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Filed under: Laptops

We’ve long since known that MSI was a fan of overclocking. After all, just about every last one of its gaming notebooks come with one-button OC’ing courtesy of the Turbo Drive Engine technology. Now, it seems that the company is giving the spoils once reserved for the Crysis crowd to those with netbooks, or more specifically, the Wind. The freshly released (and absolutely official) v1.09 BIOS update enables simple overclocking by mashing Fn+F10, giving users the ability to push things 8%, 15% or 24% beyond their normally specified limits. Electric Feel over at ElectricVagabond has found that the update provides up to a 30% boost in performance, which he claims is quite noticeable in processor-intensive apps like Photoshop. You know you’re dying to give your Wind a little lift, so hit the via below for the step-by-step of getting this installed.

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Cellphones

When low-level Intel execs throw down a verbal assault on Silicon Valley-buds Apple, guess what the result is? Fake fight! Fortunately, Intel’s Anand Chandrasekher just stepped in, referee-style, and dropped the retraction hammer on his loose-lipped, ARM-bashing underlings with the following correction:

“Intel’s low-power Atom processor does not yet match the battery life characteristics of the ARM processor in a phone form factor; and, that while Intel does have plans on the books to get us to be competitive in the ultra low power domain - we are not there as yet. Secondly, Apple’s iPhone offering is an extremely innovative product that enables new and exciting market opportunities. The statements made in Taiwan were inappropriate, and Intel representatives should not have been commenting on specific customer designs.”

So… friends, or are we doomed to repeat the whole toasted bunny thing again?

[Via cnet news]

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Source: Thomas Ricker

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Filed under: Desktops

With all these nettops, netbooks and plain ole motherboards flying every which-away, it’s hard to say if Portwell’s Atom-based nano-ITX board really is the first, but it’s close enough to count in our book. Utilizing all sorts of legerdemain and black magic, the engineers at Portwell were able to craft a Linux-friendly mobo that measures just 4.72- x 4.72- x 0.65-inches and supports Intel’s Silverthorne Atom while including six USB 2.0 ports, embedded audio and a gigabit Ethernet jack. The Nano-8044 can be ordered in two flavors — the Z530, which packs a 1.6GHz CPU, or the Z510, which clocks in at 1.1GHz. As you could likely guess, this one’s aimed primarily at point-of-sale machines, digital signage devices and other commercial applications, and the sub-10-watt power draw should keep energy costs to a minimum. Oh, and it should totally play Doom in a pinch.

[Via LinuxDevices]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Desktops

Surely you remember the Atom-based Shuttle X27 barebones kit — you know, that cute little nettop case that was selling for $189 with its insides all hollow? For those with no time to fill it up, the full-fledged X2700N is now on tap. Boasting a 1.6GHz Intel Atom 230 processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, a 120GB hard drive and a GMA950 integrated graphics set, this Linux-based box can be yours right now for $379.99. That’ll also buy you a dual-layer DVD writer, gigabit Ethernet port, 802.11b/g WiFi, a handful of ports (six USB, VGA, DVI, audio in / out) and a 1-year warranty. ‘Tis a shame it’s not housing one of those dual-core Atom 330s, huh?

[Via ComputerMonger]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Wait, what’s this? Intel’s shipping the dual-core Atom 330? Despite reports that the 1.6GHz chip wouldn’t actually leave the dock until Q4, Intel itself has stepped up to ensure everyone that it’s getting ‘em out in Q3. The brief points out the obvious — you know, that the 330 was designed with nettops in mind — while also confirming that it boasts 1MB of L2 cache, an 8-watt TDP and support for DDR2 667. So yeah, let’s get these in some systems, shall we?

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Laptops

We already caught a brief glimpse of Samsung’s first netbook offering, but it looks like the company is now fully on board the bandwagon du jour, with it releasing some official photos and a few more specs of the still-unnamed netbook ahead of the promised October launch. This one is apparently a 10.2-inch model, and will pack the usual Atom N270 processor, along with a standard hard drive of unspecified size (no word on an SSD option), a 6-cell battery, and Windows XP for an OS, among other standard features. No official word on a price just yet, but Samsung tells What Laptop that it’ll be in keeping with other similar offerings on the market, and that it’ll be available in your choice of white, black or blue.

Update: Looks like those remaining specs aren’t much of a mystery any more. According to Pocketables, you can expect to get 1GB of RAM as standard, along with your choice of 80, 120, or 160GB hard drives, a 1.3 megapixel webcam, and a 3-in-1 card reader, all in a 2.9-pound package. Still no official word on a price just yet, but it looks like it’ll sell for the local equivalent of $550 in Korea.

[Thanks, techiefan777]

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Source: Donald Melanson

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Filed under: Laptops

Things are looking rosy in Intel’s land of Atom, the little chip that could. Early reports from the chip maker indicate that Atom sales are brisk. After declaring a 25% rise in quarterly profit, Intel noted that the MID, netbook, and embedded-friendly Atom isn’t cannibalizing sales of its traditional processors. In fact, it notes that Atom chips are creating a completely new money machine. Intel calls Atom a “perfect recession product” as it plays well into people’s desire to pick up a second PC or a low-cost small computer for kids. Meanwhile, the embedded market hasn’t even been reported yet. Once those numbers come in, it will probably be time to call Atom a success.

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Source: Joshua Fruhlinger

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Filed under: Laptops

Whoa, wait a second. Is ASUS about to plop another Eee PC onto the totally numb-to-this-brand public? As confident as we are that ASUS wouldn’t dare hesitate to dilute its once meaningful Eee moniker even further, we’re still taking this with a morsel or two of salt for now. Spotted on French site Blogeee, a host of new images depict the Eee PC 900 (with a design occasionally preferred over the 901) with an “A” bringing up the rear. It doesn’t take an Intel engineer to guess what that might mean, now does it?

[Via thegadgetsite, thanks K.C.]

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Source: Darren Murph

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