News Bits: Core 2 Duo, New Alienware SLI Notebooks, Qosmio G35 with HD-DVD, Sony PS3 Pricing

Intel's Core 2 Duo

A few months ago, Intel introduced the Core Duo (and Solo) processor for notebooks. In a few months, Intel will unveil the Core 2 Duo processors, the successors to the current ones. The Core 2 Duo naming scheme will be used for both notebooks (based on the Merom chip) and desktops (Conroe). Both the Conroe and the Merom are very similar, the main difference being power consumption.

As with the current Duo chips, the Core 2 Duo chips will have a model number, which indicates the relative power consumption and performance. Desktop Conroes will use the 4000 and 6000 numbering, and the Merom will use the 5000 and 7000. It's interesting to note that the Conroe model numbers will match up with AMD's numbering on its Athlon x2 processors, although Intel didn't comment.

The model numbers will be followed by a letter that tells how much power each chip consumes at peak. As an example, the Core 2 Duo E6800 will consume between 55 and 75 watts, and they hypothetical Core 2 Duo T5400 between 25 and 55 watts.

Intel continues to emphasize its platform brands (Centrino, Viiv, etc), but isn't forgetting that the individual processor brands are also important. Intel spokesmen Bill Kircos says "I think you'll see equal amounts of marketing around the processor and platform brands."

By the end of 2006, Intel is expected to kick its factories into high gear to push out the Core processors. Intel has planned to have the Conroe desktop chip appear in July, and the Merom in August. Both of these days are earlier than expected.

Read More

Alienware Announces m9700 and mALX SLI notebooks

Alienware m9700 (view large image)

Alienware mALX (view large image)

Alienware today announced two notebooks featuring Nvidia's SLI technology, incorporating dual GeForce Go7900 graphics cards. The 17" m9700 and 19" Aurora mALX will use AMD Turion processors, Airgo wireless chipsets with MIMO capability, and to top it off, up to 240GB of hard drive capacity.

Alienware also said it is preparing a limited-edition Superman desktop and notebook.

Read More

Toshiba Qosmio G35 with HD DVD Built-in Now For Sale (finally)

Toshiba long ago announced the Qosmio G35 with a built-in HD DVD player, but it's been a long time coming. But you can release your breath now, the Qosmio G35 can be bought at ToshibaDirect.com for $3,000 now. Specs are as follows:

• Core Duo Processor (T2500, 2.0GHz)
• Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
• 1024MB RAM
• 17.0" display,Widescreen UXGA with Ultimate TruBrite Technology,1920x1200
• GeForce Go 7600 graphics,256MB GDDR3
• 200GB HD: 100GB HDD+100GB HDD @5400rpm
• HD DVD-ROM and DVD-SuperMulti (+R double layer) drive (in one optical drive)
• Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG (802.11a/b/g), Bluetooth V2.0 + EDR

Read More

Unreal Tournament 2007

Midway Games is planning to demonstrate Unreal Tournament 2007 at E3 this week for the PC and PS3, along with an additional 12 games(13 total). UT2007 is developed by Epic games, and promises "next-generation game play, modifiability, and visuals" via the Unreal 3 engine.

In addition to UT2007, Midway will also show Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (PS2, Xbox), to be available in October, Blitz: The League (football game; Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PSP), Spy Hunter: Nowhere to Run (PS2, Xbox) and MLB Slugfest (PS2, Xbox).

Read More

Dell Revenue to Fall Below Expectations, Stock Drops

Dell announced yesterday thatits first-quarter revenue would come in at the low-end of what the advised analysts earlier in the year. Shortly after announcing this Monday evening, Dell's stock fell to 1998 levels.

In February, Dell announced its fourth-quarter earnings and expected to rake in between $14.2B and $14.6B in revenues by April's end. Dell said it is expecting the total to be about $14.2B, at the low-end of analyst expectations. Earnings per share are expected to be 36 - 38 cents.

In the release, CEO of Dell Kevin Rollins said: "During Q1 we continued to execute on our strategy to reinvigorate growth by making investments in our support infrastructure and product quality and by accelerating pricing adjustments."

Dell's stock has fallen over the past twelve months. Next week Dell will formally announce its earnings.

