Dell gives a peek at a revamped XPS 15 in Romania

Posted on 16/06/2012 by Jon Fingas

Dell showed the heart of its 2012 laptop design language in the XPS 13 just as the snow started melting, but it's been mostly silent or conservative ever since. The company must want to close out the spring the same way it entered: Dell and Romania's Asesoft Distribution have just previewed a larger XPS 15 at an event B1 attended at the Bucharest-based Romanian Aviation Museum. Based on the early look, Dell isn't going to stretch the Ultrabook definition across the whole XPS range. There will still be full-power, 2.5GHz dual Core i5 and quad 2.1GHz Core i7 chips from Intel's Ivy Bridge family, and NVIDIA is supplying some modestly ultraportable GeForce GT 630M and 640M video. Although there's no special tricks that we can see so far, the 15.6-inch system is reportedly due to show in at least Romania by the end of the spring, which leaves just weeks to wait if you prefer your mid-size performance laptops designed in Texas.

Dell gives a peek at a revamped XPS 15 in Romania originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jun 2012 20:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple unveils new MacBook Pro with Ivy Bridge at WWDC

Posted on 11/06/2012 by Jon Fingas

Apple is certainly making WWDC a hardware conference this year -- it just unveiled a refresh of the existing MacBook Pro running Intel's newer Ivy Bridge processors on the San Francisco gathering's opening day. The 13- and 15-inch portables run up to 2.7GHz quad Core i7s (turbo up to 3.7GHz), carry up to 8GB of RAM and have GeForce GT 650M-based graphics 60 percent faster than the previous generation. Like the new MacBook Air, they tout USB 3.0 ports. If you're more comfortable with Apple's conventional MacBook Pro design than the new variety, Apple will ask $1,099 for the base 13-inch version and $1,799 for a 15-inch version, with an upgraded 15-inch model going for $2,199. All of them are shipping today -- we're not seeing any mention of an updated 17-inch version, so it may have been cast aside.

For more coverage of WWDC 2012, please visit our event hub.

Continue reading Apple unveils new MacBook Pro with Ivy Bridge at WWDC

Apple unveils new MacBook Pro with Ivy Bridge at WWDC originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jun 2012 13:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo IdeaPad Y580 goes on sale melding quad-core Ivy Bridge and GeForce GTX 660M

Posted on 08/06/2012 by Jon Fingas

The Y580 led the avalanche of Lenovo IdeaPads unveiled at CES; its dependence on both Intel Ivy Bridge processors and Kepler-based NVIDIA graphics kept it out of the spotlight for some time, but it's now ready to ship out. The finished 15.6-inch laptop skews very clearly to gamers and other performance mavens. The range starts off with a quad 2.3GHz Core i7, a GeForce GTX 660M and 8GB of RAM. Any heavier outlays of cash upgrade the display resolution, optical drive and storage to as much as a 1080p screen, a Blu-ray combo drive and a 1TB hard drive with a companion 32GB SSD for good measure. None of them will win a contest for sheer portability, but a tight official price spread between $1,299 and $1,549 ($1,039 and $1,239 on sale) guarantees that it won't be hard to get exactly the PC you need to play Spec Ops.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Lenovo IdeaPad Y580 goes on sale melding quad-core Ivy Bridge and GeForce GTX 660M originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Jun 2012 01:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alienware M17x and M18x land new NVIDIA GTX680M graphics option

Posted on 05/06/2012 by Mat Smith

Never one to let high-powered mobile gaming hardware pass it by, Alienware has announced that its endlessly-tweaked M17x and M18x will both get the chance to dance with NVIDIA's latest GPU belle. The refreshed M17x can be augmented with the GeForce GTX 680M alongside an option for NVIDIA 3D Vision, while the M18x can sample the same Kepler delights in either single or dual-card SLI configurations. Both customization options are promised to arrive before the end of the month -- ready for all those games we've just seen at E3.

