Intel's Thunderbolt for Windows PCs could arrive in April, purported insiders stated Monday night. Apple is reportedly helping Intel adopt the standard the two co-created, Digitimes heard. PC builders ASUS and Sony, as well as mainboard builders ASRock and Gigabyte, are expected to be part of the first wave.
A newly-discovered web page for an HTPC from ASRock reveals the computer has quietly taken an update to Sandy Bridge-based Intel processors. The Vision 3D 2nd-gen Series computer can be had with Core i3, i5 or i7 CPUs and also sports switchable 1GB GeForce GT 540M graphics, 4GB of RAM and a HDMI 1.4a port, in addition to four USB 3.0 jacks.
ASRock's ION 330Pro nettop PC is now available for pre-order on Amazon, along with a version that has a Wi-Fi connection and another that also adds a Blu-ray drive. All ION 330 systems are capable of playing back 1080p high-definition video content thanks to the Ion GPU from NVIDIA. For conventional processing power, the systems build in a 1.6GHz dual-core Atom chip.
Computer maker ASRock's Multibook G22 portable PC has been spotted ahead of any official announcement, and it sports a 12.1-inch with 1366x768 resolution and, more significantly, NVIDIA's Ion chipset. The feature gives it full HD video acceleration as well as much faster 3D for mild gaming. Aside from the Ion chipset, the G22 is also unique among netbooks in sporting a 320GB hard drive and 2GB of RAM, with support up to 4GB. There is also an HDMI output, again courtesy of Ion.
NVIDIA's Ion platform for netbooks was spotted in two systems from ASRock and Pegatron at a recent press conference in Taipei, Taiwan. Also at the conference, NVIDIA said it expects its Ion platform to be available in 40 products that include netbooks, nettops and all-in-one PCs before year's end.
ASRock, a budget brand of ASUS, has unveiled three new products at CeBIT in Germany, including the MultiBook M15 and MultiBook G12 notebooks as well as the S330 NetTop PC. The former is the company's budget mainstream entry and sports a 15.6-inch LED-backlit screen with 1366x768 resolution and a 16:9 aspect ratio. Processing power comes from a choice of Intel chips from the Pentium or Celeron family along with up to 4GB of RAM. Graphics is handled via Intel's integrated gMA 4500M, while 2.5-inch hard drives can be had in capacities as large as 500GB. An Ethernet connection and draft-N Wi-Fi are built into the M15, which tips the scales at 5.7lbs.
