MAINGEAR UPDATES ROAD WARRIOR CLUTCH-15 SERIES NOTEBOOKS
WITH NVIDIA® OPTIMUS™ TECHNOLOGY

Kenilworth, New Jersey – July 8th, 2011 - MAINGEAR, an award-winning PC system builder offering custom desktops, notebooks, workstations and media centers, has updated their Clutch-15 catering to business users and students with NVIDIA Optimus Technology. With a full HD 15.6" screen size and powered by second generation Intel® Core i3 or Core i5 series mobile processors, this diverse notebook offers the latest in portable productivity, multimedia and gaming performance.

The MAINGEAR Clutch-15 is a hybrid notebook that offers outstanding graphics performance while prolonging battery life utilizing NVIDIA® Optimus™ technology. The Clutch-15 is packed with a dedicated NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 525M GPU with 1GB GDDR3 memory, your choice of second generation Intel® Core™ i3 or i5 mobile processors, 1366 x 768 16:9 HD resolutions, up to 8GB of DDR3 1333MHZ memory, and up to 512GB Solid State Drive or up to 500GB Hybrid SSDs hard drives. Gamers and PC enthusiasts who are on the go will enjoy watching a HD movie, surfing the web, or playing the latest casual PC games with the reassurance of getting the best performance and the longest battery life.

Clutch-15 users will be able to take advantage of an optional 90 watt, charging docking station that features extra connectivity such as VGA, DVI, RJ-45, audio out, USB 2.0 x 4 ports and optional optical disc drives including Blu-ray™. The MAINGEAR Clutch-15 not only offers a 15.6" screen that is thinner and lighter than many notebooks out in the market and featuring a full size keyboard with a numeric keypad.

The sleek and lean modern profile aesthetics of the Clutch-15 sets it apart from the crowd with the unique exterior texture for an enhanced tactile experience.


MAINGEAR Clutch-15 Notebook:

15.6" WXGA (1366 x 768) 16:9 Glossy LED LCD display

Second Generation Intel® Core™ i3, i5 mobile processors

Intel HD Integrated Graphics or NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 525M 1GB Graphics

Up to 8GB DDR3-1333 memory

Up to SATA 2.5" 7200RPM 750GB, 500GB Hybrid SSD, or up to 512GB SSD

802.11g/n wireless connection, Bluetooth, 10/100/1000 Ethernet

HDMI out, eSATA, 34mm ExpressCARD support

Optional docking station includes: VGA, DVI, RJ-45, audio out and USB 2.0 x 4 ports, and a choice of Blu-ray, Super Mutli DVD, DVD-RW

Microsoft Windows 7 Operating System

Intel® Anti-Theft Technology Support, Intel® Always Aware Features, Intel ® My WiFi Technology Support

Full size keyboard with number pad

15.35"(w) x 9.8" (d) x 1.3" (h)

4.75lb (fully loaded)

Starting at price $1,029 (without docking station)

Gateway has outed its updated ID and NV notebook ranges, offering Sandy Bridge processors, USB 3.0 and – on select models – NVIDIA Optimus graphics switching. The Gateway ID47 series is particularly slick, using new LCD display technology to fit a 14-inch edge-to-edge panel into a notebook you’d more commonly find with a 13.3-inch screen.

The Gateway ID47H02u has a Core i5-2410M 2.3GHz processor, 4GB of DDR3 memory, a 500GB 5,400rpm hard-drive, DVD burner and Intel HD Graphics 3000 GPU, and is priced at $699.99. If you don’t mind taking a trip to Canada, however, and spending CA$799, you can get the ID47H03h, which has the same CPU but throws in 6GB of DDR3 memory, a 750GB hard-drive and NVIDIA GeForce TG 540M graphics with 1GB of video RAM and Optimus auto-switching. Canadians will also get the CA$899 ID57H03h, with a 15.6-inch display and 8GB of DDR3 memory, along with the same GPU and HDD as the ID47H03h.

