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DosPara's Merom-powered, 13-inch Prime Note Chronos NW2
Last time we saw Japanese PC manufacturer DosPara it was hawking its new small-footprint, Core 2 Duo-powered Super Mini 2 HTPC, and now the company has gone and crammed a Merom CPU into yet another tight space, the 13-inch Prime Note Chronos NW2. In its base configuration, this 4.2-pound notebook sports a 1.66GHz T5500 processor, 1,280 x 800 resolution, 512MB of RAM, an 80GB hard drive, multi-format DVD burner, three-flavor WiFi, and a 4-in-1 card reader. If you're willing to pay more than the ¥129,950 ($1,086) that this setup will run, another 20,000 yen ($167) will get you a 2.0GHz T7200 chip and a full 1GB of RAM. Both versions of the NW2 should be available immediately, but as usual with these machines, it's unlikely you'll find one at your local big box retailer anytime soon.[Via Akihabara News]
Averatec 6600 does Core 2 Duo
Look, not every Core 2 Duo lappy is going to have full-on 17-inch gaming prowess, sometimes they've gotsa have 15.4-inch screens with 1280 x 800 resolutions and one of those 128MB ATI Radeon X1400 graphics cards. And that's OK. Really, Averatec, your new 6600 unit might not have the freshest of designs, but it looks plenty thin, and we like how you've packed in a 2GHz T7200 Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB of RAM, and a 100GB SATA HDD. It'd be nice to know a price or release date, but we're not pushy, we're sure you'll do it up on the cheap. You do your thing, Averatec, we're behind you all the way.
More Merom from Toshiba, the Satellite P105-S9722
You know what they say: if you've seen one "onyx blue metallic" laptop, you've seen them all, but we thought we'd run this new P105-S9722 by you just in case that's not entirely accurate. The new 17-inch laptop is mainly a Core 2 Duo bump from its Core Duo P105 predecessors, but that's not the only spec getting some love here. The laptop's "media port" can now be configured with S/PDIF or DVI-D output, along with the existing options of a 5-in-1 card reader or instant play button. Otherwise, things remain the same, though a 2.0GHz T7200 processor is nothing to scoff at. You should be able to pick up one of these now for around $2,000 with all the trimmings, including Bluetooth 2.0, 2GB of RAM, 256MB GeForce Go 7900 GS graphics and Windows XP Professional. Not bad at all.[Via Laptoping]
Toshiba's Satellite A105-S4344 goes Merom
In case you haven't had your fill of Merom-powered notebooks, Toshiba is hoping to spice things up a bit with its oddly-spec'd A105-S4344. We hope you really dig the 6-pounder's "onyx blue metallic" finish, as it's the only available color option at present. If you're still hanging with us, you'll find a 15.4-inch LCD, 1.66GHz T5500 Core 2 Duo CPU, a whole 2GB of RAM, a massive 200GB 4200RPM hard drive, dual-layer DVD burner, 802.11a/b/g, and even a fingerprint reader to boot. Toshiba apparently felt these impressive inclusions could cover up the lackluster Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics, missing Bluetooth, substandard XGA resolution, and the lack of gigabit Ethernet. Anyways, the machine does muster a nice selection of ports, including PCMCIA, ExpressCard, 5-in-1 flash reader, S-Video out, 4-pin FireWire, and a foursome of USB 2.0 ports. Presumably catering to media-centric buyers, Toshiba includes Windows XP Media Center Edition and a reported "4.22 hours of battery life" to watch at least a couple decent flicks while on the move. The snazzy blue A105-S4344 is currently available for $1,399.99 (after rebate).[Via Laptoping]
HP Compaq's tc4400 tablet PC joins the Merom crowd
If you thought the bevy of Merom-based laptops coming at you had finally stalled, well, maybe it has -- but HP Compaq's tc4000 tablet PC has arrived (albeit fashionably late) with spec-bumped innards that include an Intel Core Duo 1.83GHz T5600 processor. Aside from the Merom boost, this convertible also packs 512MB of DDR2 RAM, a 12.1-inch XGA display, 5,400RPM 80GB hard drive, 56k modem, gigabit Ethernet, 802.11a/b/g, biometric fingerprint sensor, and a 6-cell battery. It comes fully prepared for that stylus abuse thanks to the included Windows XP Tablet Edition 2005, and sports the usual complement of ports: VGA out, S-Video out, microphone in, headphone jack, IR, and a trio of USB 2.0 connectors. If you've somehow held out on those Merom-powered laptops and just can't resist the allure of taking notes on an LCD, the tc4400 is available now for $1,479.[Via Laptoping]
HP's Compaq business notebooks get the Merom touch
