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Best entry-level retail laptop: The HP G60-235DX

Shopping for a laptop under $600 is a bit like going for the half-priced, late-afternoon sushi special at your local deli--there's a certain risk versus reward calculation that has to occur.

While it's not going to win any awards for flair or style, this anonymous-looking 15-inch retail model from Hewlett-Packard offers the best combination of features and performance in its price range.

The $599 HP G60-235DX(part of our winter 2009 retail laptop review roundup) has a 16:9 display, an Intel Dual-Core CPU (many budget systems use slower AMD chips), and even squeezes in a separate number … Read more

Memo to Intel: Netbooks morphing into notebooks

Looking for signs that netbooks are catching on? And even morphing into notebooks? Here's a few.

Netbooks were the big end-user gadget on display at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference that ended Friday.

And all the Netbooks at a Microsoft booth were running Windows 7, Microsoft's next-generation operating system due next year.

A Microsoft person on the floor said that a lite version of Windows 7 will run on 1GB of memory and 16GB of (solid-state drive) storage. Higher-end Netbooks will have a 160GB hard disk drive, according to Microsoft "guidance."

This person also said something … Read more

Compaq's budget desktop will do the job, but others do it better

If you're buying a budget computer, it's worth your time to look into the Compaq Presario SR5610f desktop. It's not far off from a barebones machine, and you don't get a ton of extra features, but the price is so low that it's hard to complain. You get a dual-core 2.5GHz AMD processor, 3 gigs of ram, an integrated video card, and a 320GB hard drive, which should be enough power to get you through the standard applications, stuff like word processing, streaming video, mp3 playback, etc...but you definitely shouldn't expect it … Read more

Intel ships first dual-core Atom processor

Update on September 21 at 9:10 a.m. with pricing correction.

The single life for Atom is over--or at least one version. Intel said it has begun shipments of the first dual-core version of the Atom processor.

Atom 330 pricing information and data sheets for customers will go live Monday, according to Intel.

The chipmaker indicated at the Intel Developer Forum in August that it would be shipping the dual-core chip this month.

The power-efficient processor will be targeted at Atom-based desktops called nettops. Currently, Intel offers the single-core Atom N230 processor for this category of small desktops.

At … Read more

Intel to deliver dual-core Atom chip next month

SAN FRANCISCO--Intel plans to bring its first dual-core Atom to market next month, it was revealed here Monday during the Intel Developer Forum. The chipmaker also disclosed more details of the Nehalem processor.

The power-efficient processor will be targeted at Atom-based desktops called nettops. Currently, Intel offers the Atom N230 processor for nettops. This chip has a slightly higher power envelope than the Atom processors built exclusively for mobile devices.

That news was revealed to this reporter by an Intel employee as senior vice president Pat Gelsinger was delivering his IDF keynote, which included more specifics about Nehalem, the family … Read more

AMD refutes 'Kuma' chip cancellation claims

AMD says it is on track to deliver a dual-core chip code-named Kuma, refuting speculation that certain Kuma models have been canceled.

"The speculation is completely untrue," said AMD spokesman Jake Whitman. "We're still on track to launch a dual-core--code-named Kuma--part in the second half of '08. It will be 65 nanometers, still be based on the Star's core. So, that's coming."

He also disassociated Kuma from Phenom, as speculated in some articles. "We have never said anywhere along the lines that Kuma was somehow associated with Phenom," he said. "… Read more

Poll: What's the best bang for my photo PC buck?

I'm going to buy a new desktop computer to feed my digital photography appetites, and it's time to let the wisdom of the crowds steer me in the right direction.

There are innumerable options, but there's one particular choice I'm wrestling with: is my money better spent on a PC with a dual-core processor or a quad-core chip with a lower clock frequency?

For the benefit of anybody else in my situation, I thought I'd seek expert guidance from Adobe Systems, Microsoft, Advanced Micro Devices, and Intel and publish the results, but I got conflicting … Read more

Intel adds to its multicore desktop CPUs

In addition to bringing its "Extreme" high-end CPU brand to laptops, Intel also announced a handful of new desktop quad chips today. The highlight is the top-end $999 Core 2 Extreme QX6850, a 3.0GHz chip with a new 1,333MHz front side bus. Intel also announced three dual-core CPUs that also get the newer, faster bus, the 3.0GHz Core 2 Duo E6850 ($266), the 2.66GHz E6750 ($183), and the 2.33GHz E6550 ($163). Rounding out the announcement, a new 1,066MHz front side bus Core 2 Quad chip makes its debut as well. The Q6700 … Read more