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Fujitsu brings its Lifebook Ultrabooks to the US, NH532 and Esprimos tag along for the ride
Did you eye Fujitsu's new U772/E Ultrabook and dream of bringing that 0.69-inch thick, Ivy Bridge-packing Lifebook across the Pacific? The company has clearly been reading your mind, since it's just started shipping the portable and a few of its companions to the US. In American guise, you'll find the more simply-titled U772 carrying a choice of Core i5 or i7 chips, as much as a 500GB spinning hard drive or a 256GB SSD for storage, a trio of USB ports, HDMI and an SD card slot. It's joined by a more budget-oriented brother, the UH572 Ultrabook, which is slightly more portly (0.71 inches and 3.5 pounds) but otherwise touts the same credentials. The two are shipping right away and will offer that Japanese Ultrabook flavor at prices of $1,149 for the U772 and $999 for the UH572. Those more accepting of big-boned computers aren't left out of the mix. On the still semi-portable side, the Lifebook NH532 takes Ivy Bridge to a desktop replacement size, albeit with precious few other details besides its 17.3-inch screen. Three Esprimo desktops (sadly, not pictured) are making the leap to third-generation Core chips as well, including the extra-quiet Q910 mini desktop as well as the fast-booting P710 microtower and full-size E710 desktop. While Fujitsu isn't giving us a full peek at the larger side of the roster, none of them stretch budgets: the NH532 sits in the mid-range at $749, while the E710 / P710 and Q910 are also easy on the finances at their respective $649 and $999 asking prices. %Gallery-157069%
Fujitsu outs Lifebook U772/E Ultrabook with Ivy Bridge in Japan, aimed at the business crowd
In case you didn't have enough Ivy Bridge-loaded machines to choose from, now you'll have one more to add to the pile of options -- at least if you live in the Land of the Rising Sun. Keeping the momentum going, Fujitsu has unveiled a fresh business-oriented Lifebook, the U772/E. The company's flaunting this Ultrabook's security features as a main selling point, adding bits such as a fingerprint sensor and a security chip to help if you're feeling paranoid. Aside from that, you'll get a 14-inch LCD display (no word on resolution), a third-gen Core i5-3427U CPU, the promise of up to nine hours of runtime and an SSD / HDD mixture. So, just how much will you have to shell out? Fujitsu's slapping a 250,000 yen (about $3,200) price tag on the 9mm Lifebook (at its thinnest point) once it goes up for sale in Japan later this month.
MSI unwraps Slider S20 hybrid tablet with Windows 8 (hands-on)
MSI is well-known for showing tablets at Computex -- it even showed what amounts to the same tablets at two different shows. It's certainly shaking things up this year, however, with the Slider S20. We've seen hybrid tablet PCs before, but the Windows 8-toting S20 has a fairly slick tilting mechanism that locks the 11.6-inch touchscreen at an angle, turning the slate into a pseudo-laptop right on the spot. MSI is only willing at this early stage to mention a few key details, but it's promising at least one Slider S20 variant with a properly speedy low-voltage Ivy Bridge chip as well as 4GB of RAM, Bluetooth 4.0, HDMI and USB 3.0. Our friends at Engadget Spanish got an early look and found the tablet a bit chunky with a so-so display, but also thought that it looked like a "robust" design. Check our overseas companions' first impressions for more, and know that the Slider S20 is expected to reach Europe in September at €899 ($1,121) in its full Ivy Bridge glory along with a lower-powered model at €799 ($996).%Gallery-156804%
HP takes EliteBook W-series on a trip to Ivy Bridge, throws in Z220 Xeon workstation for good measure
HP has been rolling out a steady stream of Ivy Bridge-based upgrades over the past few weeks, and now it's the turn of the pro-oriented EliteBook W-series to get the long-awaited upgrade. The 8470W, 8570W and 8770W draw on Intel's faster dual Core i5 and quad Core i7 chips with respective choices of 14-, 15.6- and 17.3-inch screens. All of them pack AMD's FirePro for video duties, although big spenders at the larger two sizes can opt for one of NVIDIA's Quadro K-series graphics chips as well as an IPS-based display for color-sensitive work. Options will get you niceties such as a 24GB SSD cache, 3G and up to 16GB of RAM, although the EliteBooks' signature military-spec resistances to dust, shock and temperature are thankfully