Oh, how we love new processor releases. Just when you think that you have every last spec-bumped PC covered, along comes HP with Core 2 Duo options for nearly all of its business-oriented Compaq notebooks. As we've seen almost all of these models before, you're probably quite familiar with their features, so we'll gloss over those and instead concentrate on the five new CPUs available to each machine. Starting at the low end we have the 15.4-inch nx7400 series, which along with the previous Celeron M, Core Solo, and Core Duo configurations, now offers you a choice of the 1.66GHz T5500, 1.83GHz T5600, 2.0GHz T7200, 2.16GHz T7400, or 2.33GHz T7600 flavors of Merom. Next up are the nx6320 and nc6320 members of the 6300 series, which retain their respective 14.1-inch and 15-inch screens, but add the same Core 2 Duo options as the nx7400. Then we have the 14.1-inch widescreen nc6400, which used to only offer Core Solo and Duo processors, and now (guess what?) gives you all the Merom you can handle. A little higher up on the food chain are the 17-inch nx9420 (pictured) and 15.4-inch nx8420 and nc8430 notebooks, once highlighted by their 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 GPUs, and now best known for their Core 2 Duo configurability. Finally, the last machines to get the Merom bump are the 4400 series, a set of 12.1-inch ultraportables that ship as either regular notebooks or convertible tablets. That's all for now folks, but like a bad penny, these re-speced laptops promise to keep turning up no matter how hard we will the deluge to end.[Via MobileMag]
Hitachi's PriusOne and PriusAIR do the Merom bump
So in addition to the Prius K series of laptops, Hitachi brought the Core 2 Duo to their Prius Air type R and Prius One Desktop W. At the top of the Air type R series is the AR35RS2 Windows Media Center PC which features a 26-inch LCD with 1360x768 resolution, 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo E6300, Intel G965 Express graphics, 1GB memory (expandable to 2GB), 320GB of disk, dual-layer multi-drive, and integrated terrestrial digital TV tuner. That model demands ¥340,000 (about $2,930) and ready to ship October 26. Sure, lesser configs are available for less with a 19-inch display and Pentium 4524, but why settle? The Prius One type W also got a shot of Merom for more all-in-one PC fun. This series comes in W and S flavors with the AW37W2S bringing a 20-inch 1360x768 display, 1.66HGz Core 2 Duo T5500, Intel 945GM Express graphics, 1GB memory (2GB max) that generous 320GB of disk, dual-layer multi-drive, and integrated digital/analog TV tuner which provides a TV-mode to view the boob while the computer is off. The S brings much the same only with a lowly (and much cheaper) Celeron M 410 proc and 17-inch 1280x1024 display. Expect to fork over about ¥290,000 (about $2,499) for the W or ¥210,000 (about $1,810) for the S when they drop in September. Picture of the Air after the break.
Acer's TravelMate C210 12.1-inch tablet goes Core 2 Duo
If you woke up this morning craving a bit of Merom juice in a 12.1-inch tablet then check the TravelMate C210 from Acer. Like the C200, the "Vista Premium Ready" C210 features a sliding-track to easily move from slate-style tablet to keyboard mode. Inside you'll get a range of Intel's new Core 2 Duo procs, 256MB GeForce Go 7300 graphics, 802.11a/b/g WiFi, up to 4GB of DDR2 memory and 160GB "or higher" (whatever that means) disk, and fingerprint reader for a bit of security when left behind at happy hour. Slap in an optical drive and 6-cell battery and you're looking at a 5.5-pound tablet. Sorry, no ship date or price yet but you can expect this to cost about the same as the C200 it's replacing, or about $1900.[Via laptoping]
Acer throws down 13 new Merom-based laptops
Acer isn't really messing around with their rollout of Core 2 Duo laptops. They've got 13 new ones, including six TravelMates and seven Aspires, and they've even managed to get Blu-ray or HD DVD drives into a few of them. The headliner of the bunch is the new TravelMate 8210, which runs the full range of Core 2 Duo chips, boasts of the Windows x64 OS, and tops it all off with a Blu-ray drive. You can upgrade the RAM to a max 4GB to really get the use out of the 64-bit Windows, and there are plenty of other perks like 802.11a/b/g WiFi, ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics with 256MB of VRAM, a built-in 1.3 megapixel camera, and even an option for a Bluetooth VoIP phone. As for the rest of the TravelMates, it's just model number soup, with the 14-inch 3270 and 3290; 15.4-inch 8210, 4230 and 4280; and the 17-inch 5620 all rocking the Merom. The Aspires include three HD DVD capable laptops in their midst, the 9120, 9520 and 9810. The bottom of the barrel is the 14.1-inch 5590, followed by the 15.4-inch 5630, 5680 and 9120. Finally there's the 17-inch 9420 and 9520, along with a 20.1-inch monstrosity, the 9810. As generous as Acer is with laptop releases, they're a bit stingy on prices and release dates, but we expect to be seeing most of these laptops -- at least the ones that don't get stuck waiting around for a blue laser -- before long.Read - Acer's Merom lineupRead - Acer TravelMate 8210
