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On Tuesday, October 14th, Steve Jobs announced a chipset that Apple worked on with Nvidia.  It resulted in a 16-core integrated GPU that’s in both the MacBook and MacBook Pro.  On Monday, Nvidia announced the desktop version of the GPU.  Nvidia is calling the chips the 9300 and 9400 mGPUs as they are half the size of standard integrated graphics, but can accomplish a lot more. 

While the specs aren’t included in the press release, the chips are pretty impressive.  They can transfer the entirety of video decoding from the CPU to the GPU, making it work much faster.  They also support Blu-Ray playback and Direct X10.  Keep reading for what apps can really take advantage of these new cards.

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By now most of us are probably aware of the Intel Atom processor, the little chip inside nearly all of the netbooks out right now.  Intel has started shipping a desktop version of the processor with two cores.  Intel is saying that it is made specially for “nettops.“  A nettop being to a desktop computer as a netbook is to a notebook computer.

These new chips will allow for small footprint desktops with little electricity usage to be released at low price points.  According to the eWeek article, Intel is hoping the Dual Core Atom will help sell PCs in China and India for families who don’t yet have computers in the homes.  It could also be used for cheap computer for North American and European families who are looking to add another computer to their home.  It would also make sense for public terminals, such as in a public library where the PCs are usually used only for word processing and Internet access anyway.

Can you get by with a machine using this chip?  Hit the jump to find out.

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It was only a couple of months ago when HP released the first two models of the TouchSmart all-in-one PC, the 22 inch IQ504 and IQ506. Upon introduction of their TouchSmart line, HP received some negative feedback.  In particular, some wanted a bigger screen and a more powerful PC.  HP has responded by releasing two bigger models, the IQ804 and IQ816 TouchSmart PCs.

With these two new models, HP has increased the LCD sizes of these PC’s from 22 inches to 25.5 inches with 1900x1200 resolution.  At this resolution, you can watch full HD content at 1080P.  The high-end IQ816 boasts an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, NVIDIA GeForce 9600M video card, an illuminating keyboard, VESA wall mount capability, hardware-encoded TV tuner, four digitally-amplified speakers and a Blu-ray drive.  The IQ804 has all the features of the IQ816 except for the Blu-ray drive.

Both the HP IQ804 and IQ816 belong to the new HP IQ800 series all-in-one TouchSmart PC series which is being touted to deliver a new level of home-theater entertainment. HP will start shipping the IQ804 on October with an SRP of $2100 and the IQ816 on September 21 with an SRP of $1900.

Read [HP News Release] Via [Gizmodo]

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Averatec’s first venture into the All-in-One PC market may not have been that successful because of its high price. Hence, the company is trying its hands once again with the release of the A1 all-in-one PC. And what better way to come up with a cheaper All In One PC but to have it powered by Intel’s Atom processor.

And so with the A1 PC, we’re looking at a cross breed between nettop and a normal desktop boasting of an 18.4-inch display with a resolution of 1680 x 945 and a 16:9 aspect ratio. This All In One PC will be powered by a 1.6GHz Atom processor and will have 1GB of memory and 160GB of hard drive. Averatec also put in Wi-Fi as a standard feature plus a 1.3-megapixel camera. In addition, the A1 PC will only be running Windows XP out of the box, sorry Linux fans.

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I am not a skins guy; I am ok with the bland silver bars and such, but this is pretty cool.  Showing XP still has some life left, Hyperdesk was just announced from the Skins Factory and aims to skin your Windows XP machine.  The graphics look pretty sweet and they’ve even liscensed some themes from Disney.  Prices range from free to $19.95.

The free one, a Sony Ericsson version is a 70MB download.  The company says one click can turn the skin on an off and uses Microsoft’s own skin engine to get things moving.

I downloaded the free one and found it to be OK.  There doesn’t seem to be any lag time, though the skin colors the task bars above applications as well and seems a bit much to me, but it proves the concept that these folks know what they are doing.  This product is from the design team responsible for Alienwares skins.  From the release:

By utilizing Microsoft’s own skinning engine, Hyperdesk presents the user with a “native” way to theme Windows XP. Because the magic of Hyperdesk occurs entirely in memory, the user’s system files are never touched or replaced. And just as it takes a single click to make the magic happen, so will a single click revert the user’s desktop back to the Windows XP default environment.

