It's a well-known fact that circuit boards and liquids don't mix, but there are more bizarre ways to break your laptop. A Massachusetts-based computer repair company has listed the top 10 ways that people deep-six their laptops--MacBooks, in particular.
Is your MacBook an accident waiting to happen?
(Credit: Apple)In many respects, a laptop is an accident waiting to happen. Often there is no more than a thin piece of plastic between the user and disaster. And Apple MacBooks are particularly vulnerable at Starbucks these days due to their increasing popularity over the standard-fare Dell laptop.
But spilling coffee on your keyboard is one of the less colorful ways to break your laptop (Apple MacBook Air owners take note: No. 7).
Computer repair company MicroReplay, which specializes in repairing Apple computers, listed the top 10 ways that consumers kill their laptops.
10. Sorry, honey, I punched the laptop: "Striking a laptop computer with a fist, even while (the laptop is) closed, will jostle the logic board and stop the computer," said Joseph Kouyoumjian, president and founder of MicroReplay. Estimated repair cost: $1,000.
9. Facebook freakout: A teenage girl discovers a picture of her boyfriend kissing another girl becomes outraged and flings her MacBook off the desk, sending it crashing onto the hardwood floor. Estimated repair cost: $475.
8. Cockpit crusher: The pilot of a commercial Airbus A320 moves his seat forward while the laptop is on the floor, crushing the case and breaking the logic board. Estimated repair cost: $800.
7. Temper Toss (a subset of the "Facebook freakout"): Thrown objects can easily break a laptop's screen. "If you receive bad news on your BlackBerry, resist the temptation to throw near your open Apple MacBook Air." Estimated repair cost: $500.
6. Hurling. "If you puke on your laptop, don't even tell the laptop computer repair company what the liquid is," notes Kouyoumjian. "If we know it's bodily fluid, we don't want it." Estimated repair cost: Fix it yourself, please.
5. Passing out drunk on your Dell laptop: Your sleeping bodyweight can bend the case, and may also ruin the screen. Estimated repair cost: $325--$500.
4. MacBook laptop as foot stool, or scale: No Laptop computer is designed to support your weight, so stepping on your laptop will almost certainly break it. Repair cost: Depends on how much you weigh....
3. Ear buds as laptop or notebook computer terrorist: "Closing your laptop with your ear buds inside will crack the screen," according to Kouyoumjian. "This kind of laptop computer repair is growing with alarming speed. It seems we love our ear buds, yet forget that they are not made of cushy foam. We see a lot of cracked screens as a result." Estimated repair cost: $440.
2. Your 5-year-old discovers gravity! Any time you drop your laptop from more than 2 feet, it can shake loose a chip or board, and break the machine. Estimated repair cost: $300.
1. Starbucks hates your keyboard: "Liquid spills on a laptop's keyboard short them out every time. Maybe it's the caffeine that makes us jittery, but so many laptops are killed by coffee there should be a warning on the paper cup." Estimated repair cost: $350 to $500, depending on the amount of time the computer was left running after the spill.
The premium pricing of Apple's Mac Mini desktop is due to its laptop lineage, according to a teardown analysis by iSuppli.
Apple Mac Mini
(Credit: Apple)Though probably not a surprise to Mac Mini connoisseurs, the diminutive desktop bears higher component costs due to its use of parts designed for mobile PCs, iSuppli said in a report released Friday. In short, inside the Mini is a virtual laptop.
The entry-level version of the new-generation Mac Mini carries a bill of materials (BOM) of $376.20, which increases to $387.14 when manufacturing costs are added, iSuppli said. The low-end model in the Mac Mini lineup is priced at $599, "reflecting the relatively thin BOM/manufacturing margins" of Apple's PCs in relation to its lower-cost consumer items, specifically the iPod line, according to iSuppli.
"Unlike most desktop computers from other brands, the Mac Mini and, indeed, Apple's entire Mac line make extensive use of components designed for notebook computers," said Andrew Rassweiler, director and principal analyst for iSuppli. "Apple knows how to make computers better, smaller, and more attractive," he said. "Such an achievement, however, comes at a premium."
This sentiment is echoed in a CNET Reviews write-up of the Mac Mini. "While we're still impressed with the Mac Mini's ability to pack so much into a tight package, Apple can't get away from its PC competitors that offer more features for less money," CNET Reviews said.