Alienware M17x and M18x land new NVIDIA GTX680M graphics option originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jun 2012 08:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP updates Envy 15, 17 and 17 3D to Ivy Bridge, game and media fans rejoice

Posted on 05/06/2012 by Jon Fingas

HP has been very eager to take the Envy line in an Ultrabook direction, leaving performance hounds a bit wanting. Much to their (and our) relief, the full-fat Envy 15, Envy 17, and Envy 17 3D have all made the leap to Intel's latest round of Ivy Bridge processors. Along with the 2.3GHz to 2.7GHz quad Core i7 chips we all know and love, the Envy 15 and regular 17 can get a dual 2.5GHz Core i5 to keep the price slightly closer to Earth. All of them ship with an equally upgraded AMD Radeon HD 7850M to give games that extra jolt of energy, and you won't find one with less than 6GB of RAM and a 750GB hard drive. Should you like the Envy's current formula and just wish it had that much more oomph, you can pay a post-discount $1,100, $1,250 or $1,530 to bring one to your door.

[Thanks, James]

HP updates Envy 15, 17 and 17 3D to Ivy Bridge, game and media fans rejoice originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jun 2012 23:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP takes EliteBook W-series on a trip to Ivy Bridge, throws in Z220 Xeon workstation for good measure

Posted on 04/06/2012 by Jon Fingas

HP takes EliteBook Wseries on a trip to Ivy Bridge, throws in Z220 Xeon workstation for good measure

HP has been rolling out a steady stream of Ivy Bridge-based upgrades over the past few weeks, and now it's the turn of the pro-oriented EliteBook W-series to get the long-awaited upgrade. The 8470W, 8570W and 8770W draw on Intel's faster dual Core i5 and quad Core i7 chips with respective choices of 14-, 15.6- and 17.3-inch screens. All of them pack AMD's FirePro for video duties, although big spenders at the larger two sizes can opt for one of NVIDIA's Quadro K-series graphics chips as well as an IPS-based display for color-sensitive work. Options will get you niceties such as a 24GB SSD cache, 3G and up to 16GB of RAM, although the EliteBooks' signature military-spec resistances to dust, shock and temperature are thankfully par for the course. The range costs $1,329, $1,449 and $1,699 as you move up the screen size ladder, and all three will be available before June is over.

If you prefer your workstations to be more powerful but slightly more stationary, you're still welcome in HP's world: the equally fresh Z220 desktop carries Intel's new quad-core Xeon E3 processor or, if that's a bit too rich for your blood, a Pentium or quad Core i7. AMD FirePro and NVIDIA Quadro video cards are both made-to-order upgrades, and the modern underpinnings add both USB 3.0 as well as headroom for up to 32GB of RAM, if the fear of paging to disk keeps you awake at night. HP has both tower and small form factor versions of the Z220 starting off at $699, and they too will be ready to stretch IT budgets later this month.

Gallery: HP EliteBook W-series and Z220 workstation

Continue reading HP takes EliteBook W-series on a trip to Ivy Bridge, throws in Z220 Xeon workstation for good measure

HP takes EliteBook W-series on a trip to Ivy Bridge, throws in Z220 Xeon workstation for good measure originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jun 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung’s $1,500, 17-inch Series 7 Chronos arrives, UPS employees check their spine insurance

Posted on 10/05/2012 by Daniel Cooper

Samsung's outed its massive 17-inch Series 7 Chronos desktop-killing laptop. The portable behemoth arrives packing a 2.6GHz Core i7 Ivy Bridge CPU, 8GB of RAM and NVIDIA's GeForce GT650M with a further 2GB of memory to itself. You'll be able to relax in front of that 17.3-inch, 300 nit, 1920 x 1080 display and listen to 2.1 surround thanks to some JBL speakers and a subwoofer. The seven-pound device is rated for up to eight hours of battery life and will comfortably hold 1TB of storage, depending on the size of your spreadsheet. It's available from today from all good retailers (and most of the bad ones too) for $1,500.

