Engadget

Toshiba's Portege R600 ultraportable gets the hands-on treatment

Nilay Patel — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 16:31:00 EST

Toshiba's R600 ultraportable got lost in the din of Tuesday's MacBook announcements, but TrustedReviews got their hands on the 12.1-inch ultraportable, which replaces the crazy-thin-and-light R500 and goes up against some pretty tough competition like the VAIO TT. Not a lot of external differences here -- it looks identical to the R500 -- but the keyboard, screen, and overall fit and finish have apparently been much improved, and the bump to Centrino 2 and the corresponding 1.2 or 1.4GHz Core 2 Duo processors is certainly appreciated. Click on for a bunch of pictures of the new rig, including some teardown photos.

Filed under: Laptops

Toshiba's Portege R600 ultraportable gets the hands-on treatment originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Oct 2008 16:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba gets official with Portege R600 ultraportable

Darren Murph — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 10:03:00 EST

We'd say it's a pretty terrible day for Toshiba to launch new laptops and expect anyone to pay attention, but we suspect that's glaringly obvious. Continuing on in its launch of new and / or revamped machines today, the Portégé R600 has been hammered down as official. The unit tips the scales at 2.4-pounds and measures in at just 0.77-inches thin while including a built-in DVD burner. You'll also find a currently undisclosed CPU (the mystery! the suspense!), a LED-backlit display, a 128GB SSD and a USB Sleep-and-Charge / eSATA combo port. Toshiba should be updated its site here shortly with full customization options, but for now, just know that this beauty will get going at $2,099.

Filed under: Laptops

Toshiba gets official with Portege R600 ultraportable originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Oct 2008 10:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba intros four new Portege machines, Tecra R10

Darren Murph — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 08:21:00 EST

The last Portégé we saw flow from Toshiba's doors was a revamped R500 in July, but now we know why we've been waiting so long for a true new member of the family. Clearly, Tosh has been shoring 'em up, waiting for this day to arrive when it would introduce four newcomers in one fell swoop. Starting us off is the ultrathin Portégé R600, which packs your choice of a Core 2 Duo CPU, 2.14-pound shell, a battery good for nine hours and a price tag ranging between $1,499 and $3,299. The Portégé A600 includes most of the same specs along with a GMA X4500 graphics controller and a more pedestrian price; the Portégé M750 Tablet PC adds in that always-exciting swivel action for those who care. Lastly, we've got the Tecra R10, which features a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo SP9400, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, 200GB 7,200 RPM hard drive, NVIDIA Quadro NVS 150M GPU and an MSRP of $1,999. No word on when these will head south to the US, but Canadians should be able to indulge soon enough.

[Via GottaBeMobile]

Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs

Toshiba intros four new Portege machines, Tecra R10 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Oct 2008 08:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Diamond planning HD 2900 XT-based 2GB VFX 2000 pro GPU?

Darren Murph — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 07:05:00 EST

Diamond is no stranger to packin' an awful lot of RAM onto graphics cards, and apparently, the forthcoming VFX 2000 Series Professional Workstation GPU will keep the legacy alive. According to Hot Hardware, Diamond is readying a 2GB (of GDDR4 memory, no less) professional card based on the R600 (now known as the HD 2900 XT), and reportedly, "the card's PCB has been modified from the standard HD 2900 XT reference design to support the workstation-class features inherent to the FireGL line of professional graphics cards." Still, there's no word yet on what frequencies the GPU and RAM will hum along at, but word on the street has this beast launching "in the coming weeks." Click on for another glimpse.

Continue reading Diamond planning HD 2900 XT-based 2GB VFX 2000 pro GPU?

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Gaming

Diamond planning HD 2900 XT-based 2GB VFX 2000 pro GPU? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Sep 2007 07:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Asus R600 GPS sports auto light sensor

Darren Murph — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 19:45:00 EST

Asus is wondering back into the wilderness that is the portable GPS market with the R600, but we'll admit, it certainly did a fair job differentiating this one from all of the middle-of-the-road alternatives. For starters, you'll find a 4.3-inch WQVGA touchscreen, Samsung 400MHz processor, 128MB of Flash ROM, 64MB of SDRAM, a SIRFstarIII chipset, SD expansion slot for up to 4GB of additional media, a rechargeable battery good for six hours or so, optional TMC module, a multimedia player, and handsfree calling via Bluetooth 2.0 for good measure. Additionally, it features an auto light sensor which automatically adjusts the LCD backlight when the time comes to make viewing the screen a bit more pleasurable. Unfortunately, mum's the word on pricing and availability at the moment.

