Gadget Reviews

Lenovo can’t be feeling too much warmth toward the FCC right now. After Intel and Wistron combined to remove any mystery from its next IdeaPad, here comes the latter with yet another filing revealing yet more tasty morsels of knowledge. Wistron’s latest submission is for a “Notebook Computer with Wacom Digitizer,” which immediately points us toward the high-end ThinkPad W series,with the W700 being the only Lenovo laptop to sport such an appendage so far. Reassuringly, the new model name appears to be W701 and we’ve spotted a 2GHz Intel CPU, 320GB Fujitsu HDD, and a Samsung-made 17-inch WUXGA (1920 x 1200) display in amongst the test specs. If your appetite hasn’t been titillated already, the only contemporary mobile CPU from Intel that we know to run at a default speed of 2GHz is the quad-core Core i7-920XM, which comes with 8MB of L3 cache, 3.2GHz single-core max speed, 55W TDP, and a truly stratospheric price. We might have a Holiday Gift Guide candidate for 2010 already.

Filed under: Laptops

Lenovo ThinkPad W701 hints at Core i7 Extreme in FCC reveal originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Who’s up for some more Intel roadmap rumoring? The latest scuttlebutt from “notebook players” over in the far East is that the chip giant has finally settled on names, speeds, and prices for its first three Arrandale CPUs, which are expected to arrive in the first half of 2010. The Core i5-520UM and Core i7-620UM both run at 1.06GHz, while the top Core i7-640UM model speeds ahead at 1.2GHz, with bulk-buying prices of $241, $278, and $305 per unit of each processor. Even if the processing speeds might not impress on paper, these 32nm chips splice two processing cores, the memory controller, and graphics engine all into the same package and thereby deliver major power savings. Platform pricing is expected to remain at around $500 for netbooks, while the ultrathins these chips are intended for should hit the $600 to $800 range… if Lord Intel wills it so.

Filed under: Laptops

Intel Arrandale chips detailed, priced and dated? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You could certainly argue that many of today’s gaming laptops are fungible, but if you’re scouting a new beast with a Core i7 within and plenty of customizable options, iBuyPower has one of the few available today. The outfit has just launched its Battalion 101 W870CU, a 17.3-inch behemoth with a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution LCD, up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM, a 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 GPU, up to 500GB of hard drive space, an optional Blu-ray drive, built-in 7-in-1 card reader, gigabit Ethernet, WiFi and Windows 7 Home Premium. It’s up for order as we speak, but you’ll be coughing up at least $2,505 for the privilege. Or, you know, you could just snap up ASUS’ Core i7-equipped G51J, which retails for just $1,499…

Filed under: Gaming, Laptops

iBuyPower ships Core i7-powered Battalion 101 W870CU gaming laptop originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here’s hoping you held off on purchasing that Core 2 Duo G51 just a few months ago, ’cause ASUS has just pushed out the exact same laptop with a Core i7 within and a price tag that’s $200 skimpier. The G51J-A1 was launched alongside Windows 7, and the crew over at Hot Hardware managed to toss it on the test bench to find out what kind of gains could be expected when going from Intel’s last-gen CPU to the newly-announced Core i7-720QM. The long and short of it is this: the new CPU enabled this machine to smoke the C2D sibling in every test, with graphical performance being nothing short of astounding. ‘Course, the omission of a Blu-ray drive was somewhat of a bummer, but for just $1,499, it’s not like we really expected one to be included. Hit the read link for the full skinny, but only if you’ve got some disposable income that you don’t mind parting with.

Filed under: Laptops

ASUS’ $1,500 Core i7-equipped G51J gaming laptop gets reviewed originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Eager HP fans have been doing some digging around and have uncovered details on the company’s Fall updates. Heading the pack will be the 18.4-inch dv8, set to feature a quad-core Core i7 720QM CPU, 640GB of storage and 4GB of memory. The processor formerly known as Clarksfield has 6MB of onboard cache and can be Turbo Boosted to 2.8GHz, which should do justice to the gargantuan screen size and included Blu-ray drive. If, on the other hand, you want to be able to move your laptop, there’s the CULV-powered 11.6-inch dm1 or 13.3-inch dm3 (pictured). Both will come with 1366 x 768 glossy displays, while the dm3 will also offer a cheaper AMD Neo flavor. Another three models, a TM2 tablet and Mini 210 and 311 netbooks, are also known by name if not spec. While the usual pinch of salt is advisable, a Dutch website already has the new laptops listed in its price comparison engine, corroborating the specs and the expected arrival alongside Windows 7’s October 22 release.

Update: We’ve also come across the specs for the Mini 311. Apparently, it’ll be an 11.6-inch NVIDIA ION machine, with the Microsoft-mandated Atom N270, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD spec and a six cell battery. See it in the flesh after the break.

[Via Liliputing and Notebook Spot]

Read – HP Softpaq update reveals new models
Read – Pavilion dv8 listing – €1,426.81 / $2,040
Read – Pavilion dm3 listing – €677.11 / $968
Read – Pavilion dm1 listing – €481.89 / $689
Read – Mini 311 specs

Continue reading HP dm1 and dm3 ultraportables leaked, Pavilion dv8 to pack Core i7? Update: Mini 311 has ION!

Filed under: Laptops

HP dm1 and dm3 ultraportables leaked, Pavilion dv8 to pack Core i7? Update: Mini 311 has ION! originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Sep 2009 10:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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