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Targeting the value segment, MSI this week announced four new additions to its C-series (Classic series) notebook line. The new models consist of the 16-inch CR600 and 15.6-inch CR620-030, CR620-033, and CR620-031.
All three 620-based models are built around Intel’s Arrandale platform and tout either a Core i3 or i5 processor. Each one also comes equipped with 4GB of DDR3 memory, and either a 320GB or 500GB hard drive. Those who opt for the CR620-033 will also get a Blu-ray DVD combo drive.
The CR600 comes with Nvidia’s GeForce 8200M graphics, and like the rest, it also boasts 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, HDMI out, 1.3MP webcam, a raised chiclet keyboard, and Windows 7 Home Premium.
All models are available now at Newegg with pricing starting at $530.
Image Credit: MSI
Good news for IT admins. Intel last week announced a new vPro platform for its Core i5 and i7 processors designed to make remote maintenance and management of PCs an easier task in the enterprise.
"Businesses, particularly those that haven’t purchased PCs for several years, face a computing environment that no longer handles the applications many workers and IT are adopting," said Rick Echevarria, vice president, Intel Architecture Group, and general manager, Business Client Platform Division. "The integration of intelligent performance along with smart security and cost-saving manageability features in the Intel Core vPro processor family provide IT and SMBs a no-compromise platform. We also are excited about how Intel vPro Technology gives IT the flexibility to look at client virtualization, consumerization and rich cloud applications"
The new platform based on Intel’s Core vPro processors consists of the new Intel Q57 Express chipset, Intel 82577LM Gigabit Network Connection for notebooks, and Intel 82578DM Network Connection for desktop PCs.
Image Credit: Intel
With all the talk of Core i7, Core i5, Intel’s upcoming six-core Gulftown, and a plethora of swank X58- and P55-based mobos bombarding the market place, are you starting to feel left out puttering along on your LGA775 build? Well, you should be — this is Maximum PC, after all. But outside of our niche of power users, LGA775 still reigns supreme, and by no small margin.
As Fudzilla reports it, LGA775 processors are the current king of the sales hill, accounting for a whopping 77 percent of sales. The dated socket won’t be able to hold onto that pace throughout 2010, but by the end of the year, Intel expects LGA775 to still account for half of all processor sales.
So who’s buying into socket 1366 and building high-end Core i7 foundations? Not many. Currently the least popular Intel socket of the bunch, higher end Core i7 chips only account for a measly 1 percent of sales.
Socket LGA1156, on the other hand, claims 18 percent of all Intel shipments and its market share is expect to grow to 44 percent by the end of 2010. And of course there’s the ever-popular Atom series, which surprisingly only makes up for 5 percent of all Intel CPUs so far in this first quarter.
Image Credit: windowsdevcenter.com
I have a confession to make; I get a kick out of leaked Intel roadmaps. They almost always tend to be revealed mere days after I purchase a new CPU and are pretty effective at taking all the joy out of my new purchase. Of course, in the world of technology my fancy tends to be fickle, and a bit of CPU lust never hurt anyone.
The latest Intel roadmap doesn’t contain too many surprises but it does show that the transition to 32nm is well underway. The few standouts are a new sub-brand called Core i5 “S” that drops the chip down from 95w to 82w, and a Core i3 that strips away the turbo mode to bring down the cost. Intel’s movement at the low end of the market clearly shows their commitment to taking on AMD in the budget realm and it will be interesting to see benchmark comparisons on these new parts.
As for the high end, the new Core i9 “Gulftown” 6-core chip appears to be currently on schedule for a Q2 release next year. This gives us about 6 more months to enjoy our measly old quad cores. Click the image below to check out the detailed roadmap, or hit up PC Watch Japan for all the gory details in “loosely” translated Google English.
Are you going to upgrade to a Core i9?
Citing anonymous sources from notebook heavyweights, news and rumor site DigiTimes says we can expect Intel to launch four 32nm dual-core Arrandale CPUs (Calpella platform) by the second week of January 2010. These will include the Core i5 520M and 430M, and Core i3 350M and 330M.
Details weren’t available on all four chips, but it looks like the Core i5 430M will come clocked at 2.26GHz and include Intel’s Turbot Boost Technology, which could bump the clockspeed up to 2.53GHz for a single core. The Core i3 350M will also boast a 2.26GHz clockspeed, but no Turbo Boost.
The Core i5 will feature a graphics clock running at 500MHz and up to 766MHz with Turbo Boost, whereas the Core i3 will also run at 500MHz, but top out at 667MHz. All four chips will support DDR3 memory, come equipped with 3MB of L3 cache, and come rated with a TDP of 35W.
Image Credit: hardwarezone.com
Proving that a mini tower can pack a punch, Dell this week released a new Vostro desktop for small businesses that makes use of Intel’s latest processors.
Released yesterday, Dell’s Vostro 430 desktop comes standard with an Intel Core i5 750 processor (2.66GHz, 8MB L3 cache), 1GB of DDR3-1333 memory, an 80GB hard drive spinning at 7200RPM, an ATI Radeon HD 4350 videocard with 512MB of onboard memory, and Windows Vista Home Basic. From there, virtual system builders can opt to add more muscle in the form of an Intel Core i7 870 processor (2.93Ghz, 8MB L3 cache), up to 4GB of RAM, up to 1TB of storage, and an Nvidia GeForce GTS240 videocard with 1GB of memory.
At $700 and up, the new Vostro is a little more than what small business owners are accustomed to paying for Dell’s Vostro line, which typically run between $300 and $400, but the 430 is the only one to be built around Intel’s latest architecture.
Image Credit: Dell
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