Hasta La Gadget!

Lookin’ to straddle the fence with your next laptop purchase? Or maybe you’re just lookin’ to conserve battery life when not picking off enemies in Counter-Strike. Either way, Digital Storm’s new xm15 (not to be confused with Alienware’s M15x) can satisfy the yearning, as the $999 base configuration comes equipped with a 2.4GHz Core i5-520M, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, a 320GB HDD and NVIDIA’s GT 425M (1GB). Naturally, Intel’s integrated graphics chipset is also included for less demanding times, and if you’re in need of a little more oomph, a $1,086 build jumps to a 2.53GHz Core i5-540M and a $1,367 model steps up to a 2.8GHz Core i7-640M. ‘Course, far nicer editions are available if you’re got the cash to customize, but we’ll leave all that between you and your wallet. And whoever fills your wallet.

Continue reading Digital Storm’s xm15 gaming laptop rolls with NVIDIA’s Optimus

Digital Storm’s xm15 gaming laptop rolls with NVIDIA’s Optimus originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 14:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP acquired VoodooPC and its founder Rahul Sood in 2006, and it’s been a wild ride ever since. The ever out-spoken Rahul has brought a lot of “Voodoo DNA” to HP products, most notably the Envy line, but also witnessed the slow fade of the actual Voodoo brand. He also went on a lot of extreme cycling trips in-between all the product teases and wild statements. Rahul isn’t saying exactly why he’s leaving HP, but he has penned a substantial blog post detailing some of Voodoo’s history and thanking a whole bunch of people and companies. As for his time with HP: “We merged, we invented, we kicked ass, and we had fun, but then things got a little complicated.” What he means by “complicated” is unclear, but whatever Rahul is moving on to next (he says he “can’t wait to be directly involved in a product pipeline again,” for what it’s worth), we’re sure he’ll do it with his trademark flair for the dramatic that we’ve come to know and love.

Rahul Sood leaving HP originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Nov 2010 12:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When Dell told us of its plans to revive its tried and true XPS laptop line we were pretty darn excited. With so much brand dilution in the past few years — there’s been the Adamo XPS and the Studio XPS — the products have noticeably strayed from providing the rock solid gaming and multimedia experience they were once known for. There’s a reason XPS stands for Xtreme Performance System, right?! The new line, which includes 14-, 15-, 17-inch systems, has all the ingredients to set it back on track — including Core i5 / i7 processors, NVIDIA GeForce 400M graphics with Optimus, JBL speakers, a backlit keyboard, an HD webcam and a solid aluminum lid – but has Dell succeeded in creating a well-rounded multimedia machine? And does it rival our oh-so-adored HP Envy line? We’ve spent the last week using the more mobile $899 XPS 14, so read on to find out in our full review!

Continue reading Dell XPS 14 review

Dell XPS 14 review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Nov 2010 14:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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June was a lifetime ago, we’ll give you that, but surely you can’t forget those 16 Optimus-based laptops that NVIDIA teased us with at Computex, right? Right. At any rate, MSI has just come clean with a delightful pair of them, the FX700 and FR700. Both of these beasts boast 17.3-inch widescreen displays, the company’s own anti-scratch, anti-smudge coating and a design that actually looks fairly attractive given the hugeness. The former also includes up to 8GB of DDR3 memory, a Core i5 processor, NVIDIA’s GeForce GT 425M (1GB), HDMI / VGA outputs, 320/500/640GB hard drives, a DVD SuperMulti drive, four USB ports (two of the SuperSpeed variety), a 5-in-1 card reader, inbuilt webcam, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, gigabit Ethernet and a 6-cell Li-ion that’ll probably exhaust itself long before you’d like it to. The FR700 includes most of the same specifications, but opts for integrated Intel graphics for those who aren’t planning to dabble too long in Crysis. Per usual, MSI’s keeping quiet when it comes to pricing and release details, but we’d be shocked if they didn’t find their way onto retail shelves pre-Christmas.

MSI gets official with 17.3-inch FX700 and FR700 multimedia laptops originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Oct 2010 18:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When it comes to selecting our favorite mainstream Windows laptops these days the HP Envy 14 is pretty much at the tippy top of the list. (Hey, we don’t just give anything away to our college-bound readers, you know?) But while the 14-inch version of the magnesium-alloy laptop may have impressed us with its new backlit keyboard and internal organs, we’ve still been aching to know how the bigger and badder Core i7-powered Envy 17 stands up. With a 1920 x 1080-resolution 17.3-inch display, 1GB of ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5850 graphics, a USB 3.0 port and Blu-ray drive, can you really blame us? There’s no doubt that the Envy 17 is one epic desktop replacement, but for $1,599 (the starting price is $1,299) we’ve got to tell you you’re not purchasing perfection. Just what holds back the Envy 17 from being the be-all end-all multimedia monster? We’ll divulge all in our full review after the break.

Continue reading HP Envy 17 review

HP Envy 17 review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Oct 2010 15:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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