Toshiba's Business Solutions Division (BSD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., today announced a new laptop designed to meet the varying needs of small to mid-sized businesses. Designed, engineered and manufactured by Toshiba, the Tecra A50 represents the expansion of Toshiba's SMB lineup. The Tecra A50 is Windows 10-ready and offers the performance of an enterprise-class PC and the essential productivity and security features business users need at an affordable price point.

"Small and mid-sized business need more enterprise-class features and performance than ever before, but for a low total cost of ownership," said Carl Pinto, vice president of marketing and engineering, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Business Solutions Division. "Our line of SMB products not only delivers powerful, secure devices that each meet the varying needs of this segment, but are now Windows 10-ready, enabling businesses and IT departments to take advantage of the new platform as soon as they are ready."

AMD announced availability of its newest budget socket FM2+ APU, the A8-7670K. This part, like the recently-launched A10-7870K, is based on the company's new 28 nm "Godavari" silicon. It combines a quad-core x86-64 CPU based on the "Excavator" micro-architecture, with an integrated Radeon R7 series graphics core, featuring six Graphics CoreNext 1.2 compute units amounting to 384 stream processors; a dual-channel DDR3 integrated memory controller, with native support for DDR3-2133 MHz memory; and a PCI-Express gen 3.0 root complex.

The CPU cores on the AMD A8-7670K are clocked at 3.60 GHz, with maximum TurboCore frequency of 3.90 GHz. The CPU features unlocked base-clock multipliers, enabling CPU overclocking. The four CPU cores are spread across two "Excavator" modules, with a total of 4 MB of cache between them. The GPU is clocked at 757 MHz, and offers native support for DirectX 12 (feature level 12_0). It offers Dual-Graphics support, letting you pair it with select discrete GPUs from AMD's lineup. With the advent of DirectX 12, it should also support asynchronous multi-GPU. The A8-7670K is available now, and is priced at US $117.99 in its retail package.

AMD today officially announced FreeSync, an open-standard technology that makes video and games look more fluid on PC monitors, with fluctuating frame-rates. A logical next-step to V-Sync, and analogous in function to NVIDIA's proprietary G-SYNC technology, FreeSync is a dynamic display refresh-rate technology that lets monitors sync their refresh-rate to the frame-rate the GPU is able to put out, resulting in a fluid display output.

FreeSync is an evolution of V-Sync, a feature that syncs the frame-rate of the GPU to the display's refresh-rate, to prevent "frame tearing," when the frame-rate is higher than refresh-rate; but it is known to cause input-lag and stutter when the GPU is not able to keep up with refresh-rate. FreeSync works on both ends of the cable, keeping refresh-rate and frame-rates in sync, to fight both page-tearing and input-lag.

Intel Corporation CEO Brian Krzanich kicked off Intel's annual technical conference with a broad set of computing initiatives and projects showing how the company is moving quickly to enable new market segments where everything is smart and connected. Krzanich and other executives announced new hardware and software developer tools, previewed upcoming Intel technologies and announced new products across several technology segments.

"With our diverse product portfolio and developer tools that span key growth segments, operating systems and form factors, Intel offers hardware and software developers new ways to grow as well as design flexibility," said Brian Krzanich, Intel CEO. "If it's smart and connected, it is best with Intel."

Intel Corporation today introduced the Intel Xeon processor E5-2600/1600 v3 product families to address the requirements of diverse workloads and the rapidly evolving needs of data centers. The new processor families include numerous enhancements that provide performance increases of up to 3x over the previous generation, world-class energy efficiency and enhanced security. To facilitate the explosive demand for software defined infrastructure (SDI), the processors expose key metrics, through telemetry, which enable the infrastructure to deliver services with the best performance, resilience and optimized total cost of ownership.

The processors will be used in servers, workstations, storage and networking infrastructure to power a broad set of workloads such as data analytics, high-performance computing, telecommunications and cloud-based services, as well as back-end processing for the Internet of Things.