Read More

[p][B]Compal expects notebook shipments to grow 15% sequentially in Q2[/B] [p][img]http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/11899.jpg[/img] [p]Compal Electronics, a major notebook manufacturer in Taiwan,is expecting its shipments for Q2 to grow a full 15% according to company sources, from the 2.66 million notebooks it shipped in the first quarter. April's notebook shipments totaled 960,000 notebooks, down 20,000 from March's total (980,000). Shipments from display products also decreased by 20,000 units from March to 250,000 units. Compal reported its April revenues to be USD$673 million, rising 25.8% on year. [p]Compal manufacturers notebooks for various notebook companies in the U.S. where the notebooks are rebadged and sold under thatcompany's logo. [p][URL=http://digitimes.com/systems/a20060508A5026.html]Read More[/URL] [p] [p][B]Sony Playstation 3 Gets a Pricetag (and it costs more than some laptops)[/B] [p][img]http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/11900.jpg[/img] [p]At a special pre-E3 conference in Los Angeles, Sony announced the official pricing for its next-generation console, the Playstation 3. The 20GB version will run $499, and the 60GB version $599 when it hits the US turf on November 17<SUP>th</SUP>. In Japan, it will be aNovember 11<SUP>th </SUP>release. Sony is expecting to sell more than two million PS3s in the first month of its release, and four million by Christmas. [p]As far as specialfeatures go - the controllers lack a vibration feature due to problems with the motion sensor, but the cool side is that they connect to the console via Bluetooth. USB controllers will automatically charge themselves. [/p] [p][URL=http://www.pro-g.co.uk/news/09-05-2006-2754.html]Read More[/URL] [p] [p][B]OtherInteresting NewsLinks[/B] [ul] [li][URL=http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060508-6779.html]Microsoft announces HD DVD on Xbox 360[/URL] [/li] [li][URL=http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/05/08/windows_vista_security_software/]Windows Vista to dent the $3.6 billion security aftermarket[/URL] [/li][/ul][/p][/p][/p][/p][/p][/p][/p][/p][/p][/p][/p][/p]

 

The new Alienware SLI Notebooks are looking pretty thin for what they're packing..

 

dude, that PS3 pricing is kind of insane. It's either going to

a) Help the XBox 360 and Nintendo Wii hugely
b) Make people figure spending a little extra on a gaming PC makes more sense instead of going for a dedicated video game system where half the point used to be it's cheaper (like when they cost $200). $599 is steep for the average consumer, and too much for a Christmas present.

 

About time Alienware got those out of the door, they've been out a while..

I haven't looked at any recent PS3 pictures, but now I see this one, I'm glad it's black, instead of silver.

Abax, you have to remember last year though, people were buying $1000 360s all the time for Christmas presents, maybe Sony saw this and figured it wouldn't be a bad idea.

 

The PS3 has always come in black, along with silver and l think gray.

 

I haven't looked in THAT long since the only pictures seen were of silver ones.

 

If $400 XBox 360s sold for $1000. imagine what $600 PS3s would sell for!

 

They sold for over $1000 too, often even.

I'm guessing it'll be something like this:

"Honey, do you want a pre-used car for Christmas or a PS3?"

Yeah...

More expensive than more pwoerful gaming laptop, consoles for the win...

 

Umm...Man the PS3 prices suck. If gaming keeps going this way college students will need another loan just to get a gaming system. Oh well...back to my trusty laptop for my gaming needs.
Tim

 

I am drooooolin' over the upcoming Alienware m9700 with dual graphics cards, 17" screen and 8.5lbs weight. Sure beats the 15lb, 19" monsters I've also been drooling over.

 

Yeah I'm sort of glad they went black on PS3 but a silver option would be cool to. I waited about 5 months for a 360 at $400 (plus games accessories and taxes) and am now getting ready to do the same (but try to get one for xmas) with PS3. I'd like the $600 version. Of all the consoles this one seems to be the most powerful and likely to have the most games also.

Unfortunately as mentioned I need a car so...I have some thinking to do...keep walking/biking and busing and get a ps3 or get my car...

 

I'll be asking for one for Christmas =X

I now want one badly after I saw the FFXIII trailer.

 

The controller looks bland and not very sleek but it's much better than that boomerang.

 

Gaming is really getting on my nerves. PC gaming is going down the toilet at retailers and the rest of the market is littered with unoriginal, over-promising, "hip" products. I used to really pay attention to E3, but this year I'm just ignoring it as much as possible.

Sony is insane. I said it about Microsoft and I'll say it about Sony too. Game consoles are too expensive! It's officially cheaper to buy computers now. Purchasing parts from Newegg now totals up to the price of a PS3. I miss the days where consoles were $100 and came with a Mario game. Today they're a total rip-off. I had been stating on this forum and others that there's going to be a tipping point where consoles go over the edge and people migrate back to PC's, but we're not quite there yet. Looks like it'll be the next round of consoles.

