Intel Corporation announced today the next in a line of new solid-state drives (SSD), the Intel Solid-State Drive 510 Series. The new Intel SSD 510 features fast SATA 6 Gigabits per second (Gbps) performance to take full advantage of Intel's transition to higher speed SATA bus interfaces on the recently introduced 2nd Generation Intel Core processor-based platforms. Supporting data transfers of up to 500 megabytes per second (MB/s), the Intel SSD 510 doubles the sequential read speeds, and at up to 315 MB/s more than triples the sequential write speeds of Intel's current 3 Gbps SSDs, to transfer more data in less time. This makes it ideal for demanding gamers, media creators, performance-intensive workstation users and any technology enthusiast.

The Intel SSD 510 offers the fastest sequential read and write speeds of any consumer SATA SSD available today, providing industry leading performance that beats a traditional hard disk drive (HDD) by more than 50 percent. In addition to better overall system responsiveness when compared to a mechanical hard drive, SSDs have no moving parts so are more rugged, consume less power and run quieter and cooler than HDDs. SSDs reduce boot times, launch applications and files faster and recover from sleep mode quicker, resulting in noticeable improvement. Conventional HDDs are also unable to effectively take advantage of 6 Gbps platform technology, since HDDs fail to maximize even the current 3Gbps SATA interface.

Apple today introduced its 2011 Macbook Pro, the company's premium line portable computers. Available in 13.3-inch, 15-inch, and 17-inch sizes, the Macbook Pro binds the latest notebook hardware with the Apple Mac platform. The 2011 version makes use of Intel's second-generation Core "Sandy Bridge" processors, AMD Radeon HD 6000 series graphics, a minimum of 4 GB of DDR3 memory, and Intel's newly introduced Thunderbolt 10 Gb/s "Light Peak" interface. The new Macbook Pro also features a new Facetime HD camera that allows Facetime conversations with three times the video resolution, and a revamped glass-based multi-touch surface trackpad that gives pointing with the precision of an iPhone 4. Mac OSX "Snow Leopard" is the OS of choice.

The lineup, with available hardware configurations is split according to screen size. The 13.3-inch are the entry-level, starting at US $1,199. The base model features dual-core 2.3 GHz Core i5 with 320 GB HDD, topped by a dual-core 2.7 GHz Core i7 driven model with 500 GB HDD at $1,499. The 15-inch pair includes a quad-core 2.0 GHz Core i7 powered model with AMD Radeon HD 6490M graphics and 500 GB HDD priced at $1,799, followed by a quad-core 2.2 GHz Core i7 model with Radeon HD 6750M graphics, and 750 GB HDD at $2,199. The series is topped by a 17-inch model with quad-core 2.2 GHz Core i7 processor, Radeon HD 6750M graphics, and 750 GB HDD, priced at $2,499. They are available right away from the Apple Store.

Intel Corporation today announced the availability of Thunderbolt technology, a new high-speed PC connection technology that brings together high-speed data transfer and high-definition (HD) display on to a single cable. Running at 10 Gbps, Thunderbolt technology can transfer a full-length HD movie in less than 30 seconds. This Intel-developed technology is coming to market through a technical collaboration with Apple, and is available first on Apple's new line of MacBook Pro laptop computers.

The vision for Thunderbolt technology (formerly codenamed "Light Peak") is to move media faster, simplify connections between devices, and foster new and exciting ways to build and use PCs. Combining high-speed data and HD video connections together onto a single cable is instrumental to achieving that vision. Thunderbolt technology delivers this via two communications methods, or protocols -- PCI Express for data transfer and DisplayPort for displays.

The pioneer of multi-vendor/multi-GPU graphic solutions, LucidLogix today announced it has released Virtu GPU virtualization software for 2nd Generation Intel Core processor platforms to global motherboard manufacturers.

With this technology, next-generation PCs will dynamically balance the advanced power-efficient, built-in media features of Intel Core processor graphics with the high-end, DirectX 11 3D, anti-aliasing and performance features of discrete GPUs, while significantly reducing the power drain of traditional entertainment desktops. Ultimately, the consumer is assured optimal simultaneous performance in 3D gaming and video functions like transcoding and HD playback without the need to swap video cable connections between GPUs.

Everyone in the family can enjoy a beautiful view of their favourite videos, photos, games and more with the stylish new VAIO L series multimedia PC from Sony. The all-in-one VAIO L Series makes an elegant focal point for your home multimedia collection. Ideal for any living space, the slim, space-saving design features a glossy black finish, with the tilt-adjustable 'floating' display resting on a sleek V-shape stand.

