Hasta La Gadget!

While poring over the metric ton of PR this morning, we didn’t immediately notice that Apple has turned up the juice ever-so-slightly on MacBook Pro 15-inch models. Instead of coughing up a CPU bump from 2.4GHz to 2.53GHz, the company now offers an upgrade path to 2.66GHz and the 17-inchtastic 2.93GHz, which should ensure your lap is ruined for ever and ever. Any other surprises Apple?

Filed under: Laptops

Apple MacBook Pro 15-inchers get quiet CPU spec bump originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Mar 2009 09:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here’s a little known secret for you to chew on: that triple-core AMD Phenom II X3 you purchased actually has four cores. The last one’s just locked down for pricing purposes. A Korean site has disclosed information that enables owners of select motherboards to unlock that fourth core, and apparently, all you need is a Biostar mobo and / or a BIOS that has an option labeled Advanced Clock Calibration. When said selection is flipped to “Auto,” the fourth core is loosed from its shackles and able to ever-so-slightly up your frame rates and overall level of excitement. Of course, you’re taking a big risk by running a chip in a fashion it was never intended, but what fun is life without a little edge-side living?

[Via Slashgear]

Filed under: Desktops

AMD’s triple-core Phenom II X3 goes quad-core via BIOS hack originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Feb 2009 06:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After having to delay the final vote earlier this month due to a lack of participation (d’oh!), AMD has dotted the final ‘i’ in its attempt to spin off semiconductor manufacturing. Said company, along with the Advanced Technology Investment Company, have now secured the final approval necessary to create The Foundry Company. Stockholder approval was the only remaining hurdle to be jumped, and the joint venture transaction is expected to fully close by March 2nd of this year. By the numbers, AMD stockholders approved a proposal to issue 58 million shares of its common stock along with warrants to purchase 35 million shares of its common stock and 35 million shares of the company’s common stock upon exercise of those warrants to an affiliate of the Mubadala Development Company PJSC (perplexing, we know). Now, let’s see if AMD can keep up with Intel’s own $7 billion investment.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

AMD nets final approval to create The Foundry Company originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Feb 2009 10:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just a month after AMD launched its Phenom II CPUs and Dragon desktop platform, the chip maker is hitting back with five new processors in the quickly expanding line. The newcomers include the planet’s first 45nm triple-core CPU and three more quad-core siblings, all of which can operate in either AM2+ or AM3 sockets. As for performance? We hope your expectations haven’t been set too high, as the chips were generally found to be just “a logical extension of [the company’s] piecemeal upgrade plan and a fill in [the] gap to its lineup.” Reviewers across the web were generally pleased but underwhelmed by test results, with HotHardware noting that “overall, Intel still has the performance edge clock-for-clock and core-for-core.” In fairness, these chips were found to be good for overclocking, and for the right price, we could certainly see a few gamers giving them a go. For the full spill, dive on into the deep, intricate reviews below.

Read – Official AMD announcement
Read – HotHardware benchmarks
Read – PCPerspective benchmarks
Read – DesktopReview’s review

Filed under: Desktops

AMD ushers in five new Phenom II CPUs, benchmarking ensues originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Feb 2009 09:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You might’ve skipped the Vista train, thinking it was like Under Siege 2, minus Steve Seagal. Or not. Either way, you’re probably gonna jump onboard Windows 7. When you do, it’s time to go 64-bit.

Who Should Go 64-bit?

Basically, anyone geeky enough to read this. If you have an Intel Core 2 Duo or newer processor, you’ve got a 64-bit CPU, and you should install the 64-bit version of Windows 7 to play with. (Here’s how. You’ve got like 5 days left, BTW.) Microsoft itself is pimping 64-bit over 32-bit now and notebook makers have already started pushing 64-bit Windows Vista over 32-bit. Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard will be 64-bit down to its kernel, so you won’t be alone by any means. 64-bit is going mainstream.

Why Should I?
We explained what’s so awesome about 64-bit in detail a couple months ago, but to recap in a single word: Memory. With 32-bit Windows, you’re stuck at 4GB of RAM, and even then, you’re only using about 3.3GB of it, give or take. With 64-bit, 4GB of RAM is the new minimum standard, and with 4GB, you can run tons of applications with zero slowdown. Windows 7 (and Vista for that matter) runs so beautifully with 4GB of RAM you’ll wonder how you ever did with less. It makes your system more futureproof too, so you can take your system to 8GB, 32GB or even a terabyte, before too long.

Who Shouldn’t Go 64-Bit?
If you’re not planning on going to 4GB of RAM anytime soon, you might wanna hold back, since you need 4GB of RAM to take full advantage of 64-bit’s memory management. That said, RAM is so disgustingly cheap right now, and has such an intense bang-to-buck ratio, you should definitely upgrade to 4GB if you haven’t already. Anyone who runs specialized or older gear (see below) should probably not jump into 64-bit.

64-bit Sniggles
It’s true that 64-bit Windows used to be dicey on the driver and compatibility front, but from Vista onward, it’s typically nothing you have to worry about. Most new hardware has 64-bit drivers, and even though most applications aren’t 64-bit native yet, 32-bit ones usually run just fine.

Still, the biggest issue is hardware. If a gadget doesn’t have 64-bit drivers, it won’t work with your 64-bit OS, since 32-bit drivers aren’t supported. Most non-crusty gadgets should be okay. (Seriously, I’ve run 64-bit Vista for a year, and now Windows 7, and everything I’ve tested for Giz plugs in just fine.) But if you run legacy goods, it might be kinda sticky, and you should still double check your gear just to be safe.

There are a few software issues to look out for, too. Google’s Chrome, for instance, doesn’t play nice with Windows 7 64-bit for some people (like me). Adobe Flash doesn’t run in 64-bit browsers, but that’s not really a problem—you can just run the regular 32-bit browser instead. iTunes had problems with 64-bit versions of Windows in the past, too (granted, Apple’s not the most fastidious Windows app developer out there). Most of these issues have been or will be resolved, but if you use specialized mission-critical software, definitely read up on its 64-bit compatibility.

Really, Go 64-Bit
The caveat section looks longer than the “DO IT” section, but really, you’ll probably be just fine running 64-bit. A ton of other people will be 64-bit with this generation of OSes/hardware too, so you won’t be alone. The benefits of oodles of RAM, given all the crap you’re running simultaneously, are just too good to pass up, especially once more apps are 64-bit native. Besides, the more people that jump on the 64-bit Express, the faster developers will transition their apps to 64-bit, and any bumps in the road will be smoothed out. So don’t just do it for yourself, do it for everyone.