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Nvidia targets Netbooks, Intel with 9400M chip

With Apple under its belt, Nvidia is taking aim at Netbooks.

On Wednesday, Nvidia is launching its GeForce 9400M "Ion" graphics chipset for Netbooks and small desktop designs. And the Santa Clara, Calif., company is hoping for another coup like the one it staged at Apple, where Nvidia bumped Intel silicon out of the Apple MacBook because of underperforming graphics.

The goal this time is to replace the Intel silicon that supports the Atom processor. Currently, Netbooks from companies such as Acer, Asus, Hewlett-Packard, and Dell use the Atom and accompanying Intel silicon called a chipset.

Nvidia has … Read more

Allegations, denials of 'bad' Nvidia chips in MacBook Pros

Bad bumps? A U.K. tech site is alleging that the latest Apple MacBook Pros contain Nvidia graphics chips with the same "bad bumps" problem that Nvidia addressed this summer and said was rectified.

Nvidia said in a phone interview on Tuesday that this is dead wrong.

First a little background. Nvidia issued a statement July 2 saying it would take a charge of up to $200 million to cover repairs due to a "weak die/packaging material set in certain versions of its previous generation GPU and MCP products used in notebook systems."

Both Hewlett-Packard … Read more

A Netbook that can handle games? We test the Asus N10J

We may think of Atom-powered Netbooks as the most basic of computers, good for Web surfing and e-mailing - but what would happen if someone stuffed a discrete graphics chip into one of these low-power, low-price systems?

It took Asus, the guys who pretty much created the Netbook market with the original Eee PC, to do it with the new N10J. It's a 10-inch Netbook (which curiously doesn't carry the Eee PC brand name), with the usual Intel Atom N270 CPU, 1GB of RAM, and Windows XP. What makes the $699 N10J different is the addition of an … Read more

Intel graphics discontent justified?

Discontent with Intel graphics goes back a few years. But the unsealing of 3-year-old e-mail exchanges between Intel and Microsoft reveals something about the present, too.

First some background. Intel makes integrated graphics silicon--that is, graphics functionality that is built into its chipsets. Performance is not the name of the game for Intel. Delivering power-efficient, adequate graphics that can handle everyday tasks and do basic gaming is the goal. Anything beyond this is left to the high-octane discrete chips from ATI and Nvidia.

"We've always been consistent that high-end gamers should use discrete graphics," said Intel spokesman … Read more

GE plans HFC-free refrigerator

Refrigerators are a necessary part of today's kitchen, but with them comes a whole list of environmental concerns. Some have hydrofluorocarbons for insulation; HFCs were supposed to be an eco-friendly alternative to chlorofluorocarbons (which are known for their ozone-destroying effects), but turned out not to be so great for the environment, either. But GE is bringing an HFC-free fridge to the market this year.

The new version of the GE Monogram will use cyclopentane in place of HFCs. It's another hydrocarbon, but is less of a pollutant. Unlike many other hydrocarbons, cyclopentane also has a reduced risk of … Read more

'Smart' appliances could ease electrical-grid woes

Did you know there's some leeway on when a refrigerator must run its automatic defrost cycle?

Well, apparently, there is, and it could help ease the stress on local energy grids during peak hours, according to GE Consumer & Industrial.

Currently, GE refrigerators' automatic defrost modes are prompted by factors like door openings. But, the company says, it could build refrigerators that delay that cycle until a local electrical grid signals it's a good off-peak time to suck down more electricity.

Refrigerators are not the only appliances that could be programmed to wait for convenient times to run. … Read more

GE boosts bets on battery technology

NISKAYUNA, N.Y.--With a 1914 electric car displayed outside, General Electric last week hosted a symposium on batteries for transportation and the electricity grid.

GE has been working on battery-powered vehicles for decades. Although those projects didn't yield mass-produced electric vehicles, GE executives said that the conditions for increased use of batteries on the grid and in vehicles have never been better.

The same conditions that are driving GE's Ecomagination initiative--a limit on natural resources like fossil fuels and fresh water as well as regulations to cut carbon emissions--make batteries a good area for research, said Mark … Read more

Will MacBook chip end Intel graphics franchise?

Will Apple's decision to use Nividia chips in its new MacBooks be a catalyst for change?

With all the hoopla surrounding Apple's choice of Nvidia graphics in its new MacBooks fading, it remains to be seen if Nvidia's GeForce 9400M has legs.

Intel has a successful integrated graphics franchise and is the leader in laptop graphics. Before I get slammed, let me be clear that I'm not talking about performance. I'm referring to market share. Many laptop suppliers--particularly in the low-cost and ultraportable segments--default to Intel graphics because it offers adequate performance, reasonable power efficiency, … Read more