Continue reading Samsung's $1,500, 17-inch Series 7 Chronos arrives, UPS employees check their spine insurance

Samsung's $1,500, 17-inch Series 7 Chronos arrives, UPS employees check their spine insurance originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 May 2012 10:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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15-inch Samsung Series 7 laptops follow big brother across Intel’s Ivy Bridge

Posted on 30/04/2012 by Tim Stevens

Intel's bridge is a popular one and, while we don't know just what the toll to cross is, today the gatekeeper has a little extra change jingling in his pocket. Samsung is announcing that its 15-inch Series 7 Chronos laptops now offer Ivy Bridge processors, joining the 17-inch models that have already have made their way across. Thanks to a Samsung Canada leak last week, we knew the slightly more portable flavor wouldn't be far behind. NVIDIA graphics are onboard, joining the Core i7 processors and 1TB hard drives plus other pleasantries like backlit keyboards. No word on when these machines and their "uncompromised performance" will arrive at retail, but we hear getting over that bridge is the tricky part, so it shouldn't be long now.

15-inch Samsung Series 7 laptops follow big brother across Intel's Ivy Bridge originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Apr 2012 07:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel Core i7-3770K CPU review roundup: crossing the Ivy Bridge

Posted on 24/04/2012 by Terrence O'Brien

Today is officially Ivy Bridge day, in case you didn't already know. Intel took the wraps off the latest member of its processor family and the internet wasted no time putting the flagship Core i7-3770K through its paces. The 3.5GHz quad-core desktop chip comes packing not only some architectural tweaks, but a brand new integrated GPU in the form of the HD 4000. Oh, and it does all this using a brand new 22nm manufacturing process and 3D "Tri-Gate" transistors. What does that mean for you, the user? Lower power consumption, better performance and, surprisingly, unbelievably fast media transcoding. When AnandTech turned its eyes towards Quick Sync, the on-die media transcode engine introduced with Sandy Bridge, the 3770K practically buried the competition. Using Cyberlink Media Espresso the new chip turned a DRM-stripped Blu-ray of Harry Potter (130 minutes of 1080p video) into an iPad friendly format in just seven minutes without taxing the CPU.

At idle, power consumption hasn't changed much, but when TechSpot put the pedal to the metal things looked quite a bit different. The new i7-3770K sucked down just 147 watts, which was even four watts less than lower clocked i5-2500K. And, of course, it delivered much better performance. In fact, in Bit-Tech's tests, the only chip that was able to routinely best it was the hexa-core 3960X Extreme Edition -- and even that CPU barely eked out its victories. While AMD's offerings simply can't compete with Intel's on pure performance or power consumption, it does still outrun run Chipzilla's GPU. The HD 4000 is, undeniably, a huge step forward for the Core line, but it falls just short of matching the A8's integrated Radeon on Tech Report's tests. For more benchmarks than your heart can handle check out the pile of links below.

Read - AnandTech
Read - Bit-Tech
Read - TechSpot
Read - Tech Report
Read - Hot Hardware

Intel Core i7-3770K CPU review roundup: crossing the Ivy Bridge originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Apr 2012 21:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel puts Ivy Bridge on the map: first 22nm product, decent official benchmarks, desktop quad-cores from $174

Posted on 23/04/2012 by Sharif Sakr

We hear that pilgrims have already started flocking to the town of Ivybridge (population 12,056) in the forested depths of southwest England. Very soon though, you'll be able to pay homage to Moore's law without travelling further than your favorite online retailer, because the third generation of Intel Core processors has just launched and should be available to buy before the end of this month. These include eight different variants of Core i7 for desktops and notebooks (including Ultrabooks of course), plus five types of Core i5 destined for desktops only. Those watching out for cheaper dual-core i5, i3 and Pentium-branded options will have to wait a little longer, because today's launch is all about the high-end. And just how high is 'high'? Judging from the gossip we've heard, and from benchmarks of leaked desktop and notebook chips, we're looking a significant improvement over Sandy Bridge. But if you want the first official boasts, then read on.

Gallery: Intel Ivy Bridge official slides and benchmarks