While AMD's Phenom featured a 940-pin pinout, Intel's previous Core 2 processors only had 775 contact pads on their underside. With three 64-bit DDR3 channels however, Intel's Core i7's ballooned to 1366 pads making the chip and socket both physically larger:


The downside to integrating a memory controller is that if there are any changes in memory technology or in the number of memory channels, you need a new socket. Sometime in 2009 Intel will introduce a cheaper Nehalem derivative with only a 2-channel memory controller, most likely to compete in the < $200 CPU price points. These CPUs will use a LGA-1156 socket, but future 8-core versions of Nehalem will use LGA-1366 like the CPUs we're reviewing here today.

The larger socket also requires a bigger heatsink, here's a look at the new Intel reference cooler:


From left to right: 45nm Core 2 Duo cooler, 45nm Core 2 Quad cooler, 45nm Core i7 Cooler





Nehalem's Weakness: Cache

Intel's Nehalem and X58 Express spotted at Computex

Intel's upcoming X58 Express chipset which will support Nehalem processors has been spotted at Computex 2008. The kind folks at Micro Star International (MSI) allowed roaming bit-tech journalists to take a few pics of the “Tylersberg” X58 Express chipset, and a sneak peek at the new LGA1366 CPU socket.

"First, the CPU and its new socket: while the roadmaps say the high-end Nehalem to be launched in Q4 will have up to eight cores, the one MSI had in its office was just a quad-core but with eight threads. The socket is still LGA, but instead of the 775 used on current boards, this one now features 1366 pins and is slightly rectangular – not Pentium Pro rectangular, but simply a stretched out square. The back of the socket now has a metal backplate to brace itself and I’m afraid you’ll be buying a new heatsink too because the socket fittings have changed since LGA775. In fact, the whole area that needs to be exclusively for “Intel CPU use” is now apparently over twice the volume of that compared to LGA775 giving motherboard manufacturers even less space to shoehorn in additional components."


(Intel's Tylersberg X58 Express)

Explains: Intel's Centrino 2

Intel's Centrino 2 notebook platform officially launched yesterday, and brought an armada of new laptops with it. Centrino (2) is actually just a brand name for a mobile platform, which is really a fancy way saying a combination of Intel parts: a processor, chipset and wireless module. The latest and greatest is Montevina, which is not only energy efficient, but more powerful than the previous set, Santa Rosa. It also makes wireless N standard, puts WiMax in its future, and has graphics that can switch between integrated and discrete for battery/performance needs. In short, this year's crop of notebooks will blow last year's away.

Here's some more in-depth goods on what Montevina offers. The processor soul is the 45nm Penryn—while last year it mainly offered a battery boost, thanks to Montevina's faster 1066 front-side bus, you'll see some real performance gains this time around. (Intel says up to 50 percent). In that same vein, not only are Intel's integrated graphics faster with the new GMA 4500MHD, it'll let you switch between integrated and discrete graphics (like a card from ATI or Nvidia) on the fly, so you can pick performance when you need it and save juice when you don't. Sony and Lenovo are the first to have notebooks with this tech. On the wireless front, it makes wireless N standard with its new WiFi Link 5000 modules. WiMax is optional, and you'll see that in Centrino 2 notebooks later this year. Finally, it (and Penryn) are totally engineered to simply sip power, like an anorexic model with a venti skim half-decaf no-whip mocha (really, check out Lenovo's X200's retardedly awesome battery life).

BTW, to keep the naming deal straight (damn you, Intel), Montevina is the codename for Intel's new mobile platform, which will be marketed as Centrino 2. It's probable that the next mobile platform, Calpella, due next year, will also be known as Centrino 2 to your mom, if she's sorta tech savvy, so the codenames are still necessary for differentiation (there were actually four different chipsets to carry the Centrino brand). The original Centrino and the accompanying Pentium M processor was actually a paradigm shift in Intel's approach to notebooks, and eventually informed all of their processor designs—energy efficiency as the order of the day. (Or as my friend says, "It was Intel going, 'oh shit' and throwing out NetBurst and going back to the old P6 core design.")

That's Centrino, in a nutshell. Bottom line, it's gonna be the best year ever to buy a notebook.

Something we missed, or you still wanna know? Send any questions about Centrinos, chips, Pringles or anything else to tips@gizmodo.com, with "Giz Explains" in the subject line.

Read More: Intel centrino 2, centrino 2, Centrino, Intel, Processors, Notebooks, Laptops, CPUs, GPUs, Platforms,

Intel's X38 Express chipset

Back in May, Intel launched the P35 Express chipset, a replacement for its popular 965P. Classified as a mid-range product, the P35 added official support for front-side bus speeds up to 1333MHz, came bundled with a new ICH9R south bridge chip, and became the first desktop chipset to support DDR3 memory. Enthusiasts lapped it up, and in the months since, we've seen a wave of P35 motherboards that offer great performance and tantalizing overclocking potential.


Intel's mid-range chipsets have traditionally been excellent, so the P35's success wasn't a surprise. That success also raised expectations for Intel's new high-end core logic chipset: the X38 Express. This isn't a new trend; the all-around goodness typical of Intel's mid-range chipsets has long made it difficult for the company's flagship offerings to shine.

Topping the P35 Express won't be easy, but Intel has a few tricks up its sleeve with the X38. Chief among them is next-gen PCI Express 2.0 connectivity—a first for desktop chipsets—with enough lanes for dual-x16 CrossFire configurations. As is customary for its high-end chipsets, Intel has also rolled out memory controller optimizations that promise faster performance and support for higher DDR3 memory speeds.

