sandy

Intel has discovered a design flaw related to its new Sandy Bridge chip, the company said today.

The flaw has forced the chipmaker to stop shipments of a chipset, though Intel also announced that it has a design fix in place. Intel expects the cost of repair and replacement to be around $700 million, forcing it to cut its sales forecast for the first quarter by $300 million.

Prior to the announcement, trading of Intel's stock was halted on the New York Stock Exchange for about 25 minutes. Since trading resumed around 7:20 a.m. PT, investor reaction … Read more

One of the most common reader questions we get is something along these lines: "I'm thinking of buying a Brand X laptop. Should I buy it now, or is some big update right around the corner?" A typical variation is: "I want to buy a MacBook, but I hear a rumor that new models are coming soon. Should I wait?"

Recently, many of these questions have been about 13-inch laptops, the only screen size important enough to essentially stand alone as its own category. The reason is pure practicality. A 13-inch laptop (a category some call thin-and-light, but we simply call 13-inch) sits smack in the middle between mainstream laptops that are designed to sit on your desk all day and ultraportable laptops that are meant for on-the-go use.

Put another way, a 13-inch laptop is the largest size we'd consider carrying around several days per week, and also the smallest size we'd be able to use for a full day of desktop computing. That's likely one of the reasons the 13-inch Apple MacBook became so popular: it was a laptop that could serve double duty at home and on the go.

To answer the second reader question first, there have been some rumors lately of new MacBooks, and some kind of springtime design update or refresh of internal components isn't out of the question (the basic look of the aluminum MacBook has remained essentially unchanged for a few years). That said, the "new MacBooks are coming" narrative is a bit evergreen. One could get away with writing some variation on that story just by throwing a dart at a wall calendar. We're never that far away from a refresh or update of some kind. … Read more

Apple may be preparing to update its high-end line of laptop computers as supplies of its MacBook Pros continue to tighten at retail locations.

Citing unnamed sources, MacRumors on Wednesday said retailers are running low on stock of Apple's MacBook Pro computers. The report specifically notes shortages in the 15-inch and 17-inch models.

"At least one major retail chain has reportedly notified its branches that it has been unable to fulfill replenishment orders," writes Eric Slivka for MacRumors.

While a shortage in supply in itself isn't necessarily an indication of new products, Apple history shows when … Read more

Intel's perplexing "innovation" endeavors notwithstanding, it does make, lest we forget, the world's fastest PC processors. Namely, Sandy Bridge. Systems using the freshly-minted chip are now widely available from top-tier vendors--but they're at the very high end of the pricing spectrum.

Hewlett-Packard and Toshiba serve as arguably the best examples of Sandy Bridge systems. Let's start with Toshiba's Qosmio X500-Q930S, which uses the Sandy Bridge i7-2630QM quad-core processor. That chip is rated at 2GHz but can automatically overclock--what Intel calls "Turbo Boost"--to 2.9GHz.

If Intel's most advanced quad-core … Read more

Low-power versions of Intel's latest and greatest "Sandy Bridge" processors are populating the chipmaker's database, giving a pretty clear view of the chips small MacBooks will use in the future.

Small, in this case, could be anything from a future 13-inch MacBook Pro (currently 4.5 pounds, 0.95 inches thick) to an updated MacBook Air (currently no more than 2.9 pounds and 0.11 to 0.68 inches thick)--the latter expected in the summer timeframe.

The "launch date" for the low-power chips highlighted in the graphic below is listed in Intel'… Read more

Much has been made of the latest generation of Intel CPUs, previously dubbed "Sandy Bridge." Post-announcement, the chips are now known as the second generation of Intel's Core i-series processors, and use the same Core i3/i5/i7 names as the 2010 versions.

But under the hood, much has changed. As we reported from CES, "highlights of the second-generation Core processors, built around a new 32nm microarchitecture, include more energy-efficient performance and improved 3D and graphics performance. Intel claims that with this new generation of CPUs, content creation is up to 42 percent faster and gaming up to 50 percent faster than with previous generations."

The CNET Labs team has been benchmarking a test laptop provided by Intel. Known as a white-box system, this is a generic laptop loaded with the 2.3GHz Intel Core i7-2820QM, one of the higher-end new Intel CPUs. As a custom-built laptop with a quad-core CPU and solid-state hard drive, this system might be what one would call a ringer, and you won't find this specific build for sale anywhere. (For laptops more likely to end up on store shelves in the near future, check out our collection of the coolest laptops of CES 2011.)

Naturally, Intel has provided a list of suggested benchmark tests and workloads, all designed to show off the new Sandy Bridge components in the best light. Instead, we've run CNET's standard laptop benchmark tests, including our grueling battery drain test (the bane of PC makers around the world). Despite not using Intel's suggested applications and tests, the Sandy Bridge white-box laptop performed very well, even when up against the slate of recent high-end laptops we compared it with.

The charts below outline how the new Core i7-2820QM system did when up against current-gen Core i7 laptops, including HP's Envy 17 and Toshiba's Qosmio X505. In our single-app tests, the new quad-core Core i7 performed excellently, winning in some of the tests by a wide margin. … Read more

LAS VEGAS--While the Lenovo IdeaCentre B320 doesn't offer quite as many entertainment features as the larger, more expensive IdeaCentre B520, the 21.5-inch B320 offers a more specialized take, focusing on enabling you to watch TV content on your PC.

The B320 comes with a TV tuner, which isn't particularly innovative, but it also supports a feature Lenovo is calling Hardware TV. Essentially it allows you to watch TV on your all-in-one without having to boot the system up first.

You get the same features you normally expect from a TV tuner-equipped PC, including recording and picture-in-picture (PIP) … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Lenovo just demonstrated a sharp-looking, powerful new home entertainment-oriented all-in-one PC for us, and while it wasn't the most seamless presentation we've ever seen, the IdeaCentre B520 has potential. The 23.6-inch B520 comes with Intel Sandy Bridge Core i5 and Core i7 CPUs, as well the option for multiple Nvidia graphics chips, a Blu-ray drive, and HDMI output and input, among other specs.

But unlike the Acer Aspire Z5673, Lenovo is actually bringing its Nvidia 3D Vision-capable all-in-one to the U.S. We watched a few movies and played some games on the IdeaCentre B520 during … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Adding to the parade of new desktops with Sandy Bridge CPUs, Dell announced that its new XPS 8300 and an Alienware Aurora system will be getting Intel's new CPUs.

Details are scarce at the moment, at least until we can find a minute to get over to Dell's booth, but for now, Dell's PR blog has some specs for the Alienware system (scroll down to the bottom of the page).

We'll stop in with Dell in a little while to check out the new systems, but the basics include Sandy Bridge Core i5 and Core … Read more