AMD's plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce is prompting some executive exits as well. Among the first to go will be Patrick Moorhead, AMD's corporate VP for strategy, who confirmed he was leaving late Thursday. During his tenure, he led the company’s marketing efforts for its Athlon and Opteron PC and server chips.
First announced in January this year, the launch of the next generation Microsoft Surface touch table computer has been postponed. The 40-inch Microsoft Surface 2.0, also known as the Samsung SUR40, was expected to be available for purchase later this year. Samsung has now slipped the official release date back to January of next year.
Gaming PC maker iBuyPower has entered into a deal with Walmart that will let users build custom PCs from the superstore chain's online store. While there are just five processor choices and five cases on offer, the choice of three hard drives and three RAM options as well as eight different graphics cards means there are more than 10,000 system permutations available. The two Intel chips include a 3.3GHz Core i5 and 3.4GHz Core i7, while AMD's offerings include a 3.1GHz Athlon or either a 3.2GHz or 3.0GHz Phenom II.
Gateway has added a WiMAX-capable version of the NV59C series today through the NV59C66u. The 15.6-inch notebook uses Intel's 6250 Wi-Fi/WiMAX combo to get 4G access and can be had with an Intel Core i3, Core i5 or AMD Athlon or Turion processors, along with 4GB of RAM that can be upgraded to 8GB. Hard drive space ranges from between 320GB and 500GB.
Lenovo on Tuesday brought out the smallest ever version of the ThinkPad Edge today in the ThinkPad Edge 11. The 11.6-inch ultraportable is a step up in speed from the X100e with the choice of ultra-low voltage single- or dual-core Athlons as well as Core i3 or Core i5 processors. Graphics are integrated at this size of notebook but are powerful enough to support an HDMI output.
Dell's Inspiron Zino HD mini desktop will finally get a performance boost soon as documentation from Dell itself has confirmed faster options. The breadbox-sized PC's maximum options will jump from a dual-core Athlon X2 to a quad-core Phenom II; triple-core will also be a choice. Integrated graphics will ramp up to a Radeon HD 4250, but dedicated graphics will advance further still with a Mobility Radeon HD 5450 as a replacement for the 4330.
Gateway today overhauled its NV series with both cosmetic and speed upgrades. The notebook backs away Gateway's usual glossy design in favor of a matte, textured shell. Performance comes through the addition of Core i3 and i5 processors as well as versions with dedicated Mobility Radeon video, although GMA graphics (on Intel versions) as well as AMD's mobile Athlon and Turion chips will be available for frugal users.
AMD on Tuesday introduced its 2010 lineup of components for mainstream desktop PCs, including a 3.0GHz Athlon II X4 offering. The X4 640 is said to be the company's first quad-core desktop CPU in the Athlon II family to run at 3.0GHz, a modest increase over the current X4 635 model that offers 2.9GHz performance.
Apple is in "advanced discussions" that may see it use AMD chips to supplement Intel, a potentially major rumor claimed on Friday. Executives and others from AMD have reportedly been seen visiting Apple's Cupertino campus and giving briefings to help Apple work on AMD-based Macs. The AppleInsider source claimed that most of the testing so far has centered around AMD's workstation chips, headed up by the Opteron line, and for mobile chips like the Turion series.
HP has quietly released three new desktop PC families with new hardware specs, including the full-size Pavilion Elite HPE-190t PC as well as the Pavilion Slimline s5305z and s5350z small form factor desktops. The former can only be had with Intel's six-core Core i7-980X Extreme Edition CPU, rated at 3.33GHz. Standard spec includes 9GB of RAM and a 1.5TB hard drive, but users can opt for up to 24GB or RAM and a 3TB drive. Pricing starts at $1,900.
ASUS on Wednesday brought out five new desktop Eee Top PCs in the ET2010 series. The all-in-one computers house all hardware components in their 20-inch screens that are less than one inch thick. The screens output at 1600x900, and all systems sport HDMI outputs, with SRS virtual 5.1 surround sound for audio. There are three Intel 1.66GHz Atom powered models; the EeeTop 2010P gets integrated Intel graphics, while the EeeTop 2010PN and 2010PNT get NVIDIA Ion graphics.