Dell stuffs Merom into two more, the Inspiron E1505 and E1405
No surprises here, but Dell is fleshing out their Core 2 Duo processor upgrades with two more Inspiron laptops, the E1505 and E1405. The cheapest of the cheap is a E1505 running a 1.66GHz T5500 processor for a mere $729 -- after the $100 instant rebate -- but speeds scale all the way up to the 2.16GHz T7400. The E1405 starts at $779 -- again, with a $100 instant rebate -- with the same range of processors. Other specs include a 60 or 120GB HDD, combo drive or DVD burner, and your pick of Intel 950 integrated graphics all the way up to a NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300 card with 256MB of memory. Both laptops also have an option for an 802.11n card, along with Bluetooth, and both still have a Core Duo option if you've got a hankerin' for Yonah. All configurations should be available now or soon from the Dell store.Read - Inspiron E1505Read - Inspiron E1405
Apple to release a 23-inch Core 2 Duo iMac September 12th?
While trying to figure out why my TUAW Tips mailbox just choked and cried uncle, I finally found the source of the clog: too many tips to count started pouring in that the announced September 12th special event (not to be confused with the 25th) could be the announcement of a 23-inch iMac Core 2 Duo, not to be confused with the Core Duos in many Macs right now. This new chip is code named Merom (aren't Intel and their code name games cute?) and promises a 40% performance increase over current Core Duo chips, but with zero increase in power consumption.This rumor has blown up everywhere, from AppleInsider to MacRumors and, of course, Engadget. September 12th could easily be something big, as it isn't simply some arbitrarily chosen day - it coincides with the first day of Apple Expo Paris.Speculators - start your engines.
23-inch Core 2 Duo iMac rumors begin swirling
You know how the industry loves a good Apple rumor or two (or ten, or a thousand), but when you start getting some synchronicity between the menagerie of rumor sites out there, it's bound to rise to the top. Today's hit: September will see the entry of a 23-inch iMac, as well as a line revamp for the all-in-ones over to Merom Core 2 Duo mobile (i.e. not desktop) processors. (Our staff of twelve interns gave it a quick mock right upstairs there.) We've seen our fair share of Merom launches this week, so it stands to reason that if the spec bump is on target, then the MacBook Pro may get that upgrade as well -- certainly Apple wouldn't want to feel left behind now that they're competing mano-a-mano with all those PC manufacturers, now would they? Oh, and while we're at it, we'll tack on one more for ya: at the same time, reports are starting to come in regarding sly Mac mini upgrades from Core Solo to Core Duo processors, perhaps in anticipation of bumping those specs up a little, too. Apple has indeed been known to upgrade to their customers' pleasant surprise (see: MacBook Pros going up with nary a word, for example), but then again perhaps they're just out of the Core Solo parts, and needed to get those units out the door.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]Read - 23-inch Merom iMacs (via MacRumors)Read - Mac mini
Alienware's Core 2 Duo m5550 laptop reviewed
PC Magazine has posted a review of Alienware's high spec Area-51 m5550 laptop, which is loaded up with a top-end 2.33GHz T7600 Core 2 Duo processor, a 1280 by 768 pixel 15.4-inch display, 2GB of RAM, a 100GB hard drive, 802.11a/b/g, and a GeForce Go 7600 with 256MB of VRAM. This configuration will set you back $2,799 (with the processor costing $700 alone), but you do get a lot of bang for your buck: in fact, the reviewer said that the T7600 in the m5550 produced some of the fastest numbers he'd seen "from any notebook." Unfortunately the same can't be said for the machine's battery life, which lasted just under 2 hours, nor the graphics performance, which was good, but no match for the GeForce Go 7900GTX in Dell's gaming dedicated XPS M1710 laptop. The heat output was also noticeably high, hitting 114 Farenheit despite the fans being on. Ultimately, whether or not you decide to go for this machine depends on how much you want / need the 2.33GHz T7600: it's all about weighing up the T7600's performance against a longer battery life, a fuller wallet, and the most important thing of all, prettier thighs.
