The original ASRock Vision 3D is acknowledged to be one of the best small form factor HTPCs available. It was a reasonably specced machine for its time, but a page was recently discovered on the ASRock site that points to the second generation Vision with spiffy new Intel Sandy Bridge CPUs.
While the more leisure-loving among us were roasting weenies over Labor Day weekend, the folks at Intel were busy rolling up their sleeves and going to work. The company revealed a whopping 16 new Sandy Bridge processors over the weekend; five mobile chips and 11 desktop-ready models. That includes couple of Core i3 and i5 chips and a handful of Pentium and Celeron offerings. The big news, though, is the price. The sub-$100 cost of most of the models probably means that Intel’s well aware of the value-priced appeal of AMD’s entry level Llano chips. on.
Intel is getting ready to reduce the price of several mid-range and lower end Sandy Bridge processors, including a Core i3 chip, a handful of Core i5 CPUs, and a couple of Pentium chips. Most of the price cuts will take place next month, followed by three more in October. With that in mind, should you build now or wait for the price cuts? Here's why you should go ahead an pull the trigger now.
Ultrabooks are turning out to be a test of metal, er, mettle for PC vendors. Conceived by Intel and expected to begin populating store shelves later this year, ultrabooks have among their defining characteristics: a full-voltage processor, a thickness cap of 0.8 inches, and a sub-$1,000 price tag. But, as PC vendors are fast learning, making an ultrabook is easier said than done.
The x86 market isn’t in jeopardy by any stretch of the imagination, but Intel has seen the future, and mobile is where the moneys at. As tablets based on the arm architecture slowly evolve into convertible PC’s, Intel knows it will need to make laptops that are even more compelling if it’s going to survive the long haul. We know the Ultrabook is one of Intel’s most important strategies going forward, however in a 
Netbook sales have pretty much fallen off a cliff compared to this time last year, and Intel appears to be gearing up to drive another nail in the coffin. New Sub-$400 notebooks have begun appearing on Best Buy’s website, and they are actually pretty compelling. These cheap and cheerful little machines are rocking new stripped down Sandy Bridge parts that put last generation Atom chips to shame. 
Ever since Intel laid to rest it's Netburst architecture, AMD has only been able to look back and reminisce about a time when the Sunnyvale chip maker held the performance crown the way a washed up athlete remembers his days as an all-star on the high school football team. We're not saying AMD is washed up by any means, it just hasn't been able to dominate the benchmarks chart. The company's upcoming Bulldozer could change all that, especially if leaked benchmarks turn out to be legit.
IHS iSuppli on Thursday published a report about the state of the global microprocessor business in the first quarter. For all you sticklers for terseness, the entire report can be summed up in these five words: Intel can do no wrong! It’s not that it never puts a foot wrong, but its stature allows it to get away with it even when it does. During the first quarter, the world’s premier chip maker successfully overcame a massive chipset recall to further extend its lead over rival AMD. Hit the jump for more.
Last month we reviewed Samsung’s Series 9 ultraportable notebook and found that, while it offered an exceedingly svelte and fashionable form factor, there was a performance trade-off to all that stylishness. Lenovo’s 13-inch ThinkPad X1 represents a completely different approach to ultraportability.
-
Technology
Entertainment
-
Music
-
Creative
Sport & Auto
- About Future
- Jobs
- News
- Advertising
- Digital Future
- Privacy Policy
- Cookies Policy
- Terms & Conditions
- Shop
- Investor Relations
- Contact Future
© Future US, Inc. 4000 Shoreline Court, Suite 400, South San Francisco, California, 94080. All Rights Reserved.