Systems running on older hardware could be excluded from upcoming public versions of Windows 11—the recently released preview/insider build (26052) has introduced all sorts of new features including "Sudo for Windows", an improved regedit, and hidden beneath the surface, an AI-flavored Super Resolution settings menu. Early partakers of version 24H2 are running into instruction set-related problems—Windows operating expert, Bob Pony, was one of the unlucky candidates. Microsoft's preview code seems to require a specific instruction set to reach operational status—Pony documented his frustrations on social media: "Using the command line argument "/product server" for setup.exe, BYPASSES the system requirement checks for the Windows 11 24H2 setup program. But unfortunately, after setup completes then reboots into the next stage. It'll be indefinitely stuck on the Windows logo boot screen."

He continued to narrow in on the source of blame: "Windows 11 Version 24H2 Build 26058's setup (if ran in a live Windows Install) now checks for a CPU instruction: PopCnt." The Register provided some history/context on the SSE4 set: "POPCNT/PopCnt counts the number of bits in a machine word that have been set (or different from zero.) You might see it in cryptography and it has been lurking in CPU architectures for years, pre-dating Intel and AMD's implementation by decades." It is believed that Microsoft has deployed PopCnt as part of its push into AI-augmented software features, although a segment of online discussion proposes that an engineer has "accidentally enabled" newer CPU instruction sets. Tom's Hardware marked a line in the sand: "PopCnt has been supported since the Intel Nehalem and AMD Phenom II (microarchitecture) era—14 years ago—so compatibility won't be an issue for any modern systems. The only users that will be affected are enthusiasts running modified versions of Windows 11 on 15+ year-old chips like Core 2 Duos or Athlon 64." Bob Pony's long-serving Core 2 Quad Q9650 processor—a late summer 2008 product—was deemed unworthy by the preview build's setup process.

NVIDIA today released GeForce 399.24 WHQL "Game Ready" drivers. These drivers come with optimization for the month's biggest AAA game launch: "Shadow of the Tomb Raider," in addition to "Call of Duty: Black Ops 4" - open beta, and "Assetto Corsa Competizione" - early access. There aren't too many issues fixed with this release. Apparently it addresses a performance drop when using NVIDIA cards on a 32-core/64-thread processor, like the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX. It also addresses drivers not correctly installing on machines with ye olde Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad processors.DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 399.24 WHQL

The Core 2 Quad Q6600 quad-core processor is close to many a PC enthusiast's heart. It was the most popular quad-core processor by Intel in the pre-Nehalem LGA775 era, and continues to be found to this date on builds such as home-servers. Over a decade later, Intel's low-power Pentium Silver J5005 quad-core processor, which enthusiasts won't consider for anything, appears to have caught up with the Q6600. A CPU Passmark submission by a Redditor compares the J5005 with the Q6600, in which the latter is finally beaten. The J5005 scored 2,987 marks, compared to the Q6600's 2,959 marks. It's interesting to note here, that the J5005 is clocked at just 1.50 GHz, compared to the 2.40 GHz of the Q6600. Its TDP is rated at just 10W, compared to 95-105W of the Q6600.

The market for socket LGA775 is still far from dead as there are large inventories of cheap Core 2, Pentium, and Celeron chips left in the market, as well as buyers upgrading their DDR2 systems to those with DDR3, to benefit from the DDR3 fire sale. Gigabyte introduced a new revision of its GA-EG41MFT-US2H, revision 1.4, with an updated gigabit Ethernet chip. The micro-ATX motherboard uses 3+1 phase VRM to power the processor, a wide range of Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad processors are supported. The processor is wired to Intel's G41 northbridge. Surprisingly, its graphics controller gives out an HDMI connection apart from DVI and D-Sub. It is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting up to 8 GB of memory.

Expansion slots include two PCI, one each of PCI-Express 1.1 x16 and PCIe x1. The ICH7 southbridge drives four SATA 3 Gb/s ports, and an IDE connector. The gigabit ethernet controller has been updated to RTL8111E, from the 8111D found on the older revision. Other features include 8-channel HD audio, Firewire, FDC, COM, and a number of USB 2.0 ports. Expect a sub-$100 pricing for this board.

NVIDIA today announced that system builders worldwide are now shipping the fastest PC gaming platforms ever built, thanks in part to NVIDIA SLI technology and the just-released Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition processors and X79 chipset-based motherboards.

