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VAIO UX gets hot-rodded with Core 2 Duo mod
Sony's VAIO UX UMPC is definitely one of the sexier handheld PCs out there, but it's never been accused of being a rocket -- even the latest models only offer a lonely single-core 1.2GHz Core 2 Solo for your $2500, and since the chip is soldered onto the board, swapping it out for a Core 2 Duo isn't exactly easy, requiring an infrared soldering station and plenty of experience swapping chips. Nevertheless, it can be done, and Anh Nguyen from the Micro PC Talk forums pulled it off, upgrading his unit to a 1.2GHz U7600 Core 2 Duo with no ill effects or excess heat -- just some better benchmarks and hardcore modder bragging rights. Check out benchmarks after the break, and hit the read link for more.[Thanks, Logan]
Secrets of the Atom cracked, Wind PC revealed
Everyone wants a new generation ultra-portable pumping the Atom processor right? After all, it's Intel's latest and greatest Centrino proc. Not so fast... literally. Impress got their hands on an unofficially released MSI Wind PC (the mini-PC, not the low-cost laptop) and subjected the 1.33GHz Atom processor to a suite of standard tests. While the source is in machine-translated Japanese, that table comparing the Atom with Eee PC 900's Celeron and a typical ULV Core 2 Duo found in a wide range of full-sized, ultra-portable laptops speaks for itself. Keep in mind though that Intel's Atom is supposed to be less power hungry than its peers and CPU benchmarking is hardly the last word when it comes to determining real-world laptop performance -- read/writes to disk, memory, and other system nuances must also be considered. Nevertheless, based on this table and other mounting evidence, first and second generation Eee PC owners shouldn't feel any compulsion to rush out and upgrade to Atom on day 1.[Via Technophone and Notebook Italia]
Intel rolls out first Core 2 Duo ULV processors
So those pokey UMPCs and super-duper ultraportables that we love to hate are about to get a little more peppy, thanks to a pair of ultra low voltage processors from Intel that just happen to sport that AMD-killin' Merom core. Without much fanfare (or any at all, really -- where's the OCC ULV chopper?), Santa Clara introduced the 1.06GHz U7500 and 1.2GHz U7600 CPUs today, the latest chips to join the powerful Core 2 Duo family. Headed straight for the smallest of the small PCs, the new models are compatible with both the Napa and upcoming Santa Rosa platforms, with a minor pinout change necessary to accommodate the latter when it's released. Pricing details were not immediately available when we wrote this, but you can probably expect these two low-enders to be some of the cheapest Merom parts yet.
