Battle-Ready MSI GT685 Gaming Laptop Comes to Thailand

MSI is rolling out its new generation GT685—the ultimate gaming machine. In addition to featuring the Intel second generation Core™i7 quad core processor, it is the first laptop to sport the nVidia GeForce GTX 580M, the world’s fastest discrete graphics card, 32G DDR3 of memory, and accelerated dual hard disk architecture. It comes with Dynaudio and THX TruStudio Pro smart wrap around sound as well as a full HD screen. The MSI GT685 was awarded Editor's Choice by Thai IT mag Notebook4game.com and to ensure that it remains the top-selling gaming NB brand in Thailand, MSI is holding activities on university campuses to give gaming enthusiasts the opportunity to experience its gaming laptops.

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AMD's Ultrabook-Equivalent Platform Up To 20% Cheaper

While many might think that "Ultrabook" is a generic term for a new performance ultra-portable notebook form-factor, it is a registered trademark of Intel, which governs the specifications of what qualifies to be an Ultrabook. Intel will launch a well-defined Ultrabook platform based on its third-generation Core processor family, codenamed "Ivy Bridge", later this year. Meanwhile, AMD is finalizing a performance ultra-portable specification of its own, powered by its next-generation "Trinity" accelerated processing units (APUs), which it will call "Ultrathin".

Ultrathin will be designed to offer competitive CPU performance to Ultrabook, and superior GPU performance to it, at target prices 10-20 percent lower than Ultrabook. In 2012, while Intel bagged about 75 design wins for its Ultrabook platform, AMD claims to have already won 20. AMD's Ultrathin platform will have advantages over Intel's Ultrathin with regards to platform and component costs. The average AMD Ultrathin with $100~$200 cheaper than the average Intel Ultrabook. Some notebook vendors are concerned that a competitive platform to Intel Ultrabook could result in a price-war between the two platforms, and end up reducing the prices of the now profitable-looking performance ultraportable segment.

Source: DigiTimes

Hot News: Stolen Razer Blade Prototype Laptops

Razer, maker of high performance gaming gear, has reported that two of their prototype gaming laptops were stolen on the weekend of 4th November from their Bay Area R&D lab. Looking at the basic specs of the laptop, one can see why they were so attractive to thieves: Intel Core i7 2640M Processor (2.80 GHz), 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 Memory, 17.3" LED Backlit Display (1920 x 1080 pixels) & NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M with NVIDIA Optimus Technology and 2 GB Dedicated GDDR5 Video Memory and of course the styling. The outfit is understandably miffed about this and have announced the theft on their Facebook page:

Dear Razer Community,

Over the weekend of 11/4/11, we had a break-in at one of our Razer offices. Two Razer Blade prototypes were stolen from our Bay area R&D lab.

As you can imagine, the return of these prototype units is very important to the company. We have already reported this to the authorities who are working closely with us on this matter.

We take this act of theft seriously and would like to appeal for its return and discourage anyone from buying the Razer Blade prototypes from the perpetrators, whether online or otherwise, as they are stolen property.

We appreciate any and all information anyone may have on the incident. Please contact us at cult@razerzone.com if you have any information.

Thank you for all your support.

Min

Here's hoping that the criminals are caught soon and brought to justice. In the meantime, here is Razer's press release for this laptop, including more pictures and full specs.

Razer Unveils The World's First True Gaming Laptop

The PC industry today has never looked bleaker. The world’s largest PC-maker Hewlett-Packard just announced their intention to explore the separation of its PC business. With PC manufacturers increasingly abandoning design and technology in lieu of outsourcing and cost-cutting, the PC industry has seen a severe dearth of innovation in recent years. Gaming consoles have also taken advantage of this innovation slump in the PC industry to garner attention from game developers and gamers alike, to the extent that now PC versions of cross-platform games are often sub-par ports of their console counterparts.

Razer, the world leader in high performance gaming hardware, introduces the Razer Blade – a full aluminum chassis gaming laptop featuring true portability, incredible performance, and an all-new revolutionary user interface. With the introduction of the Razer Blade – a feat of modern-day systems engineering and technology, Razer is reinvigorating technological and design innovation for the entire PC industry, and encouraging gamers and developers to return to the PC as the primary gaming platform of choice.

Mobile systems developed for gaming today compromise on portability and form factor for game performance. While such machines run games well, they are over 2 inches thick and can weigh more than 10lbs. The Razer Blade measures 0.88 inches thin, less than half that of current mobile gaming systems, and weighs only 6.97lbs, achieving a balance between portability and performance – making it the world’s first true gaming laptop.

