Shuttle opens US pre-orders for pricey Core i7-based J3 SFF PC

Shuttle teased us just under a month ago with its Core i7-powered J3 desktop, and now that little bugger is finally up for pre-order in the States. The J3 5800P workstation is easily one of the most powerful small form factor PCs this planet has ever seen, boasting a six-core Core i7 980X Extreme Edition CPU, your choice of NVIDIA Quadro or ATI FirePro professional graphics, up to 16GB of DDR3 memory, room for two SATA hard drives, an optional Blu-ray drive, plenty of ports and a 500-watt power supply. Somehow or another, all of that fits into a chassis that measures just 8.5- x 7.5- x 13.1-inches, and if you’ve been looking to downsize without taking a hit in the performance department, you can finally do so starting at $1,899. The journey begins right there in the source link — good luck keeping it below three large, Yes Man.

Continue reading Shuttle opens US pre-orders for pricey Core i7-based J3 SFF PC

Shuttle opens US pre-orders for pricey Core i7-based J3 SFF PC originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 May 2010 12:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceShuttle (J3 5800P), (J1 4100P), (G2 7600P)  | Email this | Comments

MSI Graphics Upgrade Solution seeks an ExpressCard slot to call home

It seems like we’ve been talking about external graphics cards forever, but how many do you recall that look quite as raw and ready as this? The Graphics Upgrade Solution, set for a full unveiling at Computex, is MSI’s latest answer to the eternal problem that is gaming on the move. Serving as a conduit — via its own PCI Express interface and the oft-neglected ExpressCard slot — between desktop GPUs and laptops, the GUS comes with its own power brick that can support cards with up to an 84W TDP. That, together with the limited bandwidth on offer, makes the ATI Radeon HD 5670 bundle pretty much the top of the GUS pile, but at somewhere around $229 that doesn’t look like a terrible deal at all. Alternatively, you can buy the bare unit for around $100 and make use of some old GPU to give a little extra pep to your laptop. It’s all good.

MSI Graphics Upgrade Solution seeks an ExpressCard slot to call home originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 May 2010 08:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceBit-tech.net  | Email this | Comments

NVIDIA 3D Vision Surround delayed, ATI gloats with an Eyefinity demo site

If you’re one of the truly lilliputian proportion of PC gamers who actually bought two of either the GTX 470 or GTX 480 from NVIDIA in the hope of running a tri-monitor 3D gorgefest, we’ve got bad news for ya. If you’re anyone else, enjoy the schadenfreude of knowing that those first guys will have to keep waiting for 3D Vision Surround support until the end of June. As NVIDIA tells it, the driver bringing the tri-dimensional, multi-monitor gaming nirvana was targeted for an April release, but has now slipped a couple of months. It’s disappointing to see one of the major selling points of the GTX 400 series coming so much later than the cards’ release, but at least ATI’s around to console you if you’re feeling jilted. The company has set up an Eyefinity Experience Tool that does a good job illustrating the benefits of gaming on a trifecta of monitors over a single display. Hit the source links for more.

NVIDIA 3D Vision Surround delayed, ATI gloats with an Eyefinity demo site originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 May 2010 03:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PC Perspective  |  sourceThe NVIDIA Blog, ATI  | Email this | Comments

Lenovo’s 15.6-inch IdeaPad Y560 laptop goes on sale

Slowly but surely, each of Lenovo’s CES introductions are popping up for sale. With nary a moment to spare, the 15.6-inch IdeaPad Y560 has finally surfaced at the company’s website, offering up Core i3, i5 and i7 options, up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM, ATI’s 1GB Mobility Radeon HD 5730 GPU, Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) and a 1,366 x 768 native resolution panel. Plenty of options are tweakable should you not find the base configurations suitable for your needs, but you’ll be hard pressed to secure one for under $949. Well, unless you’ve got the patience of Job.