par for the course. The range costs $1,329, $1,449 and $1,699 as you move up the screen size ladder, and all three will be available before June is over. If you prefer your workstations to be more powerful but slightly more stationary, you're still welcome in HP's world: the equally fresh Z220 desktop carries Intel's new quad-core Xeon E3 processor or, if that's a bit too rich for your blood, a Pentium or quad Core i7. AMD FirePro and NVIDIA Quadro video cards are both made-to-order upgrades, and the modern underpinnings add both USB 3.0 as well as headroom for up to 32GB of RAM, if the fear of paging to disk keeps you awake at night. HP has both tower and small form factor versions of the Z220 starting off at $699, and they too will be ready to stretch IT budgets later this month. %Gallery-156730%
Intel details 14 dual-core Ivy Bridge processors ahead of Computex
Intel announced its quad-core Ivy Bridge processors in April, but we've known that dual-core CPUs must be on the way too. And alas, the chip maker does have some up its sleeve -- 14, to be exact. Core i5 and Core i7 versions will be the first to ship, with Core i3 processors launching later this year along with new Pentiums and Celerons. Of the 14 dual-core processors, six are desktop-grade. The rest are mobile, though four are ultra-low voltage (which will be denoted by a U at the end of their name). Computex is just around the corner, and we expect to see plenty of Ivy Bridge systems -- especially Ultrabooks with ultra-low voltage CPUs -- there next week. In the meantime, we've already reviewed the Lenovo ThinkPad x230, a system running a dual-core 2.6GHz Core i5 Ivy Bridge processor. If you're into the nitty-gritty details, you'll find plenty to love in the Intel slides below the break.
Intel to show third-gen Ultrabooks at Computex, makes USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt a necessity
When Intel first unveiled its grand plans for Ultrabooks at last year's Computex, many of the fireworks were consciously reserved for Ivy Bridge-based variants in 2012 -- well, they're here. This year's show in Taipei will show off the third generation of the skinny, MacBook Air-inspired platform, and Intel is toughening up the design requirements in the process. The thickness requirements are the same as last year, at 18mm for systems with screens under 14 inches and 21mm for bigger machines, but high-speed ports are now mandatory to get that coveted "Ultrabook" label and the full marketing weight of Intel's $300 million Ultrabook Fund: if a PC doesn't have either USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt, it's out of the running. Intel also wants security built-in, rather than optional, as well as guarantees that a system is quick and responsive when it's fully awake. Not that this would be terribly hard with the low-voltage Ivy Bridge processors launching at the same time, mind you. Just to reinforce the importance of it all, Intel is noting that the flood of Ultrabooks is about to pick up in a big way as the category hits the mainstream. We were promised 75 Ivy Bridge Ultrabooks this year in a presentation back at CES; that number's now up to 110, 30 of which will be Windows 8-friendly touchscreen models and another 10 opting for the convertible tablet route. At least some of those lightweight portables should pop up at Computex next week, and you can be sure we'll be investigating as many of them as we can to see just how well Intel's partners have advanced the game.
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge S430 readies to enter Euro market, gets priced at €809 on German site
A lot has happened since Lenovo unveiled its biz-oriented Edge S430 back at this year's CES, but after months of staying under the radar, it's finally looking like the laptop's ready to hit a few shelves around the globe. If a product page on Geizhals.at is to be believed, the Thunderbolt-loaded, 14-inch S430 is set to carry a €809 (about $1,015) price tag on one of the higher-end models, with this particular one showing a hot-off-the-press Ivy Bridge CPU (i5-3210M), NVIDIA GeForce GT630M graphics, 4GB of RAM and two USB 3.0 ports, among other things. Of course, this kind of cash is a slightly larger amount than, say, the $749 we heard when the machine was announced -- though, that's likely caused by the souped-up specs and could, as usual, vary depending on configuration. Either way, we have a feeling it won't be too long before we find out its official pricing and release date.