That said, mobile components abound. ... Read more
New "Nehalem" servers will anchor Intel's renewed push into cloud computing, as the chipmaker focuses on mega data centers with hundreds of thousands of servers.
Intel's cloud-computing efforts this year will be centered on a new server that uses upcoming Nehalem technology, Intel said Tuesday in a teleconference on its cloud-computing strategy. Nehalem is Intel's new chip architecture currently used only in its Core i7 desktop processors.
Mega data centers potentially mean mega-growth. The world's largest chipmaker sees between 20 percent and 25 percent of server shipments going to mega data centers by 2012. Today mega data centers represent about 10 percent of the server market, according to Intel.
And what is cloud computing to Intel? A cloud architecture aimed at mega data centers with hundreds of thousands of servers that "can be balanced automatically. Automatically resized and scaled," according to Jason Waxman, general manager of high-density computing at Intel's Server Platforms Group. "Your service is stateless: it's not the same server every time. At any point in time I'm not necessarily accessing the same server."
Intel's goal is to optimize this massive mesh of server hardware. "Optimization is key. When you're talking about hundreds of thousands of servers, every server, every watt, every network connection represents cost," he said.
Waxman said Intel will use its upcoming Nehalem silicon to spearhead its renewed push into mega data centers. "We've designed a server for a Nehalem-based board that's optimized for our cloud-computing infrastructure," said Waxman. The "Willowbrook" motherboard will be launched later this quarter, according to Waxman.
Willowbrook is designed with "very efficient voltage regulation," he said, and "we've optimized the layout of the boards" so air can flow more efficiently across the board. Waxman added that "idle power" has been reduced--a crucial metric for mega data centers. "We've been able to take out power. At idle, a standard Nehalem platform consumes 110 to 115 watts, we've been able to get it down to the sub-85 watt range," he said.
Overall, optimization and power savings boils down to cost. For a large cloud service provider, 50 percent of the total cost is the compute infrastructure--servers and storage--and 25 percent is delivering the power and cooling, he said. "75 percent of the (total cost of ownership) is computer, power, and cooling. And this is what Intel is focused on. Optimize the servers and get every watt we can out the servers."
Waxman said repeatedly that Intel is not going to be a service provider but wants to enable customers to take advantage of Intel cloud-computing technology. "We're not trying to become a service provider but we bring all this core technology and expertise together. The capability to look at a cloud and optimize it," he said.
He cited Salesforce.com, IBM, and Microsoft as service providers and added that "it's sort of a wild west frontier" as many of the more comprehensive cloud-computing service products from major companies are not in production yet.
Other technologies that Intel will roll out with Nehalem server chips include Virtual Machine Device Queues (VMDQ) that allow traffic to be queued up and aim to resolve an outstanding problem in which one virtual machine can hog all the bandwidth. Waxman also discussed the "I/O hub" technology that Intel is implementing with Nehalem. "It has a tremendous number of PCI Express Gen 2 lanes. Gen 2 for speed and more lanes--that's kind of our strategy," he said. The Peripheral Component Interconnect or PCI bus is a data path to a computer's peripheral devices such as a network card or graphics card.
Waxman also discussed a Node manager. "Within a data center, I'm trying to figure out how to use as many servers as I possibly can and one of the challenges of optimizing a cloud is how do you make sure you don't overload a server and create a server hot spot," he said. The Node manager will reside in the motherboard BIOS, he said.
The Intel Core i7 processor is being bid up at online retailers--about a week before its official launch.
Though Intel isn't slated to launch the Core i7 processor until November 17, processors are ready for order at online retailers. The Core i7 represents the vanguard of Intel's new Nehalem microarchitecture.
PC Connection is selling the 2.66GHz Intel i7-920 processor with 8MB of cache memory for $334. The sales status is currently "on order." The official pricing from Intel--its pricing will likely be updated early next week--is expected to be lower at about $285 for the 920.
Falcon Northwest's Mach V PC will use the Core i7
(Credit: Falcon Northwest)Stepping up to the i7-940, PC Mall is hawking the 2.93GHz "BOX CORE I7 940" for a pre-order price of $722. PC Connection lists it for $661. Intel's list price is expected to be approximately $560.
The higher prelaunch street prices are not surprising as this reflects pent-up demand for the product.
The high-end 3.2GHz 965 "Extreme" version of the i7 is available at various e-tailers, ranging in price from $1,090 to $1,300. Intel pricing should be just less than $1,000.
