Some laptops, especially ultraportables, brazenly push the envelope on pricing. In the age of the ultra-cheap Netbook, are they really worth the $2,000 to $3,000 price tag? I've listed three egregious offenders and two that fall into the less-scandalous-but-still-snooty pricing category.
HP Voodoo Envy 133 is a stunning design but way overpriced because of old hardware
(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)Let's start with the Hewlett-Packard Voodoo Envy 133, probably the most brazenly overpriced of the batch because it will still set you back as much as $2,700 despite the fact that it hasn't been updated in almost eight months and, accordingly, comes with obsolete hardware.
The 13-inch ultra-slim Voodoo Envy 133 model NV4050NA is priced at $2,699.99 (with "instant rebate"), but the buyer gets nothing extraordinary for this extraordinary price, with the possible exception of an external optical drive and a power adapter with a wireless access point built in.
The stratospheric-price-defying negatives include an old processor, a lagging-edge solid-state drive (64GB instead of the current 128GB standard), and last year's graphics.
Here's a quick rundown:
- An old Intel Core 2 Duo SP7700 Processor (1.8GHz) processor (think: original MacBook Air)
- A passé 64GB solid-state drive
- An ancient Intel graphics media accelerator X3100 (think: original ThinkPad X300)
- A short-lasting 3-cell battery
- An external optical drive (this is one of the few pluses)
The next criminally overpriced laptop is the 13-inch Sony Vaio Z Series ultraportable laptop (3.4 pounds). The VGN-Z590UBB model is priced at $3,899.99. Amazingly, this comes with only a one-year warranty.
Sony Vaio Z series is aimed presumably at Wall Street firms flush with stimulus-package cash
(Credit: Sony)But first a few positives. One of the most unusual features of the Vaio Z is a discrete Nvidia GeForce 9300M graphics chip. Almost all of the newer ultraportables come with Intel 4500MHD integrated graphics only. So this is certainly a plus and echoes the Nvidia 9400M graphics in the newest MacBook Air. It also packs DDR3 SDRAM memory. This is good too.
But there is little to justify (in my opinion) a price tag approaching $4,000 (unless Sony has doubled up on gold memory connectors and isn't telling us about it). Yes, you get new Intel silicon (a P9500 running at 2.53GHz), hybrid graphics (Nvidia and Intel), a high-resolution LED display (1600 x 900), but nothing that justifies forking over $3,900, even if you're Merrill Lynch flush with stimulus-package cash.
The third up is the 12-inch Fujitsu LifeBook B6230 (3.2 pounds), priced at $1,799. Though it's listed lower than the Voodoo and the Sony, the features are strikingly unimpressive for the $1,800 list price. An archaic Intel ULV U7600 (1.2 GHz) processor (533 MHz front-side bus), 1GB of memory, an 80GB hard disk drive, 802.11a/b/g wireless (no "n" here), and a one-year warranty round out (yawn) the features.
The price of Apple's MacBook Air is less egregious than the others but still exorbitant
(Credit: Apple)In descending order of extravagance, at No. 4 is the 12-inch Toshiba Portege R600 model S4202. Price aside, a quick glance at the features would impress most prospective buyers: very light at 2.4 pounds, standard 3GB of memory, a 128GB solid-state drive, a integrated optical drive, 802.11a/g/n wireless, and a Webcam.
What's the downside to these decent features? You guessed it, the price: $2,999--and that includes a slow Intel SU9400 (1.4GHz) processor. With full-featured Netbooks costing about one-sixth the price (between $500 and $700) and an HP Pavilion dv2 ultraportable on the way priced at about $900, the Toshiba begins to look, well, overpriced.
Finally, I must mention the Apple MacBook Air (I know I'll get slammed for this). The newest version with the upgraded Intel processor, Nvidia graphics, and a 128GB solid-state drive is certainly a vast improvement over the original. But in the age of the Netbook and seriously budget-constrained buyers $2,500 ($2,499) is just too expensive.
