What should a Prescott-based notebook look like?

Sony unveils VAIO Bio P notebook

Iomega at Comdex in Las Vegas: Network Hard Drive and QuikTouch Video Burner

Retail 3.0GHz and 2.4GHz Pentium 4 processors with 800MHz FSB obtain new stepping M-0

Sony announces PCG-X505/P notebook – just 9.7mm thick

Dell Inspiron 5150: now with Hyper-Threading and new graphics

Futuremark patches 3DMark03 to Version 340

What should a Prescott-based notebook look like?

We get lots of messages related to Intel´s processor roadmap changes. In particular, it´s all about 3.40GHz Pentium 4 XE (0.13µm Northwood) that should arrive before the "desktop" version. As we´ve repeatedly mentioned, these processors might be sampling already in December, with volume production scheduled to Q1 2004.

Roadmaps that were demonstrated to journalists of The Inquirer prove that Prescott will be positioned similar to Pentium 4 – like DTR solutions. A typical sample — Sager 8790 – is already being discussed at Talk Notebooks though it would be announced only in January 2004 on "Intel Pentium 4 3.2/3.4/3.6GHz (Prescott)".

What does it mean? It´s clear that Prescott systems will be pushing aside "desktop" Pentium 4 and Pentium 4M. Therefore, alongside volume quantities of Prescotts, we should expect Pentium 4 and corresponding notebooks prices reduction. The current price cut plans for February 15 prove this as well:

Below are brief specs of one of the first Prescott-based notebook:

• Chipset: Intel 865PE + ICH5
• Memory: up to 2GB of DDR 266/333/400 (2 x DIMM for dual-channel mode)
• 2 x 2.5" HDDs, Ultra DMA, hardware RAID 0 or 1
• Integrated 7-in-1 card reader
• LCD: 17" WXGA (1440x900)
• 256MB graphics memory
• AGP 8X
• ATi Mobility Radeon 9700 (M11)
• Resolution supported on CRT monitors: 2048x1536x16M
• TV tuner
• Optical drive: 24x CD-ROM / 8x DVD-ROM / 24x CD-R/10x CD-RW / DVD/CD-RW / DVD-R/RW
• Sound: 6-channel codec, AC´97 2.2, S/PDIF, mic, 4 x integrated speakers
• PCMCIA slot: PCMCIA 3.0
• I/O ports:
  • 1 x Serial
  • 1 x Parallel (ECP/EPP)
  • 1 x Keyboard
  • 1 x DVI
  • 3 x USB 2.0
  • 3 x audio
  • 1 x RJ-45 LAN (10/100/1000Mbps)
  • 1 x RJ-11 Modem
  • 1 x IEEE 1394 Fire Wire (4-pin)
  • 1 x S-video TV-Out
  • 1 x S-video Video-in
• Size: 39.1x27.9x4.19cm
• Weight: 3.9kg excluding battery

Sony unveils VAIO Bio P notebook

Today Sony fountains notebook press releases. Another novelty is an ultra compact VAIO Bio P (PCV-P101) that is expected in Japanese retail late in November:

It has rather interesting design – to finish the work and fold the notebook, you just have to pull the keyboard up to the LCD. It seems Sony designers borrowed the idea from inventors of folding beds used in small flats. :-)

The Li-Ion battery providing 0.5-1 hour of operation puts VAIO Bio P somewhere near DTR models. However, its 17" WXGA (1280x768) and 7.8kg weight extend this gap. As for internals, they are nothing special: Intel 830 chipset, 1.06GHz Mobile Celeron, 256Mb PC133 (up to 512MB), 40GB HDD, DVD/CD-RW, FDD, Windows XP Home Edition. Such a SOHO workhorse with a number of options like PC Card Type II and MemoryStick / MemoryStick PRO slot, V.92 and Ethernet, USB 2.0 and IEEE 1394, Giga Pocket Engine with MPEG-2 hardware decoder for recording TV shows, remote control and built-in 2x2W stereo speakers. The notebook is sized 476x184x389mm.

Its MSRP in Japan is about $1600.

Source: PC Watch

Iomega at Comdex in Las Vegas: Network Hard Drive and QuikTouch Video Burner

Iomega unveiled two new solutions: Iomega Network Hard Drive and Super DVD QuikTouch Video Burner.

