While Sony’s keeping quiet on a lot of the precise technical specs, there’s plenty to talk about in the form-factor Sony has chosen for one of its debut Windows 8 VAIO devices. The Duo 11 slider pairs an 11.6-inch screen with a sliding — and very satisfying — hinge. This gives the slate two different ways to deal with Microsoft’s forthcoming OS. Handily, Sony has also developed a precise digitizer to work in tandem with the device. We’re liking the style of the slider, and that petite footprint is also rather appealing — aside from the paucity for keys. There are more impressions and a hands-on video after the break.
Sony just threw itself fully into the touchscreen Windows 8 arena — it’s introducing the VAIO Duo 11 slider tablet and the Tap 20 combination desktop and tablet design at its IFA 2012 press conference. The Duo 11 is a noticeably amped-up realization of the Hybrid concept we saw at CES. Its 11.6-inch, 1080p touchscreen is joined by a proper digitizer stylus for low-lag handwriting as well as some seriously powerful innards for a convertible PC its size: we’re talking an Ultrabook-level Core i3, i5 or i7 as well as a 128GB or 256GB SSD, NFC wireless, GPS, and HD-capable cameras at the front and back. Sony is hoping for a late October release for this beast of a slate, although we haven’t been given that all-important price.
The VAIO Tap 20, meanwhile, is more than just a tilting all-in-one desktop in the vein of Lenovo’s IdeaCentre A720. Despite carrying a 20-inch, 1,600 x 900 touchscreen, it’s still very much battery-powered — you can lug the 11.4-pound PC into the living room and treat it like a tiny multi-touch table, if that’s your inclination. It’s sharing the same processor picks as the Duo 11, but it turns to more conventional 750GB or 1TB hard drives and puts the emphasis on shareable apps like Family Paint and the Fingertapps Organizer calendar. Not surprisingly, there’s only one, front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera here, although NFC does make the cut. The Tap 20 is due to arrive at about the same time as its smaller Duo 11 sibling, although we’re once again without details of how much it will cost.
The folks at Maingear have revealed their next generation all-in-one PC design with the MAINGEAR Solo 21, a beast that truly appears to be ready to take on the most beautifully designed exterior casing designs on the market. While the innards of a Maingear custom-built PC are certainly bound to be well put together, it’s their exterior look that sets them aside from the competition – when you buy a Maingear computer, you buy an amazing looking machine just as much as you buy a powerful machine.
Here with the MAINGEAR Solo 21, you’ve got an all-in-one machine that comes with the components you want inside, is able to be upgraded, and brings on the power of a full-size desktop computer with next to nothing in the way of ugly masses of cords and space-stealing components. You’ll be able to build this beast with Intel’s 3rd Generation Core technology (that’s Ivy Bridge), and the whole thing is able to either sit on the mount it comes with OR work with a standard VESA mount up against your wall.
You’ve got the choice of Intel Core i3 2125 3.3GHz or upgradeable to Intel Core i7 3770S inside. You’ve got Intel DH61AG motherboard supporting USB 3.0, SATA 6G, 32nm and 22nm processors as well as optional Intel DQ77KB motherboard support with USB 3.0, SATA 6G, Intel SRT and vPro. Right out of the box this machine has a 500 GB HDD and the ability to upgrade to 1TB SATA HDD. You’ll get a DVD burner built-in with the option to upgrade to a Blu-ray drive, the standard build has 4GB DDR3-1333 and upgradeable to 16GB DDR3-1600 memory, and you’ve got the Intel 802.11n as well as a Bluetooth wireless adapter.
This machine comes with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit and has up to four USB 3.0 ports so you can move forward with top speed. This machine is able to work with enterprise users with an optional Intel Q77 chipset – with said architecture you’ll have he latest AMT 8.0 as well as Intel Identity Protection Technology and Intel Anti-Theft Technology to keep you safe.
The MAINGEAR Solo 21 will be popping up immediately if not soon direct from the company’s online shop. The standard build will cost you just $899, and you’ll be able to rack up one whole heck of a lot more of a bill depending on what you want to add on or change out. This machine take the previous all-in-one model from Maingear and amps up the build to a whole new level.
Two brand new all-in-one PCs have been revealed by Samsung for the masses of users looking to get in on Windows 8 with all-in-one power and 10-point multi-touch display action. There are two new models, the first of which has a 23.6-inch display, the other having a massive 27-inch display. Both devices have the same amount of pixels in their touchscreen display, Windows 8, and 10-point touch, but the architecture that backs them up is custom-fit to make sure each machine is its own beast.