In the US, the 15.6-inch segment is catered for by the NV55S05u, a $629.99 notebook with an AMD A8-3500M quadcore 1.5GHz APU (that can overclock to 2.4GHz), AMD Radeon HD 6620G graphics, 6GB of DDR3 RAM, a 640GB hard-drive and DVD burner. All of the models have an HDMI port, a USB 3.0 port, two USB 2.0 ports, a 1.3-megapixel webcam, WiFi b/g/n, stereo speakers and a copy of Windows 7.

Battery life on the 14-inchers is up to 8hrs, while the ID57H03h can also run at up to 8hrs. The AMD-based NV55S05u can go for up to 4hrs, and has a smaller battery as standard. All of the new ID and NV models are on sale now.

That Blu-ray drive is capable of burning the new, super-capacious 128GB disks, as well as playing 2D or 3D Blu-ray movies and upscaling 2D DVDs into 3D. There’s also a 640GB 5,400rpm hard-drive, Harman Kardon speakers, HDMI port, WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0+HS and a memory card reader, while ports include three USB 2.0 and a USB 3.0.

Toshiba’s eye-tracking system uses the HD-resolution webcam to identify the user’s face and then tweak the positioning of the left/right-eye pixels behind the lenticular film, twisting the 3D image to suit their position. It’s also capable of showing 2D and 3D images simultaneously, so that you can have a 3D movie playing in one window and a 2D spreadsheet opened in another. On the downside, it’s only intended for one viewer, since the tracking system can’t handle multiple viewpoints.

The Toshiba Qosmio F750 3D will go on sale in the UK from early August 2011, priced at around £1,300. US pricing and availability is yet to be confirmed.

When you bump up to the L series, you get access to Sandy Bridge, but now there's also Llano. Sandy Bridge-based Intel Core i3 and i5 processors will be available, with AMD-based models now sporting A4 and A6 dual- and quad-core processors. Notebooks will range from 13.3" up to 17.3".

The updated Fusion finish remains one of glossy plastic's last strongholds in retail, but the textured appearance makes it far less liable to pick up fingerprints and all the usual mess that comes with gloss; unfortunately Toshiba is still sticking with the glossy keyboard. Finally, the line will come with USB charging, a wide variety of colors (including a very attractive brushed aluminum blue as an alternative to the gloss), and in some configurations a Blu-ray drive. The 14" L745 series starts at $449.99, the 15.6" L755 series starts at $483.99, and the 17.3" L775 series starts at $579.99.

UPDATE: Toshiba let us know the 13" L735 will only be available with Intel processors. It's a shame; that form factor seems like a great place for Llano.

The P700 line may seem the most compelling, though. While these still sport the Fusion X2 finish, it's been toned down and the keyboard has been replaced by the slightly glossy island-style found on the Portege and the new Tecra lines. That keyboard is still a little bit problematic, but it's a major improvement on the older glossy flat keys. In addition, Toshiba implements Waves Audio and USB 3.0 along with USB charging across the entire line, and these notebooks will feature Sandy Bridge processors all the way up to i7 along with AMD's A6-3400M. Some configurations will also include WiMax, Blu-ray, and even NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M graphics with Optimus. The 14" P745 starts at $699.99, the 15.6" P755 starts at $629.99, the 17.3" P775 starts at $629.99, and if you want to make the jump to 3D there'll be a 17.3" P775 3D model at $1,199.99 that includes a 120Hz screen and active shutter glasses.

Last but not least is the new Qosmio X770. If you're like me you probably thought last generation's Qosmio was ostentatious at best, bulky and gaudy at worst. The X770 has had a major facelift and it's a real improvement. Red remains the signature color for the sleeker, slimmer new Qosmio but honestly, the red backlighting behind the keyboard looks downright evil, which may or may not be your cup of tea (it's mine). The 17.3" X770 comes equipped with a Core i5 or i7, a GeForce GTX 560M standard, and up to a 1080p screen. It starts at $1,199.99, but peaks with the X775 3D which comes equipped with a 120Hz screen and active shutter glasses at $1,899.99.

