Hasta La Gadget!

We’ll be straight with you, we’re typing away on a Core i3-equipped Edge 14 right now and we rarely feel the need for more power, but then it’s not like Lenovo can afford to keep one of its prettier models sated with just i3s and i5s now, is it? Of course not, so here we are, gazing at a fresh new Core i7-620M upgrade option on the ThinkPad Edge 14, which will set eager buyers back an extra $350 over the more budget-friendly i3-330M default. Opting to splash that hard earned cash will net you Turbo Boost up to 3.33GHz and a not too shabby 2.66GHz regular clock, plus 4MB of cache. The Edge 15, which has so far been just a slightly larger twin to the 14, hasn’t yet felt the warm embrace of upgrade mania, but we suspect it too will soon start offering options from Intel’s top tier.

[Thanks, Jeremy]

Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 14 gets Core i7 option, extra vroom vroom originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Jun 2010 23:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re obviously well aware of what’s coming up from Intel, but today at Computex Chipzilla demoed its upcoming Sandy Bridge platform for the first time. The demo was quite brief, but showed off the power of the future Intel integrated graphics with a side by side comparison with a discrete graphics system. It’s all in the video after the break, but don’t get your hopes up about seeing these new processors anytime soon — Intel’s Dadi Perlmutter confirmed that they won’t hit the market until 2011.

Continue reading Intel briefly demos next-gen Sandy Bridge laptop platform at Computex

Intel briefly demos next-gen Sandy Bridge laptop platform at Computex originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Jun 2010 08:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You’re really coming full circle at this year’s Computex, aren’t ya, Intel? It was at the Taipei show two years ago that Chipzilla introduced the first Atom netbooks, and though it’s taken awhile, the company is finally announcing dual-core Atom processors for the category (not to mention slightly changing its party line on the power of the sub-laptops). While the details on the speeds and feeds of the new Pine Trail N series CPUs are being kept under wraps for now, we’ve been told that they’ll support DDR3 RAM and provide comparable performance to the dual-core desktop Atom processors, yet still maintain similar battery life to current netbooks. Intel still plans to keep these Atom chips in 10-inch systems, and told us that users will see the speed benefits in multitasking and browsing, rather than in HD playback and gaming.

But netbooks aren’t only about to get faster, they’re also going to go on a serious diet. Intel also unveiled its new “Canoe Lake” innovation platform for netbooks, which is what’s behind that 14mm thick machine pictured above. The platform can support single- and dual-core Atom processors, but provides significant cooling to allow for 50 percent thinner systems. However, “Canoe Lake” is merely a reference guideline for other manufacturers to use, so there’s no telling what the machines that use this could end up looking like. The dual-core Atom for netbooks goes into production next week and should be shipping in netbooks before the holiday season. And as for that super thin laptop you’re inevitably still peering at? Intel expects its partners to use the platform and have products out by the end of this year. We don’t know about you, but the pictures below may keep us salivating until then.

Continue reading Intel boosts netbooks with dual-core Atom, slims ’em down with ‘Canoe Lake’

Intel boosts netbooks with dual-core Atom, slims ’em down with ‘Canoe Lake’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Jun 2010 00:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple’s secrets have been getting out a bit more than usual over the past couple of months, and few were shocked when Intel’s newest slabs of silicon slithered beneath the unibody shells of the freshest MacBook Pros. The Core i7 rig in particular drew attention, as this was the first MBP to surface with components within capable of rivaling Wintel machines from half a year ago. One thing that struck us in our own review of the unit was the lack of change outside of the CPU; you’re still dealing with the same underwhelming arrangement of ports, and unless you opt for the 17-incher, you’re still wondering why Apple ganked your ExpressCard slot. Enough of our ranting — we’re here to hear what exactly you have to say about Apple’s newest MacBook Pro. Would you have added in USB 3.0 ports? Finally caved and threw in a Blu-ray option? Added a “Flash-capable” sticker in the palm rest? Go on, get creative in comments below.

How would you change Apple’s Core i7 MacBook Pro? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 May 2010 01:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell’s propensity for dishing out new hardware without an announcement has struck again, though this time the company might have jumped the gun as not even Intel has yet officially acknowledged the existence of these Core i7 CPUs. The i7-740QM and its senior sibling are straight replacements for the i7-x20QM models: they retain the same cache and eight-threaded operational paradigm while jacking default and Turbo Boost clock speeds up to a maximum 3.2GHz single-core pace on the i7-840QM. Best of all? Dell’s price for the 740QM is currently lower than that for its predecessor, so you might wanna order one up before somebody wakes up — literally and figuratively — over at Round Rock HQ.

[Thanks, Paul]

Intel’s quad-core i7-740QM and i7-840QM show up on Dell laptop menu originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 May 2010 05:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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