As Dell already did, HP publishes a list of models affected by the Nvidia GPU problem and updated BIOS.
Found via Fudzilla.
Archive for July, 2008
Problems with Nvidia mobile GPUs: HP updates BIOS too
Tuesday, July 29th, 2008Dell Studio Hybrid: Dell’s minicomputer available (at least in Spain)
Tuesday, July 29th, 2008Dell has just presented the desktop minicomputer Studio Hybrid. It is already available in Spain (and probably in other countries, but at the moment not in the US, UK or Australia).
It is a small (or VERY small, look at the size of the CD in the picture) form factor desktop computer with an appealing design. It has a good assortment of connections for a computer of this size (5 USB, FireWire, Gigabit Ethernet, DVI, HDMI, S/PDIF, card reader, line-in, speakers-out and headphone-out) but it’s not very powerful (up to Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 at 2,1 GHz, 4 GB RAM and 320 GB hard disk drive; graphics card is an Intel GMA 3100 that can’t be upgraded). Anyway, its performance should be enough for the most common needs and can be configured with BD drive.
Dell Studio Hybrid costs from 449 € with the base configuration (Celeron processor, 1 GB RAM and 160 GB hard disk), pero under Windows Vista I recommend the first preconfigured option (Pentium Dual Core with 2 GB RAM), costing 549 €.
Watch Dell‘s site for your country, It’s likely to be available later today or tomorrow.
Update: it’s already available at dell.com, and PC Magazine has already published a review.
Laptop reviews: Dell Studio 15, Lenovo Thinkpad SL400, Acer Aspire One and others
Monday, July 28th, 2008Things are much quieter this week. Here you have the laptop review I have found:
- Dell Studio 15 (15.4″): Notebook Review, Notebook Review.
- Lenovo Thinkpad SL400 (14.1″): Notebook Review.
- Sony Vaio FW139E/H (16.4″, multimedia; first look): Notebook Review.
- HP Compaq CQ50 (15.4″): CNET.
- Toshiba Satellite L305 (15.4″): CNET.
- MSI Wind (10″): PC Magazine.
- Acer Aspire One (8.9″, first look; in Spanish): Xataka.
Problems with Nvidia mobile GPUs: Dell updates BIOS
Saturday, July 26th, 2008There has been a lot of talk about some problems with Nvidia mobile GPUs. It’s difficult to know the truth inside so many reports and rumors, but the point is that an unknown number of Nvidia GeForce 8400M and 8600M have been manufactured using defective materials, and can fail with GPU temperature fluctuations.
Dell just updated the BIOS of the affected laptops. The update avoids the GPU failure, possibly enhancing its temperature control. Not all Dell laptop models with Nvidia GPU are affected: for more information and downloads, visit Direct2Dell.
Laptop reviews: Lenovo Thinkpad X200 and SL400, Sony Vaio FW198U/H, Acer Aspire One and others
Monday, July 21st, 2008This week we have a lot of laptop reviews, and the stars are Centrino 2 laptops and tablet PCs. Here you have (a bit late) the laptop reviews of the week:
- Lenovo Thinkpad X200 (12.1″): PC Magazine, Notebook Review, Laptop Magazine.
- Lenovo Thinkpad SL400 (14.1″): Notebook Review, Laptop Magazine.
- Lenovo Thinkpad X300 (13.3″): Notebookcheck.
- Sony Vaio FW198U/H (16.4″): PC Magazine, Laptop Magazine.
- Sony Vaio TZ298N (11.1″): PC Magazine.
- Acer Aspire One (8.9″): Laptop Magazine.
- Acer Aspire 6920G (16.4″): PC Magazine.
- HP Pavilion dv7 (17″): Laptop Magazine.
- HP Pavilion tx2500z (PC tauleta 12.1″): Notebok Review.
- Fujitsu Lifebook T5010 (PC tauleta 13.3″): Tablet PC Review.
- Fujitsu Lifebook T1010 minianàlisi (PC tauleta 13.3″): Blog de Laptop Magazine.
- Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Si3655 (13.3″): Notebookcheck.
- Dell Latitude XT (PC tauleta 12.1″): Laptop Magazine.
- MSI Wind (10″): Notebook Review.
- Toshiba Satellite L305D (15.4″): CNET.
Sony and Lenovo present new Centrino 2 laptops
Wednesday, July 16th, 2008The official launch of Intel Centrino 2 platform was July 14th, and most manufacturers are releasing new laptops based on this platform. If you are interested on technical details of Centrino 2, you have very good articles at PC Perspective and Tom’s Hardware, among others.
Sony has launched four new Vaio series:
- FW: multimedia laptops with 16.4″ monitors and a weight of 2.94 kg. From 999 € in Spain.