All of these notebooks are expected to become available by the end of the month, and we're planning on getting one of the new Qosmios in hand as soon as possible.

The new Vaio Z is significantly thinner and lighter than the old Vaio Z: It weighs in just 2.6lbs and has height of 0.66” compared to its 3.04lbs and 1.3” predecessor. It’s actually slightly thinner than the MacBook Air (0.66” vs 0.68”). MacBook Air’s design is slanted though so at its thinnest point, it’s much thinner than the new Vaio Z. Vaio Z is also quite noticeably lighter than 13” MacBook Air or Samsung 9 Series, which weigh 2.9lbs and 2.88lbs respectively. 

The main reason why the new Vaio Z is so much lighter and thinner than its predecessor is the lack of a discrete GPU. It comes with Intel HD 3000 which is integrated into the CPU die, whereas the old Vaio Z came with a discrete NVIDIA GT 330M. However, Sony has provided an interesting solution to this. They have announced a Power Media Dock (PMD) which is basically a souped up external optical drive. The external dock has an AMD Radeon HD 6650M with 1GB of DDR3 in it as well. The AMD 6650M allows you to connect up to two displays to the PMD so you can have a total four displays: two attached to the PMD, one attached to the laptop’s HDMI port and obviously the laptop’s integrated LCD. 

To make this worthwhile, Sony uses Intel’s Light Peak technology (yes, Sony calls it Light Peak, not Thunderbolt) which provides up to 10Gb/s of bandwidth in each direction. A GPU requires lots of bandwidth which is why USB, especially 2.0, is not suitable for powerful external GPUs. There are plenty of USB video adapters which are fundamentally external GPUs but they are not suitable for gaming or other GPU heavy tasks by any means. What makes Sony’s implementation different from Apple’s is the fact that Sony uses a combo-port that combines USB and Light Peak into one, instead of Mini DisplayPort connector like Apple. Sony actually calls the port a docking station/USB port. It can function as a regular USB 3.0 port as well. 

The Power Media Dock comes in three flavors. The cheapest one is a normal DVD drive. The second option is a Blu-Ray player. The most expensive option is a Blu-Ray writer as you might have guessed. PMDs with Blu-Ray are only available from Sony’s online store whereas the DVD PMD will be available through resellers as well. The PMD supports up to two external monitors: one via HDMI and one via VGA. There is also a Gigabit Ethernet port, two USB 2.0 ports and one USB 3.0 port. 

One issue with the PMD is its price. The cheapest one is £400 which translates to $640. Take away UK’s VAT which is 20% and we get $512, so the cheapest PMD will most likely retail for $500. That sounds pretty expensive, considering that AMD 6650M is an underclocked AMD 6570 (our review) which goes for around $70. Combine that with $20 DVD drive and you get what Sony calls Power Media Dock. 

Then there's the concern about performance. Sony must be running PCIe over Light Peak, but you only get a maximum of 1.25GB/s of bandwidth to/from the GPU - assuming no additional overhead. While the 6650M is likely much faster than Sandy Bridge's intergrated GPU, it's potentially slower than an on-board 6650M would have been because of the Light Peak bottleneck.

Conclusions

Vaio Z is definitely the most portable of the current 13" ultraportables and it packs in a nice amount of power. However, its pricing makes it too expensive compared to most of its competitiors. 13" MacBook Air starts at $1199 so the cheapest Vaio Z will be at least $700 more expensive if UK's pricing is comparable to US's. Even the Lenovo X1 starts at $1199 nowadays and it features exactly the same CPUs. The biggest market for Vaio Z seems to be in the high-end ultraportable market. No other brand offers 512GB SSD or 1080p screen at the moment for example. 