Quad-channel DDR3 memory corralled in round-up, Corsair, G.Skill and Patriot take home the trophies
If you've wanted to build an X79-based gaming PC but were fretting over getting the most out of the quad-channel DDR3 memory you'll want to pair with that Ivy Bridge processor, don't fret: HotHardware has gathered together some of the most common high-speed RAM options and put them to the test. The results aren't clear cut and depend heavily on what you're looking for. Corsair's 1,866MHz Vengeance kit and a similarly clocked G.Skill RipJaws Z set are recommended for striking good balances between low lag and raw speed, while Patriot's Viper X Division 4 is lauded for having the best value and the best stock cooling. That's not to say that Kingston's HyperX line isn't worth it for some speed demons, but the testers suggest hitting the middle of the road to get a good trade-off between speed and the cash outlay you'll need to get there.
Acer outs Ivy Bridge-packing TravelMate P243 notebook series in the UK
Needless to say, Ivy Bridge is here to stay -- at least until Intel takes us on a different road. That being said, Acer just announced a business-oriented machine of its own with Intel's latest chips onboard. Part of the outfit's TravelMate lineup, this 14-inch (1366 x 768) P243 rocks some pretty standard features, including a Core i5, Ivy Bridge processor, an HD webcam for all those Skype calls and a USB 3.0 port. As expected, depending on configuration, you'll also be able to choose up to 8GB of RAM, as well as NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M graphics if you don't mind shelling out the extra cash. Speaking of, Acer's pricing the TravelMate P243 starting at £339 (about $536) once it hits UK shelves -- though, there's no word on when that'll be. In the meantime, you can check out some additional eye candy after the break.
Intel brings Ivy Bridge to third-gen Core vPro business platform
Now that Ivy Bridge has established its presence in notebooks from Acer to Samsung, Intel is unveiling the third generation of its Core vPro processor platform. In its announcement today, the chip maker said this technology will be available on Ultrabooks, laptops, desktops, workstation and all-in-ones. Though the Intel Core vPro platform will work across many PC categories, it clearly has a business bent, with features such as the company's branded Identity Protection Technology for adding a second layer of user authentication and Active Management Technology for remotely managing PC activities and fixing glitches. Along with adding extra protection, the third-gen vPros offer support for up to three external displays and enable HD video conferencing. Skip past the break for even more corporate jargon in the press release.
Acer ships Aspire M5 Ultrabook to UK in June, Ivy Bridge and Kepler chips in tow
Acer made something of a splash when it trotted out its Timeline Ultra series of Ultrabooks at CES; those waves are just now hitting the shore with a full-on release in the UK under a tweaked Aspire M5 name. Both the 14- and 15-inch models are now known to be packing Intel's Ivy Bridge-era third-generation Core processors, and the "dedicated" video we heard about in January is NVIDIA's Kepler-based GeForce GT 640M, which we saw in the Timeline Ultra M3. Either new PC is still under 20mm (0.8 inches) thick with the option of an SSD, like the M3, but slapping the M5 badge on top means a much narrower display bezel, a backlit keyboard and other more upscale touches that show where your money's going. Picking the 15-inch model adds an optical drive along with a keypad for number-crunching. Mum's the word on exact specs and that all-important pricing, but those questions will be answered by the time the M5 hits British shops in mid-June. Now all that's left is to know when the new Aspire reaches the other side of the Atlantic.
Intel sets sights on 5nm chip; already gearing up fabs for 14nm production
Ivy Bridge, Intel's first generation of chips to use the 22nm fabrication process, is hardly out of the gate, and yet talk has already turned to the company's next manufacturing technologies. According to Xbit Labs, which got its hands on some telltale slides, Paul Otellini et al. have the roadmap for 10nm, 7nm and 5nm processes locked down, and the company is preparing fabs in the states and Ireland to make chips using the 14nm fabrication method. Given that timeframe, Intel says 10nm chips will ship in 2015, with work on 5nm technology beginning that same year. While the slides in question look legit -- and that timeline matches previous reports -- we're not sure just when these mystery slides first made the rounds. Alas, we'll have a good few years to sort 5nm fact from fiction.
