01/05, 12:00am
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Hybrid and T430u precede CES
Lenovo trotted out the first wave of its CES introductions Wednesday with a renewed push on the ultrabook space currently defined by Apple. The ThinkPad X1 Hybrid has dual-booting into an instant-on mode like some notebooks but adds a full-fledged, dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon chip to power its Instant Media Mode. The combination of the ARM chip and the lightweight Linux-based OS lets users not only double battery life to 10 hours for basic use but switch to the OS post-boot and lets users keep the Snapdragon side always on, like a smartphone.
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01/03, 4:40pm
Gateway desktops sport next-gen Intel CPUs
A sharp-eyed customer as spotted several Gatewaydesktops with Intel's next-generation Core 2011 processors at a Future Shop in Vancouver. The desktops were equipped with Core i7 2600 and Core i5 2300 processors respectively, two of the 29 new desktop and mobile CPUs in the Sandy Bridge lineup. Several manufacturers were known to be shipping notebooks with the new processors, but this is the first sighting of Core 2011 desktops.
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01/03, 5:20am
29 new CPUs and 2x graphics performance
Intel has announced its second generation Core processor family, codenamed Sandy Bridge. The new chips are manufactured using Intel’s new 32nm process and still carry the Core i3, i5 and i7 branding despite notable architecture enhancements. The new line is comprised of 29 new processors and are the first from Intel to put the memory controller and graphics on the same die as the processor. The chips generate less heat while delivering significant performance boosts. Also improved is the integrated graphics performance of the new HD 2000 and 3000 cores, which are up to 200 percent faster than the outgoing GMA 4500 series.
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12/16, 10:25pm
Bug apparently affecting Nehalem-based systems
A larger number of Mac Pro owners have reported problems with excessive CPU heat while simply playing audio, according to several threads on Apple's Support forums and Macrumors forums. Although playing MP3s through iTunes only utilizes a small fraction of the available CPU resources, users are claiming that the core temperatures soon approach the operating limits.
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07/14, 4:40pm
Rock intros new notebooks
UK-based gaming notebook manufacturer Rock on Tuesday announced the addition of two new models to its Xtreme line, including the 17-inch 790 and 18.4-inch 840, with either good for 1920x1080 resolution. Both sport options for NVIDIA’s new 1GB GeForce GTX 280M graphics card, a Blu-ray drive and as much as 6GB of RAM. The Xtreme 840 can even be equipped with two GTX 280M cards. Users can opt for three 500GB drives that can be set up in a RAID configuration for 1.5TB of storage.
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