Power Media Dock sounds interesting but the price tag is everything else but attractive. For the same amount of money, you could grab for instance NVIDIA GTX 580, which is the fastest single chip GPU as of today. With PMD, you will be limited to AMD 6650M which isn't exactly a great GPU for gaming in the first place. At $500, you would hope for something much, much better than a DVD+GPU combo that struggles to play games at decent quality. We have seen external GPUs before but they have always failed miserably. Sony's attempt doesn't seem too promising either but at least we now have a port that is capable of external GPUs: Thunderbolt/Light Peak. There is hope that third parties will release cheaper and faster solutions, the most promising being Sonnet's Echo Express, which supports full size PCIe cards (though no word on GPU support). 

As the world becomes increasingly more mobile, external GPUs may be a solution to the problem of balancing portability with performance. Light Peak is a great way to get data out of a system however we may need to see a next-generation version of the interface, with higher bandwidth to really make sense for high performance external GPU solutions.

Update: Head over to the Sony UK site to configure one yourself — pricing starts at £1,434 ($2,294) with a Core i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM and no PMD. The dock is a £400 ($640) option with no optical drive included, while upgrading to a 1080p 13.1-inch LCD is a mere £40 extra.

PRESS RELEASE

Ultimate performance and design: ultra-mobile new VAIO Z Series from Sony weighs under 1.2kg
28 June 2011

Specifications and features vary by model. Please check VAIO laptops for more information.
For more information please contact
Sony Europe Press Centre

The 17.3-inch home entertainment laptop seems to be HP’s forte as the PC manufacturer has released yet another Editors’ Choice-worthy device in this category. The HP Pavilion dv7-6143cl’s ($999.99 list at Costco) inclusion of such future-proofing features as USB 3.0 will provide users with a faster connection speed when transferring data to and from your external hard drives, and Bluetooth and Wireless Display 2 (WiDi 2.0) will open up a wider range of wireless peripherals for your use. The fact that it comes with a discrete chipset and an Intel Core i7 processor that can bang out 72fps on games like Lost Planet 2 only adds to its value. That combined with the kind of long battery life usually seen in ultraportables, and you’d be hard-pressed to pass it up.

Design
The aluminum chassis of the dv7-6143cl forgoes the laser-etched design of past models like the HP Pavilion dv7-4283cl ($999.99 list, 4 stars) in favor of a brushed texture. Normally, when manufacturers configure a laptop with an oversized battery, it juts out horizontally; HP decided to utilize the battery as a mini-stand, elevating the back of the laptop slightly, angling it. The dv7-6143 weighs 7.04 pounds, which compared with the 8.1-pound Dell XPS 17 ($1,670 direct, 3.5 stars), seems like a lightweight. It’s likely that the dv7-6143cl will stay house-bound, but the option to bring it on the road is always comforting.

The17.3-inch widescreen has a 1,600-by-900 resolution, which doesn’t translate to true 1080p HD but 720p. Other 17-inch laptops, like the Acer Aspire AS8950G-9839 ($1,499.99 street, 4 stars) displays in “true HD,” but it’s only the video enthusiasts that will notice the difference. Above the screen is an HD webcam for video conferencing and chatting with your friends. The full-size keyboard is chiclet-style, with each key to its own little square island. There’s also a numeric keypad, a welcome addition for number crunchers. HP has redone its touchpads, getting rid of the clickpad that was notorious for causing on screen cursor jumps, and replacing it with two separate mouse buttons and a touchpad. The mousepad is framed by a glowing LED light—a nice addition for late-night workers and players. Off to the right side, beneath the keyboard is a fingerprint reader that will add some extra security for the more cautious users.