Want to get a taste of the i7's performance? CNET Reviews gushed that the Falcon Northwest Mach V tower system with a Core i7-965 is the "fastest all-around desktop we've tested to date; first PC to hit 60 frames per second on our high-resolution Crysis test; pristine build quality."
And the downside to Mach V tower? It's priced at more than $8,000.
Updatd on November 3 at 9:00 a.m. with additional information about Dell Core i7 systems.
Intel's Core i7 processor will first appear in fast gaming desktop PCs, as reviews arrive confirming its speed advantage over the Core 2 architecture.
The first comprehensive reviews hit Monday leaving little doubt that Intel's Nehalem chip architecture will greatly surpass anything Intel offers now.
Reviews cover the Core i7-965 Extreme Edition used with Intel's "SmackOver" motherboard, aka the DX58SO Extreme.
Core i7 processors expected to launch later this month include 2.66GHz (Core i7-920) and 3.20GHz (Core i7-965) versions. Prices will range roughly between $285 and just under $1,000.
Dell said Monday it is expecting to launch four desktops that include the new Core i7 Intel processor technology. These desktops will range in price depending on the accompanying technology, starting at $949. Timing will be tied to Intel's official launch of Core i7.
Other PC makers expected to bring out boxes include Gateway and Hewlett-Packard.
What is Nehalem/Core i7 exactly? The architecture will scale from two to eight processor cores, have faster chip-to-chip communication (Intel calls this technology QuickPath), do a better job of adjusting performance levels to suit power needs, and have a higher level of integration (more logic will be built directly onto the processor die).
Other salient features include more scalable memory (each processor will have its own dedicated memory), the ability to do more stuff simultaneously (up to 16 threads with simultaneous multi-threading), and new instructions to increase efficiency (called SSE4.2 instructions).
And who's going to buy i7 systems initially? Here's what CNET Reviews editor Rich Brown says: "We don't expect mainstream users will adopt Core i7...at first, at least until the motherboard prices come down."
Brown continues: "In the short term, it will benefit gamers and digital media types. The initial systems will be gaming oriented." (See these ExtremeTech gaming benchmarks.)
"We ran our own tests and found the flagship $999 Core i7-965 Extreme chip is the new fastest game in town," CNET Reviews said.
The i7 identifier will apply to the first crop of high-end desktop processors. Other identifiers will come later that will complement the i7. There will be a separate black logo for the highest-end offering called the Extreme Edition. Model numbers will differentiate each chip.
Updated on October 24 at 10:20 a.m. with corrected image of Intel laminar jet technology.
Intel wants a laptop to live up to its name.
A computer that sits comfortably, coolly on your lap. The world's largest chipmaker expects a crush of ultrathin laptops from PC makers in 2009 and unveiled cooling technology this week to make sure these svelte air-flow constrained designs stay cool.
To date, cooling technology has focused on keeping the internal components from getting too hot but not the outside of the computer, according to Mooly Eden, general manager of Intel's Mobile Platforms Group, speaking at the Intel Developer Forum in Taipei this week. Eden's keynote was streamed from the event.
Intel uses laminar jet technology to cool a laptop's skin (corrected image)
(Credit: Intel)"When you design a very thin system, cooling the skin is a very big challenge," said Eden. "If you put (a laptop) on your lap, it can feel very uncomfortable. Very hot." This is one of the biggest hurdles to designing an ultrathin laptop like the MacBook Air or HP Voodoo Envy 133.
If this problem isn't solved, laptops "can't be made thinner and thinner," he said.
Eden showed an animation of a jet engine to prove his point. The inside of a jet engine can get as hot as 1,000 degrees centigrade. But the jet engine's wall must be kept cool because it is connected to the wing where the fuel is. To keep the engine heat away from the wing, laminar air flow cooling is used.
A laminar flow occurs when a fluid--or air in this case--flows in parallel layers.
Intel demonstrated a system using the same laminar air flow technology to move the heat off a laptop's skin. "We are licensing it to our customers so they can keep making thinner and thinner laptops," Eden said.
Intel demonstrated laminar jet cooling at IDF.
(Credit: Intel)Intel also revisited the next-generation Calpella laptop platform (due in the second half of 2009) based on its Nehalem technology. Eden reiterated that the graphics and memory controller would be integrated onto the same piece of silicon as the processor.
He also discussed how additional transistors in Nehalem can switch cores on and off, depending on how processor-intensive the application is. This will be critical in a quad-core Calpella laptop to deliver acceptable battery life. (Eden intimated that Calpella quad-core laptops would be common.)