After raising over $300,000 during a hugely successful crowd-funding campaign on Indiegogo earlier this year, the team behind the Tango PC has taken to Kickstarter to raise additional funds to support retailing their PC you can fit in your pocket. Not only is the Tango PC ultraportable, it is a formidable office as well as entertainment machine with mid-core gaming performance on traditional Windows.

The Tango Kickstarter Campaign got fully funded just a day ago, and with only a day or so more to go, the consumers still can back their campaign in return of not just the Tango PC, but also a free additional PC whenever their worldwide sales reaches a 100k units milestone. What really stands out is that the Tango PC is slim and weighs below 7 ounces, fitting what amounts to a full range of desktop components in a package about the size of an iPhone 5s. The specifications include an AMD A6-5200 2 GHz quad-core processor, DDR3 RAM (from 2-8GB), SSD hard drive (from 32GB-1TB or higher), 3x USB 2.0 ports, 1x USB 3.0 port, 1x HDMI port, headphone jack and internal Wi-Fi.

Only the third active licencee of Intel's x86 machine architecture, VIA Technology, is readying its first x86 processor in years, codenamed Isaiah II. This chip is based on a brand new 64-bit x86 core design by VIA and the engineering team it acquired from Centaur Technology, another erstwhile x86 licencee, and features modern instruction sets such as AVX 2.0. VIA began sampling a quad-core processor based on Isaiah II, which was put to live test by the company, at its InfoComm 2014 booth. It was compared to Intel's "Bay Trail" Atom and AMD's "Kabini" Athlon chips. It turns out that the Isaiah II is pretty good, if it comes out soon enough.

The Isaiah II based quad-core chip, featuring 2.00 GHz clock speeds, and 2 MB of L2 cache, was put through SANDRA. The BGA chip was running on a VIA-made motherboard, with its own VIA VX11H chipset. It was compared to AMD Athlon 5350 (quad-core "Jaguar" with 2.05 GHz clocks), and Intel Atom Z3770 (quad-core "Silvermont" with 2.40 GHz clocks). The results are tabulated below. At 2.00 GHz, armed with the latest multimedia and cryptography instruction-sets, VIA's chip is faster than Intel's in most tests, despite lower clocks. It trades blows - and wins - against AMD's chip, in most tests. VIA is expected to launch the first chips based on Isaiah II in late-August, 2014. VIA is hedging its bets with efficient compact PCs, kiosks, and digital signage, with its new chip.

Intel Corporation today announced new details for its next-generation Intel Xeon Phi processors, code-named Knights Landing, which promise to extend the benefits of code modernization investments being made for current generation products. These include a new high-speed fabric that will be integrated on-package and high-bandwidth, on-package memory that combined, promise to accelerate the rate of scientific discovery. Currently memory and fabrics are available as discrete components in servers limiting the performance and density of supercomputers.

The new interconnect technology, called Intel Omni Scale Fabric, is designed to address the requirements of the next generations of high-performance computing (HPC). Intel Omni Scale Fabric will be integrated in the next generation of Intel Xeon Phi processors as well as future general-purpose Intel Xeon processors. This integration along with the fabric's HPC-optimized architecture is designed to address the performance, scalability, reliability, power and density requirements of future HPC deployments. It is designed to balance price and performance for entry-level through extreme-scale deployments.

Intel's presentation for Italian technology conference 3D Revolution 2014 was leaked to the web, revealing the company's most up-to-date desktop CPU roadmap, which looks deep into 2015. It reveals a wealth of new information. To begin with the HEDT (high-end desktop) segment, Intel plans to drag Core i7 "Ivy Bridge-E" through Q3-2014, and launch its succeeding Core i7 "Haswell-E" processor close to Q4-2014, or late into Q3, which would pin its launch some time in September 2014. "Haswell-E" is built in the new socket LGA2011-3 package, and is supported exclusively by Intel X99 Express chipset. It also heralds DDR4 memory to the consumer space. "Haswell-E" will have its reign till late-Q3 2015, when Intel plans to launch Core i7 "Broadwell-E," which is built in the same package, and supported by the same X99 platform, but based on a swanky new 14 nm silicon.

