Designed to meet the needs of SMB and SOHO for multi-task processing performance, efficiency and reliability, the new Acer TravelMate P243 add to the mix a pleasant yet practical design. All details have been fine-tuned by Acer to offer the optimal user experience whether at home or on the go.

The new TravelMate P243 series takes advantage of the third generation Intel Core processor with Intel Turbo Boost Technology ensuring smart performance that adapts to users' needs, giving a significantly faster performance to speed through demanding tasks and boost productivity, while saving energy. In addition, these processors provide built-in capabilities for enhanced multimedia creation and enjoyment.

"iQ by Intel," launched today as a public beta, is a new publishing platform curated by researchers, engineers and visionaries at Intel. The site, accessible here, is inspired by technology trends of how people discover and share content online. iQ is focused on the larger global impact of technology on our world.

Specifically, it serves as a discovery tool that narrates technology's influence and effect on "Media," "Life" and our "Planet." It's here to remind us of how fast we're moving as a global culture, to be cognizant of how far we've come as humankind and to reflect on where our planet is headed in the 21st century. The iQ platform was created to spotlight how people are using technology in inspiring ways, and its mission is simple: Share and source content that inspires, educates, entertains and helps all of us to better understand our modern world.

Dell announced today it is expanding its client virtualization solutions with the introduction of the first virtualized 2U rack workstation enabling up to four concurrent professional graphics users to work from a single workstation from virtually anywhere. The Dell Precision R5500 rack workstation is the first four-GPU (graphics processing unit) configuration to be certified by Citrix with GPU pass-through on Citrix XenServer 6 using Citrix XenDesktop HDX 3D Pro, and brings additional security, IT resource optimization and end user flexibility to high performance workloads. This new usage model is designed for customers running 3D workloads in the engineering, medical, media and entertainment, scientific, software development and economic and finance market segments looking to support additional users on a single workstation.

Today's IT managers face a range of challenges from complex business processes to sophisticated security threats. Additionally, a number of industries such as retail, healthcare and industrial are turning to technology to develop innovative solutions to solve the unique challenges facing them in an increasingly connected world. To address these challenges, Intel Corporation has announced the availability of its 3rd Generation Intel Core vPro processor-based platforms for business and intelligent systems.

The enhancements to the Intel Core vPro processor platform provide a more secure platform for business computing and drive the next wave of innovation in intelligent systems. The Intel Core vPro processor-based platforms address the realities of today's business climate, where data integrity and organizational efficiency create a competitive advantage. New capabilities embed security at every layer, including the silicon, without compromising performance. Software innovation allows IT managers to set up and configure systems within minutes to quickly implement compelling solutions. Additionally, the enhanced graphics and secure manageability help accelerate the transition and growth in intelligent systems for the retail, industrial, and healthcare industries.

Intel Corporation today announced the expansion of the Intel Xeon processor portfolio with new products designed to address a broad and emerging set of server requirements and provide IT managers with additional choice and flexibility.

To offer a range of energy-efficient and affordable solutions for server and workstation customers, the company introduced twenty-eight processors across three product families: eight processors from the Intel Xeon processor E5-4600 product family and nine processors from the Intel Xeon processor E5-2400 product family designed to complement the already available Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 product family. The company also announced availability of eleven processors from the Intel Xeon processor E3-1200 v2 product family.

NVIDIA and Intellectual Ventures today announced that they have jointly acquired a set of patents developed and owned by IPWireless. The portfolio comprises approximately 500 patents granted and pending in the wireless communications area, including essential concepts in LTE, LTE-Advanced and 3G/4G technologies.

Terms of the acquisition, which closed on April 30, 2012, were not disclosed. Ownership of the patents was split between NVIDIA and IV, with NVIDIA licensing the rights to those patents that it did not acquire. As part of the acquisition, IPWireless retains perpetual, royalty-free access to these patents.

QNAP Systems, Inc. today announced its new additions for the high-end SMB market segment with two 16-drive 3U rackmount Turbo NAS models with up to 64TB storage capacity using 4 TB drives. The TS-EC1679U-RP and TS-1679U-RP, powered by the Intel Xeon processor and the Intel Core i3 processor respectively, are the highest capacity and highest performing NAS products ever developed by QNAP. Both models feature optional 10GbE networking and 6Gb/sec SATA interfaces, achieving incredible 2,000 MB/sec and 200,000 IOPS throughput; delivering sustained ultra-high performance suitable for demanding data center & high-end SMB environments. The new models feature cable-less disk drive backplanes, hot-swappable power supply, and cooling fan modules for maximum reliability and uptime.

