Hasta La Gadget!

Every time we write about Intel’s flawed Sandy Bridge chipset and the need for it to be physically replaced, the financial costs go up. First Intel projected a $300 million hit to its bottom line, then it set aside $700 million to cover repairs and replacements, and now it’s estimating a round $1 billion loss in “missed sales and higher costs.” Those missed sales will be coming directly from guys like MSI and Gigabyte, two of the major motherboard makers, who have stopped selling their Sandy Bridge-compatible models until Intel delivers untainted stock, and also Dell, who has nixed availability of its Alienware M17x R.3 gaming laptop. CNET did spot that HP and Dell were still selling laptops with the offending chipset in them yesterday, but we imagine both will get their online stores straightened out in due course. For its part, HP says it’s pushing back a business notebook announcement due to this news, much like NEC has had to do. Moral of the story? Don’t let faulty chips out of the oven.

[Thanks, geller]

Dell, Gigabyte and MSI pull products in wake of Sandy Bridge chipset flaw, HP faces delays originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 04:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We finally received full details on the issue affecting Intel’s Sandy Bridge chipsets this morning, and now we’re hearing of what looks to be the first confirmed recall. Samsung is indicating it will offer refunds for affected computers and, while it isn’t saying exactly which models will be affected, it did give a number: six models sold in South Korea and one available in the US will be eligible for return or refund, about 3,000 total machines. NEC, meanwhile, who just went all-in with Lenovo, is indicating that it may push back the release of four separate models. Naturally we’ll keep the updates coming as we get more details.

[Thanks, Peter]

Samsung offering refunds for PCs affected by Sandy Bridge glitch, NEC looking at delays originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Feb 2011 10:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Overclocked, custom-built PCs are nothing new, and neither is 4.7GHz from the factory. But Digital Storm has managed to take one of Intel’s newest Sandy Bridge chips to that height, and it’s doing so in a case that’s far sleeker than most of the towers out there. The all-new Enix relies on a Micro-ATX system board, vertical heat dissipation and a mobo that’s rotating 90 degrees — a move that’s being made in order to “take advantage of heat’s natural tendency to rise.” Consumers can order one starting today, with the $1,132 base unit boasting a Core i3-2100, 4GB of DDR3-1600 memory, NVIDIA’s 1GB GeForce GT 220, a 1TB hard drive and a copy of Windows 7 Home Premium. The high-end model tops out at just north of two large, with each model offering a hot-swap bay and a pair of USB 3.0 ports. Eye candy is below, and the source link shouldn’t be ventured to unless you’re fairly immune to impulse buys.

Continue reading Digital Storm’s slim Enix desktop takes Sandy Bridge to 4.7GHz

Digital Storm’s slim Enix desktop takes Sandy Bridge to 4.7GHz originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 13:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Zach, who needs a new home for his PC internals. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

“For various reasons, I am going to be moving my computer around a lot more frequently soon, and I am looking for a new computer case that’s relatively easy to take around. Basically, I mean the type of case with handle(s) on the top. It needs to be an ATX mid-tower, and I’d like it as cheap as I can get without it being horrible (I do have an overclocked CPU and a dedicated cooling unit, so it needs to be well-vented).

I’m not a fan of garish cases with lots of LEDs — I especially really dislike green / blue LEDs (I’m getting really sick of my current case, which is decked-out in blue). I might be cool with red or orange, though. However, any aesthetics come second to utility and price.”

Zach, we like your style. You’re probably well on your way to becoming a man, and a sophisticated one at that. Here’s hoping you’ll receive loads of similarly sophisticated answers from sophisticated men and women below.

Ask Engadget: best non-garish ATX mid-tower for the budget gamer? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 23:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For the most part, Intel’s Sandy Bridge introduction at CES made a giant impact in the outlook of future laptops, but not as much was said over in the desktop world. Quietly, a slew of custom PC makers have slid out revised towers with the second generation Core lineup, with Dell’s XPS 8300, Digital Storm’s entire family, Cyber Power’s Gamer Xtreme 1000 / 2000 and iBuyPower’s Chimera XLC seeing the new Core i5 and Core i7 chips. Care to dig in deeper? Hit the source links below, and be sure to bust out your credit card — Intel’s fastest doesn’t come cheap, you know.

Intel’s Sandy Bridge hits the desktop realm: Dell, CyberPower, Digital Storm and more originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 20:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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