Things get interesting with the company's mainline desktop processors. Intel recently launched its "Haswell" Refresh silicon, and is bound to launch their unlocked variants, codenamed "Devil's Canyon," on the 25th of June. Built in the LGA1150 package, "Haswell" Refresh runs on both 8-series and 9-series chipset. Intel's 9-series chipset was originally designed to launch alongside the company's first processors built on the 14 nm silicon fab process, codenamed "Broadwell," which is an optical shrink of "Haswell," with a few minor tweaks and speed bumps, just as "Ivy Bridge" was to "Sandy Bridge." Intel's "Broadwell" chips are now expected to debut in Q1-2015, probably along the sidelines of the 2015 International CES. These chips will be supported by existing LGA1150 motherboards, some with BIOS updates.

Since Haswell is already doing an encore and Broadwell is looking good coming up, Intel has decided to do a little cleaning and discontinue some of its older processors. No less than 17 processors are set to get the axe and they are the Ivy Bridge-based Core i5-3330, i5-3330S, i5-3340, i5-3340S, i5-3470, i5-3475S, i5-3470S, i5-3470T, i5-3550, i5-3570, i5-3570S, i5-3570T, i5-3570K, i7-3770, i7-3770K, i7-3770S and i7-3770T.

The CPUs listed will continue to be available for ordering until December 24th while shipments will happen until June 5th, 2015.

ORIGIN PC announced today the availability of the new Intel Core 4th generation "Devil's Canyon" processors on their line of award-winning GENESIS, MILLENNIUM and CHRONOS desktops. Dominate the competition with an unlocked, unleashed, and uncompromised processor featuring Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0, Intel Hyper-Threading Technology, and ORIGIN PC's CPU overclocking to maximize your gaming experience, optimize your workflow, and increase productivity like never before. Gamers, professionals, and enthusiasts can now experience premium performance, vibrant visuals, and built-in security features with the power to play, create, entertain, and inspire on any ORIGIN PC desktop. Unleash the beast within your new ORIGIN PC GENESIS, MILLENNIUM, or CHRONOS desktops using the power and performance of Intel's 4th generation "Devil's Canyon" processors today!

TweakTown went ahead and posted the first formal review of Intel Core i7-4790, the fastest Core "Haswell" Refresh quad-core processor. Tested on an unnamed Z97 Express motherboard, with discrete graphics, the chip was found to be only incrementally faster than the i7-4770K, and just what you'd expect from a 100 MHz clock speed bump. The i7-4790 is clocked at 3.60 GHz, with a maximum Turbo Boost speed of 4.00 GHz, compared to the 3.50 GHz and 3.90 GHz clocks of the i7-4770K. It lacks an unlocked base-clock multiplier, and so its overclocking potential is severely limited, and close to non-existent; and so the i7-4790 is really a chip for those who want the best gaming performance, and don't intend to overclock their CPUs. Enthusiasts may want to hold out for "Devil's Canyon." Find the full review at the source.

Cooler Master, a leading creator, innovator and manufacturer of desktop components and more, today announced the addition of the V1200 Platinum to its award-winning line of V Series Power Supplies.

Built upon the strong and stable V Series power supply platform, V1200 takes the series performance to new heights with its 80 PLUS Platinum certified efficiency of up to 93% @ 50% load. Incorporated into the 135mm FDB silent fan is a new auto / hybrid easy switch controller to allow the user to change between fan control modes on-the-fly. Within these modes is a completely silent operation setting provided temperatures stay within safe limits. V1200 Platinum also boasts excellent output voltage stability with total voltage regulation under 1%, even besting comparable DSP systems. Twelve PCI-E 6+2 pin connectors means that 4-way SLI/XFire is readily supported. Although V1200 is based on an extremely stable platform that should last for many years to come, users can take comfort in knowing that it is also backed by a robust 7 year extended warranty to ensure that they will receive support for many years to come.

