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Dell Supercharges Its XPS Desktops with Core i7

Paul Lilly — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:19:42 -0600

Dell, Intel's BFF in the OEM systems sector, has outfitted a couple of its desktops with the chip maker's new Core i7 processor, one of which represents a brand new product line in the Studio XPS.

A baseline configured Studio XPS desktop starts out at $950 and comes equipped with Intel's Core i7 920 clocked at 2.66GHz. The sub-$1000 configuration also includes a 3GB triple-channel DDR3-1066 memory kit and a 500GB hard drive. A 256MB ATI Radeon HD 3450 provides casual gaming chores, with the option to upgrade to a 512MB HD 4850 for $200 more.A 16X DVD burner and the standard assortment of ports complete the feature-set. For those with a little more jingle in their pocket, up to 1.28TB of storage can be configured in a RAID 0 array, along with a speedier CPU in the Core i7 940 clocked at 2.93GHz.

The other series getting a Core i7 infusion is Dell's XPS 730x Gaming Desktop. Starting out at $2000, the 730x comes standard with Intel's Core i7 940 and, like the Studio XPS, 3GB of tri-channel RAM. Pixel pushing power is provided by Nvidia's 512MB GeForce 9800GT. For $4850, Dell upgrades the processor to an Intel Core i7 965 Extreme factory overclocked to 3.73GHz, doubles up on the RAM to 6GB, tosses in an Nvidia GeForce GTX 280 videocard, and beefs up storage duties with a 750GB hard drive. If spending the entire holiday bonus, the XPS 730x offers options for Western Digital's Velociraptor drive and/or up to 2TB in a RAID 1+0 array, along with an option for dual GTX 280 videocards in an SLI configuration.

Studio XPS systems are available now, with most XPS 730x systems expected to start shipping by early or mid-December, according to Electronista.

Microsoft's Surrender to Intel over Vista Capable Requirements Angered HP, Pleased Others, Newly Released Emails Reveal

Mark Edward Soper — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:18:10 -0600

The class action lawsuit against Microsoft's "Vista Capable" marketing campaign, which we first told you about in late February, got even more interesting late last week with the release of more emails between Microsoft and Intel and between HP and Microsoft.

According to a filing released Thursday, the Vista Capable program originally included support for the Windows Driver Display Model (WDDM) as part of the requirement for support of core Windows features. Although OEMs such as Dell, Sony, and Fujitsu all asked for waivers from the WDDM requirement for various computer models that used Intel chipsets with integrated graphics that could not run WDDM drivers, Microsoft refused all three companies' request for waivers because of the improvements in stability and features resulting from WDDM drivers.

However, when Intel came calling on Microsoft , it was a different story. After a series of email exchanges between Intel and Microsoft, Microsoft dropped the WDDM driver requirement, enabling Intel and its OEM partners to market systems with Intel 915 integrated graphics as being "Vista Capable" - even though their integrated graphics would never support Aero Glass or be supported by a WDDM driver.

To find out why some OEM vendors were pleased with Microsoft's relaxing of the WDDM rules, and some weren't, join us after the jump.

Dell Taking Orders for the Mini 12 Netbook

Andy Salisbury — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:15:52 -0600

At long last, the Dell Mini 12 is available to order for those of us that inhabit North America.

While Dell won’t be shipping out the $549 netbook until December, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get your order in now if you want to be among the first to get one. Packing a 1.33GHz Atom processor, 1GB of memory and a 40GB hard drive, the Mini is looking to be a solid productivity machine, all factors taken into consideration.

The Mini 12 can upgrade to a 1.6GHz Atom processor and an 80GB hard drive, but you’ll end up spending a notably steep $758 for it.

Backlight Manufacturers: LED Prices to Drop 40-50% in 2009

Andy Salisbury — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:07:06 -0600

Major notebook vendors like Dell and Apple are going to have a much easier time delivering those beautiful LED backlit screens in the near future, as the price of LEDs are projected to go down by 50%.

While the amount of notebooks that actually had LED backlighting in them was only 5-6% in the first three quarters of this year, that’s expected to shoot all the way up to 25% during this fourth quarter. Even still, it’s projected that up to 40% of notebooks will have LED backlighting in 2009.

At the current rate, it looks like LED backlighting will be standard sometime real soon. That’s a bright future that we look forward to.

Don't Expect a Dell MP3 Player This Holiday Season

Andy Salisbury — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:00:32 -0600

Dell has decided to pass on releasing their MP3 player this holiday season. With no real reason cited for the delay, it looks like Apple can sit back and let their iPod dominate the sales charts once again.

While the release of the MP3 player has been put on pause, their work on the planned entertainment software, Zing, has continued and is expected to release sometime this fall. Zing is purported to organize downloaded music and movies on PCs.

With any luck, this will give Dell more time to finely tune their product. Jumping into an Apple dominated market isn’t something that… anyone has succeeded at. But with 2003’s DJ Ditty failure behind them, perhaps Dell has learned their lesson.

Seagate Pushes Full Disk Encryption Drives, with Dell on Board to Distribute

Paul Lilly — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 10:38:20 -0600

Seagate is looking to push its full disk encryption (FDE) hard drives and is getting help from Dell in doing so. FDE drives come in both 5400RPM and 7200RPM flavors in capacities up to 320GB in Dell Latitude and Precision notebooks, and also Dell's Optiplex 960 desktops. According to Seagate, 500GB FDE drivers will be available by the end of 2008.

All information stored on Seagate's FDE drives are automatically encrypted and require a password before being accessed. Without the password, Seagate claims the drive essentially locks up. That could be bad news if an end-user manages to forget the password, but in this scenario, the drive can be unlocked remotely by IT staff using McAfee's ePO software. This only applies to the enterprise level, however, and when the drives become available in the consumer market, no such workaround exists, at least not yet.

From a performance standpoint, Seagate claims there are no noticeable performance impacts as FDE drives encrypt data as it is being written and decrypt when being read.

Ask the Doctor: Windex Worries

The Maximum PC Staff — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 11:00:00 -0600

A couple weeks ago I received a Dell Inspiron 6400 from a friend of mine. I was told that he used Windex directly on the screen, which dripped into the bottom of the LCD (between the screen and the housing). It now has a small, permanent “white fire” pattern on the bottom-center of the LCD screen. It appears not to be a physical effect, as I cannot see it when the laptop is off, but I can see it even when the backlight is turned off.
What should I do to fix my display?

—Jason Wesley

Check out Jason's answer, after the jump!

Leaked Images Show New 23 Inch LCD From Dell

Paul Lilly — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 09:15:42 -0600

Tech news site Engadget got the early scoop on a new Dell 23-inch LCD monitor courtesy of an anonymous tip, one in which our neighbors to the north can already purchase. Available for $419 on Dell's Canadian portal, the SP2309W widescreen display packs a pretty impressive spec sheet.

Dell's billing the monitor as an out of the box "video conferencing solution with excellent functionality and convenience," and towards that end the 23-inch LCD comes with an integrated 2.0 megapixel webcam. Other notable specs include a max resolution of 2048 x 1152, a 2ms response time, 1000:1 dynamic image contrast ratio, a 160-degree viewing angle, a 98 percent color gamut, and VGA, DVI-D, and HDMI inputs.

No word yet on when Dell plans to make the display available in the U.S.