The combination of NVIDIA SLI technology -- which allows for multiple GPUs to run on a single PC -- and new X79-based motherboards allow gamers to customize their PC experience with up to four NVIDIA GeForce GTX GPUs, including the GeForce GTX 580 and GTX 570, the world's fastest DX11 GPUs. Licensed by the world's leading motherboard manufacturers -- including Intel, ASUS, ASRock, EVGA, Foxconn, Gigabyte and MSI, SLI technology is crucial for playing this year's hottest graphics-intensive games, such as the recently released Battlefield 3 and upcoming Batman: Arkham City with detail, resolution and immersion settings cranked up.

It is curtains for as many as 20 Intel processor models in H2 2011, according to a slide detailing the product lifecycle of Intel processors in the market. The 20 models will reach EOL (end of life) stage of their market-life. When a product is marked EOL, Intel stops taking orders for it from OEMs and channel vendors, clears outstanding orders, and stops its production. Intel will honor warranties on those products in accordance with its warranty policies.

Up for EOL are the socket LGA1366 Core i7-970, socket LGA1156 Core i7-880, Core i7-875K, Core i7-870S, Core i5-760, Core i5-750S, Core i5-655K, Core i3-530; and most socket LGA775 processor currently in the market. LGA775 models include Core 2 Quad Q9650, Q9550/Q9550S, Q9500, Q8400/Q8400S, Q8300; Core 2 Duo models E8600, E8500, and Pentium E5400. Several other products are marked PDN (product discontinuation notification), a stage that precedes EOL, which formally notifies OEMs and channel-vendors that they should place their last orders (and so they should choose quantities wisely).

MSI debuts the IA-Q45 based on the Intel Core 2 Duo / Core 2 Quad processor and the Intel Q45+ Intel ICH10DO chipset to provide the most powerful Micro-ATX form factor platform into ATM and Gaming applications. MSI IA-Q45 is a high performance industrial-grade Micro ATX motherboard with a full-range of integrated peripherals for high-end industrial and embedded applications like ATM and gaming applications. Based on Intel Q45+ Intel ICH10DO chipset and featured LGA775 socket for Intel Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad different level processors, IA-Q45 enables customers to deploy more responsive, high-performance, low-power, or even cost-effective systems and can fit in any Micro ATX chassis.

Kingston Digital, Inc., the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced it will ship its second generation SSDNow V Series solid-state drive (SSD) on February 15. Targeted for mainstream consumers and small and medium businesses, the new Kingston SSDNow V Series offers higher performance than its predecessor and supports Windows 7 TRIM functionality while maintaining pricing. Capacities are 30GB, 64GB and 128GB and the drive comes as a standalone unit or with a bundled solution for desktop or notebook systems.

"Kingston has really increased the performance on the new second generation SSDNow V Series drive without raising the price. A first-generation SSDNow V Series 64GB bundle upgrade kit can be found for about $150 (U.S.) at retailers and e-tailers so maintaining pricing will be huge for our customers," said Ariel Perez, SSD business manager, Kingston. "By bundling together all of the software, hardware and step-by-step instructions with the drive, we make it easy for everyday users to upgrade with an SSD. The addition of TRIM support is a key benefit because it enables the SSD to maintain optimal performance throughout its lifespan."

Intel is continuing to keep its lineup of socket LGA 775 processors developing. The company just introduced three new models: Core 2 Quad Q9500, Pentium E6600, and Celeron E3400. The Q9500 quad-core chip runs at 2.83 GHz, with an FSB speed of 1333 MHz much like the Q9550, except that it has 6 MB of total L2 cache instead of 12 MB on the Q9550. It is priced at US $183. Next, the Pentium E6600 dual-core chip runs at 3.06 GHz with an FSB speed of 1066 MHz. It is based on the 45 nm Wolfdale-2M core, and has 2 MB of L2 cache. This chip is priced at $84. Lastly, there's the Celeron E3400, with an operating frequency of 2.60 GHz, FSB speed of 800 MHz, and L2 cache size of 1 MB. This one goes for $53.

In addition to releasing these chips, Intel reduced prices of some existing ones. The Pentium E6500 is now priced at $74, down from $84, Pentium E5400 at $64, down from $74, and Celeron E3300 to $43 from $53. All prices mentioned are for 1000-unit tray quantities per piece. The new processors are intended to keep the upgrade path within a price-range alive, and to help clear inventories of socket LGA 775 motherboards.

Shuttle, an industry leading designer and manufacturer of high-performance small form factor (SFF) PC solutions and creator of the XPC, today released details and images for the Shuttle models that will be showcased at the 2010 International CES, the world's largest tradeshow for consumer technology, from January 7-10, 2010.