The stunning design of new VAIO L Series is accented by a 24" (61cm) Full HD VAIO Display Plus screen with LED backlight. This super-size display brings all your movies, photos, music and games vividly to life with superb clarity and contrast. It's beautifully easy to interact with your media collection using the full-frame multi-touch screen. Open and scroll through files, zoom and rotate images with intuitive fingertip gestures... and no mouse or menus needed.

One of consumer SSD's pioneers, Intel, is expected to launch its next-generation 510 series solid state drive (SSD) in the 2.5-inch SATA form factor on March 1, 2011. The Intel 510 series is targeted at PC enthusiasts, workstations, and high-end notebooks. It uses the latest 6 Gb/s SATA specification, and make use of 34 nm MLC NAND flash chips. The drives can dole out transfer rates of up to 470 MB/s read, and 315 MB/s write. It delivers 20,000 IOPS random 4K read, and 5,000 IOPS random 4K write performance. At least initially, it will be available in only two capacities, 120 GB and 250 GB, priced at around US $366 and $767, respectively.

FinalWire released the latest update to AIDA64, a comprehensive system information, diagnostic, and benchmarking suite for engineers and enthusiasts alike. Version 1.60 introduces a host of changes. To begin with support for AMD's Fusion "Ontario" and "Zacate" APUs was added, it was improved for Intel's "SandyBridge" processors. Tests in the benchmark suite which became 64-bit optimized since AIDA64's first release, is now optimized for the AVX SIMD instruction set. PCI-Express 3.0 controllers and devices are now supported. Support for new AMD Radeon HD 6000 series and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti GPUs was added. Lastly, support for AMD and JMicron storage controllers was improved.DOWNLOAD: FinalWire AIDA64 1.60 EXE Installer, ZIP Package

Intel today restructured its high-end LGA1366 Core i7 processor lineup for the better. To begin with, it "released the Kraken" with Core i7-990X Extreme Edition, a new high-end six-core processor based on the 32 nm Westmere silicon. The 990X comes with an unlocked BClk multiplier, and carries nominal clock speed of 3.46 GHz. The Core i7-990X Extreme Edition displaces the existing i7-980X Extreme Edition from its US $999 price-point, which will be gradually phased out.

The non-XE Core i7-970 six-core chip received a welcome price-cut, it will soon be priced at $583 from its current $880. Apart from the six-core leviathans, the quad-core Core i7-960, which is clocked at 3.20 GHz, is now priced at $294, displacing i7-950, and providing an alternative to Core i7-2600K, which is effectively MIA till the LGA1155 chipset issue is resolved.

Intel seems to have fast-tracked its Cougar Point chipset flaw rectification. The silicon giant claims that it will be in a position to start shipping B3 stepping of Cougar Point chipsets (Intel P67, H67, etc,) from 14 February, to OEM partners. According to the latest PCN (product change notification), number 110456-00 dated 2/9/2011, Cougar Point B3 will carry the following changes/features:

• Revision ID will change from 04h to 05h
• BIOS Update (Revision 1.1.4 of the BIOS Specification Update and Reference Code)
• B3 stepping package is pin compatible with B2 stepping package
• Minor metal layer change from B2 to B3 improving lifetime wear out with no changes to functionality or design specifications

Of the above, the last bullet point affirms that the SATA 3 Gb/s port defect issue, which caused physical parts of the chipset to wear out abnormally fast, degrading performance, is resolved.

Overclocker Roger "splmann" Tanner from OCaholic.ch community, with help from Matthias "Mat" Zronek from Overclockers.at, set a new MAXXMEM² memory bandwidth world-record. The challenger broke a record previously set by SF3D. The new record stands at 30,514 MB/s memory-copy; 30,114 MB/s memory-read; and 27,497 MB/s memory write; with a latency of 32.5 ns, leading to a cumulative HWbot.org score of 2711.5 MAXXMEM² marks.

The record was achieved using an Intel Core i7-2600K processor, Corsair XMS3 Dominator GTX2 4 GB kit, and ASUS P8P67 WS Revolution motherboard. The CPU was clocked at 5489 MHz (107.6 MHz x 51), memory at 1148 MHz (2296 MHz DDR), with latencies of 7-7-6-21, and 1T command-rate.

Intel is preparing to unveil its next-generation processors based on the Ivy Bridge architecture as early as by Computex 2011 (May 30 to June 4), according to Commercial Times, a Chinese language business newspaper. Ivy Bridge is an optical shrink of the Sandy Bridge architecture, processors based on it will be manufactured on the 22 nanometer silicon fabrication process. Intel launched its Sandy Bridge 32 nm processors at CES 2011, in January. In related news from the same source, AMD has also accelerated the production of its Llano APUs and is expected to begin shipping the APUs to ODM/OEM makers in May at the earliest instead of the original schedule set in the third quarter.