The Lenovo ThinkPad X100e has shown up with a spec sheet on Lenovo's website, revealing it will be offered as a 10.1-inch device and with a dual-core 1.66GHz Intel Atom CPU as well as the previously known 11.6-inch version powered by a 1.6GHz AMD Athlon Neo chip. The smaller netbook will have a screen resolution of 1280x720 pixels and likely only ship with a 160GB, 5,400RPM hard drive.
ASUS is set to launch several variety of new netbooks, with AMD Athlon Neo-based models arriving next month and several Ion 2-based systems scheduled for the spring, according to a DigiTimes report. The company has already confirmed plans to release an all-in-one, the Eee Top, driven by the Ion 2 chipset, although the recent report is the first indication of an ASUS netbook based on NVIDIA's second-generation mobile platform.
Lenovo kicked off its CES introductions early by launching a slew of new notebooks that include its first AMD-based notebooks and a major redesign. The ThinkPad Edge (link active soon) uses either Athlon Neo X2 or Turion Neo X2 dual-core processors and marks a significant change in ThinkPad philosophy: they now come in colors, including red, and have a much more modern keyboard layout with "chiclet" keys, simplified media controls and backlighting on larger notebooks. The trackpad is now larger and supports multi-touch, though the signature TrackPoint remains intact.
Japanese PC maker Onkyo has released the second dual-screen netbook PC on the market, the DX1007. It appears to be a near identical copy of the first dual-screen netbook, the Kohjinsha DZ6HKE16E, but improves on the formula. The differentiators include 2GB of RAM instead of 1GB, as well as 1366x768 resolution 10.1-inch screens for Onkyo's DX1007 as opposed to 1024x600 in the Kohjinsha version. There is also twice as much hard drive space, at 320GB instead of 160GB.
Acer on Wednesday announced it is now shipping its 11.6-inch Ferrari One notebook to US customers. Considered a crossover between netbooks and full-size notebooks, its rocessing power comes from a relatively strong 1.2GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processor, along with up to 4GB of RAM. The 250GB, 5,400rpm hard drive is preloaded with Windows 7 Home Premium.
HP's TouchSmart line of touchscreen all-in-one PCs has often lived in the shadow of the iMac but has been slowly gaining credibility in the public. However, the touchscreen components have made these models fairly expensive, and HP has been pressured to create an all-in-one PC without having to pay for the touchscreen frills: enter the MS214. The new entry is HP’s most frugal all-in-one computer and promises most of the core experience without the same expense. But in our review, we want to know if this price leader can deliver strong performance for the money.
Japanese PC maker Kohjinsha has taken its dual screen notebook concept it showed off at last month's CEATEC show and made it into a production PC. The DZ6HKE16E is the first of the DZ-series of notebooks, and comes with a 1.6GHz AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 CPU, 1GB of RAM. There is also an integrated ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics chipsets to drive the two 10.1-inch displays, each with 1024x600 resolution and an LED backlight.
The flyer for Best Buy's Black Friday/Thanksgiving sale has been leaked on the Internet ahead of its official release thanks to a copy posted today. Among the 'doorbusters' are a $300 PS3 bundle that includes two games, while an Xbox 360 bundle with six games will carry the same sticker price. Another front-page deal involves a 46-inch, 120Hz LED-backlit Samsung HDTV with free home delivery, hook-up and recycling for $1,600, or $1,000 off.
Dell this morning officially unveiled its most direct attempt at claiming the ultra-compact desktop space currently held by the Mac mini. Shown after multiple teases, the Inspiron Zino HD occupies roughly the same footprint as its Apple counterpart but uses AMD processors to keep the costs low while still supplying options its rival doesn't have. The micro PC is seen as a home theater PC and comes with native HDMI output as well as options of discrete Radeon HD 4330 graphics and a Blu-ray drive.
Toshiba UK on Friday launched four new business notebooks in its Satellite Pro series, all preloaded with Windows 7 Professional. The additions include the 13.3-inch U500, the 15.6-inch L500, the 17.3-inch L550, 15.6-inch L450 and the same-sized L450D. Each includes Toshiba's LifeSpace application suite just for Windows 7-powered Toshiba notebooks, which helps users to organize their appointments and help them find up to 5,000 recently accessed files visually.