Shuttle will be unveiling its forthcoming XPC models slated for release in the first half of the year, from the new J Series and re-designed All-In-One PC product lines. These models include the latest technology and new features from Intel, including the next-generation Intel Atom platform and the all new Intel Core i3, Intel Core i5, and Intel Core i7 processors.

Gateway rolled out two new all-in-one PCs that boast of multi-touch capable displays. The Gateway One ZX6800 (23-inch), and Gateway One ZX4800 (20-inch) PCs come with everything expected from PCs in this quickly growing category. While the ZX6800 offers a full-HD screen resolution of 1920 x 1080, the ZX4800 give 1600 x 900. Under the hood, the ZX6800 packs an Intel Core 2 Quad 2.33 GHz processor, 8 GB of memory, and ATI Radeon HD 4670 1 GB powering the graphics, DVD Writer, 64 GB SSD to store the OS and installed applications, 1 TB hard drive for storage, gigbit Ethernet and WiFi b/g/n, a hybrid TV-tuner, and 5.1 channel audio (outputs).

The ZX4800 on the other hand, is powered by an Intel Pentium Dual-Core 2.10 GHz, 4 GB memory, Intel GMA X4500 integrated graphics, a 750 GB hard drive (no SSD here), the rest of its specs is identical to its sibling, except that it doesn't pack the TV-tuner. Both come with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit pre-installed. The multi-touch capabilities may come of use thanks to Windows 7's finger enhancements, and the various applications the company will be bundling. Slated for a time-frame between late October and early November, the Gateway One X6800 will carry a price-tag of US $1399, while the X4800 will sell for $749.

Intel's newest quad-core socket LGA-775 processor, the Core 2 Quad Q9505 (s-spec: SLGYY) adds to the series of upper-mainstream Core 2 Quad processors based on the Yorkfield cores. With a clock speed of 2.83 GHz and a bus speed of 1333 MHz, it matches Core 2 Quad Q9550. The difference here is the L2 cache amount. Q9505 features 2x 3 MB of L2 cache. It supports every other feature in the series, including Intel VT support. Started selling in Japan, the Core 2 Quad Q9505 is priced at JPY 22,770 there, while it's expected to be priced at around US $210.

Intel's counter to sub-$150 quad-core and triple-core processors from AMD, the Core 2 Quad Q7000 series is close to being formally announced. First surfaced in January, the Q7000 series quad-core processors differ from the Q8000 series with regards to cache size. It features a 1+1 MB (2 MB) L2 cache, and an 800 MHz front-side bus speed. The first in the series that is surfacing now, is the Core 2 Quad Q7600. This entry-level quad-core processor from Intel is clocked at 2.70 GHz (13.5 x 200 MHz). The processor further has a skimpy instruction set, with lack of support for SSE4.1, which most 45 nm Core series processors from Intel feature. Targeted mostly at home and office users, and tentatively priced within the $150 mark, the Core 2 Quad Q7600 will hit stores soon.

In the run-up for a new generation of processors, Intel is looking to boost sales of its existing Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad processors by introducing a round of price-cuts. According to the source, this round covers most mainstream-thru-value processors, rather than those chips based on Yorkfield-12M and Wolfdale-6M cores. It includes Core 2 Quad Q9x00 (Yorkfield-6M), Core 2 Quad Q8000 (Yorkfield-4M), Core 2 Duo E7000 (Wolfdale-3M), Pentium Dual-Core E6000, E5000 (Wolfdale-2M) and Celeron E1500 (Conroe). The cuts range between 10 and 20 percent. Notable changes include Core 2 Quad Q9400 pushed down to US $183 (on par with Q9300), from its price of $213, and Core 2 Duo E7500 down to $113 from $133 (influenced by its successor E7600). The existing prices were implemented in April, when Intel introduced a similar round of price-cuts for the market segments. The new prices will be implemented within this month. All prices in USD.

While the bulk of Intel's upcoming Nehalem and Westmere derived products include quad-core processors, the company hasn't left out dual-core processors just as yet. The dual-core Core i5 desktop processor will be based on the new Clarkdale core, built on the 32 nm Westmere architecture. Originally slated for a Q1 2010 launch, the new chip seems to have been pulled into the Q4 2009 launch schedule, deep enough to make for a significant amount of projected sales, according to sources in the Taiwanese motherboard industry.

