i5-450M
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ASUS Bamboo Collection laptops: now with Taiwanese pricing, more bamboo (update)
ASUS has been attaching bamboo to its laptops for some time now, but it was only ever really for show -- though the wood itself was certainly biodegradable, adding veneer isn't exactly the greenest statement in the world. This year, however, the company's Bamboo Collection will be completely slightly more recyclable. With Core i5-450M processors, they should be reasonably good performers as well, and NVIDIA Optimus switchable graphics technology gives them a factory-estimated (read: unlikely) 11 hours of battery life. The panda fodder cases will be found in Taiwan for around $40,000 NTD (approximately $1,300) next month, though US availability is yet to be announced. Check out the gigantic ASUS PDF for additional specs while you wait, and feel free to blow Ma Earth kisses all the while. Update: Our friends at Engadget Chinese inform us the new U series laptops aren't 100 percent recyclable after all; they still have a sizable plastic substrate underneath those thicker bamboo panels. It seems ASUS still hasn't managed to shake its wooden façade. Get specs and first-hand pics from the event at our more coverage link.
New Core i7, Core i5 mobile processors to debut in HP Envy?
Intel's churning out the mobile chips like nobody's business -- no sooner does it admit the existence of Core i5 and Core i3 ULV CPUs, the chipmaker finds itself with more explaining to do. That's because dedicated Hewlett-Packard fans just found references to three new standard-voltage Core 2010 chips in the service manuals for the new HP Envy 17 and Envy 15 gaming laptops. The i7-840QM appears to be Intel's new top-of-the-line quad-core CPU, sporting a 1.86GHz clock that turbos up to 3.20GHz (or 3.20MHz, if you believe the above screencap) and 8MB of L3 cache; the i7-740QM is two steps down with 1.73GHz / 2.93 GHz clocks and a 6MB L3 cache; and the i5-450M appears to be indistinguishable from the existing i5-520M with 2.4GHz / 2.93 GHz clocks and 3MB of L3 to help it along. Given the megahertz typo above and the fact that none of these new processors appear anywhere else in the documentation, we wouldn't be surprised if these specs weren't rock-solid... but if they are, the new Envy may well live up to its name. Full PDF available below. [Thanks, Reznov]
