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Intel's mSATA SSD 310 reviewed: a pint-size performer through and through
The forecast for speedy, razor-thin laptops is looking pretty sunny right about now, because it seems Intel's SSD 310 truly does bring the power of a full-sized solid state drive on a tiny little board. Storage Review and The SSD Review thoroughly benchmarked the tiny 80GB mSATA module this week, and found it performs even better than advertised -- easily tearing through 200MB / sec reads and 70 MB / sec writes -- which put it slightly behind Intel's legendary X25-M series but well ahead of the company's X25-V boot drives. While we're still not seeing Sandforce speeds from Intel's tried-and-true controller and 34nm silicon and they might not make Toshiba's Blade run for the hills, we can't wait to test it out in some new Lenovo ThinkPads when they integrate the SSD 310 later this year. Oh, by the way, that big green board up above isn't the drive. It's actually the tiny one on top.
Intel 310 mSATA SSD knows that size matters, fits 80GB into less space than a credit card
Watch out, Toshiba, your tiny SSD modules aren't the only game in town for ludicrously small flash storage anymore. Intel's just announced a new SSD 310 line that offers spectacularly minimal 51mm by 30mm by 5mm dimensions, while retaining X25-class performance (up to 200MBps read and 80MBps write speeds). To give you an idea of what those measurements mean, the industry-standard 2.5-inch form factor, an already diminutive footprint, is eight times larger than these newfangled storage chips. 40GB and 80GB variants of the SSD 310 are shipping out to OEMs already and Lenovo has confirmed it plans to roll these into its next refresh of the venerable ThinkPad laptop line. Prices are set at $99 and $179 (depending on size) when bought in batches of 1,000, though direct sales to end users are predictably off the table for now. Better start saving up for that next ultrathin laptop if you want one.
HP announces TouchSmart 310 and Omni100 all-in-one PCs
It's not just oddly random Android tablet-based printers for HP today -- the company also announced two new all-in-one PCs, the TouchSmart 310 (pictured above) and the Omni100. The TouchSmart 310 is obviously the latest in the TouchSmart line, with a 2.8GHz Athlon II 240e dual-core CPU, 4GB of RAM, Radeon HD 4270 integrated graphics, a 1TB drive and a 20-inch 1600x1900 touchscreen running the latest version of HP's Windows 7 touch overlay with custom interfaces for Facebook, Hulu, Netflix, Twitter, and HP's built-in HDTV tuner. Not bad -- but we'll see how much all those options cost above the $699 base price. On the non-touch front, the Omni100 also has a 20-inch 1600x1900 display, but it's running HP's MediaSmart Windows 7 overlay on a 1.8GHz Athlon II 260u with 3GB of RAM, a 500GB drive and the same Radeon HD 4270 integrated graphics. It's also cheaper, starting at $499 -- we're definitely a little concerned that HP's cheaped out on display quality at those prices, but we'll have to see things in person first. We'll find out soon enough -- both of these hit on the 22nd. %Gallery-102785%
Zarhym drops hints about Onyxia encounter, mount drop rate
Over here at WoW.com, we're pretty stoked about the new Onyxia fight, which was why, despite the fact that it came in a somewhat trollish thread, I was pretty happy to see Zarhym drop a few hints about the Onyxia encounter and the drop rate of the new 310% speed Brood of Onyxia mount.He reveals that they aren't going back to the 4-instance heroic and normal setup of the Coliseum, instead just having plain old 10 man and 25 man normal modes. In addition, the mount will have an equal chance to drop from both encounters, so you have a chance at it no matter what your preferred raid size.That said, you probably shouldn't expect to just waltz in and get your whole raid outfitted in matching black drakes. The mount drops one at a time, and the drop rate is pretty low. Think pre-nerf Baron Rivendare's Deathcharger mount low. As Zarhym puts it: "One day I will have it, though as soon as I loot it I'll probably be struck by lightning on a sunny day and attacked by a shark, all while in the presumed comfort of my living quarters."That said, don't get too put out either way. It sounds like Zarhym hasn't ruled out the possibility of an old-fashioned "hard mode" achievement depending on how you face the fight (I'm fully expecting a "Many Whelps Left Side" style achievement myself), and we already know the new Onyxia is permanent, meaning you'll probably have until next expansion to try to farm your mounts.
Mio's Moov GPS units hit the States
If you've been waiting on the edge of your seat for Mio's new GPS satnavs to hit the States, it's time to break out the party favors. The PND-maker has just launched its Moov 200, 210, 300, and 310 touchscreen GPS units in the US, all equipped with SiRFstar III chips (with SiRFInstantFix II technology), pre-loaded maps of the US and Puerto Rico, and real-time traffic reports (on the 310 and 210). Prices range from $179.95 for the 3.5-inch 200, up to $249.95 for the 4.3-inch 310, and all four should be available on April 1st.
