OCZ Barbone Gaming Notebook in-stock at Buy.com for $669.99 after mail-in rebate.

In mid-May, DailyTech broke the news that OCZ would be entering the DIY notebook market with its Barebone Gaming Notebook. Less than a month later, the notebook is finally hit e-tailer store shelves.

"For years consumers have wanted to build their own mobile computing platforms, but the product offerings and market simply did not serve them as they did in the desktop do it yourself segment," said OCZ Systems Solutions Product Manager Eugene Chang back in May. "With the OCZ Do-It-Yourself Notebook initiative, OCZ empowers with the resources like validated component guides, documentation, tech support, and a warranty to allow consumers to configure and build a true gaming notebook with the exact specification that matches their unique requirements."

Buy.com now has the OCZ Barebone Gaming Notebook (OCZNBIAS15DIYA) in stock for $719.99 with free shipping. Buyers can send off for a manufacturer's mail-in rebate to drop that price to $669.99.

That price will get you the actual 15.4" notebook, requisite Intel PM965 chipset, 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT mobile GPU, 8x DVD burner, and 9-cell battery. The processor, memory, HDD, WiFi/Bluetooth adapters, and operating system must be provided by the buyers which would easily push the price close to, or over the $1,000 mark.

It's nice to see that OCZ is giving buyers a choice with a system that they can configure and put together themselves, but many may wonder what if any cost savings can be realized by going this route considering the steady drop in pricing for notebook computers.

Source from DailyTech

Dell and MSI talk of their upcoming mini-notes

ASUS may have created the low-cost, mini-note category with its Eee PC 701 4G, but more and more companies are looking to jump in with their own entries. Over the past week, Dell confirmed the existence of its "Inspiron Mini" and MSI officially announced the Wind which will be available June 16.

Dell recently gave some in the media a chance to look at a pre-production Inspiron Mini that was decked out with a glossy black lid instead of the glossy red lid featured in the original press photos. The pre-production unit also had some minor difference in the keyboard lettering and Function modifiers.

Speaking of the keyboard, Dell Consumer Group Senior VP Alex Gruzen went on to discuss the missing feature that had many potential customers up in arms when the firsts images were revealed online: the lack of a top row of Function keys.

"This was a trade off so the rest of the keys could be bigger," said Gruzen. "The reason we were later to the market is we’ve been working on getting the right keyboard."

The keypad design accommodates as best as possible the best user experience for this class of products."

Maybe Dell knows something that the rest of us don't, but the lack of a top row of function keys could be a deal-breaker for some people in what looks to be an otherwise attractive machine. In its current iteration, the Function keys are eliminated due to the intrusion of the battery.



In other mini-note news, MSI is already talking about the next generation Wind. The current model, which was officially announced earlier this week, has seen rave reviews from around the web.

The 10" notebook is already quite small, weighing only 2.2 pounds in its base configuration. MSI is not content, however, and wants to launch a thinner, lighter version during the first quarter of 2009. The new version would be targeted at business customers and will use the same processor/chipset as the current Wind.

MSI is also looking at yet another variant that would be even smaller and more in line with Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs). The device is expected to have a screen of 7" or smaller along with a slide-out keyboard.

Source from DilyTech

ASUS Xonar HDAV1.3 unveiled at Computex 2008

ASUS made another interesting product announcement at Computex 2008 today. The company gave a preview of its upcoming Xonar HDAV1.3 HDMI-ready sound card. The card is HDMI 1.3a compliant and offloads audio processing from high-definition video.

The Xonar HDAV1.3 can decode lossless audio formats from Blu-ray films including Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio at 24-bit, 96-192 Khz. The card runs on a PCI Express x1 slot and can deliver up to 7.1 surround sound.

To reduce noise Asus uses analog audio with 120db signal-to-noise ratio with distortion as low as 0.0004% on all 7.1 channels. To handle the video portion of Blu-ray discs ASUS integrates a Splendid HD video processor that provides a clear image form Blu-ray titles without having to rely on the CPU of a computer.

This means that users of desktop systems that don’t have a discrete graphics card or a high-end CPU can enjoy Blu-ray movies and high definition sound by installing one card into their computers. The brain of the Xonar is the ASUS AV200 codec chip that features digital to analog convertors. This card is the first in the Xonar family to use opamp sockets to allow for solder-less modifications to customize sound to the individual's liking.

A deluxe version of the HDAV1.3 offers all the same features as the standard card plus adds a HDAV H6 surround channel expansion card. ASUS declined to comment on pricing and availability for the HDAV1.3. With ASUS’ low end Xonar card—the Xonar DX 5.0—retailing for $89 it’s a safe bet the HDAV1.3 will go for well over $100.