Lenovo’s 15.6-inch IdeaPad Y560 laptop goes on sale originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 May 2010 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Laptoping  |  sourceLenovo  | Email this | Comments

AMD promises better battery life and thermals with new Neo CPUs, more power with Phenom II platform

Could 2010 be the year AMD poses a real threat to Intel on the laptop front? Well, you know that rumor that it’s gonna be powering 109 new laptops? Not only is that true, but it’s also going to be in 26 more thin and light systems. Frankly, we’re not all that surprised, particularly since it’s been no huge secret that AMD’s had a bunch of new processors floating about — some of which have been finding homes in new HP, Lenovo, Acer, and Dell laptops. Thankfully, the silicon heavyweight is finally revealing the source of all this mojo by sharing details about these mighty, yet energy efficient slabs of silicon. Up first is the Ultrathin platform (codenamed “Nile”), which now includes the new 23w Turion II Neo dual-core, Athlon II Neo dual-core, and Athlon II Neo processors — there’s clock speed and TDP specifics of each in the gallery, if that’s your sort of thing. To be found in 11- to 13- inch laptops like HP’s dm1 and Acer’s Aspire One 721, the CPUs can be coupled with ATI Radeon HD 5400 or Radeon 4200 integrated graphics options, not to mention DDR3 and Direct X 10.1 support. The biggest change? Apparently, the line up has been improved in terms of battery life and thermals, and AMD’s promising over eight hours of usage when fully charged. Given that battery life and heat were our biggest issues with the previous Neo processors, we’re happy to see those problem areas being addressed, but we’ll believe it when we really test some of these bad boys in the near future.

On the mainstream side of things, AMD continues to cram desktop power into its Athlon II dual-core, Athlon Turion II dual-core, Phenom II dual-, triple- and quad-core processors. There’s 12 new chips in all, but the top of the line 2.3GHz quad-core Phenom II Black Edition X920 is definitely the most juicy, and should give some Core i7 rigs a run for their money. Obviously those powerful CPUs can all be paired with ATI’s Radeon HD 4500 or higher discrete graphics (which will support Direct X11) or a lower-end Radeon 4200 integrated graphics option. Because AMD now likes to use simple terms with its Vision branding, it didn’t provide any hard benchmark numbers, but it promises 80 percent smoother gaming performance than comparable competitive mainstream systems, and 30 percent longer battery life than AMD’s previous generation of processors. Hit the break for the full presser, and click on through the gallery for a closer look at the technical details.

Continue reading AMD promises better battery life and thermals with new Neo CPUs, more power with Phenom II platform

AMD promises better battery life and thermals with new Neo CPUs, more power with Phenom II platform originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 May 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD comes real clean with 2010 desktop platform: Phenoms, Athlons, Radeons, oh my!

AMD got serious with its VISION guide to buying PCs last September, but we’ve yet to see it actually put into practice until today. In addition to a new spate of laptop chips, the company is finally coming clean with the desktop CPUs that we’ve seen whispered about, touched and even benchmarked for weeks now. Frankly, there’s not much here we didn’t know already, but we’re guessing that AMD’s just aligning its official launch with the plans of Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo and all the other big names that’ll be introducing rigs based on this silicon in short order. Regardless, bargain gamers should greatly appreciate having the dual- and quad-core Athlon II range as well as the quad- and six-core Phenom II crew hitting the scene in official fashion, offering plenty of performance (for most, anyway) at a fraction of the cost of Intel’s swankest Core i7 chips. And yeah, we’re pretty stoked to see AMD getting its chips into so many desktops — it’s been awhile since there was even a semblance of an AMD / Intel balance in the customize-to-order sections of the world, and it’s about time that changed.

Continue reading AMD comes real clean with 2010 desktop platform: Phenoms, Athlons, Radeons, oh my!

AMD comes real clean with 2010 desktop platform: Phenoms, Athlons, Radeons, oh my! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 May 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer Aspire One 521 and 721 spotted in France handling HD video, eying a croissant

You could say this is one of the odder ways to make something official, but Acer’s Aspire One 521 and 721 have been deemed just that after surfacing at an event today in France. Just as we’d heard the 10-inch 521, is rocking a heretofore unheard of AMD 1.2GHz V105 (single-core) processor, 160GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM, ATI’s Radeon HD 4225 GPU and a penchant for handling 1080p video without breaking a sweat. It’s also equipped with VGA / HDMI outputs, a media card reader, three USB sockets, audio in / out, Ethernet jack and a native 1,024 x 600 resolution. The 11.6-inch 721, on the other hand, has AMD’s newer 1.3GHz Athlon II Neo K325, which similarly sports full HD playback on its 1366×768 resolution screen. And oddly, Acer seems to also have a new Aspire 1551 lying around, which also has an 11.6-inch display and dual-core Athlon II Neo K325/K625 processor options. Sadly, no further details were available, but we suspect they’ll be outed faster than you can turn yourself around, mash play on the video past the break and ping your financial manager to get his / her thoughts on picking this up alongside a new Ditch Witch.

