Νέα και φήμες για το PC Hardware

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Synaptics Forcepad: Νέας γενιάς touchpad με έλεγχο ασκούμενης πίεσης!

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Από το R&D της Microsoft... cool mate!

Freehand 3D Computer Interaction Without Gloves
http://research.microsoft.com/apps/video/default.aspx?id=173838

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Asus Vivobook X202: Το πρώτο Windows 8 της εταιρίας



Asus VivoBook X202

- Οθόνη capacitive multitouch 11.6” LED HD (1366 x 768)
- Επεξεργαστής Intel Core i3-3217U Ivy Bridge 1.8GHz
- Κάρτα γραφικών Intel GMA 4000
- Μνήμη RAM 4GB
- Αποθηκευτικός χώρος 500GB HDD
- WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0
- VGA webcam
- Υποδοχές 2x USB 2.0, 1x USB 3.0, memory card reader
- Λειτουργικό σύστημα Windows 8
- Μπαταρία με αυτονομία 5 ώρες
- Διαστάσεις 302.26 x 200.66 x 20.32mm
- Βάρος 1.31kg
- Στην αγορά στις 26 Οκτωβρίου με τιμή γύρω στα 460€

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Intel reports Q3 earnings, revenue holds steady at $13.5 billion



Hot off the heels of a slightly disappointing Q2, mega chip-maker Intel's Q3 results are in. Good old Chipzilla managed to wrangle $13.5 billion in revenues with a net profit of $3 billion. While Intel's latest figures reflect a profit of about 5.1 percent sequentially, the company is still taking a dip year over year of around 19 percent. "Our third-quarter results reflected a continuing tough economic environment," said Paul Otellini, Intel's CEO. Happy to take progress in any form during a trying economy, the company's fourth quarter strategy will highly focus on the success of ultrabooks, phones and Intel-powered tablets. While its recent gains may be somewhat slim, last we checked, a win is a win.

Spoiler: ΕΜΦΑΝΙΣΗ

Intel Reports Third-Quarter Revenue of $13.5 Billion

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 16, 2012 - Intel Corporation today reported quarterly revenue of $13.5 billion, operating income of $3.8 billion, net income of $3.0 billion and EPS of $0.58. The company generated approximately $5.1 billion in cash from operations, paid dividends of $1.1 billion and used $1.2 billion to repurchase stock.
Our third-quarter results reflected a continuing tough economic environment," said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO. "The world of computing is in the midst of a period of breakthrough innovation and creativity. As we look to the fourth quarter, we're pleased with the continued progress in Ultrabooks and phones and excited about the range of Intel-based tablets coming to market."
Q3 2012 Key Financial Information and Business Unit Trends (GAAP, unless otherwise stated)
PC Client Group revenue of $8.6 billion, flat sequentially and down 8 percent year-over-year
Data Center Group revenue of $2.7 billion, down 5 percent sequentially and up 6 percent year-over-year
Other Intel® architecture group revenue of $1.2 billion, up 6 percent sequentially and down 14 percent year-over-year
Gross margin of 63.3 percent, 1.3 percentage points above the midpoint of the company's updated expectation of 62 percent.
R&D plus MG&A spending $4.6 billion, unchanged.
Tax rate of 24 percent, below the company's expectation of approximately 28 percent.
Business Outlook
Intel's Business Outlook does not include the potential impact of any business combinations, asset acquisitions, divestitures or other investments that may be completed after Oct. 16.
Q4 2012 (GAAP, unless otherwise stated)
Revenue: $13.6 billion, plus or minus $500 million.
Gross margin percentage: 57 percent and 58 percent Non-GAAP (excluding amortization of acquisition-related intangibles), both plus or minus a couple of percentage points.
R&D plus MG&A spending: approximately $4.5 billion.
Amortization of acquisition-related intangibles: approximately $75 million.
Impact of equity investments and interest and other: approximately $75 million.
Depreciation: approximately $1.6 billion.
Tax Rate: approximately 27 percent.
Full-year capital spending: $11.3 billion, plus or minus $300 million.
For additional information regarding Intel's results and Business Outlook, please see the CFO commentary at: www.intc.com/results.cfm.
Status of Business Outlook
Intel's Business Outlook is posted on intc.com and may be reiterated in public or private meetings with investors and others. The Business Outlook will be effective through the close of business Dec. 14 unless earlier updated; except that the Business Outlook for amortization of acquisition-related intangibles, impact of equity investments and interest and other, and tax rate, will be effective only through the close of business on Oct. 23. Intel's Quiet Period will start from the close of business on Dec. 14 until publication of the company's fourth-quarter earnings release, scheduled for Jan. 17, 2013. During the Quiet Period, all of the Business Outlook and other forward-looking statements disclosed in the company's news releases and filings with the SEC should be considered as historical, speaking as of prior to the Quiet Period only and not subject to an update by the company.

NPD study finds average display sizes continuing to rise in all areas but laptops and tablets



Not exactly a huge surprise here, but a new study out from NPD DisplaySearch today has confirmed that the trend towards larger screens in continuing at a steady pace in all but a few key areas. The big exception is "mobile PCs," which NPD defines as laptops and tablets for its purposes. That area dropped from a 13.6-inch average in 2010 to 12.1-inch in 2012 (with an ever so slight increase to 12.2-inches projected for 2013), a drop that represents a ten percent decrease overall and is largely attributed to the growth of tablets . All other areas have seen small to significant growth in recent years, with LCD TVs growing 9 percent, mobile phones increasing 38 percent, and portable media players jumping 29 percent. The biggest growth, by far, comes in OLED TVs, which have gone from a mere 15-inch average in 2010 to an average of 55-inches today -- a growth of 267 percent.