Officially unveiled last month, Samsung's sleek and powerful 17-inch Series 7 CHRONOS Notebook has now begun to hit stores in the US. Priced at $1,500, this new mobile offering comes enclosed in a one inch thick brushed aluminum shell, and features a slim bezel Full HD (1920 x 1080) 300nit display, a Core i7-3615QM processor, 8 GB of RAM, a GeForce GT 650M 2 GB graphics card and a storage system made up of a 1 TB hard drive and 8 GB of ExpressCache NAND Flash memory.

The Series 7 laptop also has JBL stereo speakers, a subwoofer, a 1.3-megapixel webcam, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Intel WiDi (Wireless Display) support, and a battery enabling up to 8 hours of operation. The 17-inch Series 7 CHRONOS runs Windows 7 Home Premium.

HP today expanded its award-winning notebook portfolio with thin and light Ultrabook systems and Sleekbooks packed with the latest technologies for both consumer and business demands. "Building on the success of the HP Folio13 and HP ENVY14 Spectre, we are now offering the most comprehensive Ultrabook portfolio in the industry," said James Mouton, senior vice president and general manager, Personal Computer Global Business Unit, HP. "Our expanded portfolio of HP Ultrabook systems and HP Sleekbooks for both consumers and businesses delivers uncompromised performance, quality and entertainment experiences within distinctive designs."

NEC Japan updated the system configurations of two its ValueStar desktop and Lavie notebook models, the ValueStar L Series, and the Lavia L Series. The new ValueStar L is a conventional desktop, which is powered by Intel Core i7-3770S quad-core processor clocked at 3.10 GHz, with 8 GB of dual-channel DDR3 memory, and GeForce GT 435 graphics. Its storage subsystem includes a 2 TB hard drive. A 23-inch full-HD (1920x1080) monitor comes included.

The Lavie L Series, on the other hand, is a 15.6-incher powered by Intel Core i7-3610QM quad-core processor (2.30 GHz with 3.30 GHz Turbo Boost), 8 GB dual-channel DDR3 memory, and Intel HD Graphics. With storage, in packs a 1 TB hard drive, and a Blu-ray XL writer drive. Its 15.6-inch screen packs a resolution of 1366x768 pixels. A digital TV tuner module comes optional. Prices vary with configuration.

Dell today announced that customers such as Morphlabs and Vibrant Media are using Dell microserver technologies based on Intel Xeon processors to power business-critical web 2.0, cloud, and content delivery networks (CDN), as well as high-performance computing (HPC) applications. Driven by the emergence of a growing hardware and application ecosystem, x86-based microservers are rapidly evolving from a niche solution to one with widespread awareness and value.

"We're constantly inspired by the unique ways our customers are leveraging Dell microserver platforms to drive specialized web 2.0, HPC and cloud computing applications," said Forrest Norrod, vice president and general manager, Dell Server Solutions. "As the microserver market and ecosystem have matured, customers like Vibrant Media have validated that microservers are a cost-effective, scalable platform in web 2.0 environments."

Lenovo today announced a new series of ThinkCentre M and Edge Series desktops and all-in-ones (AIOs) designed to fit the needs of today's demanding business environment via a range of models featuring a blend of essential features, powerful performance and affordable technology. The new desktops and AIOs not only include the latest generation of Intel Core processors for powerful performance, but also feature the latest in Lenovo design and performance innovations including blazing fast 15-second boot up times, intelligent cooling methods and productive multi-screen functionality.

"Business professionals working in highly productive and collaborative environments need PCs designed with their business needs in mind," said Tom Shell, vice president and general manager, Commercial Desktop Business Unit, Lenovo. "These new desktops give users and IT managers a more productive computing experience, whether it's better multi-tasking, powerful performance or space-saving design."

Intel released its first HD Graphics drivers for Windows 8 Consumer Preview. The drivers are Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) 1.2 compliant, supports HD 4000 graphics, found in 3rd Generation Core processors, HD 3000 and HD 2000 graphics of 2nd Generation Core processors; complete with stereoscopic 3D, DirectX 11 (on compatible models), and flicker-free display rotation.DOWNLOAD: Intel HD Graphics Driver for Windows 8 Consumer Preview 64-bit, 32-bit

Intel Corporation today announced that its board of directors has approved a 7 percent increase in the quarterly cash dividend to 22.5 cents per share (90 cents per share on an annual basis), beginning with the dividend that will be declared in the third quarter of 2012.

Today's announcement is the third dividend increase in the past 18 months. Intel's dividend has increased every year over the past decade and was recently recognized as Dividend Channel's1 "Top Dividend Stock of the Nasdaq 100."

