Tired of desperately searching for a powerful yet svelte laptop to carry with you on life’s journeys while still getting 5+ hours of battery life? Currently the two words “powerful” and “runtime” don’t go together. To have one you must sacrifice the other. But Intel has something up their sleeve…
To most, Intel’s latest 32-nm Arrandale processors are the glean in our eyes. They promise increased speeds, more cores, better integrated graphics, and an overall smaller energy footprint. So why would anyone not want to incorporate such a chip? Of all the companies and manufacturers that come to mind, does it surprise you that Apple may have a problem? You see, the big deal with Arrandale is the greatly increased integrated graphics. Apple themselves have been researching as of late into their own graphics solutions, looking to distance themselves from 3rd parties such as Nvidia. Moving away from 3rd party reliance isn’t entirely new as rumors have circulated in the recent past of Apple researching the world of mobile processors to include in their iPhone platform among other ventures…
Shocker! 6 cores are better than 4 with the up and coming top dog Core i7 chips performing roughly 50% faster on complex, optimized programs. I can already see you drooling, thinking out loud: “The Core i7 is just becoming mainstream and we’re already talking about it’s replacement?” Such is the world we live in folks, it never stops. But apart from constantly evolving “top dogs”, I have to say that the Core i9 power advantage is compelling to shell out extra for it. It won’t come cheap, though prices haven’t been officially loosed just yet. Another strike against the newcomer is it’s insatiable thirst for those cute little electrons — 130W continuous to be exact. It may not sound like much, but compared to the Core i7′s 95W power draw, 130 seems veracious. Even still, 6 cores of fury all packed into one small sliver of silicon is uber cool…
Results above are in 64-bit mode
When the new iMac’s were announced a couple months back, I like many of you were awestruck. The form was somehow even more delicious than previous generations with upgraded hardware that left me wanting two. Unfortunately for those who were ready to throw down cash on the spot for a new Core i7 beast, a November shipping date put a temporary block on the speed party. Well, it’s November and said units are now shipping with benchmarks starting to trickle in. What’s the initial consensus? The 27″ Core i7 iMac is the best $200 (for an upgrade — $2199 overall) ever spent.
Benchmarks for the Core 2 Duo iMac’s have been around since the announcement of the new machines, but the Core 2′s while fast, are old news. I already assumed performance upgrades via the Core 2 would be barely noticeable. After seeing early reviews of those units, I can honestly say I was right. The main reason to get a 27″ iMac with the stock Core 2 was simply for the price. But then the Core i5 came along brining quad-core goodness. And boy was it fast, much faster than the Core 2 models — but the Core i7 is faster.
How much faster? Chances are I probably lost you waaaay back at the beginning with the graph image above. But just in case you managed to make it past, the Core i7 iMac’s are a full 35% faster than even the Core i5 models. The sweetest part of all is that the speed increase can be had for a paltry $200! That’s a steal. Seriously. Looking at the benchmarks above and comparing them to Geekbench results of the latest Mac Pros shows that the new i7 iMac’s are extremely close in comparison. Justifying a Mac Pro just become a tad harder…didn’t it?
Simple operation is the goal of many smartphone manufacturers and mobile OS developers. The easier and more straightforward you can make your device the better. But sometimes you just want to get your hands dirty or tweak your device a bit. For BlackBerry users longing for such control, they have a new solution in “Task Manager”.
Even in the free model, users have access to Applications, Performance, and System Info. The first three tabs give you some insightful insider knowledge on the inner workings of your Berry. But there’s more to be had. Ponying up $1.99 for the premium version nets you the Process tab in addition to the other three which goes even further allowing you to see each individual processes resources as well as process ID — perfect for the multi-tasking Crackberry users who truly flog their device day in and day out.
The new Berries come with plenty of power underneath the hood but with the demands we place on them, they too can become bogged down at times. Having a powerful task manager is ideal for making the most of your mobile experience. I just downloaded Advanced Task Killer for my DROID and already love it. Having a Task Manager that allows you to fully control your device is a godsend. For only $1.99, Task Manager for BlackBerry should be on every Berry. Yes, even yours.
While the “Vista Capable” logo and moniker were nothing short of a joke and outright crime towards humanity, the announcement today featuring details of a revised and lengthened testing program for Win7 testing mean the resulting hardware should actually be…well…capable of running said software. To date, 6,000+ hardware hopefuls have made the cut meaning just about any desktop or laptop you choose will be good to go when the time comes to make the 7 switch. With one of the Win7 labels even bringing 64-bit support under it’s wings, you can be rest assured that uselessness that is the Atom processor will be no where in sight. That is until Intel lets loose their next gen Pineview processors, which bring with them officially supported, Win7 capable Atom processors. Oh joy.
The processor race and its ever ongoing back and forth tussle between AMD and Intel is about to get a new addition sure to bring many more heated battles. Following on the heels of AMD’s server based 6-core processors, the consumer market is next in AMD’s crosshairs with the company’s announcement of a 6-core party starter unleashing number crunching madness on the consumer market come 2010. The new hotness will come with the “Thuban” moniker attached. Weird names I know but it is what it is folks. Usually, such new fangled tech means leaving older, loved, and used components and systems behind. Not so says AMD as the Thuban 6 barrel blaster will fully backwards compatible with AM3 and AM2+ motherboards. *Joy* As far as the dirty specs go, Thuban will feature:
AMD hasn’t confirmed it yet, but there is a high possibility the 6-core Thuban’s will take on the more consumer friendly name of “Phenom II X6″. Is your custom rig looking like it needs a tune up come next year? Balls in your court Intel…
Love trees, saving energy, and hugging cute furry critters? Intel’s shift towards 32nm processors should help you in that quest. If you didn’t know, the big hype around Intel’s move to smaller 32nm processors will mean increased efficiency which in turn will provide better battery life ending up with the previously mentioned results. Most people won’t ever notice a difference or know that the computer they buy in the not too distant future packs a smaller yet ever increaasingly potent processor inside. As we look on after Intel has spent several years and upwards of $7 billion, the geeks in all of us can start counting down the days until these new chips enter the mass market while still feeling a bit of nostalgia creeping up inside over the 45nm processors that have become close friends these last few years. With a sign of the future in sight, Lynnfield and 45nm processors just became a lot less desirable eh?
Source: Engadget, Image Source
Boredom is nuisance to each and every human that has stood the test of time. Wherever we go, whatever we do, it is always there, waiting, ready to pounce on our being and envelope us wishing we were anywhere else/doing anything else than whatever it was at that particular time. If you’re like many, you would simply groan, complain, or outright just start hating life. However, if you’re like this fine gentlemen, Steve Chamberlin, you would take all of that pent up boredom and energy just waiting to be released and channel it into a hobby – in Steve’s case, building a processor…from wires.
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