Showing posts with label AMD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AMD. Show all posts
Saturday, June 13, 2009
AMD may have convinced HP to slap their new Congo into the updated dv2 ultraportable, but if you’ve been waiting to hear a little more about the dual-core chipset then we’ve some more detail for you. Targeted at thin-and-light notebooks rather than taking on Intel’s Atom N-series chips, Congo is a combination of the new dual-core AMD Neo processor, updated ATI graphics and an improved chipset.
The chipset is the M780G, while the graphics side of things is handled by the ATI Radeon HD 3200 IGP. That pairing brings with it HDMI, DisplayPort and eSATA connectivity, plus HD video hardware decoding and DirectX 10 for gaming.
There’s also support for hybrid graphics setups, where the Congo system is augmented with a selectable higher-spec GPU for more hardware-intensive applications. That’s an approach which has served NVIDIA well in the case of the GeForce 9400M/9600M offering available across many of Apple’s MacBook and MacBook Pro models. AMD expects Congo to arrive later in 2009, with system prices ranging from around $499 upward.
The chipset is the M780G, while the graphics side of things is handled by the ATI Radeon HD 3200 IGP. That pairing brings with it HDMI, DisplayPort and eSATA connectivity, plus HD video hardware decoding and DirectX 10 for gaming.
There’s also support for hybrid graphics setups, where the Congo system is augmented with a selectable higher-spec GPU for more hardware-intensive applications. That’s an approach which has served NVIDIA well in the case of the GeForce 9400M/9600M offering available across many of Apple’s MacBook and MacBook Pro models. AMD expects Congo to arrive later in 2009, with system prices ranging from around $499 upward.
Saturday, June 06, 2009
ITG’s xpPhone was one of the more curious prospects for Computex - something with the form-factor of a MID but resolutely intended to be used as a cellphone - and jkkmobile stopped by to check it out. The xpPhone certainly tries to fit in as much as possible: SSD up to 64GB in size, multiple wireless options including Bluetooth, WiFi, 3G and WiMAX, and an AMD mobile processor.
Contrary to our initial expectations, ITG didn’t cut down the number of buttons on the xpPhone’s keyboard; that’s perhaps because the device is considerably larger than we first envisaged. The 4.8-inch touchscreen is swaddled by a thick bezel, and as you can see in the video it’s a chunky device.
We can’t imagine holding the xpPhone to our head and using it as a traditional smartphone, but with a Bluetooth headset it might be more practical. An estimated five hours of battery life is always welcome, but we’re unconvinced overall; this seems a little too much like the jarring mash of device-types that has led MID sales overall to be disappointing.
Contrary to our initial expectations, ITG didn’t cut down the number of buttons on the xpPhone’s keyboard; that’s perhaps because the device is considerably larger than we first envisaged. The 4.8-inch touchscreen is swaddled by a thick bezel, and as you can see in the video it’s a chunky device.We can’t imagine holding the xpPhone to our head and using it as a traditional smartphone, but with a Bluetooth headset it might be more practical. An estimated five hours of battery life is always welcome, but we’re unconvinced overall; this seems a little too much like the jarring mash of device-types that has led MID sales overall to be disappointing.
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
We have something of a soft-spot for HP’s Pavilion dv2 ultraportable, the 12.1-inch AMD-powered notebook we played with back in April. Managing to find space for a capacious 500GB hard-drive, 4GB of RAM and a 512MB ATI discrete graphics card, the only potential downside is the ULV processor.Now HP are preparing at least two new versions of the notebook, together with a new color option. Of interest to anybody who found the Yukon CPU of the original dv2 underpowered, AMD’s dual-core Congo and full Athlon X2 processors are set to hit the notebook; there’s also a white version planned.
The white model keeps the black screen surround - seemingly to prevent eye-strain - but swaps the lower half of the notebook for a glossy white plastic. It looks to work quite well with the silver trim strips, but we find ourselves wondering how it might look after a few months of finger grease and scratches.
No word on pricing or specific availability for any of the new dv2 versions
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Gaming laptops are often on par with mainstream desktops in gaming performance, but have the drawbacks of being large and heavy. AMD wants to change this with the XGP, which is literally an external graphics card in a box. Unfortunately, this solution also has its drawbacks.Fujitsu Siemens was the first manufacturer to release an XGP box that can be used in conjunction with its 13-inch Sa3650 laptop. On its own, the 3650 is a fairly standard AMD-based laptop with a Turion X2 Ultra processor running at 2.1GHz and integrated Radeon 3200 graphics, which makes it sufficient for most tasks except gaming. When you add the GraphicsBooster, however, graphics performance get a a 470% boost according to Fujitsu. This isn’t particularly surprising, considering that the box contains a Radeon HD 3870 GPU.
One of the obvious drawbacks is that you need an external screen to use the GraphicsBooster, so basically it’s not really a mobile solution. We tried it with Far Cry 2 on an external 22” monitor, and regretfully it wasn’t running very well either, at least not in high resolutions.
Having your 13-inch laptop double as a gaming rig definitely sounds like an interesting idea, but clearly the 3870 isn’t fast enough to satisfy hardcore gamers. It will be interesting to see how future versions of the XPG perform, but for now it’s neither a mobile or cost-effective solution.
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