Intel unveiled its third socket LGA2011 Desktop Board driven by its X79 Express chipset, the DX79SR. This model is positioned a notch above the DX79SI, and a couple of notches above the DX79TO. It was first unsuspectingly revealed to the world not by Intel, but NVIDIA, in its GeForce GTX 690 press-shots. The DX79SR covers up a few design shortfalls of the DX79SI. It adds two additional SATA 6 Gb/s ports, driven by a Marvell SE9128 2-port controller, and two additional USB 3.0 ports on the rear panel. The total of four USB 3.0 ports on the rear panel are driven by an unknown 4-port USB 3.0 controller.

Apart from the two onboard connectivity additions, Intel will also include a USB add-on module which packs 802.11 b/g/n WLAN and Bluetooth 3.0 interfaces. The package of the board itself will be beefed up a little, with the inclusion of a stylish mouse pad and a thermal probe. To accommodate these features, Intel made a few subtle changes to the board layout, the first and second PCI-Express x16 slots no longer have switches between them, and some capacitors appear changed. With all these, Intel believes it has a shot at capturing the US $299 price-point, which gives it a nice spread from the $249 DX79SI and the $199 DX79TO.

Intel released Intel Media SDK 2012 R2, now supporting Blu-ray MVC, stereoscopic (two-view) video. The new SDK also includes an Open CL sample, allowing developers to make the most of resources available on Intel platforms by supporting the newly released Intel SDK for OpenCL Applications 2012 on both Intel processors and Intel HD Graphics.

Providing developers with a simple API to create media applications using Intel Quick Sync Video, the SDK can enable hardware acceleration to significantly speed up media conversion on 3rd generation Intel Core processors. Developers can download a free copy of Intel Media SDK 2012 R2 here.

Foxconn's Channel brand introduced a new line of fanless compact PCs under the Nano PC brand. The two newly launched models include the AT-5300, which is driven by Intel Atom D2700, and the AT-5600, which is driven by by AMD E-450 "Brazos" APU. The two are barebones, and require at least one DDR3 SO-DIMM module (up to 4 GB) and a 2.5-inch HDD or SSD. Both models measure just 190 x 135 x 38 mm, and weigh about 600 g. Connectivity includes two USB 3.0 ports, four USB 2.0 ports, an SD/SDHC/MS/MS Pro/MMC card reader, 802.11 b/g/n, gigabit Ethernet, and display outputs that include D-Sub and HDMI. Available soon, the two Nano PC models will be priced under US $200.

TechPowerUp today announced GPU-Z 0.6.1, and with it, a new graphics card giveaway in partnership with PowerColor, in which you could win some of the fastest and coolest Radeon HD 7000 series graphics cards in the industry. Version 0.6.1 of GPU-Z adds support for some new GPUs on the horizon, such as NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690, GeForce GTX 670, GeForce GT 640 (desktop), GeForce GT 630, GeForce 605, GeForce GTX 675M (mobile), and GeForce GTX 670M; AMD Radeon HD 7970M (mobile), and Radeon HD 7450 (desktop); Intel HD 4000 and HD 2500 "Ivy Bridge". GPU-Z 0.6.1 improves NVIDIA GPU Boost clock speed detection. A host of other stability and reliability changes were made (refer to the change-log below).

With GPU-Z 0.6.1, TechPowerUp is teaming up with PowerColor to present to you this year's first GPU-Z Giveaway, in which you could win some great graphics hardware. Up for grabs are PowerColor HD 7970 PCS+ Vortex II, PowerColor HD 7870 PCS+ Vortex II, and the yet-unannounced PowerColor HD 7770 PCS+ Vortex II. To participate in the Giveaway, simply run GPU-Z 0.6.1 (main version), click on the "PowerColor Giveaway" tab, and follow the instructions. Entries are open till June 01, 2012; multiple entries may lead to elimination. Good Luck!DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp GPU-Z 0.6.1 | TechPowerUp GPU-Z 0.6.1 ASUS ROG Edition

The complete change-log follows.

The highly anticipated 3rd generation CPU from Intel has arrived at OVERCLOCKERS UK who is offering a wide range of Ivy Bridge CPUs as well as an extensive range of Z77 systems and Z77 overclocked bundles, constructed to allow you to get the very best performance from the latest Intel Core processors.

The new generation builds and improves on many Sandy Bridge features such as Intel Turbo Boost, Quick Sync and Rapid Response, whilst providing numerous performance gains and new features including increased speed and responsiveness and amazing graphics, with new 3D and display technology. Thanks to the ground-breaking, three-dimensional structure of the new Intel transistors, as opposed to the usual two-dimensional planar, dramatic improvements in the overall visual experience have been made meaning better than ever on-board graphics.

Although at a much "smaller" scale, Raspberry Pi did to mini computers what iPad did to tablets (wake up a nearly dead product segment), and now a section of the market likes computers to be as small and potent as the ARM-driven Raspberry Pi. Although at a different end of the price and performance spectrum from the Raspberry Pi, Intel has reason to believe its NUC mini computer could achieve market success. NUC (Next Unit of Computing) is a mini box computer for the retail channel, which is roughly the size of a modern wireless router, but as powerful as a mainstream laptop.