Developed in partnership with Intel, the Razer Blade features a fast Intel Core i7 processor and a high performance NVIDIA GeForce graphics processor. The hardware was designed torun the most demanding games of today without sacrificing the laptop’s portable form factor.The Razer Blade also does not compromise on screen size as it comes with an incredible LED backlit high-definition 17” display.

The Razer Blade features the Switchblade User Interface - Razer’s multi-award winning, highly intuitive interface technology. The interface is comprised of 10 dynamic adaptive tactile keys for easier access of in-game commands, and an LCD capable of two modes: one mode that displays in-game information when a mouse is in use; and another mode that functions as an ultra-sensitive, multi-touch panel designed for gaming on the go.

“The Razer Blade was designed to give gamers a laptop they could truly use on the go,” said Min-Liang Tan, CEO and Creative Director, Razer. “Its sleek, lightweight aluminum construction makes it the thinnest 17-inch gaming laptop available today.”

"To truly co-develop a gaming laptop of this caliber with a company like Razer is quite a remarkable feat,” said Mooly Eden, VP and General Manager of the PC Client Group, Intel. “Bringing together our engineering forces and utilizing our fast Intel Core i7 processor, the Razer Blade delivers top-class gaming performance in a very portable form factor."

“Powered by an advanced NVIDIA GeForce GPU with award winning NVIDIA Optimus technology, the Razer Blade has the muscle to run cutting edge games with intense graphics while still offering amazing portability,” said Rene Haas, General Manager of Notebook Products, NVIDIA.

“The Switchblade User Interface on the Razer Blade is a revolutionary innovation that truly defines the new standard for gaming experiences on a laptop,” said Min-Liang Tan.

About the Razer Blade gaming laptop
The Razer Blade is a 17” gaming laptop that delivers incredible performance and a revolutionary user interface in a sleek, portable form factor. It features a fast Intel Core i7 processor and a high performance NVIDIA GeForce graphics processor designed in a lightweight aluminum chassis. The revolutionary Switchblade User Interface, found next to a full-size keyboard, was designed from the ground up to enhance gaming experiences and provide more control at the gamer’s fingertips. It features 10 adaptive tactile keys and a multi-touch LCD panel that can also display in-game information. And at just 0.88 inches thin and only weighing 6.97lbs, the Razer Blade is the world’s first true gaming laptop.

Pricing and Availability
Price: US $2799.99, available Q4 2011 in North America.

Product Specifications:

• Intel Core i7 2640M Processor (2.80 GHz)
• 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 Memory
• 17.3" LED Backlit Display (1920 x 1080 pixels)
• NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M with NVIDIA Optimus Technology
• 2 GB Dedicated GDDR5 Video Memory
• Built-in HD Webcam
• Integrated 60Wh Battery
• 320GB 7200rpm SATA HDD
• Wireless Network 802.11 b/g/n Compatible
• 16.81" (Width) x 10.9" (Depth) x 0.88" (Height); 6.97lbs (Weight)

For more information, please visit the microsite.

Apple Updates MacBook Air With Next Gen. Processors, Thunderbolt & Backlit Keyboard

Apple today updated the MacBook Air with next generation processors, high-speed Thunderbolt I/O technology, a backlit keyboard and Mac OS X Lion, the world’s most advanced operating system. With up to twice the performance of the previous generation, flash storage for instant-on responsiveness and a compact design so portable you can take it everywhere, the MacBook Air starts at $999 (US) and is available for order today and in stores tomorrow.

“Portable, affordable and powerful, MacBook Air is the ultimate everyday notebook,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “MacBook Air features our most advanced technology and is an ideal match for Lion, especially with its new Multi-Touch gestures, full-screen apps, Mission Control and Mac App Store.”

MacBook Air is available in 11-inch and 13-inch models that easily slip into a briefcase, purse or bag. The MacBook Air’s durable aluminum unibody enclosure measures an incredibly thin 0.11-inches at its thinnest point and 0.68-inches at its thickest. Flash storage allows MacBook Air to turn on instantly and deliver fast data access, improved reliability and incredible energy efficiency. The 11-inch model weighs 2.38 pounds and provides up to 5 hours of battery life, while the 13-inch weighs 2.96 pounds and provides up to 7 hours of battery life.

