With Windows 7 right around the corner, let the marketing frenzy begin. Case in point: According to AMD spokesman Brent Barry, all those Athlon II chips that recently rolled off AMD’s assembly line are “fully optimized” for the upcoming OS.
“It was important for AMD to get in front of the pack for the release of Windows 7,” Barry told TGDaily. “We are well positioned for it, with acceleration and virtualization support. Our drivers are all ready to go. From a CPU and graphics standpoint, we have a better start than Intel does.”
Oh snap! But not worry if you’ve already invested in a Core i7 or i5 platform, it’s not as if Windows 7 will suddenly refuse to boot i if it detects Intel inside. The point Barry is trying to drive home is that AMD owns the value market. By Barry’s numbers, the AMD Athlon II X2 240e, for example, performs “up to 70 percent better” then similarly priced Intel silicon. Or take the Athlon II X3 435 chip, which AMD says offers a 75 percent boost in media and entertainment apps when compared to Intel’s Core 2 Duo E8500.
On a less controversial note, Barry also said Windows 7 will likely help drive PC sales growth, whereas that wasn’t necessarily the case with Vista.
Spill-proof Laptops:
If you’re one of the people who can’t resist a hot coffee, ice-cold beer or other beverage at your PC, HP may have the perfect solution for you. HP’s new Probook-b series of laptops will be able to withstand spills from drinks being poured on them thanks to a gutter-like system under the keyboard, which directs the liquid towards a drain hole in the bottom of the laptop, averting a technology crisis.
This spill-preventing technology has been demonstrated before, but HP will be the first manufacturer to commercially distribute products incorporating the technology. The Probook-b series will feature AMD processors and graphics as well as 14″ or 15.6″ LED back-lit screens. The new laptops will be available from 22 October starting at US$799, depending on the model and configuration.