Apple needs to bring the high-end MBA down to about $2,000. Still pricey but probably justifiable (to the lucky few out there who sold their Nantucket vacation home before the crash).
Note: This is not a CNET review. This reflects the opinion of Nanotech: The Circuits blog only.
Intel's next-generation microarchitecture has arrived. Officially.
Intel made the debut of the Core i7 processor official on Monday afternoon, launching the processor at an event in San Francisco. PC makers, including Dell and Gateway, quickly followed suit with announcements.
(Credit:
Intel)
"The Core i7 processor speeds video editing (and) immersive games...by up to 40 percent without increasing power consumption," the Intel said in a statement.
Combining the i7 with super-fast solid state drives will lead to significant jumps in performance, according to Pat Gelsinger, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Digital Enterprise Group. "When you couple what is Intel's biggest leap in chip design with other incredible innovations like Intel's solid state drives, the Core i7 processor has redefined the computer of tomorrow," he said in a statement.
The i7 also packs a technology called Turbo Boost that accelerates performance to match a computer user's needs and workloads. Through an on-chip power control unit, Turbo Boost automatically adjusts the clock speed of one or more of the four individual processing cores without increasing power consumption, Intel said.
The new chip also has the latest Intel power-saving technologies, allowing desktops to go into sleep states formerly reserved for Intel-based notebooks.
And it ushers in the age of the "monolithic die" for Intel. (AMD has been doing this for over a year now.) The core i7 is one of Intel's first processors to put four cores on one piece of silicon, referred to as a monolithic die. Previous Intel quad-core chips cobbled together two dual-core die.
Other features include QuickPath, which doubles the memory bandwidth of previous Intel "Extreme" platforms, and Hyper-Threading Technology, which allows multiple computing threads to run simultaneously, effectively enabling the chip to do two things at once.
Each Core i7 processor features an 8 MB level 3 cache and three channels of DDR3 1066 memory.
Dell, Gateway, and Alienware (a Dell subsidiary) have all announced systems using the new chip.
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.
Notice any similarities between the Hewlett-Packard Voodoo Envy and its thin rivals, the Apple MacBook Air or ThinkPad X300? Yes, they're all very thin. But look inside and you'll see more common features.
To deliver reasonable processing power at low power the Voodoo Envy opted for the same special low-power processors used in the Air: the Intel SP7700 and SP7500.
You won't find these processors listed on Intel's processor pricing page. They were designed originally for the MacBook Air and use a special 22mm x 22mm package and have a thermal envelope of only 20 watts at 1.8GHz and 1.6GHz. Typically, Intel processors running at those speeds have a TDP (Thermal Design Power) of 35 watts.
Correction: The ThinkPad X300 uses an Intel SL7100 not an SP processor. It comes in the same small package as the SP processors but runs at a lower clock speed--1.2GHz--and uses less power: 12 watts versus the SP's 20 watts.
HP Voodoo Envy
(Credit: Voodoo)Interestingly, these processors are older 65-nanometer "Merom" processors--not the newest 45-nanometer Penryn generation. But there are updates on the way, according to Intel. "You can expect to see later this year a 45nm small form factor Montevina," an Intel representative said.
"Montevina" Centrino 2 processors coming out later this year will include low-power models such as the SL9400 and SU9400, running at 1.86GHz and 1.4GHz with a TDP of 17W and 10W respectively. One processor, the SU3300, will have a TDP of 5.5W.
New versions of the SP "small form factor" processors are also expected later this year. Future versions of the Envy and Air will likely use these Montevina processors.
This isn't where the silicon similarities end. The Envy, like the Air and X300, uses Intel X3100 integrated graphics and offers either a 64GB solid state drive or 80GB hard disk drive (4200RPM), just like the Air.
Finally, though not related to silicon, all three notebooks have a similar form factor: 13.3 inches. All in all, making for strikingly similar designs in many ways.
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