With the latest Intel Core i5 and Core i7 dual-core processors, the new MacBook Air is up to twice as fast as the previous generation and has all the power you need for editing photos and movies, making FaceTime calls, playing games, and working with documents and presentations. MacBook Air also features Intel HD Graphics 3000 and offers up to 4GB of faster 1333 MHz memory.

Thunderbolt I/O technology provides expansion possibilities never before available to MacBook Air users. Through a single cable, users can connect to high performance peripherals and the new Apple Thunderbolt Display, the ultimate docking station for your Mac notebook. Thunderbolt can easily be adapted to support legacy connections such as FireWire and Gigabit Ethernet.

MacBook Air comes with a full size backlit keyboard and an innovative glass Multi-Touch trackpad. Designed for comfort and ease of typing, the backlit keyboard uses a sensor to automatically detect a change in ambient lighting and adjusts the keyboard brightness for any environment. The Multi-Touch trackpad supports Lion’s new Multi-Touch gestures such as momentum scrolling, tapping or pinching your fingers to zoom in on a web page or image, and swiping left or right to turn a page or switch between full screen apps.

MacBook Air also features a brilliant, high resolution LED backlit display that is amazingly thin yet has the resolution of a much larger, bulkier screen. With ultra-fast Wi-Fi, you can wirelessly download apps from the Mac App Store, get music and movies from iTunes, back up data to Time Capsule and quickly and easily share files using AirDrop. MacBook Air includes Bluetooth for wireless peripherals and two USB ports for easy connectivity for the wired and wireless devices you use every day.

Apple makes the industry’s greenest notebook lineup and the new MacBook Air meets Energy Star 5.2 requirements and achieves EPEAT Gold status. Each unibody enclosure is made of highly recyclable aluminum and comes standard with energy efficient LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. Mac notebooks contain no brominated flame retardants, are PVC-free and are constructed of recyclable materials.

Every new MacBook Air comes with Mac OS X Lion, the eighth major release of the world’s most advanced operating system, and iLife apps for creating and sharing great photos, movies and music. Lion introduces more than 250 new features to the Mac, including Multi-Touch gestures; system-wide support for full screen apps; Mission Control, an innovative view of everything running on your Mac; the Mac App Store, the best place to find and explore great software, built right into the OS; Launchpad, a new home for all your apps; and a completely redesigned Mail app.

Pricing & Availability
The 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air are available for order on the Apple Store (www.apple.com) today and in Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers starting July 21. The 1.6 GHz 11-inch MacBook Air is available in two models, one with 2GB of memory and 64GB of flash storage for a suggested retail price of $999 (US), and one with 4GB of memory and 128GB of flash storage for $1,199 (US). The 1.7 GHz 13-inch MacBook Air comes in two configurations, one with 4GB of memory and 128GB of flash storage for a suggested retail price of $1,299 (US), and one with 4GB of memory and 256GB of flash storage for $1,599 (US). Configure-to-order options and accessories include a 1.8 GHz Core i7 processor, additional flash storage, MacBook Air SuperDrive and a USB Ethernet Adapter.

Additional technical specifications and configure-to-order options and accessories are available here.

NVIDIA Launches GeForce GTX 580M, The Fastest Notebook GPU Ever

NVIDIA today announced the world's fastest notebook graphics processing unit (GPU), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M. Available now in the Alienware M18x, the new GPU sets new standards in industry leading benchmarks and games. It will also be available soon in the Alienware M17x notebook along with NVIDIA Optimus technology.

"The best game support. The best gaming features. The best gaming performance available anywhere. That's the essence of the GeForce GTX 580M," said Rene Haas, general manager of notebook products at NVIDIA. "With power like this, you can turn all the knobs to 11."

The first notebook PC to feature the GeForce GTX 580M, the Alienware M18x offers the option of two GeForce GTX 580M GPUs in one system for up to double the gaming performance, using NVIDIA SLI technology. Not to be outdone, the Alienware M17x will offer the GeForce GTX 580M along with NVIDIA Optimus technology and will deliver 5 hours of battery life in Facebook, and 100 frames per second performance in Call of Duty: Black Ops.

"Gamers aspire to experience games at their highest settings," says Eddy Goyanes, product marketing manager for Alienware. "Alienware activates the technology designed to enable those aspirations. With the launch of the GeForce GTX 580M on the Alienware M17x, and a dual card option on the M18x, that synergy continues -- Alienware delivers the ultimate gaming experience."