A Vista version is said to be coming soon.

Try it out at: [Hyperdesk]

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Averatec has just announced their all-in-one PC and whether they just wanted people to be sure what they were buying or could not think of a better name, the simply called it the “All-In-One PC.“

Aside from its generic sounding name, the PC itself is a somewhat decent offering, of course its not any HP TouchSmart or iMac killer. Retailing for $1,249 the All-In-One PC features a 22-inch display with a 2.4GHz Intel E4600 Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, nVidia GeForce 8400 graphics card and is running Windows Vista Home Premium.

The Averatec All-In-One PC will be available at Averatec online and also at “major online resellers.“ Although the official retail price is $1,249, it is currently listed as being on sale at Averatec online for $1,199, no word on how long that price will remain though.

Read [PR Newswire] 

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MSI has already unveiled some of the details for their upcoming mini-desktop PC, and now it looks like we have some more information leaking out. The specs have not been finalized and the pricing has not yet been made official, but it looks like we will be seeing a desktop version of the Wind laptop pretty soon.

The mini-desktop is expected to retail for $200 to $300 and be available in Asia and Europe this July with a US release in September. Spec wise, it is expected to feature a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, up to 2GB of RAM, up to a 160GB hard drive, a DVD drive and Wi-Fi 802.11b/g.

Read [InfoWorld]

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While still unconfirmed, some further details have begun to leak out about the upcoming Eee Box from Asus. Although these are far from official, TrustedReviews are claiming the specs have come courtesy of a “very reliable” source.

Which at this point any information is welcome, with the Eee Box, we have had very little to go on aside from the early mock-up images and then the leaked image, which most felt looked not nearly as nice as the mock-ups. Otherwise we have heard that was set for a July release, but the specs have been elusive.

The new details are placing the Eee Box with a June 3 announcement during Computex and that it will feature 2GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive and be running the same operating system that is found on the very lovable Eee PC notebook. As far as the availability, that is looking like its going to first be available in the UK during Q3 in white. No word yet on any black version, although it seems very likely given the past history with Asus. still unavailable is the pricing.

Via [TrustedReviews]

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Unconfirmed reports continue to pour in regarding Asus’ release of its Eee PC desktop version rumored to come out in July.

No official word is available, so speculation about the device specs continue to abound.  The Eee PC desktop will most probably be available in black and white, and may or may not use the upcoming Intel Atom CPU.  No price or OS details are available.

The original Eee PC (mobile) is so user-friendly, it works right out of the box.  The desktop version would most probably capitalize on this strength and solidify its niche in the market.

Via [Liliputing]

• Asus Eee PC 1002HA now available with US retailers
• Asus unveils the brushed-metal Eee PC 1002HA
• Micro Center’s Black Friday 2008 weekend sales

AMD is introducing a new badging system on its gaming desktop PC’s called “AMD Game.“ The AMD Game badging system is aimed at allowing gamers to choose their gaming PC’s specifications as if they were buying a game console. Targeting the mainstream PC gamers, AMD Game hopes to enhance the gamers experience by making it easier for them to purchase their gaming PC’s even if they have little know-how on PC setup and specifications.

AMD Game badges will direct gamers only to PCs which are validated for gaming. What is usually targeted at PC’s with 1280 x 1024-pixel high definition resolution with 30fps will even go beyond 1600 x 1200 at 30fps gaming PCs under the AMD Game system. Adding to this LCD display specifications for AMD Game are minimum requirements of AMD Athlon 5600+ X2 processor, ATI Radeon HD 3650 graphics and an AMD 770 chipset or NVIDIA nForce 500 series chipset for the basic AMD Game specifications. For a more powerful AMD Game Ultra specifications, the minimum requirements are Phenom X4 9650 processor, ATI Radeon HD 3870 graphics and an AMD 770 chipset.

Supporting the AMD Game are PC manufacturers such as Acer, Alienware, iBuypoer and Velocity Micro as well as Microsoft and Logitech.Find out more about AMD Game badging system at http://game.amd.com.

Read CNET

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