MacBook Pro and iMac with next-gen Ivy Bridge processors crop up on benchmarks (update)
Yup, Apples are bound to flow beneath the Ivy Bridge at some point, but how much of a performance boost will they deliver? If you're happy to hold onto a little skepticism, then two unexpected appearances on the Geekbench site could offer some early answers. The first purports to be an unknown 'MacBookPro9,1' laptop powered by an Ivy Bridge Core i7-3820QM running at 2.7GHz, which achieved a benchmark of 12252 -- that's around 17 percent better than a current equivalent Core i7 15-inch or 17-inch MacBook Pro. The second benchmark comes from an 'iMac13,2' running off Intel's next-gen Core i7-3770 desktop chip clocked at 3.4GHz, which only merits a score of 12183 because it's hobbled by 4GB of RAM. If you exclude memory and compare only the CPU integer and floating point scores, then you're looking at a roughly nine percent gain over a current 27-inch iMac with a 3.4Ghz Core i7-2600 processor. Now, these benchmarks could be faked, or represent non-final hardware, but the motherboard codes look valid (see the source links) and they generally tally with what we've come to expect from Ivy Bridge: a healthy oar-stroke forwards, but nothing that would frighten the fish. Update: 9to5Mac has done some digging and come up with a few more interesting tidbits about the upcoming MacBook Pro refresh. For one, code pulled from the Mountain Lion beta appears to indicate that the Ivy Bridge machines will boast USB 3.0 and a new GPU in the NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M. The site also claims that the laptops will be slimmer than the current gen, a rumor that we've been hearing for quite some time now.
Intel caught using cheap thermal paste in Ivy Bridge?
For all the good stuff it brings, Ivy Bridge has also been running a little hotter than reviewers and overclockers might have liked -- and that's putting it mildly. A few weeks back, Overclockers discovered a possible culprit: regular thermal paste that sits between the CPU die and the outwardly-visible heatspreader plate. By contrast, Intel splashed out on fluxless solder in this position in its Sandy Bridge processors, which is known have much greater thermal conductivity. Now, Japanese site PC Watch has taken the next logical step, by replacing the stock thermal paste in a Core i7-3770K with a pricier aftermarket alternative to see what would happen. Just like that, stock clock temperatures dropped by 18 percent, while overclocked temperatures (4GHz at 1.2V) fell by 23 percent. Better thermals allowed the chip to sustain higher core voltages and core clock speeds and thereby deliver greater performance. It goes to show, you can't cut corners -- even 22nm ones -- without someone noticing, but then Apple could have told you that.
Thunderbolt on Windows gets hands-on, lacks Mac's hot-swapping
Thunderbolt's 10-gigabit interface is only just making its way to Windows after spending more than a year as a Mac-only feature, so it's not surprising that a lot of questions surround how well the Apple- and Intel-developed connection works for those of a Microsoft persuasion. A thorough test at AnandTech of one of the first motherboards to support the spec on Windows PCs, an Ivy Bridge-ready board from MSI, has shown some positive signs along with a few flies in the high-speed ointment. The good news? Most general storage devices will work as expected with a minimum of fuss, and you can even get some features of Apple's Thunderbolt Display working if you're willing to accept a lack of pre-supplied software brightness controls and USB support. The bad news comes mostly in the absence of true hot-plugging like on the Mac: if a device isn't plugged into the Thunderbolt port on boot, Windows won't see it. Professionals who need everything to be just perfect will want to wait, then, but bandwidth lovers will still find something to like if they're willing to build Thunderbolt-equipped PCs themselves.
Panasonic outs Let's Note B11 laptop series in Japan, Ivy Bridge in tow
Okay, it may not be one of the sleekest laptops we've seen of late, but Panasonic's B11 is packing a hefty amount of horsepower underneath that beastly shell to make you forget its looks. This Let's Note B11 is a worthy refresh to the B10 series we showed you a while back -- although aesthetically it didn't change much. Inside the Japan-bound B11 is Intel's latest Core i7-3615QM chip, which you can pair alongside a 750GB hard drive or a 256GB SSD. You can also choose up to 16GB of RAM if you go the quiet route, while the HDD configuration only allows a maximum of 8GB of memory. The 15.6-inch (1920 x 1080) B11 is set to hit Japanese shelves on May 18th, with pricing ranging from a whopping 170,000 to 250,000 yen (around $3,100) depending on how you set it up.