GeForce GTX 580M GPUs are the fastest Microsoft DirectX 11 notebook GPUs on the market, offering up to six times the tessellation performance of any other notebook GPU. They are also more efficient, with up to 20 percent better performance per watt than the previous generation.

NVIDIA also introduced the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570M GPU, which offers 20 percent faster performance than the previous generation product it replaces.

The power of GeForce GTX GPUs means gamers can play at full 1080p high-definition resolutions with the advanced technology features that set GeForce GPUs apart from the competition. These include:

• Support for NVIDIA 3D Vision technology, the #1 3D experience for notebooks, which automatically converts over 525 titles into immersive 3D.
• Support for NVIDIA 3DTV Play software, for connecting 3D Vision-based notebooks to 3D TVs.
• NVIDIA SLI technology, which links two GTX GPUs for up to double your gaming performance.
• NVIDIA Optimus technology, which enables extra-long battery life by automatically switching on and off the GPU so that it runs only when needed.
• NVIDIA PhysX engine support, which brings games to life with realistic physics.
• NVIDIA CUDA architecture support, for GPU computing applications.
• NVIDIA Verde notebook drivers, for frequent performance improvements and rock-solid stability.

For more information, visit the product page.

Laptops Could Be Harmful to Male Reproductive System

Notebooks may also be known as laptops but they’re definitely not something that should go onto the top of your lap especially if you’re a guy. According to researchers, it has been found that heat transmitted from a laptop to a guy’s lap and ultimately their scrotum can affect and even damage sperm. As their legs are usually closed to keep a laptop balanced on their lap, their scrotums will heat up quickly – within 10 to 15 minutes – to a dangerous temperature and the guys won’t even feel a thing. A research was conducted on 29 young men and it was found that even with a lap pad under the computer, the men’s scrotums will overheat quickly.

Even with the help of lap pads, pillows and such to act as a shield between the laptop and the men’s lap, the researchers stated that they’re not enough to protect them from the heat. Even with their legs positioned wide apart to allow for air flow in that area, it will still take less than 30 minutes before they began overheating.

There are no studies done to see if this problem can affect these men’s fertility but other research found that even a 1 degree Celsius rise of temperature in their reproductive area is enough to damage sperm. Although there is no solid proof that if these men carry on using their laptop on their lap for long periods of time could cause them to become infertile, Dr. Yefim Sheynkin, a urologist at the States University of New York at Stony Brook, said that it could contribute to reproductive problems.

If you’re trying to conceive a baby or would want to have a baby in the future, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Although infertility could be caused by general health and lifestyle factors, there’re no reasons to increase the risk of infertility.

(Source: Reuters)

Asus Announces New B Series Notebook Design with Business Focus

ASUS announces the launch of the B Series —a commercial notebook range targeted at small to medium-sized businesses yet durable and reliable enough for the enterprise.

Shipping this month, the ASUS B Series notebooks offer an unprecedented package of newly introduced technologies, a comprehensive set of business features, and best-in-class three-year warranties for the demanding business user. All told the B Series delivers industry leading efficiency, reliability and security along with excellent durability.

The Ideal Business Solution—ASUS B Series

The B Series notebooks feature the latest Intel Core processors with vPro technology as well as switchable ATI Mobility Radeon 5470 graphics that offer energy-efficiency and optimized performance modes. Extending ASUS’ technology leadership, the B Series notebooks are the world’s first to offer ATI Eyefinity multi-display technology, allowing for simultaneous connections on up to three displays for enhanced multimedia presentations or increased user productivity.

ASUS has partnered with battery manufacturer Boston-Power to provide the Sonata Long Life Battery. Boston-Power’s next generation lithium-ion technology platform provides triple the lifespan of typical notebook batteries – thus increasing productivity, lowering the total cost of ownership and supporting the environment. This enables ASUS to offer a three-year warranty on the battery, matching the industry-best three-year warranty on the B Series notebooks. And with ASUS Xpress Charge, a fully-drained battery can be charged to 90 percent capacity in just 90 minutes.

The B series notebooks can be paired with the ASUS Power Station II dock for easy connections to a range of peripherals and communication devices. In addition the B series come with anti-shock hard drives, smart card access, TPM and fingerprint logins as well as ASUS Secure Delete to provide unprecedented levels of security.

Reliable and secure, ASUS’ B Series notebooks are designed to perform in the business world. They have been subjected to stringent durability tests which include drop and pressure tests that surpass industry standards. The 15” ASUS B53 is available immediately.

Source:

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/news/systems-news/asus-announces-series-notebook-design-business-focus/