Continue reading Acer Aspire One 521 and 721 spotted in France handling HD video, eying a croissant

Acer Aspire One 521 and 721 spotted in France handling HD video, eying a croissant originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 May 2010 22:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceNetbook News, (2), (3)  | Email this | Comments

Samsung’s MD230X6 six-screen Eyefinity rig gets a price to match its size

Aww… isn’t that 8-inch frame in the corner just adorable? And yep, it’s right next to the same monstrous ATI Eyefinity rig we gave away at last month’s Engadget Show, composed of six 23-inch IPS monitors bolted together. Samsung’s been mum about its final price until now, but — drum roll please — the MD230X6’s just a mere £3,180, which translates to about $4,750 on the other side of the pond. Don’t know about you, but that £149.99 ($224) Samsung 800P photo frame’s starting to look like a bargain now.

Continue reading Samsung’s MD230X6 six-screen Eyefinity rig gets a price to match its size

Samsung’s MD230X6 six-screen Eyefinity rig gets a price to match its size originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 May 2010 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung goes display crazy: H03 pico projector, SyncMaster PX2370 LCD and more

Well, what do you know? Seems Samsung set up shop in the heart of London and threw itself a product introduction party! In case the company’s new laptop and desktop options didn’t tickle your fancy, Sammy’s giving you a host of new display options as well. Kicking things off is the June-bound H03, which the company incorrectly claims is the “world’s brightest pico projector” with just 30 ANSI lumens — too bad we’ve seen units with far more already. Moving on, there’s the new SyncMaster PX2370 LED-backlit LCD monitor, offering up a 16:9 aspect ratio, a Touch of Color design, 2ms response time, VGA / DVI / HDMI inputs and a 1080p native resolution. Bringing up the rear is the 1,000 ANSI lumen LED-based SP-F10M projector and the SyncMaster MD230, the latter of which we saw toying with ATI’s Eyefinity solution back at CES. Sadly, no concrete pricing details were made public, but you can peruse the respective press releases just beyond the break.

Continue reading Samsung goes display crazy: H03 pico projector, SyncMaster PX2370 LCD and more

Samsung goes display crazy: H03 pico projector, SyncMaster PX2370 LCD and more originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 May 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo adds touch to IdeaCentre A700 and B305 all-in-ones, vies for your desktop dollars with H320

While keeping the overdesigned aesthetic of their IdeaCentre brandmates, the new A700 and B305 (above) all-in-ones from Lenovo are moving things forward with optional touchscreens and freshened up spec sheets. The A700 offers the full range of Intel’s Core 2010 laptop CPUs, but tops things off with the slightly older 45nm Core i7-820QM, which gives you four cores operating at a somewhat pedestrian 1.73GHz default speed that can be cranked up to 3.06GHz when circumstances demand it. Other specs include a 1080p 23-inch display, built-in 802.11a/b/g/n wireless, and a side-mounted Blu-ray drive. If you’re feeling extravagant, you can even cram in 8GB of DDR3 RAM, but don’t expect to be paying the $999 entry price for that package when these become available at the end of June.

The B305 gives AMD fans something to admire, with Athlon II X4 processors, Radeon HD 5450 graphics — great for multimedia, but forget about 3D gaming — up to 4GB of DDR3 RAM, and up to a 21.5-inch display stretching to 1,920 x 1,080. Built-in wireless and a DVD-RW drive are again present, along with up to a terabyte of storage (2TB on the A700, that showoff) should you opt to tread beyond the $699 entry price. The B305 will be purchasable next month, as will be the H320 old schooler. Starting out at $549, this small form factor pc offers Intel’s 32nm desktop parts, with the finest of the bunch being the 2.8GHz Core i7-860. Radeon HD 5570, up to 8GB of memory, a terabyte of storage, Blu-ray, and wireless options fill out its vital statistics, though you’ll have to buy your own monitor. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading Lenovo adds touch to IdeaCentre A700 and B305 all-in-ones, vies for your desktop dollars with H320

Lenovo adds touch to IdeaCentre A700 and B305 all-in-ones, vies for your desktop dollars with H320 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 May 2010 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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