The Samsung Series 7 all-in-one 23-inch PC brings Genuine Windows 8 64-bit software with it right out of the box. It’s also got a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution display and a lovely Ivy Bridge processor under the hood. The 23-inch model’s processor is an Intel Core i5 – 3470T and is paired with 6GB DDR3 system memory at 1600MHz. The hard disk drive on this model is 1TB large, and the machine will be popping up on 10/26/2012 for MSRP $1099 USD.
Another model, the Samsung Series 7 all-in-one 27-inch PC will be popping up on the same date for $1699 USD (MSRP). This machine will have 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution as well, and it’ll be sporting Genuine Windows 8 64-bit too. Under the hood you’ll be getting a high-powered Ivy Bridge processor to keep you strong as well – this time it’s the Intel Core i7 – 3770T and is paired with a larger 8GB DDR3 bit of system memory at 1600MHz. You also get a 1TB hard disk drive here, and both models look rather fashionable, too – have a peek above and below to see the 27-inch machine in all its glory.
Both of these machines also work with five simple hand gesture recognition features. Working with each of the devices’ 1.3 megapixel front-facing cameras you can be up to three feet away from the machine and make gestures with your wrist (in a variety of ways) that flip a page, start a video, and generally allow you to move around your media with ease. Rotate your palm clockwise or counter-clockwise to change the volume on a video, close your hand to click, or wave your hands to stop a movie altogether. Both machines also come with a wireless keyboard, a wireless mouse, and a lovely remote control.
We’ll be bringing you all kinds of Samsung action as well as Windows 8 touchscreen-loving devices all through the week as we continue to cover IFA 2012. Head to our IFA 2012 tag to see all of our on-site and event-related content, and stay close to the Samsung tag for everything from the manufacturer that’s tying it all together with their own Samsung-branded set of apps galore (think Galaxy devices) – more on that later this week!
It’s time to get serious about touch-screen computers here in the summer before Window 8 is formally released – and Lenovo’s got your back with a massive all-in-one called the IdeaCentre A720. This 27-inch display-toting AIO works with 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, an all-glass “frame-less” front, and an Intel Quad-core Core i7 CPU (Ivy Bridge) under the hood. And it folds flat so you can play touchscreen table hockey – what more could you want?
Hardware
Any review you see of this device – if you don’t run out and buy it right now, that is – will tell you that it’s quite gorgeous. Without appearing too similar to what the market has dubbed “Apple-esque”, this Lenovo machine carves out a new space for the manufacturer, prepping us for a future that’s very bright for sleek-looking and sleek-feeling computers. The display is, again, massive, you’ll be working with just the touchscreen on it’s own if you wish or with a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard (included), and you only need to pop the power cord in to get started.
Hit the power button on the lower right of the display (behind the display, rather, as the outer rim angles inward) and the machine lights up with loveliness. You’ve got a 10-point touch-screen experience ahead of you with several light-up touch-sensitive buttons under the rim near the bottom of the screen as well. There you can brighten up or dim down your display, change sound levels, and adjust what’s on your screen with a touch in several other ways.
The bottom left of the machine has two HDMI ports, one in, one out. There you can connect with your smartphone – as most smartphones now have such a connection in one way or another, or you can push content out to a much more major-league HD display. In other words, you can make this computer the biggest wired remote control of all time!
You also have one USB 3.0 port on that side and three USB 2.0 ports on the back. Also on the back is your power port and Ethernet port as well. Then there’s your ability to adjust the display. The whole computer is massively heavy – ringing in at 11.6kg or 25.6 pounds. You’ll be able to view the display anywhere between 90 degrees straight up and down and 0 degrees (flat). Moving the display (as demonstrated in our hands-on video below) is extremely easy yet keeps the machine tight in place wherever you want to leave it.
The speaker grilles you’ve got up front of the base are part of this machine’s Dolby Home Theater v4 setup, and they sound rather nice. This machine presents one of those situations where you wont be needing additional side-speakers all around just to hear it across the room – you’re set! Along the right side of the base of the machine you’ve got a Blu-ray Disc slot where you’ll be able to read and burn Blu-ray disks as well as CDs and DVDs.
Also included in the review pack we’ve received is the optional TV tuner so we can pick up some sweet channels and make this an even more inclusive device. This package also includes an IR Windows Media Center remote control which has worked like a charm with the included receiver which you simply plug in to the machine and click away.
