AMD today introduced its Next-Generation AMD Opteron processor family, featuring “industry-leading performance-per-watt and outstanding virtualization capabilities”. According to AMD’s press release, Opteron is the only x86 server processor with planned upgradeability to native quad-core within the same thermal design power envelope.

“Today’s announcement represents continued innovation along the customer-directed path we blazed years ago; we provide the complete x86 processor architectural standard for others in the industry to emulate and have planned a seamless upgrade path to quad-core processors,” said Randy Allen, corporate vice president, Server and Workstation Division, AMD.

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While the 64-bit Windows Vista installation will come with a 32-bit emulation layer called Window on Windows (WOW) which will allow you to run your old 32-bit apps on your 64-bit Vista via emulation, the 32-bit hardware drivers will not work on new Microsoft’s operating system. Opposite to that, recently previewed Mac OS X Leopard will come with 64-bit and full non-emulated 32-bit support.

Dean Pullen in his article for The Inquirer sees Leopard’s non-emulated support for 32-bit applications and drivers as a great advantage compared to 64-bit version of Windows Vista.

“Note that the non-emulated support in OSX is for applications and drivers. 32-bit programs on Vista 64 need to work on WOW emulation to run in Vista, and 32-bit drivers are a no-no. Lack of driver support is the main reason Windows XP x64 hasn’t been widely adopted, and why the Vista fudge will ensure hardware incompatibilities between the two Windows versions remain for sometime to come.

This is quite a boon for OSX, and one that should be highlighted frequently and often,” says Pullen.

64-bit Leopard knocks spots off Vista

Asrock ConRoe945G-DVI is a new budget Intel Core 2 Duo (Conroe) motherboard featuring Intel’s 945G chipset and integrated Intel GMA950 graphics card. It has a Dual VGA Output: support DVI-D and D-Sub ports with DVI Graphics-SI card by independent display controllers. The ConRoe945G-DVI is equipped with four DIMM slots that can handle a total of 4GB of DDR2 SDRAM chips. For 3D acceleration, the motherboard supports ATI CrossFire technology via one PCI Express x16 slot and one AGI Express slot, which is basically a PCI Express x4 slot which is mostly used for SLI operation via CrossFire. The Asrock ConRoe945G-DVI motherboard handles four SATA2 slots,and it wears Windows Vista Premium Logo Hardware Ready. It’s current price is around $75 at online PC stores.

OCW Work Bench reveiwed and tested the Asrock ConRoe945G-DVI. You can read the story here.

Asrock ConRoe945G-DVI Specifications

LGA 775 for Intel® Core™ 2 Duo/ Pentium® XE / Pentium® D / Pentium® 4 / Celeron® D, supporting Conroe processors
Intel® 945G Chipset
Supports FSB 1066/800/533 MHz processor, EM64T CPU and H-T Technology
Supports Dual Channel DDRII667/533 x 4 DIMM slots with max. capacity up to 4GB
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950, Pixel Shader 2.0, DirectX 9.0 and Max. shared memory 192MB
1 x PCI Express x16 slot, 1 x PCI Express x1 slot
Supports Gigabit LAN 10/100/1000 Mb/s
Dual VGA Output: support DVI-D and D-Sub ports with DVI Graphics-SI card by independent display controllers
Hybrid Booster – Safe Overclocking Technology
Untied Overclocking : During Overclocking, FSB enjoys better margin due to fixed PCIE/ PCI Buses
4 x Serial ATAII 3.0 Gb/s connectors
7.1 CH Vista™ Premium level HD Audio (ALC888 Audio Codec)
Windows® Vista™ Premium Logo Hardware Ready
HD 8CH I/O: 4 ready-to-use USB ports, HD 7.1 channel audio jacks

The Dell XPS 410 is one of the first Dell’s computers to incorporate new Intel Core 2 Duo (Conroe) processor. Made for home entertainment and office productivity, the XPS 410 cheapest configuration costs $1595 at Dell’s site. For that price you get Core 2 Duo E6300 processor running on 1.86GHz, nVidia Geforce 7300LE (256MB) graphics card, 1GB of RAM and a 320GB SATA hard drive. In $1595 price is included 20-inch UltraSharp 2007FPW Widescreen Digital Flat Panel monitor and a 16x DVD+/-RW. The Dell XPS 410 comes with Windows XP Media Center 2005 Edition. It’s interesting that there is no option to purchase this PC with XP Home or XP Pro. This PC is Windows Vista Capable.