Oh yes, and Nintendo is insane too. Wii? Uh...go back to Revolution. I don't think I need to say why.


Alienware laptops have Dell written all over them now. The styling is very similar in how they accent parts of the system.

According to that Vista article, microsoft expects 400 million computers to migrate to Vista in a short period of time? What are they smoking? XP works fine.

 

I read that the vibration is dumped because the controller features a 6-axis sensing. I can clearly understand the underlying issue here, but what does this axis sensing feature do for games?? In any case, the vibrations really doesn't add much to the whole gaming experience.

The price is indeed high, but considering the features they pack, not having a huge market as computers, the development cost and stuff.. I thing this price range is inevitable for anyone in this business now.

 

thanks for the newbits.

Alot of great news today

PS3...hmmm, nah! i like my computer more LOL. I wanna run windows on a PS3 before I even consider buying it LOL!

I think the PS3 will sell just as they predicted...man, people went crazy for Xbox 360. Why not the same for PS3?

PS: what is Nintendo Wii?

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

Nintendo Wii is their next-generation console. It used to be called the Revolution. Why they named it the "Wii" I have no idea - it's supposed to sound like Wee, as in, it's for everybody. Also, the "i's" in the name look like little people (that's what Nintendo said).

I really like the look of the m9700 Aliewnare. The dual graphics cards are nice, I'd be interested to see what the difference in battery life is between a single and dual card configuration. Not that battery life really matters on that . . did anybody else notice that the pages for Alienware products looks a lot like Dells? Looks nice, but could be more . .user friendly.

The only thing that underwhelms me about the SLI notebooks is the single-core Turion processor. That's going to hold back the performance of the dual cards. I think it's just because the chipsets aren't available for the Duo.

As for PC Gaming - I hope that some real PC games come out at E3, not that I'm hyped up about the whole show. I'm tired of these dumb console ports. I paid over $2,000 for my gaming setup to play console games? Give me a break, put out some real PC games.

Chaz

 

Wii rocks. Besides, who cares about the name. It is how the games play that matter. And again, Wii rocks!

 

I can almost guarantee that you are wrong. Console pricing isn't too expensive for people to still want them, When Nintento 64 came out it was like $400, $600 is steep but you couldn't get a equivalent system with a PC even if you had $3000 because game makers focus on making games for consoles, there are just soooo many great games you can't play on the PC that will always keep consoles strong.

 

I don't understand why people still buy console games when services like Gamefly and Gametap exist...

 

Why is this an issue of right or wrong? I said that's what I expect to see happen and the tipping point in the market is nearing. It's economic law. Also, your price on the N64 seems way way too high. I seem to recall picking one of those up for just over a hundred dollars.

You also forget there's a lot of great PC games you just can't play on the consoles. A new one just got released yesterday called Rise of Legends.

 

I dont undersatand why people complain about the ps3 prices, yes there will be some that sell for $1000 on ebay, but unlike xbox360's release u can reserve a ps3 and buy it for the actuall price. second everyone complains about the price for console gaming, but dont forget its also a blue ray player, by november blu ray player prices will have gone down alittle from the 1000 some$ there starting at but still are going to be pretty expensive. Also think that people pay $300 for a hard drive with a color screen branded with an apple logo just to play songs and occasionly videos. Finally xbox360 annouced they will convert to hdvd in there system, think of how the price of xbox 360's are going to go up then.

overall the price is going to push some budgets, but all next gen systems are more expensive than previous releses. if u cant offord to buy a ps3 have fun trying to build your own computer that will play games as good as a ps3 will for $600. without upgrades will that same computer be able to play top of the line games 5 years from now?

 

PS3 won't be top of the line 5 years from now, though. The next next-gen consoles will be out.

 

which is a worse name - Core 2 duo or Wii.

 

I kind of like Wii, revolution was so cliche, but Wii, now that's original. =X

I'm thinking about getting one.. Looks very fun from what I see on G4's E3 coverage.

Core 2 Duo is just plain lazy...

"Oh, we're making another product, it'll be like the last one but better."
"Lets call it (insert something unique here)!"
"Nah, lets just add a two onto the end and say it's revolutionary."

 

in exactly 5 years we will be hearing about the next gen, but i doubt you would be able to buy the next gen by then.

 

The last wave of next-gen, X-BOX and GCN was in november 2001, XBOX 360 was released November 2005, 4 year difference, I'm sure SOMETHINg will be out by then.