Up top on the front of the screen you’ve got a 720p HD webcam so you’ll be able to Skype the whole night through – and also make use of some brand new interactive Kinect-like games as well (you’ll see more of this in our hands-on video below as well.) Have a peek at some additional features inside this device in the following readout:
System – LENOVO Lenovo A720
Manufacturer
Lenovo
Product Type
Desktop
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Motherboard
LENOVO ChiefRiver
Processor
Intel Core i7-3610QM
Processor ID
GenuineIntel Family 6 Model 58 Stepping 9
Processor Frequency
2.29 GHz
Processors
1
Threads
8
Cores
4
L1 Instruction Cache
32.0 KB
L1 Data Cache
32.0 KB
L2 Cache
256 KB
L3 Cache
6.00 MB
Memory
8.00 GB DDR3 SDRAM 799MHz
FSB
99.8 MHz
BIOS
LENOVO E5KT20AUS
Software
For graphics you’ve got a lovely NVIDIA GeForce GT630M 2GB discrete graphics which you’ll certainly need to love as there aren’t any options for switching when you pick up this machine. That said, we’ve had no problem working with any game that’s been thrown at the machine with Batman: Arkham City flowing like a charm and Diablo III having no graphics issues to speak of. Playing Batman with a wireless game pad and this massive display was an extra treat as the hardware lends itself to a pushed-back appearance. In other words, there’s nothing to distract from the fun.
Because this is a touchscreen-centric device, Lenovo has included a hub where you can play a set of games that work entirely with touch. You’ve got 10-finger touch sensitivity, which makes things rather interesting for the updated Pong they’ve got ready for you, and you can play the keyboard as well – the musical keyboard, that is. This system is demonstrated in the hands-on video we’ve got prepared for you right here, as it were.
You’ll see that not only does this computer make use of its touchscreen surface to make music and to play games, it’s ready to make use of the camera as well to play some interesting video games. The camera-centric games aren’t nearly as fine-tuned as the touchscreen games, which is why you won’t see them advertised as a feature on this system. They are there though, and they’re fun to work with. Windows 7 is here as well, and it’s clear that though this system is working with a perfectly legitimate set of extras (like a pull-out onscreen keyboard) to make your experience nice in the meantime, Lenovo has prepared this system for Windows 8 – that’s not an official statement from them, but it seems pretty clear when you’re working with the machine.
As for performance, you’ll find this machine working perfectly well for an all-in-one system, and with the quad-core i7 under the hood, you’re good to go for processing video and playing hardcore games at your leisure. Of course it’s no beastly custom-made gaming computer, but it’s really not meant to be. What you’ve got here is more an entertainment machine than a workhorse.
Benchmark Score – LENOVO Lenovo A720
Section
Description
Score
Total Score
Windows x86 (64-bit) – Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Integer
Processor integer performance
10910
13347
Floating Point
Processor floating point performance
20119
Memory
Memory performance
8240
Stream
Memory bandwidth performance
8392
It would be nice to have a more vast collection of touch-friendly applications out there in the world of Windows 7 right this minute, but alas, someone has to go first with the hardware. You’ll find Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja – as well as the awesome two-finger version of space hockey – to be more than enough to play with until the new wave of touchscreen apps comes on later this year.
Wrap-Up
The Lenovo IdeaCentre A720 is a home run for Lenovo. You won’t find a better touchscreen PC for this price, not until Windows 8 makes touchscreen PCs a commodity. For now they’re still somewhat of a rarity – and this machine is one of the good ones. This machine is well worth the cash and ready to be your school or home-friendly all-in-one computer right this minute. You’ll find this all-in-one monster available online right now for right around $1849 straight from Lenovo.
Eurocom has carved out a strange but soft spot in our hearts for its desktop replacement-level laptops — the insistence on overkill hardware leaves even the vaguely ultraportable Monster packing the kind of power reserved for larger-screened (if also much thinner) counterparts. Nowhere is that too-much-is-never-enough attitude truer than in the just-launched, 17.3-inch Scorpius. While supporting up to 32GB of RAM isn’t unique anymore, the Scorpius can optionally carry two of NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 680M graphics chips with the full 4GB of video RAM per piece. That’s more graphics memory than the total system memory of some entire PCs, folks. Eurocom can optionally slot in two of AMD’s Radeon HD 7970M or step down to a single graphics core, and the usual bevy of processor and storage choices culminates in as much as a quad 2.9GHz Core i7 and four drives. The lowest price that will net a fully functioning Scorpius is $1,793, although we’ll admit that it’s very tempting to pick that dual 680M option and come out with a $2,857 bill — not to mention some serious bragging rights with the gamer crowd.