For instance, three of the cores can be shut down to save power when the user is doing tasks that don't require a lot of compute power. Then more cores can be turned on depending on the need.
This is done "automatically on the fly. It is transparent to the operating system," Eden said.
He also talked about "Hyperthreading" or simultaneous multithreading on Nehalem--the ability to run two program threads simultaneously per each core, doubling the number of threads and, Intel claims, obviating the need for eight cores. "We could have done eight cores. We know how to do it. But it would have been too hot," he said.
Eden showed a concept Calpella laptop on stage during his IDF keynote speech.
Does Intel vPro ring any bells? Not for most people. The newest version of vPro software and accompanying Intel hardware introduced Monday won't command the attention paid to an Intel processor rollout.
Understandable because vPro is an under-the-hood, non-performance-driven technology that falls off many PC users' radar screens. In essence, vPro allows PCs to be fixed and maintained remotely, potentially saving businesses money because they don't incur the cost of IT staffing levels necessary if maintenance was done at each PC on site.
For example, a feature called Remote Alert will "call" IT on its own if the PC is experiencing problems "outside preset parameters," Intel said.
And for small businesses which may need immediate help with PC problems, Intel introduced Remote PC Assist Technology that connects businesses with service providers. After the business user enters a key sequence, the service providers can use vPro to solve problems.
Intel says this is also good for the service provider, allowing broader access to customers. Initially, Intel Remote PC Assist will be available in North America.
One of vPro's marquee features is the ability to access a computer even if it has been turned off. This can be done on either a wired or a secure wireless network. And laptops outside the company firewall can be accessed with the newest versions of software and hardware, according to Intel.
Intel, of course, is a chipmaker and so there is plenty of silicon that goes along with the package. The third-generation vPro suite (formerly code-named McCreary) uses Core 2 quad-core or dual-core processors in combination with Q45 Express Chipset, the 82567LM Gigabit Network Connection, and Intel Active Management technology 5.0. Mobile chipsets, such as the GM, PM, and GS Express chipsets also support vPro.
Intel also introduced two motherboards Monday supporting all of the new Intel vPro features. Aimed at channel customers, the DQ45CB is for standard-sized PCs and the DQ45EK is for small-form-factor systems.
Advanced Micro Devices on Wednesday announced the availability of silicon targeted at the "performance" gaming community.
The new 790GX chipset is slotted below the existing, higher-end 790FX, which is targeted at the ultra-enthusiast game segment.
The 790GX allows gamers to safely run Phenom-processor-based systems at speeds of more than 3.0GHz using a technology AMD calls "Advanced Clock Calibration." A processor rated at 2.5GHz, for example, can be "overclocked" to run at 3.2GHz to get better performance in games.
AMD Advanced Clock Calibration boosts processor clock speed
(Credit: AMD)"Significant tuning enhancements via Advanced Clock Calibration...introduced with the AMD 790GX make it the best platform for unlocking maximum AMD Phenom processor performance," AMD said in a statement.
AMD has enhanced the part of the chipset called the southbridge to achieve this extra performance.
"Performance cache" memory technology, which places a discrete memory chip on the motherboard, boosts video performance, the company said.
The 790GX chipset integrates an ATI Radeon HD 3300 graphics processor but can also scale up to high-end ATI Radeon HD 4800 series graphics cards, AMD said.
Major system makers such as Asus, Foxconn, and Gigabyte Technology are supporting the 790GX. "We share AMD's commitment to raise the performance bar," Asus said in a statement.
A high-end motherboard built around the 790GX combined with a quad-core X4 9850 2.5-GHz Phenom processor is priced at $355. By comparison, a motherboard based on Intel's P45 chipset with an Intel quad-core Q9300 (2.5GHz) is about $90 more, AMD claims.
Update at July 15, 3:00 a.m. PDT with additional information and corrections concerning the Intel-Nvidia dispute.
Nvidia said Monday that its multichip technology will be architected to work on Intel's upcoming Nehalem chip platform.
Nvidia SLI technology supports multiple graphics boards.
(Credit: Nvidia)This announcement may help Nvidia to work around a standoff with Intel over whether Nvidia can make chipsets that work with Intel's next-generation Nehalem platform, due later this year. And also demonstrates that despite Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang' s rhetoric, Nvidia must cooperate with Intel in order to thrive.