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AMD unveils 4GHz+ FX Series Vishera processors
AMD has revealed the latest in its FX Series of processors: the Piledriver Vishera chips. Aimed at computer users with demanding hardware needs, the new series comes in 4, 6, and 8-core variants with a “default” speed of 4GHz. The chips feature a variety of enhancements and improvements over previous offerings.



The new line is composed of four processors: the 4.2GHz FX-8350 (8-core, $195), the 4.0GHz FX-8320 (8-core, $169), the 4.1GHz FX-6300 (6-core, $132), and the 4.0GHz FX-4300 (4-core, $122). The FX-4300 has 4MB of L3 cache, while the FX-6300 has 1MB of L2 cache per core with a total of 8MB of L3 cache. The two higher-end processors, the FX-8320 and FX-8350, both have 8MB of L3 cache. This series uses the Piledriver architecture, which is an improved version of the previously released Bulldozer.



The Piledriver cores were first introduced back in May in the A Series Trinity chips. Improvements include improved scheduling, larger L1 TLB, larger load queue, page translation reload optimization, and more. Said Adam Kozak, “We’re seeing anywhere from seven, all the way up to 15% [in improvement improvement]. Half of that comes from [instructions per cycle] improvements, and the other half or so comes from frequency improvements.” According to AMD, you need a 9-series motherboard to run the FX Vishera chips.

During a pre-release presentation, these four AMD processors were compared to Intel’s Core i5-3570K, i5-3450, i5-2300, and i3-2120 processors. In each case, the AMD processor was priced lower and offered better specs, according to AMD’s presentation of the ecosystem. All FX Series processors are unlocked and can be overclocked.

Images
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Αντε επιτέλους να δούμε λίγο ανταγωνισμο!

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AMD FX-8350 review roundup: enthusiasts still won't be totally enthused



Now that AMD's fresh new FX processors based on the Piledriver architecture are out in the wild, the specialist hardware sites have seen fit to benchmark the top-lining FX-8350. Overall, the group feels that AMD has at least closed the gap a bit on Intel's Core juggernaut with a much better FX offering this time around, but overall the desktop CPU landscape remains unchanged -- with Intel still firmly at the top of the heap. Compared to its last-gen Bulldozer chips, "in every way, today's FX-8350 is better," according to Tom's Hardware: cheaper, up to 15 percent faster and more energy efficient. Still, while the new CPUs represent AMD's desktop high-end, they only stack up against Intel's mid-range Core i5 family, and even against that line-up they only edge ahead in heavily threaded testing. But if you "look beyond those specific (multithreaded) applications, Intel can pull away with a significant lead" due to its superior design, says Anantech. As for power consumption, unfortunately "the FX-8350 isn't even the same class of product as the Ivy Bridge Core i5 processors on this front," claims The Tech Report.

Despite all that, Hot Hardware still sees several niches that AMD could fill with the new chips, as they'll provide "an easy upgrade path for existing AMD owners and more flexibility for overclocking, due to its unlocked multipliers." That means if you already have a Socket-AM3+ motherboard, you'll be able to do a cheap upgrade by swapping in the new CPU, and punching up the clock cycles might close the performance gap enjoyed by the Core i5. Finally, AMD also saw fit to bring the new chip in at a "very attractive" $195 by Hexus' reckoning, a much lower price than an earlier leak suggested. Despite that, however, the site says that AMD's flagship FX processor still "cannot tick as many desirable checkboxes as the competing Intel Core i5 chips." Feel free to scope all the sources below to make your own conclusions.


Εδώ για να δείτε τα links ώστε να διαβάσετε τα reviews: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/23/amd-fx-8350-review-roundup/

New iMac hands-on demo


13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display hands-on demo

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13" MacBook Pro Retina Performance Review / Speed Test (Benchmarks vs. 15" MacBook Pro Retina)


IBM has developed a new carbon nanotube based chip making technology
http://gigaom.com/2012/10/28/ibm-has-developed-a-new-carbon-nanotube-based-chip-making-technology/

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6 ugliest Apple products
http://money.cnn.com/gallery/magazines/fortune/2012/10/29/ulgy-apple.fortune/index.html

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Hardware hacker proves Apple Fusion Drive works on older Macs
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/01/hardware_hacker_shows_apple_fusion_drive_on_old_macs/

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Nvidia reports a third of its business is now 'non-PC,' doubles tablet shipments from a year ago
One of the main beneficiaries of Android's exponential growth in mobile devices has been Nvidia, whose third-quarter revenue reached a record high of $1.2 billion this year. Some 30 percent of the company's income is now derived from the provision of "non-PC" chips, primarily Tegra systems-on-chip, which have figured in some of 2012's highlight devices like HTC's One X and Google's Nexus 7. Nvidia has already secured a firm foothold for itself in the Windows RT tablet space as well, providing the processor for Microsoft's Surface RT and others, though growth in that segment has already been strong. CEO Jen-Hsun Huang notes that the company's "tablet business grew 100% year-over-year."

""The PC ... is being eaten by tablets.""

For a chip designer that until recently only concerned itself with things you could solder or plug into motherboards, Nvidia's transformation has been dramatic. Three years ago, only 7 percent of its revenue came from outside the PC enclosure, whereas today the company is among the leaders in driving the shift to mobile devices. In Huang's own words, the total addressable market (TAM) for PCs is "being eaten by tablets. And the reason for that is because a great tablet is surely better than a cheap PC."