Some specs and details of the upcoming Dell Zino HD series of nettops were revealed, thanks to a recent DellZinoHD search. Two models in the Zino HD series will be offered, including the Inspiron 300 and Inspiron 400. Both have potentially been readied for Windows XP, Windows Vista or the upcoming Windows 7, with the support page also including a manual for Ubuntu.
AMD has introduced several new processors, the Athlon II X4 620 and 630, that have been added to the company's 'mainstream' desktop platform. The 620 component represents AMD's first quad-core processor to ship for less than $100, while still integrating the latest 45nm process architecture.
HP's launches today have included the company's first Pavilion All-in-One PC, the MS200. The system borrows the same core design principle as the iMac and balances the entire computer on an angled stand; compared to Apple's full speed computer, though, the MS200 is consciously treated as a step above nettops and is meant as a dorm room or kitchen PC. The new offering is based on a 1.5GHz Athlon X2 and brings Radeon HD 3200 integrated video that can offload much of the 3D acceleration and movie decoding work.
MSI today added a larger, faster version of its WindTop all-in-one desktop to its American lineup. In addition to a larger 20-inch touchscreen with a higher 1600x900 resolution, the easel-like PC is also the first for the US to use a processor faster than an Atom and uses a low-power, 1.5GHz AMD Athlon X2 that gives it enough power to run Windows Vista and eventually Windows 7. Switching to the new platform also gives MSI a much faster Radeon HD 3200 integrated graphics chipset for better 3D and HD processing.
HP has released a pair of business notebooks, with the 14.0-inch Compaq 515 and 15.6-inch Compaq 610. Either sports an LED-backlit display with 1366x768 resolution, and the 515's processing power coming from a choice of AMD Athlon X2 or Turion X2 processors paired with as much as 8GB of RAM. Graphics processing is handled by the integrated ATI Radeon HD 3200 GPU. Otherwise, users can opt for a 250GB hard drive, and there is a standard-issue DVD burner and optional 2-megapixel webcam. Wi-Fi is integrated, and the systems start at 5lbs with a standard 6-cell battery.
eMachines today gave a new look to its least expensive ET series desktops along with hardware upgrades to match. Like the recent EL1300 slimline PC, the ET1300 and ET1810 shed the company's previous black-and-silver look for a sleeker, glossy white. They all also make NVIDIA's lower-end graphics standard for slightly faster than usual performance in the category.
Gateway has quickly followed up on its desktop news with the addition of a relatively high-style but more frugal notebook line intended for the back-to-school audience. The NV series has a minimalist, glossy design with a relatively sturdy barrel hinge and touch-sensitive shortcut keys. At the same time, the notebooks keep costs down with a 15.6-inch, 1366x768 (but LED-backlit) display and lower-end AMD or Intel mobile chips.
Gateway this morning chose to follow an unusual tack and launched the LT3100 as its second-generation netbook. The crossover PC is just an inch thick and about 3.1 pounds but uses an 11.6-inch, 1366x768 display and has components closer to a regular notebook's: it uses a low-power, single-core 1.2GHz Athlon 64 with Radeon X1270 graphics and a full 2GB of RAM. Consciously breaking Microsoft's rules for netbooks means the system uses Windows Vista Home Basic instead of XP, but the faster components should support the full Aero Glass interface where Atom netbooks usually struggle.
Acer on Monday added three 16:9 ratio notebooks to its media-centric Gemstone Blue designs that all focus on price over raw performance. The 15.6-inch, LED-backlit Aspire 5739G is the fastest of the trio with a 2.1GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, an 8X Blu-ray drive and a GeForce GT 130M for video. It comes with a multi-touch trackpad and ships at the end of June for a particularly low $750, making it the least expensive new Blu-ray notebook today.
Shuttle PC has recently announced a new barebones mini-PC, the SA76G2, which is its first barebones product to support AMD socket AM3 processors using the 760G chipset, including the Phenom II as well as original Phenom, Athlon 64 X2, Athlon 64 and Sempron CPUs. There are also two DDR2 DIMM slots for up to 8GB of RAM. The PC is backwards-compatible with AM2 and AM2+ CPUs.