Velocity Micro's Merom-powered NoteMagix L80
You probably thought we were done with this latest volley of Merom-powered laptops. Ha -- you were wrong. Next up to board the Core 2 Duo train is Velocity Micro's 15.4-inch NoteMagix L80 "Ultra Notebook Computer," which adds T5500, T5600, T7200, T7400, and T7600 options (ranging from 1.66GHz to 2.33GHz) to the already available suite of regular Core Duo and Celeron M configurations. So besides the latest processors, what makes this model so "ultra"? Well first of all, it ships with a 256MB nVIDIA GeForce Go 7600GS card standard -- a refreshing change-up from the usual integrated graphics we see around here -- plus an option to bump the LCD resolution up to 1,680 x 1,050 from a ho-hum 1,280 x 800. You can also cram in as much as 2GB of DDR2 RAM, a 7,200 RPM 100GB hard drive, and dual-layer DVD burner, with WiFi, a card reader, and three USB 2.0 ports part and parcel of any configuration. Available immediately, you can pick up a decently-speced L80 for about $1,655, but of course for the one we'd want, pricing is a little closer to $2,600.[Via laptoping]
AOpen opens the door to Core 2 Duo miniPCs
AOpen, creator of the Mac mini-mimicking miniPC, is the latest PC manufacturer to announce that it'll be using Intel's notebook version of the Core 2 Duo processor, this time in its ultra small form factor PCs. From now on, the company's MP945-X, -VX, and -VXR PCs, along with a range of Series i975 and i945 motherboards, will all support Core 2 Duo. If you bought one of these products before this announcement and fancy getting in on the Core 2 Duo action, then all you need to do to add support is grab a new BIOS and set of drivers from the official site. UK-based miniPC reseller Evesham has already offered up some shots of a Core 2 Duo T7200 (2GHz, 4MB cache) and Windows MCE '05-equipped model which also has a built-in digital TV tuner, 1GB of RAM, a 100GB 2.5-inch hard drive, along with a bundled remote control. Finally, the DVI port at the back runs off an integrated graphics chip, which isn't much of a surprise considering the machine's diminutive 50 x 165 x 165mm dimensions, although the £799 incl. VAT price tag doesn't make us feel any better about it.[Via TrustedReviews]
Final Core 2 Duo Mobile benchmarked; eh, it's ok
So, now that you're totally and completely freaking sick of hearing about the Core 2 Duo mobile (aka Merom) laptops that were launched today, perhaps it'll interest you to find out exactly how well these machines perform compared to their original Core Duo counterparts? Well, without taking away too much of the reason to hit the PC Perspective benchmark bonanza that pitted the Core 2 Duo T7600 against the Core Duo T6700 -- both today's and yesterday's 2.33GHz Intel Core chips -- we can tell you that the performance was in all cases better, though not typically much more than marginally so. Under heavy load Core 2 Duo was only 2 to 6 degrees cooler (and even in some cases hotter) than the Core Duo, though in one test it did score an entire half hour more battery life. So what have we learned? Well, you can walk -- don't run -- to pick up your Merom laptop, if at all. Us? We'll be fine with our Core Duo (even our Pentium M) machines a while longer yet, thanks; somehow we don't think that 2 or 3 degrees of heat shaved off the top is really going to finally help us conceive.[Thanks, Mark W.]
