Although preliminary testing proved that ATI‘s R600 architecture wasn’t messing around, DailyTech added another layer of proof to the pudding as it benchmarked a bonafide Radeon HD 2900 XT against NVIDIA‘s 640MB GeForce 8800 GTS. The DirectX 10-capable card is a notch above the HD 2600 XT that was snapped in the wild, and the tested unit featured 320 stream processors, 512MB of GDDR3 RAM, a dual-slot “blower-type heat sink,” dual dual-link DVI ports, and a serious desire to crank out impressive FPS numbers. While the marks weren’t the end-all answer to the ATI vs. NVIDIA question, the Radeon managed to best its opponent in every single trial, including Call of Duty 2, Company of Heroes, F.E.A.R., Oblivion, 3DMark06, Maya 02, Cadalyst C2006, and a few more for good measure. Of course, we’re sure NVIDIA will be hitting back with something of its own, but feel free to hit the read link if you take pleasure in graphical beat downs with ATI escaping victorious.

[Thanks, MathieU]
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While the classic IBM ThinkPad stylings might play well in the ultraportable range, we’ve never been quite impressed with Lenovo’s widescreen attempts at business friendly minimalism. That said, there’s a lot to love in the specs department of Lenovo’s upcoming T61 (pictured) and R61 Santa Rosa 14-inchers, which IBM leaked info on today — which is odd, considering the fact that the IBM logo has left these things completely — and while the looks might be a tad frumpy, the actual sizes aren’t so terribly chubsy. Of course, the big news here is the Santa Rosa processor action, with chips like the T7100, T7300, T7500 and T7700 bringing up to 2.4GHz of 64-bit Core 2 Duo lovin’ to the two models. Other notables include Intel’s latest PM965 integrated graphics chipset, Intel Turbo Card “Robson” flash memory cache tech in select models, and a LCD “roll cage” in the T61. You can also toss in discrete NVIDIA graphics, or pretty much whatever else you’re up for: wireless, connectivity and storage options abound. No word on price, but we should be seeing the first of these around May, with NVIDIA, 160GB encrypted drives and Blu-ray versions following in July.

[Via NotebookReview]

Read – Lenovo ThinkPad T61
Read – Lenovo ThinkPad R61

From engadget

People have been cramming PC’s of all kinds into cars ever since LCD screens became ubiquitous, and even a little before that. HiPE‘s new Drive-N series of car PCs is designed to ease the usual DIY-grind by sporting a laundry list of features and interface possibilities. The units, ranging in price from $799 for a barebones Via C7 in an amp-style chassis up to $2199 for a tricked-out double-DIN touchscreen monster, all run Windows Vista MCE with the One Voice command system, and can be outfitted with GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, XM, and even a rearview camera. The machines can also interface with your car’s ODB II unit to let you monitor vehicle diagnostics, as well as clear out some of those annoying error messages you usually have to let the dealer handle. All these features are nice, but nothing can excuse HiPE’s lame-o tagline: “Why drive when you can be Drive-N?” Yeah, and why hire a marketing firm when you can just ask your 12-year-old niece?

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A little bummed about Apple’s lack of consumer announcements earlier today? Well, at very least there’s a swarm of screenshots of the latest leaked beta version (9a410) of Apple’s latecomer OS. Nothing too crazy that you probably haven’t already seen if you follow the OS X betas, but a few of the interesting new bits include the Finder QuickView, a new Bluetooth device manager, and perhaps most notably, everything is finally skin-unified and looks like iTunes 7 (as might have been expected when that version of iTunes launched). Plenty of shots to roll with if you’re not the type too busy staring at Vista’s purdy new Aero.

Read – Hackint0sh shots and bugs
Read – Think Secret gallery

From engadget

Fancy yourself a tough guy? Then check the latest Panasonic ToughBook, the CF-08 tablet. No, not a Tablet PC, this slab goes Windows CE 5.0 for instant-on, near virus-free access and up to 14-hours off battery — you know, just as long as you don’t mind keeping the brightness to a min. The CF-08 brings a 1024 x 768 pixel, 10.4-inch touch-panel display capable of withstanding a fall from as high as 1.2-meters. It comes powered by a 312MHz PXA270 processor and packs USB 1.1 (for keyboard and mousing, presumably) with 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 1.2, and fixed Ethernet providing access to data. Thing is, even with a 267 × 208 × 36-mm footprint they only managed to squeeze in 64MB RAM / 64MB ROM — come on Panny, how about SD expansion at the least? Hitting May 15th for an undisclosed price.

[Via Impress]
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Not every mag has the option of hitting up the corporate headquarters for their hands-on shots. So check NotebookReview who managed to pull the C90S out their hat while tooling about the ASUS headquarters in Taiwan. Yup, that’s their new ASmobile C90S barebone laptop up there which offers far more expansion options than your average bear. Everything — we mean everything (according to ASUS) — can be configured and later upgraded to your liking right on down to your choice of processor, MXM graphics, and 15.4-inch LCDs. Now get out of here kid and check the pics after the read link. We’re not expecting this to ship until midish-Mayish but you’ll need the time to convince your CIO that platform upgrades — not leases — are the way of the future.

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Sure, we pretty much had it all from the FCC’s mouth, but now Motion Computing has come clean about its new LE1700 slate tablet, along with pretty pictures and a couple new deets. First off, prices start at $2200 for 1.5GHz Core 2 Duo and $2000 for 1.2GHz ULV Core Solo versions of the tablet. Options for built-in EV-DO and view anywhere or WriteTouch (finger touchable) 12.1-inch SXGA+ displays will jack the price, and the standard 512MB of RAM will need a considerable boost to handle pre-loaded Vista. Potential accessories include the pictured convertible keyboard and a USB keyboard with a touchpad built-in. If you’re not ready for Vista, or not ready to spring for a RAM upgrade, Windows XP Tablet PC is also an option. Luckily, a/b/g WiFi comes standard, as do plenty of other laptop frills, and there’s a good amount of room to grow here — up to 4GB of RAM and an optional 7 hour extended battery.

[Via Laptop Mag; thanks Rob B]

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