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Dell’s first entry into the Tablet PC market will command big bucks

Nearly seven months after the Latitude XT was first shown to the world, Dell is finally making its first Tablet PC available to consumers. Dell says that its new 3.53-pound Latitude XT is a ground-breaking device and is among the thinnest and lightest in its class.

The 12.1″ Latitude XT has both pen and capacitive touch technology. Capacitive touch allows users to manipulate items on the screen without the need to apply pressure directly to the display.

Click for more on Dell Announces $2,499 Latitude XT Tablet PC »

Intel will release its first desktop dual-core Celeron series, E1000, on January 20, according to sources at motherboard makers.

The first dual-core Celeron processor, the E1200, will have core frequency of 1.6GHz, 800MHz FSB and 512KB L2 cache with a price of US$53 in thousand-unit quantities.

Click for more on Intel to release Celeron Dulies Jan. 20 »

Cheaper than the X48, but still offering a 1,600MHz front side bus

P45 might be a redundant name to anyone in the UK, but that hasn’t stopped Intel from apparently using the name for its next mainstream motherboard chipset. According to a motherboard manufacturer that we’ve spoken to, Intel is planning to introduce the new chipset in 2008, possibly as early as January, and the rumor is that it will basically be the same as the P35, but with a 1,600MHz front side bus.

The timing of the launch sounds about right to us, as Intel is also planning to launch its first CPU with a 1,600MHz front side bus, the Core 2 Extreme QX9770, in January 2008. Intel also plans to announce its X48 chip for enthusiasts at this time, which supports the 1,600MHz front side bus as well.

The first tablet by top enterprise PC maker Dell could be a step toward bringing tablets from their traditional markets into the mainstream.

After an article appeared on the Engadget Web site Dec. 6, a Dell spokesperson confirmed that the PC vendor will unveil its new tablet offering—the Latitude XT—at a Dec. 11 event.

In May, Dell first revealed through its Direct2Dell blog that it would offer a convertible tablet PC by year’s end that would be geared for the enterprise and several vertical markets, including health care and education.

Click for more on Dell Tablet News Leaks Out »

Much of AMD’s bad luck over the last three months revolves around a nasty bug it just can’t shake

Erratum, to those in the hardware or software industry, is a nice way of saying “we missed a test case” during development and design.

Yesterday, The Tech Report confirmed AMD’s iteration of Intel’s F00F bug.  The bug, which has been documented since at least early November, can cause a deadlock during recursive or nested cache writes. 

How does the TLB erratum occur?  All AMD quad-core processors utilize a shared L3 cache.  In instances where the software uses nested memory pages, this processor will experience a race condition. 

Click for more on Understanding AMD’s "TLB" Processor Bug »

Enjoy the game with lower noise.

nVidia finally do something for the much complained stock cooler of the new 8800GT. The refreshed version looks like the old one but with a larger fan(75*10mm vs. 65*10mm).

Moreover, the old fan running from 1500 to 4400RPM which produce unbearable noise at full load, while the new fan, rages from 650 to 1650RPM. Yes, that’s right, the RPM when full loading is just slightly higher than the lowest RPM of the old one.

Click for more on 8800GT’s new stock cooler is cool n’ quiet »

Will be 9 chips in total

Intel began its 45nm offensive last month, but its first 45nm processors are largely out of reach for most users: the only desktop chip is the Core 2 Extreme QX9650, which is both prodigiously fast and prodigiously expensive, and the rest are Xeons aimed squarely at the server and workstation space.

We’re no strangers to rumors about more affordable 45nm Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Duo processors. Model names and clock speeds have long since leaked out, but rumor sites had yet to pin down a release date. The folks at Fudzilla have now filled that blank by naming January 20, 2008 as the expected day of Intel’s proper 45nm desktop assault.

According to Fudzilla, that date will see Intel roll out dual-core and quad-core 45nm processors with price tags starting as low as $169. Previous rumors tell us there will be nine chips in total: three quad-core models clocked at 2.5Ghz, 2.66GHz, and 2.83GHz; four dual-core models with clock speeds ranging from 2.66GHz to 3.16GHz; and a pair of wildcards—one quad-core chip and one dual-core one with unknown specifications.

Even though the 4GB version of Asus’ elfin Eee PC isn’t exactly easy to get hold of, some system sellers have started taking advance orders for the as-yet-unreleased 8GB model.

Set be available in both white and black versions, the 8GB solid-state disk Eee PC comes with 1GB of DDR 2 memory - double that installed in the 4GB model.

Like that machine, the 8GB incarnation has 802.11b/g Wi-Fi; three USB ports; a 10/100Mb/s Ethernet port; a 7in, 800 x 480 display; and a 900MHz Intel Celeron M ULV processor underclocked to 630MHz.

Here in the UK, one reseller, Clove, is offering the 8GB Eee PC on pre-order for £304.32 - around £84 more than the average price of the 4GB model. The unit is due sometime in Q1 2008.

Click for more on Sellers price up 8GB Eee PC »

However, good news inside

SADLY FOR AMD, the Phenom launch was dumbed down by a nasty bug that stopped AMD from launching a 2.4 GHz variant (9700).

At the same time, problems with the OS freezing were solved by a BIOS fix inside the motherboards that actually reduces performance between five to 10 per cent, since that BIOS update did nothing but ordered a processor to avoid that ill-fated corrupted cache data.

The problem with L3 cache caused performance reduction on all clock speeds and yes, Phenoms 2.2 and 2.3 GHz are affected as well, but it was really noticable at 2.4 GHz. BIOS run-around caused a 2.4 GHz part producing performance of 100-200 MHz slower parts. Of course, standard disclaimer in some rare-found, practically laboratory-only instances applies here.

Click for more on All Phenoms feature infamous L3 cache errata »

AnandTech reviews ASUS’s much talked-about Eee PC

The “Eee” in Eee PC is an acronym of sorts, because computer people love those. “Easy to Learn, Easy to Work, Easy to Play”; “Excellent Internet Experience”; “Excellent On-the-Go”. Look at the ASUS Eee webpages, and you will find a preponderance of the use of words starting with “E” used to describe the Eee PC. One acronym you won’t see used is UMPC, but while the Eee PC is certainly different from your typical UMPC - it lacks the touch sensitive stylus interface and it runs Linux by default - it can certainly fulfill the same niche if necessary, with some caveats. Considering it costs half as much as the cheapest UMPCs, anyone looking for such a device should give the Eee PC some consideration.

Click for more on ASUS Eee PC: Laptop, UMPC, or Something Else? »