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Origin PC offers overclocked 4.3GHz Core i7-980X Extreme Edition on Genesis desktop

You know what’s better than a stock 3.33GHz Core i7-980X Extreme Edition CPU? Not much, but we’re guessing that a 4.3GHz overclocked version of the same chip just might be. If you’re thinking the same, and you’ve got $1,044 to spare in order to find out, upstart gaming rig maker Origin PC has the means to get it to you. The outfit’s Genesis desktop can now be ordered with Intel’s freshest slab of silicon for $895, or you can snag an extra gigahertz for another $149. We know you’ll make the right call.

Origin PC offers overclocked 4.3GHz Core i7-980X Extreme Edition on Genesis desktop originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Mar 2010 02:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How would you change Nokia’s N900?

Maemo 5 didn’t stand on its own for long before being mashed together with Intel’s Moblin, but Nokia’s N900 still stands as one of the best handhelds for web browsing. It’s hardly the world-beater that Nokia (may have) hoped it to be, but that’s not because the internals aren’t impressive. We’re guessing that only a handful of you made the effort to fork over wads of cash in order to pick an unlocked version up, but if you did, you no doubt have some opinions post-purchase. Is the display living up to your expectations? Are you and Maemo getting along alright? How’s that keyboard? We’re eager to know how you’d tweak the N900 if you had the keys to the design kingdom, and with MeeGo already being announced, we’re forbidding you from suggesting the obvious. Or you can, but we’ll be plugging our ears, closing our eyes and humming annoyingly.

Filed under: Cellphones

How would you change Nokia’s N900? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Okoro Media Systems upgrades HTPC range with Core i3 / i5 CPUs, bitstreaming and USB 3.0

You picked up an Okoro media PC last month, didn’t you? If you’re nodding up and down in a worried fashion, you’re probably better off ignoring everything else we’ll say in this post. For the rest of you HTPC hounds, the boutique outfit has something that’s very likely to pique your interest (and kick that upgrade itch into high gear). Announced today, the company is adding Core i3 and Core i5 processors to its 2010 media center PC lineup, and as if the extra horsepower weren’t enough, users will also find native bitstreaming of TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio on every system save for the Q100. You’ll also get a 64-bit copy of Windows 7, up to 8TB of internal storage space, optional Blu-ray playback, quad CableCARD support and the new holy grail of transfers, USB 3.0. You can hit up the outfit’s webstore now to configure your dream machine, and if you so desire, you can check out its dedicated trade-up program that’ll last through May 31st.

Okoro Media Systems upgrades HTPC range with Core i3 / i5 CPUs, bitstreaming and USB 3.0 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You get what you pay for, with SSDs and just about everything else

My aunt called last night to ask about a laptop she saw advertised in the weekly circular. It had most of the features she wanted, and was priced lower via the ad than she’d seen online for a similarly configured laptop. This led to a brief discussion of name brand preferences for laptops, and the price differences between them. I had to explain to my aunt that you get what you pay for: a laptop is made up of lots of little parts, each available from a variety of OEMs and distributors. Different brand name laptops use different OEMs and distributors for their parts, so the quality of the individual components inside the laptops vary wildly. Generally speaking, better quality parts cost a bit more, but provide better performance and better reliability. A recent study from DRAMeXchange Technology (who?!) proves this point as it relates to solid state drives.

AMD to finally take on netbook space with new Fusion chip… next year

We’ve always said AMD should go after the gaping hole between netbooks and thin-and-lights by releasing a low-power platform with solid graphics abilities, and it looks like the company’s finally coming around — AMD’s John Taylor just told us that the chipmaker will be releasing a netbook-class Fusion CPU / GPU hybrid codenamed “Ontario” with integrated DX11 graphics sometime next year. If Ontario sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve seen it leaked in the past — it’s a part of the “Brazos” platform built around the low-power Bobcat core. Of course, AMD has been promising Fusion chips of all stripes for years now without a single shipping part, so saying that a Fusion chip will get it into the netbook game in 2011 is mildly amusing — while AMD’s definitely turned things around, it’s still incredibly late to the low-end party, and Intel’s solidly beaten it to the hybrid CPU / GPU punch with the Core 2010 and Pine Trail Atom chips. Add in the fact that NVIDIA’s Optimus-based Ion 2 chipset seemingly offers the extended battery life of Atom with the performance of a discrete GPU, and we’d say the market niche Ontario is designed to fill may not actually be so niche when it finally arrives. We’ll see what happens — a year is a long, long time.