Monday's announcement has no relation to separate licensing negotiations, according to sources familiar with the discussions. In other words, Nvidia is not announcing a chipset for Nehalem--which would require a license. It is simply a statement that Nvidia will support Nehalem with its nForce 200 Scalable Link Interconnect (SLI) chip.
However, some reports say Nvidia has reached an agreement with Intel to license Intel's Quick Path Interconnect (QPI) technology, paving the way for Nvidia to design chipsets for Nehalem.
The nForce 200 chip will work with Intel's "Bloomfield" line of Nehalem processors and the accompanying Intel chipset. SLI allows Nvidia to use multiple graphics boards in one system.
Upcoming SLI motherboards will use Nvidia nForce 200 SLI silicon, Intel Bloomfield processors, and Intel Tylersburg (X58) chipsets, Nvidia said in a statement.
"The nForce 200 SLI processor features patented SLI technology for graphics bandwidth management and multi-GPU peer-to-peer communications, both required to optimize graphics performance," Nvidia said. GPU stands for graphics processing unit.
Future systems "can be powered by one, two, or even three Nvidia GeForce GPUs, including the new...GeForce GTX 280 and GTX 260 GPUs," according to Nvidia.
Nvidia included statements from system suppliers in the Monday release. "It's great to see that Nvidia opted to enable SLI on the future Intel Bloomfield platform," said Rahul Sood, CTO Voodoo Business Unit, HP. "Make love not war I say...and Nvidia's (enabling) of Intel chipsets to support SLI will make our jobs much easier."
Nvidia claims that nForce 200 SLI silicon with Intel's new Bloomfield processor and Tylersburg chipset core logic chipset will deliver up to a 2.8X performance boost over traditional single graphics card platforms.
Motherboards and PC systems that will use the Nvidia nForce 200 SLI chip, Nvidia GeForce GPUs, and Nvidia SLI technology will be available from companies such as Acer, ASUS, Dell, Falcon Northwest, Legend, and Velocity Micro.
Nvidia has posted a video that involves the new GTX 280 chip, overclocking, lots of liquid nitrogen, and the Nvidia labs. Oh, and no quad-core processor. Get the point?
Nvidia NForce 790i Ultra SLI motherboard
(Credit: Nvidia)"A lot of people believe you need an Intel quad-core or Intel quad-core Extreme to build an extreme PC," says the post by "Steffee" on the Nvidia Web site. "Today I'm going to build a gaming PC using the Intel Core 2 Duo. That's duo. Got that? Duo, two cores."
I think the point the blogger is trying to make is that the test system has only has two cores, though I could be mistaken.
Here's an excerpt from the blog: "Think you need a quad-core CPU for an extreme gaming PC with impressive 3DMark Vantage numbers and gaming performance?...I overclocked and hyper-cooled an SLI gaming rig using two of our latest and greatest GPUs--GeForce GTX 280...and a sub-$200 CPU."
Intel, of course, has a different take on this. "Most of what people do today with their computers requires powerful processors. Examples of processor-intensive applications include: creating content, viewing/editing high definition video, using social media sites, office tools, downloading music, and editing photos," Intel said in a statement.
In the test, the blogger uses an NForce 790i Ultra SLI motherboard, Intel core 2 duo E8400, in addition to the GTX 280 graphics card.
With the single GTX 280 board, the score is a 3DMark Vantage "X4796."
Then the blogger (an Nvidia employee) takes a hike to the Nvidia lab. "Now we're going to take a field trip to Nvidia labs to do some serious overclocking," she says. After adding what seems to be prodigious amounts of liquid nitrogen and adding another GTX 280 SLI board, the 3DMark score jumps to "X10,282."
Intel could respond (which it hasn't) by saying that the E8400 is not a slow processor: it runs at 3.0GHZ and has 6MB of cache. And overclocked with liquid nitrogen, it would probably get some pretty good scores too. And then, of course, it might be simpler to just get a quad-core Extreme CPU.
In the test, the Nvida GTX 280 core clock was overclocked to 727MHz and the shader to 1458MHz. The core clock is normally 602MHz and the shader clock 1296MHz.
System specifications:
--2× NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 graphics cards running in SLI nForce 790i Ultra SLI motherboard
--Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 CPU
--4 GB SLI-ready Corsair DDR3 memory
--PC Power and Cooling TurboCool 1200W power supply
--Windows Vista 32-bit operating system