Designed to enable the best user experience on today's most popular and innovative PCs, AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced its 3rd-generation Mainstream and Low-Power Mobile Accelerated Processing Units (APUs). Combining category-leading compute performance with unique features and rich user interactions, the 2014 AMD Mainstream and Low-Power Mobile APUs (formerly codenamed "Beema" and "Mullins," respectively) are the ideal choice for consumer and commercial client devices alike.

These new mobile APUs feature up to four newly-designed x86 CPU cores with updated, industry-leading AMD Radeon graphics and a hardware-level data security solution based on the ARM Cortex-A5, all on a single, power-sipping system-on-chip (SoC). Products based on these new APUs are already announced by Lenovo and Samsung, with many more expected on-shelf in time for the 2014 back-to-school shopping season.

Without any real fanfare Intel has now kicked off sales and shipments of processors part of 'Haswell Refresh' line. An official launch for the updated Haswell offering, complete with motherboards based on the 9 Series LGA1150 chipsets, is reportedly planned for next month but since the CPUs got the go-ahead you can expect them to reach stores shortly.

A total of 44 chips have been introduced by Intel, 27 of which are for desktops while the rest are for mobile devices. There's nothing really new about the CPUs as they are still based on the Haswell architecture (which debuted last year) but they do have slightly higher (100 MHz in most cases) frequencies than the models they aim to replace (speed bump at no added cost).

It looks like Intel will launch its Core "Haswell" Refresh line of processors sooner than Computex 2014. According to sources in the IT retail, Intel could launch these new chips, led by the Core i7-4790K, on May 10th in most markets. An armada of new socket LGA1150 motherboards, based on Intel's Z97 Express chipset should launch around those dates, probably in the week leading up to the 10th. Intel Core "Haswell" Refresh processors offer marginally better performance over current Core "Haswell" chips, at existing price points (i.e., they will displace existing chips from their current price-points); while the 9-series chipset offers features such as M.2 SSD support, making you ready for a tidal wave of 1000 MB/s SSDs that will launch around Computex.Image Source: Hermitage Akihabara

To help companies in a variety of industries from retail and healthcare to banking and transportation turn data into actionable insights, Intel Corporation today introduced the Intel Xeon processor E7 v2 family.

Using analytics enables businesses to make decisions that improve top-line and bottom-line results. The Intel Xeon processor E7 v2 family delivers new capabilities to process and analyze large, diverse amounts of data to unlock information that was previously inaccessible.

Intel Corp. has kicked off February by informing partners (and anyone interested) about the discontinuance schedule of nine products including two Ivy Bridge mobile processors - the Core i7-3840QM (2.8 GHz) and i7-3740QM (2.7 GHz), and seven Bay Trail-based SoCs - the Pentium N3510 (2.0 GHz) and J2850 (2.41 GHz) and the Celeron N2910 (1.6 GHz), N2810 (2.0 GHz), N2805 (1.46 GHz), J1850 (2.0 GHz) and J1750 (2.41 GHz).

The Pentium N3510, J2850 and Celeron N2910 are the first to go as they will only be available for orders until February 21st and will continue shipping until April 25th. The rest are set to survive quite a bit longer, their last order date being August 22nd, while shipments won't end until February 6th, 2015.

Intel's processor portfolio has just been expanded to include no less than ten new mobile offerings including five Core i7 models, four Core i5s and one Celeron chip. At the head of this new wave is the Core i7-4940MX which features 4 cores clocked at 3.1 GHz and bears a price tag of $1,096. This model takes the top spot in Intel's mobile line-up, pushing aside the 3.0 GHz i7-4930X.

This latest release wave also includes three ultra-low voltage CPUs, the Core i5-4360U, i5-4310U and the Celeron 2980U, the ladder being the cheapest of the lot, costing $107. The rest of the processors are found in the table below.

Intel is expected to launch its refreshed Core "Haswell" processor lineup in the second quarter of 2014 (between April and June), beating its Computex 2014 anticipated launch window. Motherboard vendors will launch their products based on Intel's new Z97 Express and H97 Express chipsets by the end of April. The products will have reached retail channels worldwide by May.

