Intel Releases New Sandy Bridge Processors

Intel has announced a total of 16 new Sandy Bridge processors today, augmenting its lineup in the mid and low-end markets on the desktop and in the high and low-end markets on laptops.

On the desktop side, we have four new Core-series processors, one i5 (the 2320) along with three i3s (the 2130, 2125, and 2120T. Along with these comes three new Pentium processors (the G860, G630, and G630T) and four low-end Celerons (the G540, G530, G530T, and G440). The G440 has the dubious honor of being the only single-core Sandy Bridge of which I am aware.

New Sandy Bridge Desktop CPUsNameCores/ThreadsCPU ClockL3 CacheGPUGPU ClockTDPPricei5-23204/43.0 GHz (3.3GHz Turbo)6MBHD 2000850 MHz (1100 MHz turbo)95W$177i3-21302/43.4 GHz3MBHD 2000850 MHz (1100 MHz turbo)65W$138i3-21252/43.3GHz3MBHD 3000850 MHz (1100 MHz turbo)65W$134i3-2120T2/42.6GHz3MBHD 2000650 MHz (1100 MHz turbo)35W$127Pentium G8602/23.0GHz3MBHD850 MHz (1100 MHz turbo)65W$86Pentium G6302/22.7GHz3MBHD850 MHz (1100 MHz turbo)65W$75Pentium G630T2/22.3GHz3MBHD650 MHz (1100 MHz turbo)35W$70Celeron G5402/22.5GHz2MBHD850 MHz (1000 MHz turbo)65W$52Celeron G5302/22.4GHz2MBHD850 MHz (1000 MHz turbo)65W$42Celeron G530T2/22.0GHz2MBHD650 MHz (1100 MHz turbo)35W$47Celeron G4401/11.6GHz1MBHD650 MHz (1000 MHz turbo)35W$37

Most of these processors are simple clock bumps of existing processors and their energy-effecient T-series counterparts. What's new here is the Celeron series of processors, most of which sacrifice 100 MHz of GPU Turbo speed and another MB of L3 cache compared to their Pentium counterparts (according to CPU World's listings, VT-x and EM64T remain available on all models). It's also important to remember here that the HD-series graphics has nothing to do with Intel's last-gen IGP - in Sandy Bridge models, the HD graphics series is basically the HD 2000 series with QuickSync and a few other video features disabled - see our Sandy Bridge Pentium review for more information on this.

The new laptop CPUs are fewer in number, and aimed at both the high-end and very low-end of the market.

New Sandy Bridge Laptop CPUsNameCores/ThreadsCPU ClockL3 CacheGPU ClockTDPPricei7-2960XM4/82.7 GHz (3.7GHz Turbo)8MB650 MHz (1300 MHz turbo)55W$1096i7-2860QM4/82.5 GHz (3.6 GHz Turbo)8MB650 MHz (1300 MHz turbo)45W$568i7-2760QM4/82.4GHz (3.5 GHz Turbo)6MB650 MHz (1300 MHz turbo)45W$378i7-2640M2/42.8GHz (3.5 GHz Turbo)4MB650 MHz (1300 MHz turbo)35W$346Celeron B8402/21.9GHz2MB650 MHz (950 MHz turbo)35W$86

The Core i7-2960XM is an Extreme Edition processor and is the fastest quad-core chip that Intel currently offers, and it has a pricetag to match. On the other end of the spectrum, the Celeron B840 is a dual-core processor that loses L3 cache and some GPU Turbo speed, though it retains VT-x and the same HD 3000-series GPU that all mobile Sandy Bridge CPUs possess.

Source: CPU World, CPU World

]]>

Read more...

Computex 2011: The ROG Releases

This week at Computex, along with the ASUS announcement of the Padfone, the UX series, and the $199 MeeGo netbook, we also have had a glimpse into what the Republic of Gamers line will have for enthusiasts and overclockers very shortly, including the Danshui Bay concept reported on earlier.

One of the more interesting products on display was the G74SX 3D which was previewed at CeBIT also – a 3D capable gaming laptop that doesn’t require glasses.  It uses a CMOS camera and an NVIDIA 560M under the hood, combined with an advanced detection algorithm to find where the user is, to change the 3D perspective accordingly.

ASUS were keen to point out the new fan design technology utilising dual fans pulling air from the middle of the bottom of the laptop to the back.  It was also emphasised that this improves sound quality as there is no fan disturbance of noise from the sides.

{gallery 1161}

The other interesting product due for release was the ASUS ROG Matrix GPU - a new ASUS designed GTX 580 aimed at performance.  Using an overclocked 580 chip, the PCB itself has three buttons on the card to adjust the voltage and the fan speed to 100% - any MHz overclocking has to be done in the BIOS however.  In case all fails, there is a safe-mode button on the rear to revert to the card’s default settings.

