Toshiba Tecra R850: Business Class on a Budget

Toshiba won't mind if we say that their previous business class notebooks looked...kind of cheap. They were bulky and unattractive, largely feeling like consumer notebooks with matte instead of glossy plastic. Yet when we visited with Toshiba to talk about their Tecra refresh, we were impressed, and Toshiba's reps were only too happy to put the new Tecras next to the old ones to demonstrate the stunning new weight loss plan the notebooks were put on. And the best part? While the Tecras have gotten a healthy refresh, their prices remain remarkably affordable. Is the 15.6" Tecra R850 the notebook you've been looking for?

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Battle of the Budget Tablets - Nook Color vs. Galaxy Tab

Tablets are certainly the buzz of the tech world, and if you're in the market for one, there are plenty to be had in the $500 range. But what if your budget was more like $300, and all of the traditional tablet options simply weren't affordable enough? Or what if you wanted a cheap tablet to play with while waiting for the genre to mature? Previously, there weren't too many high quality tablets that fit that description, but there are a couple of options that released more recently. The WiFi-only version of Samsung’s 7” Galaxy Tab is the first one that comes to mind, offering all that the previous 3G versions did, now at a $349 price point. Next is the Barnes & Noble Nook Color, which is surprisingly easy to hack and makes for a capable Gingerbread tablet with a few simple mods. 

Between the two, we’ve got two rather promising budget tablets here, legitimate options for those looking to get in on the tablet movement without breaking the bank. Which is better? Keep reading to find out.

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AM3 turn into AM3+ without paying extra budget on MSI

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MSI now officially announced that their AMD AM3 product and the corresponding BIOS version can be turn into full compatibility with all AMD AM3+ multi-core processors. It means that you can enjoy AMD PHENOM II X6 just by your AMD AM3 motherboard. You can relish this kind of facilities just by upgrading you BIOS and it’s not cost extra expenses. When you upgrade the BIOS you can enjoy the true power of AMD AM3+ that support more cores, larger L3 cache memory capacity and etc. And also, the built-in 2^nd generation Turbo Core technology also boosts the performance of the new AMD AM3+ multi-core processors. Along with the latest 32nm process which significantly enhances the electrical specifications, AMD AM3+ multi-core processors will absolutely be the next-generation indicator of performance.

Before updating the BIOS to AMD AM3+ multi-core processors, it’ll be better to wait until MSI post the BIOS of corresponding motherboard which truly support for the new AMD AM3+ processors for consumers to upgrade their MSI AM3 motherboard in order to meet their demands for system upgrade and exp the powerful of the next-gen of AMD processor.

Here is the MSI motherboard chip that can be upgraded to AMD AM3+ multi-core processors and corresponding BIOS versions :

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For the latest information, please visit here: MSI AM3+ CPU Support

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Budget System Builder’s Guide February 2011

With the recent launch of Sandy Bridge, we had hoped to put together some Buyers' Guides covering the changes in the market. Unfortunately, with the recall/bug of the 6-series chipsets, SNB is now on hold. There will always be newer and faster parts just over the horizon, but while we await SNB and Bulldozer, we felt the time was ripe for a Budget Buyers' Guide update. We have three complete system builds, as well as a variety of potential upgrades, with pricing ranging from $400 just for the main box and components up to nearly $800 for a complete system with some worthwhile upgrades.

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Sony EE34: Sony Makes Budget AMD Laptops?

You can't buy it from Sony's website. If you blinked you might have missed the news popping up on a couple of different sites about its existence. If you were on the phone with me when I called Jarred about it, you might even have shared his reaction: "Sony makes a budget AMD laptop?" But sure enough they do, and we have a  budget Sony EE34 notebook on hand that's liable to raise more than a few eyebrows. Around $600 for a Sony Vaio AMD-based notebook with a Blu-ray drive standard? They make those?

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