VizWorld.com

A company called “Village Instruments” claims to be developing a special ViDock Expansion device for PC & Mac, enabling laptop customers to upgrade their video cards via a Thunderbolt-connected device.

According to the company, a laptop can connect to a large format display (or two), keyboard, and mouse with just one cable. The chassis also features a 2-port USB hub that allows the user to add more devices to the one-step plug-in such as a printer, external hard drive, USB headset, and more.

Uses are a bit limited right now, with only the newest Apple laptops really supporting Thunderbolt.  However, when PC’s come out in 2012 with the new connector this could be an interesting option for folks wanting PC-class graphics on laptops.  You’ll be losing a bit of your portability, but for folks used to Docking Stations & Port Replicators it could be a welcome addition.

via External Thunderbolt Graphics Adapter in the Works.

Hardware laptop, thunderbolt, village instruments

Do you sometimes feel that your laptop is too small & lightweight? Do you want something bigger and heavier?  Perhaps heavy enough to warp your spine and large enough to leave your friends cringing from the sheer gargantuan screenspace you can show?  Check out the new SpaceBook that packs two 17-inch displays into one 10-pound behemoth.

The price is reasonable, $2400 or $2800, but the specs are surprisingly low.  500GB drive, 4G ram, and a GTS250M.

Laptops by gScreen: dual screens, one laptop with Windows 7.

Hardware laptop

Toshiba is bringing recent advances in their glasses-free 3D TV’s to the Laptop space with their new Qosmio F750 laptop, going on sale next month for around 1300 €.

It will feature a 120Hz, 15.6-inch screen that uses “a lenticular lens sheet to send different images to the left and right eyes.” The effect is said to vary, depending on how close you are to the screen, but is said to have a more pronounced effect than the Nintendo 3DS for example. If you’re wondering why that sounds familiar, it’s because Toshiba has already used that very same technology in their glasses-free 3D TV – the Regza GL1.

Also packing an Intel Core i&, GeForce 540M, and Blue-ray XL Drive, it could make a nice little 3D BluRay viewing system.  That is, if the effect doesn’t suffer from some of the common problems of lenticular lens (viewing angle dependence).  Toshiba is overcoming some of these shortcomings with a cleverly integrated HD webcam that incorporates eye-tracking to adjust for the viewer’s angle.

Only time will tell if it’s going to work…

via Toshiba unveils Qosmio F750 3D, first glasses-free 3D laptop | Ubergizmo.

Hardware 3d, laptop, lenticular, stereoscopic, toshiba

Apple has just refreshed the MacBook Pro line of hardware with some impressive new offerings, dumping the previously used NVidia chips for Intel Sandy Bridge and AMD Radeon chips.  Just check out what you get for $1800:

15-inch MacBook Pro – No more Core i5 options for the middle child — these two strictly get the Core i7 and AMD Radeon HD 6000M goods. The $1,799 model packs a 2.0GHz quad-core Core i7 processor, AMD Radeon HD6490M graphics with 1GB of VRAM, and a 500GB hard drive. On the higher end, there’s a $2,199 model which buys you a faster 2.2GHz Core i7 chip, AMD Radeon 6750M graphics, and 750GB hard drive. There are also 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB SSD options. Also, as far as we understand, the graphics switching will work exactly like the previous models — it automatically switches between the GPU and IGP depending on what you’re doing.

Quad Core CPU, Radeon 6490 video card, and the new Intel Light Peak technology now called Thunderbolt.  I sell a few more ads (or Amazon affiliate commisions!) here on VizWorld, and I might finally upgrade my old Black MacBook.

via Apple refreshes MacBook Pros with Sandy Bridge processors, AMD graphics, Thunderbolt I/O tech, and HD cameras — Engadget.

Hardware amd, apple, intel, laptop, sandy bridge

Several years ago I bought a cool Dell XPS laptop with all the bells and whistles. It had the fastest processor, the best graphics card, flashy LED lights that you could customize, and a cool XPS backpack to carry the laptop in. It was excellent. I was going to use it for OpenGL development. However, since it was a work laptop, and since I work at a federal lab, the Security team imposed all kinds of restrictions. The worst restriction was that I could not have a debugger on the system, since I might attach it to a running kernel and receive “elevated privileges” . That effectively meant that I could not compile any code on the system, which really relegated the laptop to a 12 pound brick. The 10lb backpack was ditched quickly, and the brick laptop was stowed in my suitcase.

In the meantime, Dell let the XPS brand fade away, which is a shame really. The XPS laptop was great; it was the security policies that stunk. With no XPS laptop to choose from, I recently bought a 4.8 pound ASUS UL80 laptop.

Dell has announced today that it is reviving the XPS brand with the launch of three new models. Since the XPS brand means performance, these models come with all the bells and whistles, including an NVIDIA 400M GPU with 1GB of memory. NVIDIA has also bundled its new 3DTV Play software bundled with the laptops, which of course have an HDMI 1.4 output port. AnandTech gives you all the details.

To coincide with the return of the XPS brand, Dell is shipping three new laptops as of today. In a sense, these three laptops replace the old Studio XPS offerings with updated features and performance, and they all look very nice. The three new models all have the same basic features, with size being a major differentiator; you can choose between 14″, 15.6″, or 17.3″ (L401x, L501x, or L701x respectively), and in all cases you should get a high quality, good performance laptop.

via Dell XPS Laptops: Back to the Future @ AnandTech

Hardware 3d, dell, laptop

AnandTech takes a look at the Toshiba A665-3DV laptop, which, as the name implies, is 3-D capable. The laptop has 3-D capable Blu-Ray player in it for you to watch movies with. There is a free Toshiba BD Player, but you might be better served buying PowerDVD 10. At least now there are more 3-D Blu Ray movies to purchase. There used to be only Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs available.