On January 31, 2011, Intel disclosed a design issue with a support chip, the Intel 6 Series Chipset that has the potential to impact certain PC system configurations. Intel subsequently initiated extensive discussions with computer makers about this topic. Both Intel and its customers are focused on delivering the highest quality PC systems based on Intel 2nd Generation Core Processors. As a result of these discussions and specific requests from computer makers, Intel is resuming shipments of the Intel 6 Series Chipset for use only in PC system configurations that are not impacted by the design issue.

Only computer makers who have committed to shipping the Intel 6 Series Chipset in PC system configurations that are not impacted by the design issue will be receiving these shipments. This resumption of shipments of the Intel 6 Series Chipset is not changing the company's updated first quarter 2011 and full-year financial Outlook published on January 31st. In parallel, Intel has started manufacturing on a new version of this support chip. Intel now expects to begin shipping the new parts in mid February.

Apparently there's a "slim" chance of users actually being affected by the recently-discovered chipset design error plaguing Intel's Cougar Point 6-series chipsets that drive the SandyBridge processors. Intel pegs this at 5% performance degradation caused due to data transfer errors over a period of 3 years. Users of Romanian tech community Lab 501 found out a way of detecting if your hard drives connected to the damage-prone SATA ports are already showing signs of errors.

To do so, you need the HD Tune Pro software, you can try out the Pro version. Select a hard drive connected to the damage-prone SATA 3 Gb/s port, click on the "Health" tab. HD Tune checks out various self-diagnostic parameters of the drive, including SMART values. A drive connected to an affected port should fail a number of tests as shown in the screenshot below. As a stopgap solution, you can connect the drive to one of the SATA 6 Gb/s ports available. Most motherboards should have 2 internal 6 Gb/s ports, some have additional 6 Gb/s ports driven by 3rd party controllers. It's advisable to use ports of those controllers. This stopgap fix should pull you through till April-May, when motherboard vendors are expected to have motherboards with B3 revision of the Cougar Point chipset. You can then claim replacement of your board under warranty.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co., Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards and other computing hardware solutions, today announced that GIGABYTE has been alerted by Intel about a 6 series chipset design error. GIGABYTE is working closely with Intel to minimize the inconvenience to customers and retail stores with regard to related issues.

A recent statement from Intel indicates that they expect full 6 series chipset volume recovery in April, 2011. GIGABYTE will produce and deliver new motherboards with the updated Intel 6 series chipset when the new chipsets become available. GIGABYTE prides itself in having the highest service quality in the industry, and as such we will resolve this issue with minimal impact on our customers.

Notebook major Toshiba announced a recall-drive of all notebook PCs it sold that are based on Intel's Huron River platform, consisting of processors based on Sandy Bridge architecture and Cougar Point chipset, after Intel announced a critical design flaw with the chipset. In a consumer notice, Toshiba advised current owners of affected notebooks to return the notebooks for a full refund. It also asked users to backup data and remove all personal, confidential, or proprietary information before returning the units.

Affected models include variants of Satellite A660, Satellite A665, Satellite A665 3D Edition, Satellite E305, Satellite L655, Satellite M645, Portege R835, Qosmio X500, Qosmio X505. Details of which exact model numbers are affected, are tabled below. This Monday (1/31), Intel announced the discovery of a critical design error of the chipset that drives Intel's Sandy Bridge processors. In some cases, the SATA ports of the chipset will degrade in both performance and functionality. Intel had announced a massive component recall drive to pull out affected components from manufacturers.

Intel on January 31, 2011 announced the detection of a design error in the new Sandy Bridge-based Intel 6 Series support chip, also known as Cougar Point. The shipment of existing Sandy Bridge products has been suspended by Intel, and the production of an updated support chip has commenced. The design error affects only the support chip, and not 2nd generation Intel Core processors such as the i5 and i7.

Acting on our philosophy and promise of inspiring innovation and persistent perfection, we've created a comprehensive response to this development to safeguard the best interest of ASUS customers around the world. We will provide total warranty services to maximize computing and usability, as each ASUS product is delivered with an uncompromising quality pledge. This includes the hassle-free return and/or replacement of all affected ASUS products. We're doing all this effective immediately - and as a first step, shipments of current ASUS Sandy Bridge-based products have been halted. The suspension covers all distribution and retail channels - ASUS only sells quality-assured products, at all times and across all product segments.

