x370
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AMD returns to high-end gaming CPUs with Ryzen 7
AMD has largely ceded the performance processor space to Intel in recent years. You typically get one of its chips inside a budget PC, not an all-out gaming rig. At last, though, you might have reason to get excited: AMD is launching Ryzen 7, a desktop CPU line based on its much-ballyhooed Zen architecture. The key is a dramatic improvement in the number of instructions the chip can handle at once. A Ryzen 7 CPU can do 52 percent more work every cycle than a similarly-clocked predecessor thanks to a newer 14-nanometer manufacturing process, five times the bandwidth and some overdue architectural upgrades. This is AMD's first processor with simultaneous multithreading (Hyper-Threading in Intel speak), so each core can execute two code paths at the same time.
MSI X370 with AMD E-450 upgrade arrives stateside
Strip out the old E-350 Zacate APU from MSI's thin-and-light X370, replace it with a brand new 1.65GHz E-450 Llano engine with around 20 percent higher CPU and graphics benchmarks, and what do you get? The X370-205US, that's what, or equally the 206US white variant. The 13-incher just popped up at Amazon and Newegg with exactly the same $579 price tag as its vanquished predecessor, the same 1366x768 resolution, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, up to ten hours' stamina and an easy-going 3.11 pound weight that will only hurt your chiropractor.
MSI slips AMD's Fusion into 13-inch X370 ultraportable, hopes you'll notice
Tired of Intel's Core i5 taking a beating on your X-Slim X360's battery life? Join the crowd. For those less concerned with playing Crysis 2 and more concerned with a solid overall machine, MSI's new X370 looks to strike a lovely balance. The 13.4-inch ultraportable gets a 1366 x 768 resolution display, AMD's hot-off-of-the-presses Zacate E-350 APU, Radeon HD 6310 graphics, HDMI / VGA outputs, a pair of USB 2.0 ports, an internal card reader, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, gigabit Ethernet, a 1.3 megapixel camera and (nearly) as much DDR3 memory as you can stuff into it. You'll also get a 320/500/640GB hard drive, a 4- or 8-cell battery and a chassis that weighs 3.08 pounds with the smaller of the two cells. Naturally, Windows 7 (64-bit) is the OS of choice, but the company's stopping short of providing a hard price or release date -- here's hoping it falls somewhere between "cheap" and "price mistake."
