intel

Keep in mind that the following benchmark results feature systems, not isolated CPU scores, and have a look at our test scores for the new ABS Ultimate X Striker Elite, which features Intel's newly announced 2.93GHz Core 2 Extreme QX6800 quad-core chip. It might not look like it at first, but the system actually did very well on our tests compared to other high-end desktops.

The reason the ABS doesn't sit higher on our charts is because the other systems either a) have an older 2.66GHz Core 2 Extreme QX6700 overclocked to 3.2GHz, b) run … Read more

Intel isn't giving up on the ultramobile PC (UMPC) concept. According to a couple PowerPoint slides at HKEPC.com, Intel is set to release new processors and chipsets for UMPCs on April 18 at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in Beijing. The new platform, dubbed McCaslin, will shrink the size of the CPU and chipsets, which should allow room for more features and better battery life.

Space is at a premium on UMPCs. Intel's current CPU and north and south bridge chipsets take up a total of 2915mm squared. The McCaslin platform will occupy roughly a third of … Read more

Intel may have been around for only half as long as Ferrari, but that doesn't mean it can't pull out the stops for its own special-edition creation. And what better way to celebrate the birth of a California company than with a commemorative motorcycle?

Gizmowatch says the chipmaking pioneer has created two custom motorbikes--one in real nuts and bolts, the other virtually for Second Life. The brick-and-mortar version, not surprisingly, showcases various examples of Intel's embedded technologies, including an automated dashboard that doubles as a PC and video screens instead of rear-view mirrors. It's also … Read more

Marketing jargon comes and goes, but one bit of clever sticker-ware that's scored big with the public is Intel's Centrino platform. Laptops bearing the Centrino sticker (introduced in 2003) basically combine a specified combination of CPU, chipset, and wireless network interface, and promise a seamless online experience and better battery life.

The latest update, announced today by Intel, is the Centrino Pro. Previously code-named Santa Rosa, laptops bearing the Centrino Pro sticker must have, among other things, a new T7000-series dual-core CPU, 802.11n support, and a GM965 chipset.

With users demanding more and more from their laptops, … Read more

In the course of writing this week's CPU Roadmap feature (detailing what Intel and AMD will be up to in the next few years), we had a chance to solve the mystery of the Pentium Dual Core T2060 processor, which kept showing up in advertisements and options lists for budget laptops. See, the Pentium brand was supposedly retired with the announcement of Core processors in early 2006. A quick search of Intel's product page reveals no dual-core Pentium. To make matters more confusing, it has what looks like a Core Duo model number. What?

So we put on … Read more

You thought that an Apple strategy to attract gamers was nonexistent. A certain ad appearing on Apple's U.K. site last night seems to indicate otherwise.

The site had an ad for a Mac Pro that stated: "Now quad-core or 8-core processing power. Configure yours today."

Don't bother checking out the U.K. Apple site. The ad is no longer there, but here is a screen shot thanks to our friends over at ZDNet. They managed a screen capture before it was taken down.

When asked whether a dual quad-core processor for a Mac Pro was … Read more

Flash memory isn't just for cell phones anymore. Flash drives are moving up into PCs and servers, and Intel wants to get in on the action with a new drive.

The company formally launched the Intel Z-U130 Value Solid-State Drive (just rolls right off the tongue) on Monday, promising to deliver the drives to PC and server companies as either replacement hard drives or performance enhancers. These drives aren't going to be replacing your hard drive in most situations--at least for now--but could provide a more reliable low-cost way of storing infomation in PCs for emerging markets, said … Read more

Performance testing might not be the first thing you think of when you read product reviews, but it often plays an important role in helping to evaluate how some products stand up against their competition. CNET Labs takes performance testing very seriously, and it's sometimes a lot more difficult than you might think... When we encounter testing problems in the lab, we often turn first to the manufacturers to help us troubleshoot the issue. We like to give the vendors the opportunity to address the issues and offer explanations or solutions, in part to make sure we're not … Read more

At this afternoon's Windows Vista launch luncheon in New York, members of an expert panel, including Dell CEO Kevin Rollins, AMD CEO Hector Ruiz, and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, waxed poetic about the new operating system and generally patted each other on the back.

More interesting to laptop enthusiasts was the slide show that opened the event, during which Vista's hardware partners were represented almost exclusively through laptops. In quick succession, we saw plugs for the first two Windows Vista laptops we reviewed, the HP Pavilion tx1000 and the Toshiba Portege R400 (both convertible tablets, interestingly enough), along … Read more