The sales projections for Q4 look particularly interesting. Core i5 "Clarkdale" dual-core is projected to amount for 10% of Intel's sales, while Core i7 "Bloomfield" at 1%, Core i5 "Lynnfield" at 2% (Core i7 "Lynnfield" is slated for Q1 2010), Core 2 Quad at 9%, Core 2 Duo E7000/E8000 at 35%, Pentium E5000/E6000 at 31%, Celeron E3000 and Atom together at 9%, Pentium E2000 and Celeron 400 together at 4%. In the following quarter, Clarkdale's sales share is expected to rise to 20%. The numbers prove just how large the market for dual-core processors is, even four years into the introduction of quad-core chips.

Last week, Intel sketched out its strategy in dealing with its client processor brand Core, and placing its different kinds of processors in series of markers (such as "i3", "i5", and "i7"), on the merit of performance and features they offer, and not necessarily a segregation based on core type and socket type. This raised a big debate in our forums, on who is really going to benefit from this kind of branding.

Chinese website INPAI.com.cn sourced information which explains what factors go into determining which brand marker a processor gets. The table elaborates on how different kinds of Intel processors (determined by core and socket types) cross different lines, with a few features toggled or enhanced. It is sure to throw up some surprises.

MAINGEAR Computers, award-winning builders of high performance custom computers, is proud to announce the Pulse, a powerful, energy efficient small form factor PC based on NVIDIA ION graphics. The Pulse is the world's first ION PC that can be upgraded with a GeForce GPU, offering consumers the flexibility to choose an economical, low power ION solution or an energy efficient, high performance configuration with GeForce.

The ION configuration is available with Intel Core 2 45nm processors and a 80+ Certified 300 watt power supply that is 80%+ efficient. This configuration is the smallest, most energy efficient gaming PC on the market today.

At Intel's largest annual channel customer event today, the company launched two new motherboards designed to fuel the growth of nettops and small form factor computing. The Intel Desktop Board D945GSEJT with the Intel Atom Processor is designed for building into stylish and affordable nettops that push the traditional imagination of what an all-in-one or an enhanced thin client should be. Another new small form factor motherboard, the Intel Desktop Board DG41MJ supporting low power (65W) Intel Core 2 Quad processors and Intel Core 2 Duo processors, offers users a space saving desktop solution that meets their everyday multimedia needs.

Intel Desktop Board D945GSEJT comes fully integrated with the 45nm Intel Atom Processor N270 and the Mobile Intel 945GSE Express Chipset making this affordable, thin form factor, low-power nettop platform ideal for building into all-in-one PCs or enhanced thin client PCs. For all-in-one PCs, this versatile motherboard can be customised into entry-level or secondary home entertainment PCs, education PCs, or internet-centric PCs for businesses. For commercial usage models, this motherboard can be customised into industrial designs such as such as internet kiosks and home surveillance units.

Our friends at TCMagazine have just posted an updated chart of Intel's Core 2 and Xeon processors that reveal two new CPUs, and some interesting price reductions. The new socket LGA775 Core 2 Quad Q8400 and Q8400S processors are both made using 45 nm technology, feature a frequency of 2.66 GHz, a 1333 MHz FSB and 4 MB of L2 cache. The S model has a TDP of 65W while the normal Q8400 has 95W TDP. Both processors cost $183 and $245 respectively.

In a recent press release, Intel has announced that the Intel VT (Virtualization Technology) feature would be added to five existing desktop processor SKUs. The technology accelerates virtualization software. It will be now added as a feature to Core 2 Quad Q8300, Core 2 Duo models E7400, E7500, Pentium Dual-Core models E5300 and E5400.

The company will release VT-enabled stocks of these processors come June 12. The processors will feature new S-spec and MM number schemes. To support these processors, a BIOS update will be required. The update will merely enable the VT feature and provide an option to toggle it.

Intel's next big thing in the making, the Core i5 series processors are nearing launch, which is reportedly delayed to October. The new processors replace the Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Duo series of processors, while leaving the high-end market for Core i7 to play with. These processors are based on the LGA 1156 socket, and are incompatible with Core i7 motherboards. Recent reports shed light on three models in the making to start the lineup, all of which are quad-core processors based on the Lynnfield core, built on the existing 45 nm process.

The common features of these processors include: four x86 processing cores with support for HyperThreading technology, an integrated dual-channel DDR3 memory controller specified to run DDR3-1066 and DDR3-1333 modules, 8 MB of L3 cache, and support for TurboBoost technology. The three models will come with core clock speeds of 2.66 GHz, 2.80 GHz, and 2.93 GHz. The three will be priced at US $196, $284, and $562 respectively. With the TurboBoost technology enabled, the clock speeds card be stepped up to 3.2, 3.46 and 3.6 GHz respectively, on the fly. Shortly after launching these processors, Intel may introduce the industry's first 32 nm processors. With these prices, the chips clearly intrude the price-domain of Core i7, though perhaps their lower platform costs could serve as deal-makers.