Intel will release as many as 20 new SKUs spanning its Core i7, Core i5, Core i3, and Pentium brands, including the Core i7-4790, Core i5-4690, Core i5-4590, Core i3-4360, Pentium G3450, and Celeron G1840. Among the low-power SKUs are the Core i7-4790S, Core i5-4590S, and Core i3-4150T. The overclockers among you may want to hold out until Computex (June), because it's only then that Intel is expected to launch the Core i7-4790K and Core i5-4690K, which come with unlocked base-clock multipliers. These chips should be compatible with current socket LGA1150 motherboards, with a BIOS update. Intel's Core i7 "Haswell-E" HEDT platform could also launch around that time. Q2~Q3 promises to be a hectic time of the year for motherboard makers once again.

The last Sunday of 2013 has seen Intel do a little price slashing, taking between 4% and 26% off the price tag of 31 processors, mostly mobile models. The only desktop chips that got a cut (between 9% and 11%) were three low-power Haswell-based chips, namely the Core i7-4770R, i5-4670R and i5-4570R.

On the mobile front we have lower prices for a trio of high-end quad-cores (i7-4960HQ/5% cut, i7-4950HQ/5% cut, i7-4850HQ/7% cut) as well as for a multitude of Celeron CPUs based on the Ivy Bridge, Haswell and Bay Trail architectures. The full list of price cuts is available in the table below.

Intel has just revealed plans to discontinue two of its quad-core Ivy Bridge mobile processors, the 2.7 GHz Core i7-3820QM and 2.6 GHz i7-3720QM. Both models are being pushed aside to leave more room for Haswell-based chips.

The Core i7-3820QM and i7-3720QM will still be available for orders up until June 27th, 2014, and are set to ship till December 5th.

Intel has yesterday updated its processor offer, adding no less than six new models, all Celerons and all targeting mobile devices. This fresh batch is of ultra-low voltage variety and it includes two chips based on the Haswell architecture, the Celeron 2981U and 2957U, and four on the Silvermont architecture (and part of the Bay Trail-M line-up), the Celeron N2920, N2820, N2815 and N2806.

Frequency-wise, the processors go from 1.40 GHz to 2.13 GHz, but they don't really vary in terms of pricing as five of them cost $132, while only the Celeron 2981U goes for $137. More details in the table below.

Intel Corporation today introduced the Intel Xeon Processor E5-2600 v2 product family (code named "Ivy Bridge-EP"), an industry-leading set of versatile processors that promises to redefine the server, storage and networking infrastructure found in datacenters. With greater efficiency and flexibility, these processors will enable the rapid delivery of services for high performance computing, cloud and enterprise segments, and offer compelling new opportunities for telecommunications vendors.

The new Xeon product family is based on Intel's leading 22-nanometer process technology, contributing to dramatic energy efficiency improvements of up to 45 percent when compared to the previous generation. The processor family also features up to 12 cores and delivers up to 50 percent more performance across variety of compute intensive workloads.

Velocity Micro, the premier builder of award winning enthusiast desktops, laptops, gaming PCs, and peripherals announces the immediate availability of expertly crafted systems powered by unlocked 4th Generation Intel Core i7 Processors and the Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition. Formerly code-named "Ivy Bridge-E," these LGA 2011 socket processors provide extreme power for increased performance, better security, and more responsiveness especially in high demand, multi-threaded tasks, making them a perfect fit for content creation, encoding, and multi-display, multi-GPU gaming. Custom built, made in the USA systems from Velocity Micro powered by these new processors start at $2,399.

"When creating our ultra-performance PCs, it's critically important for us to have the very latest hardware at hand to combine with our meticulous build process," said Randy Copeland, President and CEO of Velocity Micro. "Intel has been the leader in processor technology for years now and we're honored to be able to offer these new CPUs to our customers on launch day to continue making some of the fastest PCs on the market."