Sony gives FE, AR, and SZ Vaios the gift of Merom
Never one fall behind its competitors (well, except maybe on the portable audio front), Sony's stepped it up and given Core 2 Duo options to a total of eight different laptop configurations: one in the 15.4-inch Vaio FE series, three in the 17-inch AR series, and four in the ultraportable 13.3-inch SZ series. The VGN-FE770G is currently the cheapest way to get your Merom-on through Sony, though you're still getting a decent feature set for your $1,350: a 1.83GHz T5600 CPU, 1GB of 533MHz DDR2 RAM, a 120GB, 5,400RPM HDD, and a dual-layer DVD burner- though just a 1,280 x 800 resolution and integrated graphics that eat up 128MB of that RAM. As for the SZ series, you're starting out with the $1,950 VGN-SZ320P/B (T5600, 1GB RAM, 120GB HDD, DVD burner, nVIDIA GeForce Go 7400 graphics) and ending up with the $2,550 VGN-SZ370P/C, which jacks the processor up to a 2.0GHz T7200 and the RAM up to 2GB but leaves the rest of the specs untouched. Finally we have the AR's, with the $1,800 VGN-AR230G being your cheapest 17-inch option; here you get that ole T5600, a GeForce Go 7400 card, 1,440 x 900 resolution, 1GB of RAM, 200GB of HDD capacity, and obviously, a DVD burner. If you're looking to go high end, Sony's got you covered there too, as the $3,500 VGN-AR290G (pictured) sports a T7200 with 4MB L2 cache, GeForce Go 7600GT graphics, two gigs of RAM, 200GB of storage, a sweet 1,920 x 1,200 WUXGA resolution, and best of all, that multi-format Blu-ray burner that will make you the envy of all your friends and colleagues. We could bore you with an even longer list of specs for all eight lappies, but instead we'll just link you to their respective product pages and let you peruse at will....Read- VGN-FE770GRead- VGN-SZ320P/BRead- VGN-SZ330P/BRead- VGN-SZ360P/CRead- VGN-SZ370P/CRead- VGN-AR230GRead- VGN-AR250GRead- VGN-AR290G[Via laptoping]
Dell has a fever, prescribes Core 2 Duo updates to XPS and E1705 laptops
As expected, Dell is throwing a whole bunch of Core 2 Duo "Merom" processors into their existing laptop models: the XPS M2010, M1710 and M1210, along with the Inspiron E1705. All three XPS lapsters now offer your choice between a T7200, T7400 and T7600 Core 2 Duo processor, while the E1505 loses the T7600 option but holds onto a pair of Core Duo choices. The XPS units will be starting at $3,500, $2,300 and $1,200 respectively, while the E1705 bottoms out the collection at $1,124. Dell is promising Core 2 Duo updates for the Inspiron E1515 and E1405 later this week, with the Latitude D820, D620 and D520 to follow next week.[Thanks, Devin and Zach]Read - XPS M2010Read - XPS M1710Read - XPS M1210Read - Inspiron E1705
Sotec goes Merom with Winbook DN7010 and DN8010
Like HP, Sotec's also got a pair of Merom-powered notebooks for us to drool over check out today, spec-bumped members of its Winbook DN7000 and DN8000 series. The 15.4-inch DN7010 features a 1,280 x 800 resolution, between 512MB and 2GB of 533MHz DDR2 RAM, anywhere from 40GB to 120GB of HDD capacity (all running at 5,400RPM), DVD Super Multi Drive, and most importantly, Core 2 Duo CPUs in either T5500, T7200, or T7400 flavors.You're getting almost the exact same configuration options on the DN8010, expect this model sports a larger 17-inch display with 1,440 x 900 pixels to play around with. The 8010 also throws in FireWire, an eSATA port and an SD / MMC / MS card reader, while both machines sport 802.11a/b/g, an ExpressCard slot, Ethernet (Gigabit on the 8010), four USB 2.0 jacks, and S/PDIF, D-sub, and S-Video outs. Both notebooks will be available for purchase on September 11th, with the DN7010 rocking a ¥109,800 ($938) pricetag and the DN8010 starting at ¥119,800 ($1,024).Read- DN7010 Read- DN8010[Via Impress]
HP's nx6310 and nx6320 go Core 2 Duo
Next up to board the Merom train is Hewlett Packard, with Core 2 Duo versions of its 14.1-inch nx6310 (pictured) and 15.0-inch nx6320 laptops. At their cheapest configurations, both machines sport a 1.66GHz T5500 processor, integrated graphics, CD-ROM drive (blah), and a 40GB hard drive, with the 6310 rocking 256MB of RAM and the 6320 sporting 512MB. The nx6320 also has double the USB 2.0 ports (four versus two), ups the Ethernet to Gigabit status, and throws in an ExpressCard slot in place of the 6310's PCMCIA. Of course with these fairly weak specs come pretty low prices as well: when they go on sale next week, the nx6310 will start at just 96,600 yen ($825) while the base nx6320 will also be priced under a grand at 111,300 yen ($950).[Via Impress]