BenQ recently announced the upcoming release of its ultra-portable netbook, the 13.3-inch Joybook Lite T131. Weighing in at just under 4lbs, the 13.3-inch T131 sports a 1.6GHz AMD Sempron 200U processor based on the same platform as the Athlon Neo and which should give performance better than netbooks without a major increase in bulk. A minimum of 1GB of RAM is onboard, as is an ATI Mobility Radeon X1270 graphics chipset that can drive HD video playback. The standard 250GB hard drive -- a 320GB drive is an option -- comes preloaded with Windows Vista Home Basic.
Intel has reached the end of its long-standing market share gains in the global microprocessor industry according to the first quarter results of 2009, says iSuppli. The company's only distant rival, AMD, gained approximately 2.3 percent in the latest quarter, or almost an equal amount to that which Intel lost. AMD has seemingly ended its negative three quarter long trend of declines, while Intel has done the opposite, reversing its year-long positive trend.
HP today acted on two of its planned system updates by launching them through its online store, including an unannounced processor. The new dv2z costs slightly more than promised at $625 but now has a white color trim option and starts with a single-core 1.6GHz Athlon Neo, 1GB of RAM and a 250GB hard drive with Radeon X1250 integrated video. Adding a dual-core 1.6GHz processor costs $25; in a surprise, an option now exists for a 1.6GHz Turion Neo that likely boosts performance still for an additional $75.
AMD this afternoon confirmed that its new dual-core Athlon Neo should show in a new version of HP's Pavilion dv2 ultraportable next week. The upgraded system is due on June 10th and, according to CNET, should have the same power use as the present-day single-core model but run much faster in multi-threaded tasks. Integrated graphics will also get a lift through the Radeon HD 3200 chipset, though HP's notebook currently uses dedicated Radeon HD 3450 video.
Closely following Intel's news of its CULV platform, rival chipmaker AMD at Computex on Tuesday announced its dual-core Athlon Neo chip is now shipping to makers of ultra-thin and light notebooks. The dual-core Neo will be aimed at the same clients as Intel's CULV CPUs. All the specs for the dual-core CPU, which goes by the Conesus codename, are not yet known, however. What is known is that is sports 1MB of L2 cache, a DDR2 memory controller and more power-miserly 45nm construction.
HP's first ultraportables to use Intel's Consumer Ultra Low Voltage (CULV) processors will at first just conversions of existing models, those building the notebooks in Taiwan said on Wednesday. They claim to DigiTimes that the first models will actually use existing case designs and that a true redesign to take advantage of the platform won't be ready until the fall. The makeshift change is reportedly triggered by pressure to chase after the Acer Timeline as well as reducing the costs of the systems themselves.
eMachines this afternoon hoped to spark new life in its desktops with both a cosmetic and performance upgrade to its most economic AMD-based models. The EL1300 series switches from the typical black and silver of most PC builders (including eMachines itself) to a glossy white eMachines considers friendlier. They continue to use the small form factor design that most eMachines systems now use without affecting their prices.
AMD has announced the AMD Athlon X2 7850 Black Edition 2.8GHz processor. The 65nm dual-core chip ups the speed of AMD's budget line and, as a Black Edition model, lets owners overclock past the factory settings. The Black Edition processor allows users to select memory controller, HyperTransport, and CPU core frequencies through either Windows software such as OverDrive or through the mainboard’s system BIOS.
AMD tonight showed slight improvement in its performance by reporting reduced losses for its first quarter of the year. The chip designer managed a net loss of $416 million; while worse than a net loss of $351 million for the first quarter of 2008, the figure is less than a third of the $1.4 billion loss reported just in the fall. It also notes that revenue was "flat" versus the fall and thus that its losses are under better control.
TriGem has announced the latest in its line of Averatec all-in-one desktops, the 18.4-inch D1133 AIO. The system aims to improve on other budget nettops by giving the system desktop-level performance: instead of an Atom chip, it gets a 1.5GHz dual-core Athlon X2 processor and can play HD video courtesy of the AMD platform's integrated Radeon HD 3200 graphics chipset. TriGem sees the D1133 as a low-cost web video station and to that end gives the display a 1680x945 resolution that still keeps the 16:9 aspect ratio.