[Via FarEastGizmos]

Filed under: GPS

Asus R600 GPS sports auto light sensor originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jul 2007 19:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vigor Gaming's Quadfather rig with HD 2900 XT graphics

Thomas Ricker — Wed, 23 May 2007 10:32:00 EST

If you don't want to upset the "Quadfather" then listen up, Vigor Gaming just unveiled their newest rigs based on AMD / ATI's R600 architecture. Right, as in the Radeon HD 2900 XT which, competes fiercely with (but doesn't quite take out) NVIDIA's 640MB GeForce 8800 GTS and GeForce 8800 GTX in head to head frag matches. Still, the top-o-the-line Force Recon QX4 starts at just $3,189, but increases quickly when bumping up to an 3.0GHz Athlon 64 X2 FX-74 dual processor option and that limited edition "Quadfather" paint (not to mention disk, memory, and fancy pants cooling options). Well, at least the guests to your next LAN party will be honored and grateful for the invitation.

Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

Vigor Gaming's Quadfather rig with HD 2900 XT graphics originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 May 2007 10:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ATI's Radeon HD 2900 XT benchmarked, trumps NVIDIA's GeForce 8800 GTS

Darren Murph — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 11:37:00 EST

Although preliminary testing proved that ATI's R600 architecture wasn't messing around, DailyTech added another layer of proof to the pudding as it benchmarked a bonafide Radeon HD 2900 XT against NVIDIA's 640MB GeForce 8800 GTS. The DirectX 10-capable card is a notch above the HD 2600 XT that was snapped in the wild, and the tested unit featured 320 stream processors, 512MB of GDDR3 RAM, a dual-slot "blower-type heat sink," dual dual-link DVI ports, and a serious desire to crank out impressive FPS numbers. While the marks weren't the end-all answer to the ATI vs. NVIDIA question, the Radeon managed to best its opponent in every single trial, including Call of Duty 2, Company of Heroes, F.E.A.R., Oblivion, 3DMark06, Maya 02, Cadalyst C2006, and a few more for good measure. Of course, we're sure NVIDIA will be hitting back with something of its own, but feel free to hit the read link if you take pleasure in graphical beat downs with ATI escaping victorious.

[Thanks, Mathieu]

Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

ATI's Radeon HD 2900 XT benchmarked, trumps NVIDIA's GeForce 8800 GTS originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Apr 2007 11:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD names names: R600 now the ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT

Paul Miller — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 13:16:00 EST

AMD is losing the "X" prefix of its ATI graphics lineup, and slapping on "HD" to denote the changes and advancements in its R600-based DirectX 10 cards. Up top is the Radeon HD 2900 XT (the rumors were close), with 320 stream processors, double that of the GeForce 8800 GTX from NVIDIA. The lower-end RV630- and RV610-based cards will go as the HD 2600 Pro / XT and the HD 2400 Pro / XT. HD on all these cards denotes the Avivo HD technology on board for decoding H.264 and VC-1 video off of Blu-ray and HD DVD discs. The 2900 series also has full HDMI outs, with integrated 5.1 surround sound. No exact launch date or pricing yet, but we shouldn't have too much longer to wait.

Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

AMD names names: R600 now the ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Apr 2007 13:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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More yummy details surface on ATI's R600 offerings

Darren Murph — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 06:38:00 EST

Sure, most roadmaps don't present anything to get immediately excited about, but considering the journey the R600 has taken to get to this point, the newest details concerning its future are indeed enthralling. While we've seen ATI's beast, witnessed its mighty power (and kilowatt sucking abilities), and even heard about a recent snag, it looks like things could be worked out fairly soon. According to TweakTown, the flagship edition -- dubbed the X2900XTX and codenamed Dragons Head 2 -- will sport a 9.5-inch configuration, 1GB of GDDR4 memory, dual DVI, video in / out, and require a baffling 240-watts of energy delivered through dual onboard power connectors. The X2900XT (Cats Eye) will share most of the same design characteristics as the aforementioned card, but will tout GDDR3 RAM and a lower clock speed to boot. As seen in the read link, ATI is apparently looking at releasing several more iterations with varying clock speeds and other luxuries, and while we can't confirm the claims just yet, the cards could be hitting shelves anytime within the next several weeks depending on model.

[Thanks, Juan D.]

Filed under: Desktops, Gaming, Peripherals

More yummy details surface on ATI's R600 offerings originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Mar 2007 06:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD shows off dual-R600 "teraflop-in-a-box" system

Paul Miller — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 12:50:00 EST

NVIDIA isn't the only one putting its massive amounts of GPU horsepower behind more mundane -- and potentially more lucrative -- tasks than pretty 3D gaming graphics. AMD just showcased its Accelerated Computing platform, which ties an AMD Opteron dual-core chip to a pair of AMD R600 Stream Processors for more than a teraflop of combined performance. AMD's not only proud of the basic muscle on display, but the achievements of its Accelerated Computing platform getting all that beef to work together. But really, all we want to know is if it can run Doom.