[Image via OCWorkbench]

AMD to finally take on netbook space with new Fusion chip… next year originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel’s new Gulftown i7-980X CPU reviews well

Intel cut loose some benchmarking samples of their new, top of the line CPU, the i7-980X Extreme Edition. This is not a CPU intended for the causal use, but rather aim directly at the gaming market. MSRP for the CPU all by itself is a jaw dropping $999, and rumors are already circulating that the OEMs are already looking at coming out with systems that utilize the new processors.

Tenda T26 clones the HP Mini 5102

For those of you who have an eye open for the HP Mini 5102 might want to be more wary when it comes to cheap online sales as you could end up with the Tenda T26 instead – a close clone of the original, including its package box. The main difference would be the slightly larger display at 11.6″ compared to the 10″ one found on the HP Mini 5102. Features include 1,366 × 768 resolution, an Intel Atom N450 1.6GHz processor, integrated Intel GMA3150 graphics, 1GB RAM, a 160GB hard drive, a 1.3-megapixel webcam, a trio of USB ports Wi-Fi connectivity. Throw in a PCI-E slot and you can have the benefits of a 3G module.

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JooJoo hits the FCC

Hmmm, shortly after getting news that the JooJoo tablet will come in a new color as well as an updated user interface, we have news of this tablet going through the rigors of the FCC. Apparently, underneath the hood will reveal an Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz processor and an NVIDIA Ion chipset to keep it going, confirming the authenticity of its flawless video playback in the past. As for the presence of a SIM card slot, that will most likely point towards 3G being an option sometime in the future. While the JooJoo will ship with a Linux user interface, additional pictures from the FCC do point towards Windows 7, so we would reserve our comments on that since the crystal ball looks rather cloudy at the moment. All will be revealed come March 25th, we guess, when the JooJoo launches.

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AMD Fusion processors out next year

Netbooks looks set to be here to stay for many more years, co-existing peacefully with notebooks, and this has finally caused AMD to shift gear by catering for a dedicated netbook processor under their Fusion range that ought to see action sometime next year. It seems that the Fusion chips will have power consumption in the 10-15 watt range alongside decent integrated graphics performance without the need for Ion-powered graphics, all found in a device no larger than 12″ in size. What do you think – will Intel and NVIDIA be quaking in their boots?

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JooJoo hits the FCC, reveals NVIDIA Ion, 3G card

Well well. We’d always suspected that the JooJoo tablet was hiding something extra to run HD video and Flash, and it’s just hit the FCC with full documentation and a teardown confirming that there’s an NVIDIA Ion GPU paired with an Atom N270 packed inside. We’re also seeing a 3G card in there, although it’s unclear whether it’ll be active or installed at launch — we’ve been told the 3G version won’t be ready until sometime later this year, but things have been changing fast, so that may be in flux as well. There’s also a picture showing it running Windows, but we’re assuming that’s just for testing purposes — we’d also bet it’d be an easy little hack. But back to Ion for a second: our experience with first-gen Ion netbooks has been one of decreased performance and drastically reduced battery life, so we’re very curious to see how the JooJoo holds up compared to modern netbooks running Intel’s Pine Trail chips and NVIDIA’s Optimus-based Ion 2. We’ll see — it’s supposed to ship in just a few weeks. Two more pics after the break.

P.S.- Oh, and Fusion Garage got back to us yesterday with a list of supported local video formats, and it’s pretty decent: AVI, MPEG-4, MOV, WMV and WMA, FLV (Flash Video), VOB, OGG, OGM and OGV, MKV (Mastroska), DiVX and XViD. We’ll see how the battery holds up, though — our very own Joanna Stern predicts a best case of 3.5 hours with WiFi on and a video playback time of two hours.

Continue reading JooJoo hits the FCC, reveals NVIDIA Ion, 3G card

JooJoo hits the FCC, reveals NVIDIA Ion, 3G card originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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My Ripple Look Family 45FC mini PC

Folks living in South Korea will be able to check out the red wine-colored crystal chassis of the My Ripple Look Family 45FC mini PC. This small machine that could will definitely find a place in any living room, featuring the ability to deliver high-resolution videos and 3D games without missing a beat thanks to some decent hardware within such as Intel’s latest Dual Core processor, 2GB RAM, a 2.5″ 320GB hard drive and the Intel GMA X4500 graphic chipset. Supported video codecs include MPEG2/4, VC-5 and H.264. No idea on pricing though. Why can’t we at the west get such cool HTPCs?

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AMD working on actual netbook chipset, not due until next year

AMD is finally looking to get into the netbook game for real. Forget about the thin-and-light NEO chipset that’s been out for a while—we’re talking about an honest, netbook-specific chipset based on the company’s Fusion initiative that’ll blend power-sipping CPUs with ATI graphics. The platform will draw between 10 and 15 watts of power and will be designed for screens 12 inches and smaller.