Tag Archives: ThunderBolt
Apple’s New Mac Pro will be Available for Sale Tomorrow Starting at $2,999
Holiday Gift Guide 2013: Apple iMac ME088LL/A 27-Inch Desktop at $1,749.99
Apple Announces Updated Retina MacBook Pros with Free iWork and iLife, Starting at $1,299
New MacBook Pros, iPads and Mac Pros to Come in Late October and November
Apple Launches iMacs with 802.11ac Wi-Fi, New Intel Processors and Faster Graphics
HP launches ZBook mobile workstations with Ultrabook model, 3,200 x 1,800 screen option
HP's 2012 mobile workstation range was powerful, but would we have called it exciting? Not exactly. The company may just liven things up with its new ZBook line, however. The three-laptop series is based on a thinner and lighter design template that includes a 14-inch Ultrabook variant, the ZBook 14 (pictured above). Basically, Dell's Precision M3800 now has a big-name competitor. Those willing to trade some portability for power will also get a few welcome additions. The mid-size ZBook 15 (after the break) has a 3,200 x 1,800 display option, while both the ZBook 15 and the flagship ZBook 17 carry Thunderbolt ports.
All three PCs ship with Haswell-based Intel processors as well as the latest pro graphics from either AMD or NVIDIA. Mobile workers can order the 15- and 17-inch ZBooks today, or wait for the 14-inch system's arrival in late October. You'll find more details of HP's workstation updates after the break, including a more conservative refresh to the Z desktop line that brings Ivy Bridge-based Xeon processors and Thunderbolt 2.
MacBook Air gets gaming credentials through home-built external GPU (video)
The MacBook Air's integrated graphics all but rule it out as a serious gaming machine. However, Larry Gadea at the Tech Inferno forums has found a way to make the Air a powerhouse through an ad hoc external GPU. His design mates a PCI Express video card to the Mac's Thunderbolt port through a combination of two adapters, a Boot Camp installation of Windows 7 and third-party software. The performance improvement is appropriately dramatic, leading to frame rates up to seven times faster than what Intel's HD 5000 can manage. Just don't expect to buy a pre-assembled version anytime soon -- the peripheral needs a desktop-class power supply just to run, and Intel won't issue the licenses needed to commercialize Thunderbolt GPUs. If you're absolutely determined to get a Crysis-worthy ultraportable, though, you'll find Gadea's instructions at the source link.
Filed under: Gaming, Laptops, Peripherals, Apple, NVIDIA
Via: MacRumors
Source: Tech Inferno