The XPS 410 can be also configured with the faster E6700 processor, 4GB of RAM, 1TB of hard drive storage, 512MB nVidia GeForce 7900 GTX graphics card, the AGEIA PhysX physics accelerator and a 24-inch widescreen display. In that case price exceeds $4000.

The mid-range Dell’s XPS 410 configuration with Core 2 Duo E6600 and nVidia’s 256MB graphics card was reviewed by CNet and PC World.

Dell XPS 410 (Core 2 Duo E6600) Reviews. Desktops Reviews by CNET.
The good: Speedy Core 2 Duo CPU; quiet operation.

The bad: Service lags behind other premium retailers’; expensive for what you get.

The bottom line: Brand-name shoppers will find that the upper-midrange Dell XPS 410 is an easy, if expensive, way to get into the next generation of CPUs without jumping all the way up to Dell’s XPS 700 gaming monster.

PC World – Dell XPS 410
The XPS 410 is a well-rounded system whose strong performance and enticing price make it an appealing choice. But if you require open drive bays for future storage expansion, you’ll be disappointed.

XPS 410 Product Details

Cannon PC, Media Center computers company, released its RX Series Rack Mount Media Center PC. The RX home theater computer is powered by an 64-bit Intel Core 2 Duo processor and has the ability to house 2 terabytes of disk space in 6 hot swappable SATA II drives.

Cannon PC RX standard configuration contains an Intel 975XBX motherboard, Intel 2.4 Core 2 Duo processor, Seagate SATA II NCQ hard drives (configurable in RAID 0, 1, 5, 10), 2 GB high speed RAM (expandable to 8 GB), NVIDIA 7900 series GeForce video card, 8 channel high definition digital audio, dual layer DVD drive, 12-in-1 media card reader, 1 HDTV tuner, 2 NVIDIA Dual TV tuners, gigabit Ethernet, 8 USB ports, 2 Fire Wire ports, wireless mouse and wireless keyboard.

Cannon PCs line of Media Centers is also available in AMD platform.

Link:Cannon PC – RX Series Media Center PC Technical Specifications

Okoro Media Systems, manufacturer of digital entertainment systems announced the availability of new computers based on the new Intel Core 2 Duo processor and DTS Connect technology. The OMS-TH550 and OMS-TH540 models will feature cool and quiet operation with excellent multimedia performance using the Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 and E6300 processors while the OMS-GX300 will maintain its status as the fastest HTPC available with the Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 at its core.

“Our new digital entertainment systems (featuring Intel Core 2 CPUs) run up to 40 percent faster and quieter than our previous generation. This allows us to provide an unrivaled multimedia experience to all of our customers.” said Christopher Curry, VP of Sales and Operations.

The OMS Core 2 Duo models also feature “DTS Connect” technology for 7.1 HD audio, HDCP compliant video playback, and ATSC recording capabilities.

Okoro Media Systems Now shipping Core 2 Duo Based Digital Entertainment Systems

Gateway’s “the most powerful professional E-Series managed desktop to date”, the Gateway E-6610, is available now for purchase. The PC features the latest Intel 975X chipset, the new 64-bit Intel Core 2 Duo processor, high-capacity SATA hard drives and RAID configurability. The Gateway E-6610 can be configured with OpenGL graphics, Error Correcting Code (ECC) memory and ultra high-speed SCSI hard drives.

“The Gateway E-6610 is designed as a maximum performance desktop with workstation configurability,” said Marc Demars, Gateway senior director, professional desktops and displays. “Complementing these high-end features is BTX technology boasting an ultra quiet dual fan cooling system for improved reliability, making it one of the coolest running PCs available.”

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ASUS today introduced the P5W DH Deluxe motherboard, which supports both 64-bit Intel Core 2 Extreme and Core 2 Duo processors and ATI CrossFire graphics “to deliver multimedia entertainment, wireless networking, data protection and easy access and management of various functions without being confined by the computer desk”.

One of the p5w DH (Digital Home) onboard features is WiFi AP Solo, which allows both access point (AP) and wireless client modes. Even when the system sleeps the AP mode continues to connect devise in the WLAN for games, Internet access and printer functions sharing.