NEC's 13.3-inch LaVie Z Ultrabook weighs just 2.2 pounds, brings lithium-magnesium into your life
Just in case you thought NEC was done with its PC updates this week, the Japanese PC builder has thrown its hat into the Ultrabook ring with a unique contribution of its own. The LaVie Z has a 13.3-inch screen like your garden variety ultralight, but it weighs just 2.2 pounds through a new lithium-magnesium alloy shell about half the weight of the aluminum that some companies love to use. Unfortunately, that weight and the slim frame are about all we know so far: NEC isn't providing any internal specifications, possibly because it's waiting on Ultrabook-ready Ivy Bridge chips. Even so, if you're hanging around Japan and want the lightest possible laptop you can get at a 13-inch screen size, the wait until the planned summer release will feel like an eternity.
ASUS intros three new ROG TYTAN gaming desktops, Ivy Bridge on board
Those of you looking for a fresh, Ivy Bridge-powered gaming rig may want to look ASUS' way. The Taiwanese outfit just welcomed a trifecta of new ROG TYTAN machines to its lineup, which include the CG8580, CG8270 and CM6870 -- all sporting similar aesthetics as that CG8490 we showed you a while back. For starters, the higher-end CG8580 packs a quad-core, 4.6GHz Core i7-3770k CPU alongside a single-touch Turbo Gear button for overclocking, a twin 128GB SSD and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX680 graphics card. As for the CG8270 and CM6870, you can choose between Intel's third-gen Core i5 or i7 for processing power, up to 16GB of RAM and, of course, a DVD or Blu-ray player. ASUS hasn't given official pricing yet, but we're sure that's going to depend heavily on how souped-up you want your future gaming beast to be.
Fujitsu unveils two new LifeBooks, shows some Ivy Bridge zen
Fujitsu's teased us before with Intel's hot new chipset, but now it's getting ready to actually ship two notebooks with Intel's third-gen Core i7 CPU. The first, like others before it, will be a refresh of an older model, the LifeBook LH532, with its last-gen i7 tech swapped out for Ivy Bridge. Other specs will stay the same, with 2GB of system memory, NVIDIA GeForce GT620M graphics with 2GB of VRAM and a 15.6 14-inch 1366x768 high definition TFT LED wide screen. The LifeBook LH772, on the other hand, is an all-new model which will have the same Ivy Bridge i7 horsepower and screen, but the addition of a 2GB NVIDIA Optimus graphics and 4GB of RAM. Being more upmarket than its cousin, it'll have added touches like Onkyo Box Speakers, a DTS UltraPC II Plus sound system and a fingerprint sensor. Both LifeBooks will have Fujitsu's Face Sense utility, which uses a front facing camera to detect your presence, and pause the system if you're not there. Fujitsu is also touting its Takumi design philosophy, supposedly offering zen-like simplicity and attention to detail -- with features like multiple color choices, rounded keyboard outlines, leveled palm rests and dichromatic keys. Fujitsu hasn't announced pricing yet, but if you need to hit your tasks quickly but harmoniously, check the PR below for more details. Update: The Lifebook LH532 is a 14" model, not 15.6". Apologies for any confusion.
VAIO T13 Ultrabook could be coming with Ivy Bridge, according to Sony's German site
If Sony's German site is to be believed, then it's safe to say the outfit's had a change of heart recently. According to a revealing spec sheet on the website, there's now a T13 Ultrabook model with one of Intel's latest chips on board. Just last week, Sony announced the Euro-bound T13 would be sporting a last-gen Core i3-2367M CPU, but the recent finding shows an i5-3317U variant (you know, the one on Sammy's Series 9) could be in the works. Still, it's unknown whether this Ivy Bridge-packing VAIO would replace its Sandy Bridge sibling or if it's just going to be a complete different offering. We'll have to wait and see.