The NUC owes its computing power to Intel Core i3/i5 "Sandy Bridge" dual-core processors (probably in the BGA-1023 package), with Intel HD 3000 graphics, and dual-channel DDR3 memory (SO-DIMMs). The logic board measures 100 x 100 mm, and has all the essential connectivity crammed into it, including umm...10 Gb/s Thunderbolt, USB 3.0, 802.11 b/g/n, and HDMI with multi-channel HD audio. This board is smaller than VIA's NANO-ITX (120 x 120 mm) form-factor. The rest of the ABS plastic enclosure's volume is spent housing the cooling assembly. Informed sources predict that while the NUC won't be priced in the hundereds or thousands of Dollars, it most certainly won't be priced at $25. A starting price of $100 seems realistic.

Ricoh Japan introduced a FB19M, an Intel HM76 Express chipset based mobile-on-desktop motherboard in the micro-ATX form-factor. The motherboard can seat mobile Core "Ivy Bridge" and "Sandy Bridge" processors in the PGA988 package, and includes a fan-heatsink that can handle these chips (up to 55W). The platform is then wired out to desktop interfaces. 24-pin ATX and 4-pin ATX connectors are used to draw power, the CPU is wired out to full-sized DIMM slots, expansion slots include one PCI-Express 3.0 x16, two PCI-Express 2.0 x8 (electrical configuration not known), and a PCI-Express 2.0 x1.

All six SATA ports from the HM76 PCH are wired out as internal ports, including six SATA 6 Gb/s, and four SATA 3 Gb/s. Display outputs include DVI, D-Sub, and LVDS. Other modern connectivity includes 2-channel HD audio, dual gigabit Ethernet interfaces, four USB 3.0 ports, and a number of USB 2.0 ports. There is quite some legacy connectivity, including two serial RS-232 ports, and headers for other serial and parallel interfaces. The board is fit for industrial PCs and other embedded systems.

While SSDs with single-level cell (SLC) NAND flash are relegated to enterprise segment owing to their high-cost and write endurance (unless they are low-capacity cache SSDs), one company made efforts to bring them to the PC enthusiast market. SupperSSpeed took advantage of the fact that SandForce SF-2281 supports SLC NAND flash, backed it up with Intel-made 25 nm SLC NAND flash memory, and made it available in capacities common in the PC segment: 60 GB and 120 GB. The 120 GB variant packs cutting-edge 128 Gbit SLC NAND flash chips, while the 60 GB variant packs more mature 64 Gbit ones. Thanks to SandForce and its overprovisioning mojo, the drives lack external DRAM caches. Expreview put the two drives through its battery of tests, and concluded that these are the best SSDs in terms of transfer speed yield, and random-access performance, not to mention that by design, these drives have higher write endurance.More numbers follow.

With the obvious intention of clearing out inventories of previous-generation Core i7-2600K and Core i7-2700K "Sandy Bridge" processors, Intel decided to cut prices of these chips. The cuts aren't exactly significant, but just enough to restore the two models' price-performance ratios post-Ivy Bridge. The Core i7-2600K gets a price cut of around 10€, sending it down to 255-260€. The Core i7-2700K, on the other hand, got a price cut of 15€, sending its price down to around 275€.

Worldwide semiconductor revenues increased more than 3.7% year over year to $301 billion in 2011, according to the latest version of the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Semiconductor Applications Forecaster (SAF). The industry weathered the macroeconomic uncertainties in the U.S and Europe, the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, China's slow down in the second half of the year, and floods in Thailand. Meanwhile, device applications, such as smartphones, media tablets and e-readers, automotive infotainment, notebook PCs, datacenter servers, and wireless and wired communication infrastructure drove robust consumption of semiconductors.

IDC's SAF tracks more than 100 semiconductor companies. Over 40 of these companies experienced year-over-year revenue growth greater than 5%, while about the same number of companies saw their revenue decline by more than 5%.

After last Monday's launch, Intel's new Core "Ivy Bridge" processors started selling in the retail channel, today. At least six quad-core models under Core i5 and Core i7 brand extensions were listed on US retailer Newegg.com, which included the Core i7-3770K (3.50 GHz, Unlocked) at US $349.99, Core i7-3770S (3.10 GHz) at $319.99, Core i7-3770 (3.40 GHz, locked) also at $319.99, Core i5-3570K (3.40 GHz, Unlocked) at $249.99, Core i5-3550 (3.40 GHz) at $219.99, Core i5-3450 (3.10 GHz) at $199.99, and Core i5-3450S (2.80 GHz) also at $199.99.