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Apple previewed Mac OS X version 10.5 Leopard, the sixth major version of Mac OS X, to its third party developers. The new Leopard offers 64-bit computing along with 32-bit legacy support without emulation.

Apple’s pointed new features of Mac Leopard operating system includes Time Machine, a new way to automatically back up and restore everything on Mac, and Spaces to instantly switch between groups of applications required for various tasks. There are also improvement to Spotlight, a search feature, and improved iChat, as well as a new Dashboard feature that will contain around 2,500 Widgets. So called Core Animation developer tool, which will be part of the updated Mac OS X, can be used to create motion graphics with only little coding.

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Apple unveiled the new quad-core Mac Pro 64-bit desktop workstation featuring two Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors running up to 3.0GHz and a new system architecture that delivers up to twice the performance of the Power Mac G5 Quad, Apple published.

You have three powerful graphics cards from which to choose, including the NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT (256MB), ATI Radeon X1900 XT (512MB), and NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 (512MB). You can also fill your Mac Pro with as many as four GeForce 7300 GT graphics cards.

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AsRock announced AM2NF6G-VSTA gaming motherboard with support for NVIDIA GeForce6-class graphics DX9.0 VGA, Pixel Shader 3.0 and maximum shared memory of 256MB.

“For users interested to try all the new stuff, like socket AM2 motherboard, socket AM2 CPU, Windows Vista operating system, the newly released motherboard with embedded graphics – AM2NF6G-VSTA, which is based on NVIDIA NF6100-405 chipset is exactly what you need,” the AsRock’s press release says. NVIDIA NF6100-405 is a single chip, capable of running at 1000MHz (2.0GT/s).

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Velocity Micro announced it is already selling systems based on the new Intel Core 2 Duo (IC2D) and Intel Core 2 Extreme (IC2E) 64-bit processors, with pre-orders available immediately at BestBuy.com.

Velocity Micro will feature the Intel Core 2 Extreme processor in its Raptor DCX, Gamers’ Edge PCX, and ProMagix lines of custom gaming, digital media, and home entertainment computers, which will also offer NVIDIA SLI multi graphics cards solutions. The Intel Core 2 Duo processor will be available in Velocity Micro ProMagix and Vector lines of affordable high-performance home and office PCs.

Autodesk has announced Autodesk 3ds Max 9, the latest version of its 3D modeling, animation and rendering software solution, which now supports 64-bit technologies.

“3ds Max 9 software’s 64-bit architecture makes it easier to work with the huge datasets required for next-generation digital content creation”, says press release.

Autodesk anticipates 3ds Max 9 is expected to be available in English in October 2006, and in additional languages in the future. The Autodesk suggested retail price for 3ds Max 9 software is US $3,495 and price to upgrade from 3ds Max 8 to 3ds Max 9 is US $795.

3ds Max 9 Now Supports 64 Bit Technologies

Overdrive PC, a U.S. based computer manufacturer today introduced the Overdrive PC Core2.SLI and Core2.X-Fire, a new line of ultra-fast desktop systems incorporating the newly introduced Intel Core 2 Duo (Conroe) processors. The Core2.SLI and the Core2.X-Fire computers, designed for gamers, multimedia enthusiasts and business professionals, can be overclocked for you by Overdrive PC.

“By incorporating our proprietary HyperClocking technology, we are able to increase the speed of the new chip beyond anything we have done before while still maintaining the stability our customers rely on. Combine the Intel Core 2 Processor, our HyperClocking technology and our new case and you have one phenomenal super-fast, super-stable system to meet all your business computing, multimedia and gaming needs,” explained Mario Cifaldi, chief technical officer and partner at Overdrive PC.

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Lenovo unveiled the ThinkCentre A60 desktop PC, the first worldwide ThinkCentre featuring an AMD processor. Lenovo ThinkCentre A60 offers choice between AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processors, AMD Athlon 64 and AMD Sempron processors.

Available in a mini-tower or small desktop, the Lenovo A60 is equipped with serial ATA drive support, hard drives up to x2 500GB, DDR2 memory support, and nVidia GF 6100 integrated graphics. Lenovo ThinkCentre A60 also supports PCI Express graphics adapters. The A60 also comes equipped with six USB 2.0 ports, front side audio ports and internal speakers.
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