The odd thing about the GTX580 is that at the ASUS booth, which had a live demonstration, in order to promote the onboard voltage tweaking settings, had a display showing that the voltage can be adjusted from a +50 mV offset, to a 1250 mV offset.  Bearing in mind that the chip at default runs around 1 V, adding a +1250 mV offset gives 2.25 V – this is around 0.5 V more than extreme overclockers use.

In terms of design features for the gaming segment for motherboards, supposedly including the Rampage Extreme III Black Edition on show, ASUS were keen to stress the use of Intel controllers for networking, onboard audio in the form of the SupremeFX Fi-2 supporting EAX Advanced HD 5.0 and THX TruStudio Pro, but also what ASUS calls its Thunderbolt card.

The Thunderbolt card is an ASUS solution utilising Xonar’s experience in sound and Bigfoot’s Killer NIC in the form of a PCIe 1x card, despite having the previously mentioned features on the motherboard.  Thus when you purchase a Thunderbolt branded product, you get theoption of using either, but end up paying for both.

The card uses the Bigfoot Killer NIC and software to help prioritize traffic from various applications (read: games) over other network traffic, while the built in headphone amplifiers and software tools help customize the gaming sound experience.

As always with this type of announcement, there’s rarely mention of price or release date – however at the ASUS booth, I was informed to expect the ROG Matrix 580 at the end of June.

]]>

Read more...

Fujitsu releases PH50/C laptop with AMD Fusion and 11.6 "

type='html'>

  Here is the most recent 11.6 '' being released with AMD Fusion, Fujitsu’s Laptop PH50/C. Fujitsu organization is producing 11.6 " ‘thin and light’ notebooks in Intel and AMD types for two yrs by now and also this one gets control from previous year’s Lifebook PH520 collection which AMD’s Nile / Athlon II Neo platform.

The style is a little bit modified but looks like old Fujitsu styles. The specifications are: 11.6″ 1366 x 768 screen, Radeon High Definition 6310 graphics, AMD E-350 Zacate APU, 2GB of Ram Memory, 500GB Hard Disk Drive, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, 10/100 LAN, a card reader, Ethernet, HDMI, USB 2.0 slots and a 5,800 mAh battery for around 7.3 hrs and Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit. Weighs 1.5 kg and having a thickness of 27.5 mm. Set to produce 1st in Japan, the Fujitsu Lifebook PH50/C retails for about $950.

Fujitsu Lifebook PH50/C 11.6 inch picture

Read more...

AMD Releases Catalyst 10.11 Video Card Drivers for Download

AMD has just released Catalyst 10.11 video card drivers to the public for download. This release of AMD Catalyst brings performance improvements in two game title along with numerous resolved issues and new features for all Windows operating systems. If you want the latest driver be sure to download it from here! The full AMD Catalyst Software Suite Version 10.11 Release Notes can be found here if you want to read them.

Performance Highlights of the AMD Catalyst 10.11 release include:

• Battleforge - Performance increases up to 3% on ATI Radeon HD 5800 Series single and CrossFire configurations with anti-aliasing disabled.
• STALKER – Call of Pripyat benchmark - Performance increases up to 5% on ATI Radeon™ HD 5800 Series single and CrossFire configurations.

Resolved issue highlights:

• Enabling Overdrive through the Catalyst™ Control Center for single display systems no longer results in GPU clocks running at high levels in non-GPU intensive scenarios
• Mouse cursor no longer flickers and disappears in World of Warcraft when hardware cursor is enabled when playing in Stereo 3D mode
• Primary display no longer blanks out when playing World in Conflict Soviet Assault DX10 with Dual Monitor enabled in CrossFire mode
• CrossFire no longer becomes disabled in Battlefield Bad Company 2 after performing a task switch
• The "Contrast" value for the display is no longer set to zero after CrossFire is disabled for the first time
• Alien blood is now rendered properly in Aliens vs Predator with Anti-Aliasing enabled

Read more...

Silicon Power Releases USB Drive That Changes Color w/ Temperature

Just when you think you've seen every possible USB key possible, you manage to run across a new marketing gimmick that you didn't know was on the market. Silicon Power announced a new USB drive today called the Blaze 10 that has a color-changing pattern on it that morphs when the temperature increases or decreases. Silicon Power says that color of the pattern will gradually change from Turkish blue to Chinese red according to operating temperature of the drive. The Blaze 10 is a USB 3.0 drive, so you can expect read speeds of up to 70MB/s! The Blaze 10 is available in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB capacities and all are backed by a lifetime warranty.

World leading flash memory manufacturer and brand Silicon Power realizes how individuals can’t help to speak for themselves; thus, for those who dare to show their capricious personality, Blaze B10, the market’s first USB 3.0 flash drive with color-changing pattern according to temperature, is born! Blaze B10 is especially designed for expressive individuals who are playful and bold with their portable storage devices. Smooth curves at two ends of its body get B10 a chic look. Its front is designed with futuristic geometric pattern using color-changing ink.

Read more...