The Toshiba A665-3DV laptop is also capable of playing 3-D enabled games. However, since it is a laptop, the graphics card is only a NVIDIA GTS 350M. The real question is, how good is it?

This is a first generation 3D Vision notebook. What’s that mean? It means the 3D emitter is a separate USB device just like on desktops. There are next generation 3D Vision notebooks coming this fall (Acer’s recently announced Aspire 5745DG for example, scheduled for availability later this month) with the 3D emitter built into the LCD bezel. If you’re ready to buy into the whole 3D experience, integrating the emitter is definitely the way to go. Right now, if you want to take your laptop on the road, you’ll need the power brick and cable, your 3D glasses, the 3D emitter, and possibly an extra USB cable to charge your glasses (though you can use the cable for the emitter). That’s quite a bit of extra “stuff” to carry around, and you’ll also need space to set the emitter when in use.­­ If you have an NVIDIA desktop GPU and a 120Hz LCD, you can use the same 3D Vision kit that comes with the A665-3DV on both systems, but that’s about the only positive for the separate emitter.

via Toshiba A665-3DV: 3D or Not 3D? @ AnandTech

Hardware 3d, laptop

It’s only been a week since the GTX480M was announced, and today it’s available in the new Clevo D900F “Gaming Notebook”.  Definitely a desktop replacement system, it offers a 17″ screen, Core i7 or Xeno processors, 3 hard drives and 12GB of ram, with your choice of 3 different NVidia GPU’s including the new GTX480M.

Give your games an adrenaline shot with NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 480M notebook GPUs. Expect the fastest performance and visually-stunning graphics. Bring notebook gaming closer to cinema quality effects. Experience heart-pounding visuals with the combined power of DirectX 11 and NVIDIA ® PhysX® technologies. Take your game up a notch and connect your notebook to an NVIDIA® 3D Vision™-ready display for an immersive gaming experience. Finally, NVIDIA® Verde™ drivers keep your notebook up to date with the latest applications performing at its peak.

GTX48oM enabled versions seem to start at $3000.

via GAMING NOTEBOOK Clevo D900F Core™i7 Gaming Notebook 17.1″ WUXGA TFT LCD GeForce® GTX 285M GeForce® GTX 480M Quadro® FX 3800M Graphics AVADirect Custom Computer Configuration”.

Hardware fermi, laptop, nvidia

One of the problems with the new MacBook Pro is that a user could not manually switch back and forth from the Intel HD graphics chip and the Nvidia GeForce GT 330M graphics card. The Intel HD graphics chip could be disabled so that the Nvidia GeForce GT 330M graphics card was the only one running. The problem was that consumed more power, and reduced battery life. Ideally a user should be able to switch back and forth manually. Anandtech has found a possible solution to this with gfxCardStatus, which is currently at version 1.6.1.

With version 1.6 comes the ability to manually change GPUs on the fly, whenever users desire. That’s right, you can manually change from the discrete GT 330M back to the more energy-efficient Intel HD graphics even from applications that otherwise cause an automatic switchover. This is a huge boon to mobile road warriors that want to wring every last minute out of their batteries if need be.

Via : gfxCardStatus 1.6 enables 2010 MacBook Pro GPU Switching @ Anandtech

Hardware apple, laptop, mac, nvidia

Apple quietly took down their online store this morning, well as quietly as Apple can do anything with the intense scrutiny they find themselves under, and when it came back we were blessed with new MacBook Pros sporting the new Core i5 and Core i7 processors.

“The new MacBook Pro is as advanced on the inside as it is stunning on the outside,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With faster processors, amazing graphics and up to three more hours of battery life, the new MacBook Pro delivers both performance and efficiency.”

What I find most exciting is that the new Macbook Pros include NVidia Optimus technology Switchable Graphics, switching between integrated graphics and the NVidia GeForce GT330M (256M or 512M RAM).  The Optimus technology is only available in the 15″ and 17″ models, but it’s still a very welcome addition to the lineup.

Update 1pm: I just received new information from NVidia that this is not Optimus technology, but rather an Apple-built custom solution.  Read more information here.

via DailyTech – Apple Announces New Core i5, Core i7 MacBook Pros.

Hardware apple, laptop, nvidia, optimus

ASUS has finally released their tiny, slick Optimus-enabled Laptop, the ASUS U30JC, for the low-price of $899.99.  Now available at sites like Amazon, it packs the dual-GeForce technology and a 2.26Ghz Intel processor into a 13.3-inch package weighing a mere 4.8lbs.

The sleek 13.3-inch U30Jc has incredible features that go far beyond the capabilities of standard entertainment notebooks. Start smart with it’s all new Intel® Core™ i3 processor thatis smarter and faster with Intel Hyper-Threading Technology for enhanced multitasking. Plus, the U30Jc features NVIDIA® GeForce™ graphics with NVIDIA Optimus™ Technology that seamlessly transitions between powerful NVIDIA graphics and Intel embedded graphics to give you smart visual performance or battery-savings when you need it.

At less than 4.5-pounds and only 1.5-inches thin, its unique and lightweight design makes it easy to carry anywhere you go. With full HD playback capability and HDMI connectivity, you can easily enjoy the big screen experience on any HDMI-ready HDTV or home theater setup.

So you get the Intel-embedded graphics for battery-life, and the sweet GeForce 310M for raw pixel-pushing (and CUDA-crunching) power, along with stuff like 4GB of Ram and a 320GB hard drive.  All for the impressively low price of $899.99.

Hardware asus, laptop, nvidia, optimus