HP set to roll out Penryn notebooks, designer model

Hewlett-Packard will unveil a sweeping update to Intel's mobile Penryn architecture for its notebooks as well as new special edition model, according to leaks from Notebook Italia and other sources. After quietly updating its Pavilion line to the x700 series in December, the system builder is now poised to issue a second update that will take advantage of the faster 45-nanometer processors; every Intel-based model from the 14-inch dv2700 to the 20-inch HDX9200 will have the option of at least a new 2.1GHz Core 2 Duo and will scale up to a 2.5GHz version in most cases; the HDX model will swap out this chip in favor of an updated version of the 2.8GHz Core 2 Extreme with a larger 6MB Level 2 cache as well as all the improvements that come from Penryn, the leak reveals.

Most systems will receive relatively minor changes beyond the CPU upgrade, with a 320GB hard drive now becoming an option on most models. The HDX will have the option of two such drives for a total 640GB of storage and will also gain the choice of NVIDIA graphics as well as the ATI Mobility Radeon HD that is currently the only option for the system. Pricing and exact availability have not been uncovered but should be announced as early as next week and should see the systems become available in January and February.

A special model will also be available slightly later, says Notebook Review. The result of an art competition held by HP, a custom version of the company's notebook -- to be called the dv2800 -- will include the winning entry's Asia-influenced design both inside and out of its 14-inch shell. Whether the model number indicates improved performance or simply a different visual appearance is unclear. The design is due to appear sometime in the spring.

dv2800