Need a super-spec gaming notebook in a hurry? Maingear’s new Vybe laptops should be right up your street. Once ordered, the pre-built units can leave the company’s New Jersey HQ in under 48 hours, packed to the gills with all the options you’d expect from the company. The range is packing Ivy Bridge CPUs, Kepler-running GeForce 650M or 660M with 2GB RAM and a 1080p, LED-backlit matte (matte!) finish display. The four options available are laid out in a table after the break — but rest that itchy mouse finger a moment more, as while the base “Good” and “Better” systems are available from today, you’ll have to wait until August 17th if you’re looking for the “Best” or “Ultimate,” the latter setting you back $1,999.
Dell just put out its new hardcore business laptops onto its storefront. Both the Precision M4700 and M6700 come with Ivy Bridge CPUs and a wealth of build-to-order options including Red Hat Linux — after all, this is Dell we’re talking about here. The 15-inch M4700 is available for $1,049 (£999 in the UK) plus tax and shipping, while the 17-inch M6700 has a base price of $1,849 (£1,349 in the UK).
[Thanks, Nick]
Update: And now, with PR! In case you’re not itchin’ to dig into the details, let us hit the highlights for you. In addition to the 6 pound M4700 and 7.6 pound M6700, Round Rock also rolled out a new 17-inch Covet Edition laptop that sports a ruby red skin and an edge-to-edge 1920×1080 IPS display covered in Gorilla Glass 2. Speaking of screens, the less flashy Precision units also have the HD IPS display option, and all three PCs come with a nine-cell, 97Wh battery. As for storage, a wealth of spinning and solid state options are available, for a max of 2.8TB that can be configured in RAID 0, 1 or 5. Appetite whetted? There’s more after the break, and you can head on over to the source link below to put in your order.
Today SlashGear has a real treat for those of you looking for no less than a top of the line gaming tower. This is the AVADirect Quiet Gaming PC build we’ve got here is a lovely combination of white plastic, metal, massive amounts of power, and processing so quiet it’s scary. This is without a doubt the most impressive PC I personally have reviewed for SlashGear, and with the custom build we’ve got waiting for you in this hands-on look, I fully expect you’re going to be scrambling to break your piggy bank to count up to $2019.16 USD to buy your own. Check it out!
Case
This case is massive, gigantic, and certainly not made for hauling around to LAN parties – there’s no handles here, folks. Instead this machine is made to remain stationary, made with so many fans and air ducts that it’ll never, ever get hot (it might, but we’ve not seen it yet), and it’s clean. This machine looks fabulous, with a classy white combination of plastic and metal parts and safety bumpers all around so there’s no clunks or clanks when you’re opening or shutting doors.
The front of the machine has a flat aluminum shape to it with a couple of peek-holes you’ll be able to see in the hands-on look at the machine in the video above. This front panel is a door which reveals your DVD drive, memory card ports, and whatever else you want to attach in the racks on racks on racks available throughout the front of the machine. This machine comes with room for so much customizability right out of the box it’s absurd.
The back of this AVADirect tower has a massive collection of ports which you’ll read about below and will be able to see in the hands-on video above. It’s all very neatly arranged, and up on top of the tower you’ve got a few more for good measure. The bottom of this case has that unique boost not just for your visual pleasure, but so air can move through the machine top to bottom. The bottom is open so air can travel through the case downward, upward, out the back, and out the front as well – there are fans behind that door up front and there’s a dust catch you can remove and clean underneath as well!
You’ve also got two distinctive sides to this machine, with the right side having a small area for cords to rest in, keeping them clear of the other side which is the deep home for all of your massive bits of next-level gear. For those of you that love lights, you’ll find a few well-placed green LEDs sitting down deep in the guts, blinking like it’s no big deal, while a couple of white lights shine up front through those crevices mentioned above so you know the machine has been turned on. Again – if you didn’t have a monitor plugged in to show you that the beast was turning on, you might never know it for how silent it is – that’s what the lights are for.
Sound Levels
With this build you’ll find a total of seven fans, eight if you count the one attached to the 3rd Gen Intel Core i7 hardware. With that many fans you might expect quite a bit of rustling to be going on inside this box, but no. You have to get up within a foot of this device to hear it make a sound – it’s that quiet. This device has SPCR Certification for quietness. This means that it must run under 20dBA at idle as well as under 27dBA under maximum load. Check out more about SPCR Certified PCs to get an in-depth idea of what this means for your own gaming room. Don’t expect to be lulled asleep by the hum of this machine – there really isn’t any.
Custom Build
This monster has a set of specifications that I do not hesitate to say are a dream for our modern age of gaming. In addition to the massive amount of ports you get on the top and back of this machine, prepping you for any and all display, 3rd party connection, and memory card situations, you’ve got processing and graphics power that’ll blow your socks off. You’ll notice at this point that I’m having trouble finding much that I do not like about this system, and for that I apologize – I’m a sucker for fantastically constructed machines.