Iomega Network Hard Drive features 250GB and 120GB capacities. It has a Fast Ethernet (10/100Mbps) adapter and USB 2.0 port, and will be showcased at Comdex to be held in Las Vegas on October 17-19. The Network Hard Drive supports basic security features like rights management and password protection. The bundle will include Norton Ghost (Symantec) and Automatic Backup (Iomega). The solution is expected to arrive for sale in December. For Northern America its MSRP is $300 and $430 for 120GB and 250GB models, respectively.

The Super DVD QuikTouch Video Burner is an external USB 2.0 DVD/CD recorder. It supports DVD+R/+RW (4x2.4x12x), DVD-R/-RW (4x2x12x), DVD-RAM (3x) and CD-R/RW (24x16x32x).

Retail 3.0GHz and 2.4GHz Pentium 4 processors with 800MHz FSB obtain new stepping M-0

Intel officially announced shipments of retail 3.0GHz and 2.4GHz Pentium 4 processors with 800MHz FSB and new stepping M-0.

These chips are fully compatible with the existing stepping D-1 and have 0F25h CPUID. The first shipments are scheduled to December 1.

Sony announces PCG-X505/P notebook – just 9.7mm thick

Sony announced such an X-mas present – VAIO PCG-X505/P notebook that should be selling from December 6 for over $2780.

The company released its first 505 notebooks as far back as in 1997 (single-spindle, with 10.4" displays). Since that time they´ve changed significantly. PCG-X505/P is a dual-spindle model with 12.1" LCD that differs from the previous models primarily by size. Measured 259x208x9.7mm, it weighs about 825g. Secondly, it´s fanless, thirdly, its body features carbon additions for lesser weight. Besides, the model that will be produced in limited amounts — X505/SP – will even weigh 40 g less.

The system bases on 1GHz Pentium M ULV, i855GM chipset, 512MB RAM (max.), 1.8" 20GB HDD. It features 2 x USB2.0, 1 x IEEE (4-pin), and 1 x PC Card Type II slot. The notebooks is bundled with a WLAN (IEEE802.11b/g) card and mouse with a Memory Stick reader integrated. Other ports are standard.

PCG-X505/P works standalone from 2.5 to 4 hours, and no higher-capacity batteries are available, according to the company. You can carry the model in a case like shown below.

Source: PC Watch

Dell Inspiron 5150: now with Hyper-Threading and new graphics

Dell Inspiron 5150 notebooks were first announced in mid-June on up to 3.06GHz Mobile Pentium 4 processors and ATI Mobility RADEON 9000 graphics. These days the company announced new models for this series featuring Pentium 4 with Hyper-Threading and NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 (32/64 MB DDR).

All new Inspiron 5150 models are based on i852PM chipset; feature up to 2GB PC2700 DDR SDRAM, up to 60GB Ultra ATA/100 HDD, built-in WLAN antenna, V.92, 10/100BASE-TX, etc. Models also feature UXGA+ (1600x1200) or SXGA+ (1400x1050) LCDs, DVD-ROM / DVD/CD-RW / DVD+RW drives, and Windows XP Home Edition SP1 or XP Professional SP1.

Sized 335x275x46.5mm, they weigh 3.6kg. The standard battery provides 4 hours of operation. A standard Inspiron 5150 on 3.20GHz Pentium 4 HT, with 256MB DDR, 30GB HDD, 15" SXGA+, 32MB graphics, DVD-ROM drive and Windows XP Home Edition SP1 will cost about $2000 (in Japan).

Futuremark patches 3DMark03 to Version 340

Futuremark, the developer of 3DMark03 graphics test kit, released a patch for 3DMark03 Version 340. In the press release the company stresses that parts of the program code have been changed so that possible 3DMark03 specific optimizations in current drivers will not work. 3DMark03 specific optimizations in drivers are against run rules of 3DMark03, because they invalidate the performance measurement results and thus make it impossible to compare performances of different hardware..

The key changes include:

• Patch changes the program´s build number to 340;
• Maximum point sprite size is now limited to 256x256 instead of the maximum supported by the hardware;
• Incorporates new version of the Entech library (used to detect the clock frequency of the graphics chip core and memory);
• Provides more detailed and accurate system information and improved detection of hyperthreaded CPUs

The new freeware patch for 3DMark03 (5.4MB) is available at www.futuremark.com/download alongside the complete patched version (177MB; shareware).

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