- Z: laptops with 13.1″ monitor and a weight of 1.55 kg, sporting switcheable graphics cards (Intel GMA 4500MHD or Nvidia GeForce 9300M GS), optional SSD… Pricing has not been confirmed in some european countries, starts from 1800 $ in the US.
- SR: laptops with 13.3″ monitor and a weight of 1.88 kg, cheaper than the ones in the Z series (from 1300 € in Spain).
- BZ: enterprise laptops with 15.4″ monitors, more oriented to enhanced security and reliability. From 999 € in Spain.
More info at Sony. There are a few reviews of the FW series at PC Magazine and Laptop Magazine, and you have a lot of pictures of these new laptops at Engadget (1, 2).
Lenovo has launched four new models:
- Thinkpad X200: very similar to the X300 model, with 12.1″ monitor and a weight of 1.34 kg. There are versions sporting conventional hard drives, so prices start at a reasonable level (from 1199 $).
- Thinkpad SL400 and SL500: 14.1 and 15.4″, SL is a new series of cheap laptops for small business (from 799 $).
- Ideapad U330: 13.3″ version of the successful Ideapad U110. Ideapad laptops are consumer-oriented and have a more attractive desing than Thinkpads.
- Update: Lenovo has also released the models T400, T500, R400, R500 and W500 (source: Laptoping).
There already are some reviews: Thinkpad X200 (PC Magazine, Notebook Review) and Thinkpad SL400 (Notebook Review, Laptop Magazine). Update: Engadget publishes the datasheets of series SL, R and T.
Other brands presenting Centrino 2 laptops are Toshiba, Acer, Fujitsu and Samsung.
ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2: first benchmarks
Monday, July 14th, 2008This week starts with the first benchmarks of ATI’s most powerful card: the Radeon HD 4870 X2. Here you have:
PC Perspective – AnandTech - ExtremeTech
The comments of the reviewers are not as good as the ones got by the Radeon HD 4850 and 4870, because while some games get a greatly improved performance, others run as on a single HD 4870. We have to wait for the results with final cards and drivers.
And talking about graphics cards, ATI plans the end of life of 3000 series in September.
Laptop reviews: HP Pavilion dv5z, Asus M70s, Toshiba Satellite Pro U400 and others
Sunday, July 13th, 2008Here you have the laptop review I have found during the week:
- HP Pavilion dv5z (15.4″): Notebook Review.
- HP Mini Note 2133 (8.9″): Xataka (videoreview).
- Asus M70s (17″, multimedia): Digital Trends.
- Toshiba Satellite Pro U400 (13.3″): PC Magazine.
- Dell Inspiron 1525 (15.4″): CNET.
- Asus Eee PC 900 (8.9″): Notebookcheck.
- Asus Eee PC 1000 (10″): CNET UK.
- MSI Wind (10″): Notebook Review (first look).
RAM memory and performance: where is the sweet spot?
Saturday, July 12th, 2008With current RAM pricing and memory-hungry Windows Vista around, it’s clear that 2 GB is the minimal desirable RAM memory for a new computer. Is it worth to buy more memory? Is regular DDR2-800 memory good enough, or do you need faster DDR3 memory?
Yesterday I found an interesting article with memory benchmarks: Is more memory better? (via PC Perspective). It compares the performance differences with 2, 4 and 8 GB. I also found, not long ago, an article comparing DDR2-800 vs DDR3-1333: does DDR3-1333 make sense?.
What are the conclusions of these articles?
- In some conditions 4 GB do offer a better performance than 2 GB, while the difference between 4 and 8 GB is smaller. Some games see an important performance jump with more memory.
- The impact of DDR3-1333 on general system performance is negligible.
Currently DDR3-1333 memory cost is nearly double that of DDR2-800 memory, so personally I think it’s not worth it, but the difference can be small compared to the total cost of the computer. Anyway, the decision is yours, but now you know what performance can you expect from several different memory configurations (I got 4 GB DDR2-800 for my new computer). And remember, to take full advantage of 4 GB or more RAM, you need a 64-bit operating system.
Laptop deal: Sony Vaio NR220E/S only 499 $ (factory refurbished)
Friday, July 11th, 2008
I don’t publish deals and offers often in the english version of optimitza.com, but I think this laptop can be of your interest.
Sony Vaio NR220E/S: Intel Pentium Dual Core T2330 (1.6 GHz), 1 GB RAM (2 GB max), 160 GB HD, Intel GMA X3100: only 499 $ (factory refurbished) at Buy.com.
In my opinion RAM falls short for Windows Vista; a 2 GB memory kit (1 GB x2) will cost you another 49.24 $ at Buy.com (548.24 $ in total). You can also find similar RAM kits from 39.99 $ at Newegg.com
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At work I use a laptop with similar specs (Pentium Dual Core, 2 GB RAM, Intel GMA X3100) and performance for Internet and office work is just fine.