• NVIDIA GeForce® GTX 670 950MHz, 2GB GDDR5 5000MHz, PCIe x16 SLI, 2x DVI + HDMI + DP, OEM • OCZ, 120GB Vertex 3 SSD, MLC SandForce SF-2281, 550/500 MB/s, 2.5-Inch, SATA 6 Gb/s, Retail • Western Digital 1.5TB WD Caviar® Green™ (WD15EARX), SATA 6 Gb/s, IntelliPower™, 64MB Cache • SONY AD-7280S Black 24x DVD±R/RW Dual-Layer Burner, SATA, OEM • SABRENT CRW-UINB Black 65-in-1 Card Reader/Writer Drive, 3.5″ Bay, Internal USB • CUSTOM WIRING, Standard Wiring with Precision Cable Routing and Tie-Down • Smart Drive NEO Standard Silent Hard Disk Drive Enclosure, 5.25″ • Lamptron Deluxe Black Shakeproof PSU Gasket Silencer • Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition w/ SP1, OEM • Silver Warranty Package (3 Year Limited Parts, 3 Year Labor Warranty)
This build will cost you, again, a total of $2,019.16 in all, and if you’re wondering how much it cost to ship from the AVADirect facilities in Twinsberg, Ohio to where this review is taking place in Saint Paul, Minnesota here it is: $58.23. Not so devastating a shipping cost at all. Especially considering how well it was packaged – they even stuffed the inside of the unit with padding to assure nothing wiggled loose!
Benchmark Results and Performance
Have a peek at our standard test results here picked up by GeekBench. You’ll find that nowhere in our history of Desktop Reviews will you find a more powerful system, and of course the Laptop Reviews don’t stand a chance either.
Benchmark Score – System manufacturer System Product Name
Section
Description
Score
Total Score
Windows x86 (64-bit) – Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-bit)
Integer
Processor integer performance
15912
19077
Floating Point
Processor floating point performance
29323
Memory
Memory performance
10950
Stream
Memory bandwidth performance
10551
We tested out Batman: Arkham City and we tested out Portal 2, Skyrim and Crysis 2, we played some HD videos and we rocked out a couple monitors at a time – and there’s nothing, no waiting time, everything is swift – it’s like this machine was made for the future. Have a peek at some more of the inner bits of the machine here as well:
System – System manufacturer System Product Name
Manufacturer
AVADirect
Product Type
Desktop
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-bit)
Motherboard
ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. P8Z77-V LX
Processor
Intel Core i7-3770K
Processor ID
GenuineIntel Family 6 Model 58 Stepping 9
Processor Frequency
3.50 GHz
Processors
1
Threads
8
Cores
4
L1 Instruction Cache
32.0 KB
L1 Data Cache
32.0 KB
L2 Cache
256 KB
L3 Cache
8.00 MB
Memory
16.0 GB DDR3 SDRAM 934MHz
FSB
100 MHz
BIOS
American Megatrends Inc. 0610
The Bottom Line
This machine is well worth the cash you’re going to pay for it. For the couple thousand dollars you’re going to drop on this exact build you still couldn’t get the least expensive Mac Pro, and I dare you to find a more well put together PC for this kind of cash. This custom-made conglomeration of top-tier gamer-friendly parts makes me want to forget about factory built machines entirely. There’s just no going back after this.
If you’re not all about having the best of the best or have no use for processing and graphics power that’s going to blow you away with even the most heavy games on the market, this build is not worth the cash. You can pick up the standard build of this machine – with the silence, the case, and slightly lower power than what we’ve got here for $1107.51 from AVADirect too – that’s probably going to be good enough for most gamers out there on its own.
If however you want the most powerful, silent, and aesthetically pleasing gaming PC on the market, this is it. You can grab it from AVADirect’s online store today – and don’t forget to customize!
When we looked at the 13-inch Samsung Series 9, we lamented that there was only one version on offer: if anyone wanted more than a Core i5 and a 128GB drive, their dreams were crushed. Samsung must feel that there’s hope for us yet, as there’s now a higher-end spec that slots in a 1.9GHz Core i7 and doubles the storage to 256GB. That’s good news to us, even if the 4GB RAM ceiling will still have some avid Ultrabook fans turning elsewhere. Springing for the new flagship will set shoppers back by about $300 more than the previous top of the line, or $1,700 — still pricey relative to the competition, but much more palatable you’re searching for a premium Windows 7 ultraportable and aren’t willing to budge on screen size.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