Computer chipmaker AMD said on Monday it will not be replacing its low-power Geode CPU currently used in devices such as the XO laptop made by the One Laptop Per Child project, UMPCs and set-top boxes, according to a Tuesday report. An AMD spokesperson did reassure those who depend on the current CPU that the company will continue to offer the product as long as there is demand for it.
ASUS is claiming a pair of firsts for notebooks with two new models and pairs the systems with a new network router. The F70 is the first notebook to have a 17.3-inch display and gives the desktop replacement-sized system a 16:9 ratio, 1600x900 display better-suited to movies. It accordingly gets a Blu-ray combo drive as an option which is unusually made external rather than built-in. ASUS gives the system a GeForce 9300M GS video chipset to offload HD video decoding work from the main processor.
Intel's budget ultraportable processor has more details, a more specific timeframe and some specific launch partners, tips from notebook builders indicate. Now referred to as the Consumer Ultra Low Voltage (CULV) design, the chip is specifically meant for the $699 to $899 price range occupied by AMD Athlon Neo-based systems like the HP dv2 and should be an alternative for systems with screens between 11 and 13.3 inches.
AMD has begun the week early by launching a new mainboard chipset it hopes will bring gaming even to the lowest-cost systems. The 760G platform is designed to be mated with the Athlon X2 7000 and is pitched as one of the least expensive chipsets to be capable of DirectX 10 and full OpenGL 2 graphics. It comes with a Radeon HD 3000-era core that the chipmaker claims is much faster than Intel's own GMA 4500 architecture: an AMD run through of World of Warcraft has it running at 31 frames per second even at 1280x1024 with high detail, or about 63 percent faster than Intel's 19 frames per second.
AMD is on track to release a dual-core version of its Athlon Neo budget ultraportable processor in just a few months, company spokesman John Taylor has said at a CES press conference. Having just launched the single-core version and its initial platform, the semiconductor firm says it fully expects to launch dual-core Athlon Neo and Sempron editions, codenamed Congo, that will be significantly faster in most cases than the single-core model. They shouldn't cost more or generate more heat than the simpler design, AMD says.
Intel is developing a new Core 2-based processor that would bring ultraportable notebooks to non-premium prices, leaks from within the company at CES have revealed to CNET. The contacts say the processor will be faster than the Atom processors for netbooks but less expensive than the Core 2 Duo S or ultra-low voltage Core 2 Duo processors that currently inflate the prices of systems like Apple's MacBook Air and Lenovo's ThinkPad X301, which regularly start at prices of $1,800 or more.
Dell today used CES to launch its first gaming desktop to use AMD processors in place of Intel's. The XPS 625 mid-tower shares the same custom-lit aluminum case as the XPS 630 but switches to an AMD 790FX-based mainboard and can be equipped with one of several overclockable Black Edition processors up to and including the 3GHz, quad-core Phenom II just introduced at the same time. All video card picks are equally AMD-based and scale up to dual Radeon HD 4850 cards in CrossFire mode.
AMD today fought back against the mounting wave of Intel-based netbooks by introducing the Athlon Neo processor and a matching platform. A compromise between low-power but also slow chips like Intel's Atom and traditional notebook chips, the Neo consumes at most 15W of typical power and measures just under 1.1 inches square but still clocks in at 1.6GHz and with the feature set of a larger notebook chip, such as a 1.6GHz system bus, a 512KB Level 2 cache and 64-bit code support.
HP's pre-CES launches today include two new Pavilion notebooks, one of which marks a first for the company's choice of processors. The 12-inch dv2 is one of the first systems to carry AMD's new Athlon Neo processor and uses a 1.6GHz version of the chip to provide ultraportable dimensions closer to a MacBook Air without cutting too deeply in terms of performance or price, unlike the aluminum chassis and Intel Core 2 Duo S of the Apple system; this and an LED-backlit display help keep the weight down to 3.8 pounds and the case down to between 0.93in and 1.29in despite the use of traditional notebook hard drives. HP likewise promises a 92 percent sized keyboard in the normally tight spaces of ultraportables.