Features
Connection options come in physical and wireless form, such as Bluetooth, two USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, SD/MMC card slot, Audio jacks, VGA, HDMI, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, and Ethernet. There’s also WiDi 2.0, which allows you to stream the contents of your computer’s multimedia (in 1080p HD) to your HDTV—provided you have the Netgear Push2TV receiver. Your HD content, however, will be limited to digital downloads and streaming, as the dv7-6143cl only comes with a DVD R/W optical drive (A Blu-ray drive is not included).

The dv7-6143cl also comes equipped with Beats Audio, a program that gives you a deeper bass experience when listening to music. While the laptop speakers aren’t phenomenal, they’re better than the usual fodder. However, when I hooked up my headphones to listen to some Red Hot Chili Peppers with Beats Audio switched on, Flea’s bass solos had a deeper and more dynamic quality.

This laptop also features a 750GB 5,400rpm hard drive, which is the same size and speed as the Acer AS8950G-9839 and 110GB more that what the HP dv7-4283cl provides.

Costco also offers customers some added benefits. For example, whereas most vendors provide just a one-year warranty, Costco bumps that up to two years. It also offers Costco’s Concierge Services, which a free service to Costco members who purchase electronics at the store. The service gives you access to technicians to walk you system setup, product use, and for troubleshooting. Lastly, the store accepts returns within 90 days (which takes care of buyers’ remorse).

Performance
The dv7-6143cl comes equipped with a 2GHz Intel Core i7-2630QM processor, 8GB of RAM, and an AMD Radeon HD 6770M discrete graphics chip. On PCMark Vantage, the dv7-6143cl, scored 7,554 (2,302 in PCMark 7), which fell somewhere between the Dell XPS 17 and Aspire AS8950G. It trounced the Dell XPS 17 on our Cinebench R11.5 (4.97) and Photoshop CS5 (3 minutes 52 seconds) timed image filtering test, and received nearly identical scores the Acer AS8950G-9839. The dv7-6143cl pulled away from the competition on our Handbrake test, scoring 1 minute 37 seconds. The Acer AS8950G-9839 was 31 seconds behind.

In 3D-oriented tasks, the dv7-6143cl shined, receiving a score of 10,983 on Entry level settings and 8,747 on Native in our 3DMark 06 test. In gaming tests, its AMD Radeon HD 6770M card helped it eke out playable frame rates in Crysis at Medium settings (50 frames per second) on though it scored an unplayable 11.2fps in Very High setting. On Lost Planet 2, it scored playable frame rates on both settings (73fps Medium; 36fps High).

The Radeon chip also comes with manual graphics switching technology. When you install a game you must go into the “Catalyst Control Center” by right-clicking on the desktop and selecting “Configure Switchable Graphics.” While in the control center you can select from a list of programs for which you want the graphics card on (as opposed to the integrated graphics chipset) —as I did after I installed Lost Planet 2 and Crysis.

The switchable graphics features also helps in saving battery power (it automatically defaults to integrated graphics when the AC plug is pulled from the laptop). Combined with the dv7-6143cl’s 9-cell (100Wh) battery, it helped the laptop score an amazing 9 hours 13 minutes on our MobileMark 2007 test. The Acer AS8950G-9839 (5:22) and Dell XPS 17 (3:01) just couldn’t compete.

The HP Pavilion dv7-6143cl offers up a standard feature set with a few nice extras, but its performance in media-oriented and 3D gaming tests and a battery time that usually shows up on small ultraportable laptops—not media center desktop replacement laptops—puts it above the laptops like the Editors’ Choice Acer Aspire AS8950G-9839. All this is why it’s our new Editors’ Choice for media center laptops.

Specifications
Type
General Purpose, Media, Desktop Replacement
Processor Name
Intel Core i7-2630QM
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Processor Speed
2 GHz
RAM
8 GB
Weight
7.04 lb
Screen Size
17.3 inches
Screen Size Type
widescreen
Storage Capacity (as Tested)
750 GB
Networking Options
802.11n
Primary Optical Drive
DVD+RW (Plus)