[Via DailyTech]

AMD shows off dual-R600 "teraflop-in-a-box" system originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Mar 2007 12:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ATI's R600 graphics chip hits snag

Donald Melanson — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 14:32:00 EST

We've had our eye on ATI"s new top-end R600 graphics chip for some time now, first getting a look at some impressive early benchmarks and then being taken aback by the foot-long graphics card the chips will call home (at least in some configurations). Sadly, it seems that those with money and power (as in 270W) to spare will have to wait a bit longer to slot one of the behemoths into their own PCs, with The Inquirer reporting that the R600 chips, and consequently the graphics cards based on 'em, have been delayed yet again, now pushed back to sometime in the second quarter of this year. There doesn't seem to be any word on the reason for the delay, but the news apparently came straight from ATI parent company AMD. Given what the cards are likely to cost, however, we're guessing that at least some won't be too disappointed in the delay, with the extra time allowing you to save up some more money and make some more excuses for why you're spending so much on a graphics card.

[Via TG Daily]

Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

ATI's R600 graphics chip hits snag originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Feb 2007 14:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Shots surface of ATI's R600 -- and boy is she a big one

Paul Miller — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 00:55:00 EST

We already know that this little monster hums along at quite a clip, but how does it look? Monstrous, of course. Those of you hoping to get off easy with the case size and power supply requirements are going to have to think again, ATI's R600 tops out at a record-busting 12.4-inches in length. ATI will have two SKUs of the R600 at launch, the XTX which features 1GB of DDR4 RAM and the R600XT with a mere 512MB of GDDR3 -- weak sauce, we know. The XTX version comes in retail and OEM versions and it's the OEM one (pictured) that really gets outlandish, with the 12.4-inch length and 270W of power consumption. The retail XTX cuts it down to 9.5-inches and 240W, while the weaker XT matches those specs. A little bit down the road, ATI will follow these up with the R600XL which will be cheaper and hopefully less demanding. Just for a frame of reference: NVIDIA's 8800 GTX was deemed outlandish with its longest-ever 10.4-inch length and beefy 165W power requirement. How much bigger are these things going to get? Oh, that's right, once they get outside our PCs there just won't be any stopping 'em.

[Via fx57; thanks Noah D]

Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

Shots surface of ATI's R600 -- and boy is she a big one originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Feb 2007 00:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ATI R600 graphics card benchmarked, cruises by NVIDIA's GeForce 8800 GTX

Darren Murph — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 04:24:00 EST

If one of your New Year's resolutions involved spending a massive chunk of change to kick out as many frames per second as technologically possible, you may want to put the brakes on that impending NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX purchase. Lvl505 got their palms on a pre-release ATI R600 graphics card and put it up against the best NVIDIA currently has to offer, and the results thus far show ATI's device as "the clear winner." Of course, these benchmarks have to be taken with a certain grain of salt, as the drivers used were "a modified version of a 32-bit Vista pre-build version," which should have yielded less-than-optimal results; interestingly, the R600 still ran all over the optimized NVIDIA setup. Testing the cards on an Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700-powered machine with 2GB of RAM, the single R600 card bested the solo 8800 GTX in basically every benchmark they tried, with common applications seeing minimal gains, but games saw between ten-percent (Half-Life 2: Lost Coast) and 42-percent (1701 A.D.) hikes. Apparently, the R600 was exceedingly impressive, as reviewers actually suggested that you "return your NVIDIA" card as soon as humanly possible while patiently waiting for January 22nd, when you can gleefully drop your $630 or so to pick up your very own R600. Oh, and you might end up paying somewhat of a monthly surcharge to use this bad boy too, as the 230-watts (which beats the estimations, actually) it'll require to operate could kick your power bill up a notch or two. Nevertheless, it's not exactly shocking to see a newer graphics card outgun one that's been on the shelf a moment or so, but we're still holding out for a finalized unit before making any final judgments on the combatants.

[Via Inquirer]

Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

ATI R600 graphics card benchmarked, cruises by NVIDIA's GeForce 8800 GTX originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Jan 2007 04:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ATI to release power-hungry external video card?

Darren Murph — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 21:51:00 EST

As microprocessors increase in efficiency and semiconductors diminish in size, the power required for them to function would also decrease -- in an ideal world, anyway. Unfortunately, this hasn't exactly been the case. If we're to believe the rumors, ATI's next major graphics core, dubbed the R600, will be packed to the brim with pixel pipelines and shader processors to handle the tasks that lie ahead in Windows Vista (if it ever comes out, of course), and, you know, games. But the crazy part here is that the chipset will supposedly require so much power that only an external implementation could provide the level of power necessary to satisfy those demands. An outboard graphics card, however, would one-up internal boards by providing a new level of flexibility. For starters, the same board could power your notebook and desktop, and laptop gamers would have access to bleeding-edge graphics that could turn a relatively weak notebook into a suitable LAN-party machine without the expense of an entirely new rig. Of course, there's still the issue of an external interface that could handle the multi-gigabit bandwidth required to make this system feasible not yet existing, but who knows, maybe those microchip wizards from AMD can give ATI a hand in bringing this to fruition without kicking our kilowatt meters into overdrive -- for now though, our quad-SLI setups are doing just fine, thanks.

[Thanks, Mack S.]

Filed under: Desktops, Gaming, Laptops, Peripherals

ATI to release power-hungry external video card? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Jul 2006 21:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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