To find out whether these perks are enough to elevate the X38 Express over its blue-collar P35 sibling, we've run the first X38 boards from Asus and Gigabyte through a relentless series of memory controller, application, and peripheral performance tests. Read on to see how the X38 fares and what you can expect from the first wave of motherboards based on this new chipset.



Introducing the X38 Express
The meat of the X38 Express is in its north bridge chip, which is what sets it apart from the P35 Express. Intel's engineers have built several optimizations into the X38's memory controller, including what Intel calls a "flexible clock crossing architecture" and improved prefetching circuitry. Those optimizations aim to make the X38's memory controller quicker than that of the P35, which is a tall order considering how aggressively motherboard makers push memory performance on their mid-range boards.

Still, the X38 can count official support for DDR3 memory speeds up to 1333MHz as one advantage over the P35. That chipset only supports DDR3 memory up to 1066MHz, which is, well, slower. Thanks to rather quickly ramping DDR3 memory speeds, a number of DDR3-1333 modules are on the market and ready to take advantage of the X38, as well.

In addition to supporting faster DDR3, the X38 chipset can take advantage of memory modules that feature Extreme Memory Profiles, or XMP. XMP adds additional memory timing and clock speed profiles to DDR3 memory, much like Enhanced Performance Profiles (EPP) do for DDR2 memory. These profiles make it easier for less experienced users to tune or even overclock their memory through a series of profiles rather than forcing them to manipulate individual timings and bus speeds.

DDR3 memory prices remain high, though, with 2GB kits costing more than double that of their DDR2 counterparts at the same speed grade. Fortunately, the X38 also supports DDR2, providing motherboard makers with a measure of flexibility and end users with the opportunity to save quite a lot of money when putting together a new system. You probably won't find many X38 boards with both DDR2 and DDR3 memory slots, but we expect mobo makers to offer variants of their boards that support each. With the P35 Express, those models typically used the same basic board design, save for the DIMM slots.

X38 Express P35 Express nForce 680i SLI SPP
Front-side bus 1333/1066/800MHz 1333/1066/800MHz 1333/1066/800MHz
Memory controller DDR2-800/DDR3-1333 DDR2-800/DDR3-1066 DDR2-800
PCI Express lanes 32* 16 18
Multi-GPU support CrossFire CrossFire* SLI
Chipset interconnect DMI DMI HyperTransport
Peak interconnect bandwidth 2GB/s 2GB/s 8GB/s

Intel shows off 'giant iPod Touch'

Smartphones and MIDs just too darn small for you? Apply within

By Tony Smith • Get more from this author

22nd October 2008 08:43 GMT

Intel demo'd what one staffer called a "giant iPod Touch" at the chip giant's gathering of Taiwanese developers this week.

The inflated tablet is based around an 11.1in touch-sensitive display and Intel's small form-factor Core 2 Duo processors - the same chips found in the MacBook Air and other ultra-skinny laptops.


Intel's UrbanMax: you point, but does it click?

Intel's offering is, of course, merely a concept, developed to encourage the company's customers to steer their own product design efforts. This one's called Urban Max, which implies folk carry these things around town centres, tuning in to the wireless internet and playing HD video.

No, we're not convinced either. Most people seem happy enough with devices like the Touch, the iPhone and the growing array of rival touchscreen handsets.

And it's not as if Intel's Mobile Internet Device (MID) notion has taken off in a big way - or at all - let alone a machine with a notebook-size screen, notebook-class processor, high-capacity SSD and probably Windows Vista.

IT is evolving the UK workforce, read more here

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CPU3D Review: Asus P6T Deluxe (X58) Motherboard

The new Core i7 from Intel is a revolutionary next step in processor technology ... to take full advantage of this new processor, you'll need a new motherboard with the new LGA 1366 socket that support Tri-Channel memory. And this is where Intel's board partners come in. Several major manufacturers, such as Asus, Gigabyte and MSI have released new motherboards which features Intel's new chipset ... the Intel new X58 chipset.







"Asus have produced yet another great product. The performance, features and overclocking ability is excellent. I really can't fault it ... except for price. But what makes the Asus P6T Deluxed so appealing and attractive is the fact that you'll be owning one of the best performing motherboard available on the market."

http://www.cpu3d.com/review/6475-1/asus-p6t-deluxe-x58-motherboard/introduction.html

HP Pavilion dv1150us Entertainment

Enjoy system stability and a user-friendly interface with Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2
Get super performance from Intel®'s Centrino mobile technology featuring an Intel Pentium M processor 715 with 400MHz FSB and 2MB L2 cache
Organize, edit, store, protect, and share snapshots and video clips with one convenient software program: HP's exclusive Image Zone
Import your favorite songs, organize your CD and MP3 collection, and create custom playlists with Apple iTunes
Enjoy movies and music immediately: HP Quick Play brings you digital film and music with the press of a button
Share your entertainment with a friend without annoying others by using the included pair of mobile earbud headphones and dual headphone jacks; adjust the volume for each individual
Soothe your eyes with the 14" WXGA high-definition BrightView widescreen
Store music, photos, and video on the Enhanced IDE 80GB hard drive
Run several applications at once with the 512MB DDR SDRAM (2 x 256MB) and maximum memory of 2048MB DDR SDRAM (2 x 1024MB)
N modem