Source from Dailytech

ATI XGP allows Puma platform notebooks to game like desktops

ATI made another big announcement at Computex today of a new external video card platform for notebook computers called the ATI XGP (External Graphics Platform). The ATI XGP is an external PCI Express 2.0 graphics device.
ATI says that the device is externally powered and externally cooled so it won’t place demands on the notebook. Bandwidth in both directions is reported to be 4 Gbytes/s; ATI says that other external graphics solutions were limited in bandwidth.

The XGP platform is optimized to work with the new AMD Turion X2 Ultra notebook platforms that DailyTech reported on earlier today. Initially according to ATI, the XGP will use Radeon HD 3800 series graphics cards and the first units will utilize the Radeon HD 3870.

When using the XGP with a notebook featuring integrated ATI graphics, CrossFireX is available to enhance performance further. The ATI XGP also provides additional USB 2.0 connectivity for attaching other USB devices like Blu-ray players and more.

Matt Skynner, vice president of Marketing for AMD’s Graphics Product Group said, “With ATI XGP Technology, notebooks can switch between everyday computing and hard-core gaming with a simple plug-in that’s also portable enough to bring powerful 3D performance on-the-go.

This technology allows users to choose notebooks with slim, lightweight and elegant designs, yet enjoy the full performance of a traditional desktop gaming rig wherever it’s convenient.”

A specially designed PCIe 2.0 self-attaching cable connects the XGP to the notebook. The cable is designed by Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, Limited. The graphics muscle from the HD 3870 should allow users to buy a lower performance notebook including ultra portable units and then attach the ATI XGP for gaming. The XGP also allows the attachment of multiple displays as well. AMD declined to comment on pricing and availability for the ATI XGP.

NVIDIA hasn’t officially backed a similar platform using its technology. However, ASUS did show off an external graphics solution using a NVIDIA video card at CES is 2007 called the XG Station.

Source from DailyTech

AMD announced at Computex that its next-generation notebook platform is now available and features not only new chipsets, but new graphics options and new processor availability. AMD says that the next-generation notebook platform -- code named Puma -- will be the foundation for the new AMD Business class, AMD GAME! and AMD LIVE! notebook solutions.

The notebook platform utilizes the new AMD Turion X2 Ultra Dual-core mobile processor. The new processor has technology to make it more energy efficient including AMD Independent Dynamic Core technology, mobile-optimized memory controller and a new power-optimized HyperTransport 3.0.

The new mobile chipset also features integrated ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics and supports DirectX 10. Integrated graphics in a notebook usually means the inability to do anything requiring intense graphics like gaming. AMD says that its integrated HD 3200 graphics delivers up to three times the 3D performance of competitor’s products and features built-in ATI Avivo HD technology for smooth HD video playback.

ATI announced a new Mobility Radeon 3800 series as well offering the highest performance of any Mobile Radeon HD part. The Mobility Radeon 3800 supports PCI Express 2.0, DirectX 10.1, integrated HDMI, DVI and DisplayPort as well as multi-monitor support. The 3800 can support up to 4 displays natively.

The Mobility 3800 also works with ATI’s CrossFireX and Hybrid Graphics to provide more performance by running both the discrete and integrated graphics processors at the same time.

AMD says that notebooks running the next-generation Puma platform are now available from OEM suppliers like Acer, Asus, Clevo, HP and more.

Source from DailyTech

Many enthusiasts are avoiding DDR3 RAM for their computer systems because despite the higher frequencies DDR3 can operate at, much of the benefit of the higher frequencies is lost to timings not as tight as what DDR2 offers.

At Computex Aeneon is showing its line of DDR3 RAM called Xtune. Aeneon Xtune RAM on display is DDR3-1866 CL10 modules. Aeneon says these modules are aimed at gamers and overclockers using high performance desktop platforms including the Intel X38, X48 and P45 chipsets as well as the NVIDIA 790i Ultra chipset.

The new Aeneon Xtune modules are available in 2x1GB dual channel kits with support for XMP and EPP2.0. The 1866MHz speed of the RAM can be achieved at standard voltages.

Aeneon is also introducing an Xtune DDR3-1600 CL9 line that offers 4GB dual channel 2x2GV modules. Aeneon probably isn’t a name as readily identifiable to gamers and overclockers as Corsair or OCZ. Aeneon is the retail arm of DRAM maker Qimonda. Qimonda is also the provider for ATI’s GDDR5 memory that will be used in ATIs upcoming video cards.

DailyTech reported Qimonda was the GDDR5 supplier for ATI in May 2008. The first video cards from ATI to use the GDDR5 RAM will be from the forthcoming HD 4800 series.

Source from dailyTech