sandy

Nvidia CEO: 'No disruption' on Sandy Bridge chip

Nvidia's CEO said his company has seen no disruption in schedules to deliver Sandy Bridge-based products to customers. His comments came during Nvidia's earnings conference call yesterday.

In response to an analyst's question about the Sandy Bridge chipset delay, Chief Executive Jen-Hsun Huang said Nvidia has "not experienced a disruption so far. [Intel] paused, but I think Intel is doing quite a good job of helping everyone cover," he added.

Huang also addressed Intel's Sandy Bridge graphics silicon--which is built into the main Sandy Bridge processor--versus Nvidia's higher-octane chips.

"The PC industry … Read more

Toshiba adds Sandy Bridge to the Portege R800

Sandy Bridge processors in laptops still haven't been seen yet, but we can start putting together a wish list of laptops we'd most like to see with the updated Intel Core i-series CPUs. The Toshiba Portege R instantly rises to the top of that list. The Portege R705 was one of our top-rated laptops of 2010, and at MWC in Barcelona, Spain, Toshiba has unveiled the next generation of these laptops, the R800 series.

The Portege R830, as it's being called in Europe, corresponds directly with the 13-inch R700 line we loved so much. The big changes come under the hood: the Sandy Bridge CPUs should add greatly improved integrated graphics, a missing feature in the R700 line. In addition, a newly engineered air-flow cooling system detailed by Toshiba could help run operations with a little less heat. … Read more

AMD takes a Valentine's Day swipe at Intel

Update: AMD adds some additional V-day fun with chocolate processors. See below for details.

Any holiday is an excuse for tech companies to send out little reminders to those likely to write about them, and Valentine's Day is no exception.

During the first half of today, only one V-day swag package arrived, and that was a box of Mortal Kombat candy, encased in an edible chocolate box. This was shortly followed by a somewhat more mysterious package--a single rose, wrapped in paper, hand-delivered from a local florist.

Except, this rose seemed a bit off. It was dark red, almost black, and had an odd scent. A dead rose? A poisoned flower? The only clue to its origin, a note quoting Edgar Allan Poe. Clearly some sort of teaser item for a video game, but off the top of my head, I'm not sure which one. Also--a dead rose is terrible for Valentine's Day regifting.

Finally, the guys at AMD joined the party with a ceramic mug with an I [heart] APU logo, touting the combo CPU/GPU platform known as Fusion, and currently found in laptops such as the HP Pavilion dm1.

What really made this worth mentioning was the snarky note that accompanied it. It reads:

Dear Dan, I heard that Sandy B. broke your heart and wanted to let you know that I'm here for you. Oh, and I have a cousin from Llano, Texas I'd like to introduce you to soon--I think you two will really hit it off!

XOXO, AMD Fusion APU

… Read more

How fast will Apple move MacBooks to latest chips?

So, here's the question: In the wake of Intel's disclosure that it will resume regular shipments of its "Sandy Bridge" silicon, how fast will Apple move the MacBook to the latest Intel chips?

MacBook Pros: It's a pretty safe bet that Apple will upgrade 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pros to Sandy Bridge--announced in January--sooner rather than later. Last year, Apple adopted the Core i5 and i7 processors for the 15-inch and 17-inch Pros in April: amounting to little more than a three month wait after the chips were introduced in early 2010. The Sandy Bridge … Read more

MacBook Air 'Sandy Bridge' update expected in June

Apple is targeting a MacBook Air update for this summer that will include a move to Intel's Sandy Bridge processors, CNET has learned.

Initial shipments of Intel's Sandy Bridge processor were snafued on January 31 by a minor glitch in the accompanying chipset, though the chipmaker will resume shipments of fixed chipsets as early as mid-month. The Sandy Bridge processor itself is not affected.

The MacBook Air refresh is expected in June, according to a source familiar with Apple's plans.

An Apple representative declined to comment on the company's Sandy Bridge plans.

A Sandy Bridge processor … Read more

How do they game? Intel Sandy Bridge and AMD Fusion graphics, overview

Both Intel and AMD, the two main companies that make the vast majority of computer processors, have new platforms for 2011. AMD's Fusion and Intel's second-generation Core i-series (formerly code-named Sandy Bridge) share a common goal: to package improved integrated graphics on the chipset that work much better than the previous generation, making it possible to play better games and stream more HD content without the need for a dedicated video card.

For most people, computers with integrated graphics are the default, because they cost less. Unless you're a serious tech enthusiast, you don't want to … Read more

Kyocera Echo; Sandy Bridge fixed

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

Kyocera sees double

Facebook is replacing Craigslist for prostitute recruitment and matchmaking

Fixed Sandy Bridge chipsets will ship in mid-February

Win $10,000 in this Internet video safety contest

White House proposes new copying rules

Facebook firing case will settle

Rumor: MacBook Pro refresh set for March

New editions of Apple's MacBook Pro notebooks may be hitting Best Buy next month, according to screenshots of an inventory report apparently obtained by Apple enthusiast site 9to5Mac.

The alleged inventory report shows that Best Buy has created a dummy SKU for a mobile Apple computer set for release on March 11.

Based on the retailer's report, the machine will cost $1,199. Since that's the cost of the current 13-inch MacBook Pro, it may be a tipoff that prices could remain the same for the refreshed models.

These latest tidbits follow reports late last month from … Read more

HP's Pavilion laptop line gets a makeover

At January's CES show in Las Vegas, leading PC maker HP had a suspiciously thin collection of laptops, headlined by the 11-inch HP Pavilion dm1. But, we asked, where were the new designs and features we expect from HP at least every year or so?

It turns out HP still had a few tricks up its sleeve, and today the company is announcing a redesigned Pavilion dv line with new looks and new features, most notably in the updated Pavilion dv6 and dv7 models.

Depending on one's tolerance for marketing banter, it may be of interest to know that this redesign is part of HP's internal MUSE program, which is described as a design philosophy involving "materials, usability, sensory appeal, and experience."

The new Pavilion dv6 and dv7 come in a dark umber metal finish, and look a bit more like the high-end Envy laptops than before. They also add the Beats Audio software from the Envy line, coupled with new quad speakers, and the larger dv7 also has a subwoofer on the bottom panel.

HP's CoolSense technology makes an appearance--that's an app for manually controlling the system's fans that has been slowly making its way into more and more HP laptops (although we're still not sure what the optimal setting for this are, the options are basically "cooler" or "quieter," with no explanation of why you'd want one over the other). … Read more