AMD is attempting to set its record straight with the Phenom II series of 45 nm desktop processors. The company had started off its Dragon desktop platform with the introduction of its flagship CPU, the Phenom II X4 940. This processor however, is not compliant with the AM3 socket, and will not support DDR3 memory, unless an AM3 socket motherboard can provide DDR2 memory support. Come April 20, and AMD will have released its newest processor: Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition. Based on the 45 nm Deneb core, this processor supports AM3 socket motherboards, and DDR3 memory. It features a core clock speed of 3.20 GHz (16.0 x 200 MHz), 512 KB of L2 cache per core, and 6 MB of L3 cache. It is overclocker-friendly thanks to its unlocked bus multiplier, and the "massive headroom" AMD has been brandishing lately.

One of our sources from Hong Kong was able to make an early-purchase this processor in its retail "processor in a box" (PIB) package (marked with the OPN HDZ955FBGIBOX), from the Golden Computer Parts Center, who took a few snaps of the package. It could be bought for around HKD 2170 (US $280).

NEC introduced two new lines of all-in-one desktop PCs: ValueStar N, and ValueStar W. The launches push the company's monolithic all-in-one design approach further, into the realm of luxury PCs. The ValueStar N comes in three bezel colours: black, white, and cherry red. The main unit packs the 21.5-inch full HD display, and all the hardware otherwise found in a mini-tower. Under the hood is an Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 processor, 4 GB of memory, NVIDIA GeForce 9400 GT graphics, and 1 TB of storage.

There is also a 19-inch variant with a display resolution of 1440 x 900 px, and 500 GB storage. Both variants pack a DVD Super Multi drive. A media-center remote is bundled along with the keyboard and mouse. The ValueStar W on the other hand, packs beefier hardware with its Core 2 Quad Q8200 quad-core processor that is watercooled, 4 GB of memory, digital TV tuner, 1TB of storage, Blu-Ray drive and a 22" LCD. Better as it seems, ironically, this display features an underwhelming resolution of 1680 x 1050.

Taiwanese industry observer Digitimes compiled a comprehensive list of price-cuts sourced from motherboard manufacturers. The list presents some interesting data apart from a few revelations. New CPU models will be added, existing models might be displaced from their price-points, resulting in price-cuts amounting to as high at 20 percent the existing price.

• New CPUs will be added to Intel's lineup, notably the Core i7 975 (3.33 GHz, $999), Core i7 950 (3.06 GHz, $562), Core 2 Quad models Q8400 (2.66 GHz, $183), Q8400S (2.66 GHz, $245), Core 2 Duo E7600 (2.93 GHz, $133), Pentium E6300 ($84) and Celeron E1600 ($53)
• Several existing models will face price-cuts ranging between 10 and 20 percent. The biggest price-cut is that of Core 2 Quad Q9300 (19.92%)
• From the absence of price changes for Core i7 models 940 and 965 XE, and their existing price-points getting new models, we can infer that they will be replaced by models 950 and 975 XE

The changes will be implemented between April to July, 2009. All prices are in USD, prices per unit in 1000-unit quantities.

A notable inclusion of perhaps every processor-in-box product, apart from the processor, cooler and documentation, is the case-badge for the processor. The case-badge is a small sticker that shows the company logo for the processor installed in the PC. Intel is reportedly designing new logos (in effect case-badges) for at least 14 of its products. The logos, most of which are rounded-rectangle shaped seem to have been designed to give the processor box a new look, also indicating perhaps that the company is designing new packaging material as well, that use the new logos.

Intel has large volumes of Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad and Xeon processors in the making, that Intel feels need new clothing. Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad, get the distinct chrome-blue colour that one can find in the Core i7 (non-XE) logo. Core 2 and Core i7 logos look similar at the first glance. Core 2 Extreme gets the chrome-black colour the Core i7 XE logo has. All Centrino series badges stick to the silver-white colour scheme. The logo designs have small inlets on the top-right corner that have small portions of the die-shot. Core 2 and Centrino logos have die-shots of a portion of the Penryn core, while the Core i7 logos use those of the Bloomfield core. Interestingly, Xeon keeps its current logo, as well as a new one with chrome-slate colour, and design of the current Core i7 logo, perhaps making it clear the Xeon processor is based on the Nehalem architecture. The new logos will be effective from Q2 2009.