Market research firm Jon Peddie Research gave out PC graphics shipments figures for Q4 2010. PC and related products sales overall were lower than usual in 2010 as the industry saw propagation of ULPCs, netbooks, and tablets propagate, hence PC graphics sales, too, were lower by as much as 7.8% down compared to the same period in 2009. Sales of GPUs and processor-embedded GPUs in Q4 stood at 113 million units, 432.2 million in all of 2010. Intel continues to be the dominant player, though its market share was lowered by competitors AMD and NVIDIA. Intel's market share was lowered in 2010, to 52.5%, from 55.2% in Q3 2010. AMD/ATI is at the second spot with a market share of 24.2% (up, from 23% in Q3); and NVIDIA at the third spot at 22.5% (21% in Q3). Other smaller GPU vendors, VIA and Matrox, stood at 0.8%, and 0.1%, respectively.

As part of ongoing quality assurance, Intel Corporation has discovered a design issue in a recently released support chip, the Intel 6 Series, code-named Cougar Point, and has implemented a silicon fix. In some cases, the Serial-ATA (SATA) ports within the chipsets may degrade over time, potentially impacting the performance or functionality of SATA-linked devices such as hard disk drives and DVD-drives. The chipset is utilized in PCs with Intel's latest Second Generation Intel Core processors, code-named Sandy Bridge. Intel has stopped shipment of the affected support chip from its factories. Intel has corrected the design issue, and has begun manufacturing a new version of the support chip which will resolve the issue. The Sandy Bridge microprocessor is unaffected and no other products are affected by this issue.

Scythe Corporation, a renowned cooling manufacturer, today announced the release of its third version of the Universal Retention Kit. This enhanced version comes with several improvements and wide multi-socket compatibility for both AMD and Intel sockets. The list of compatible sockets contains Intel Socket T / LGA775, LGA1156 LGA1366 and the brand-new socket LGA1155. It furthermore supports the AMD Sockets 754, 939, AM2, AM2+, AM3 and 940. Universal Retention Kit 3 is once again based on a backplate mounting system and allows firm contact pressure as well as secure mounting of even big and heavy CPU Coolers.

Commonly supplied retention bracket of AMD Mainboards are made of plastic which has a downside of giving risk of breaking when using with an on-market High-End CPU Cooler. This problem doesn't accrue with the supplied retention bracket of the Universal Retention Kit 3 which is made of solid steel and thereby provides the necessary sturdiness even for big High-End CPU Coolers. For Intel architecture this kit allows pushpin mounting to be converted to backplate mounting, thereby providing high mechanical stability hence also providing the necessary sturdiness even for big High-End CPU Coolers with a pushpin solution. In order to ease the detachment process of Push-Pins, a convenient Push-Pin Removal Tool is supplied along in the accessory.

Last year, credible reports of a design defect with LGA1156 sockets made by a certain component manufacturer in particular, made headlines. Reviewers found that extreme overclocking using increase voltages, in test cases, caused certain pins of the socket to burn out, damaging both the board and processor. The defect was found to be caused by shorting between the pins and the socket causing tiny electrical arcs. Motherboard reviewer from TechReaction.net discovered that his Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD4 and GA-P67A-UD7 samples showed signs of socket burn. The publication is yet to receive a reply from the board manufacturer.

LGA1155 and LGA1156 are very similar in physical pin layout, chip package, and retention clips, although the pin-maps are significantly different. TechReaction comments that while only "extreme conditions" cause such pin burnouts, 24/7-stable overclocked settings could, over a period of time, create similar conditions. Only time, and extensive testing will reveal if burnouts are a cause for concern to enthusiasts.

Intel Corporation today reported full-year revenue of $43.6 billion, operating income of $15.9 billion, net income of $11.7 billion, and EPS of $2.05 - all records. The company generated approximately $16.7 billion in cash from operations, paid cash dividends of $3.5 billion, and used $1.5 billion to repurchase 70 million shares of common stock.

For the fourth-quarter, Intel posted revenue of $11.5 billion. The company reported fourth-quarter operating income of $4.3 billion, net income of $3.4 billion, and EPS of 59 cents. Fourth-quarter revenue, operating income, net income, and EPS were also all records. "2010 was the best year in Intel's history. We believe that 2011 will be even better," said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO.

ZOTAC International, a leading innovator and the world's largest channel manufacturer of graphics cards, motherboards and mini-PCs, today takes the award-winning ZBOX to SuperSpeed with the new ID41 series. The ZOTAC ZBOX ID41 series introduces SuperSpeed USB 3.0 and DDR3 technologies to the ZBOX mini-PC.

"External expansion is vital with mini-PCs. By adding SuperSpeed USB 3.0 technology to our award-winning ZBOX mini-PCs, we are able to offer external connectivity capable of speeds up to 5.0 Gb/s," said Carsten Berger, marketing director.

Here, take some salt. AMD reportedly gave out performance figures in a presentation to its partners, performance figures seen by DonanimHaber. It is reported that an 8-core processor based on the "Bulldozer" high-performance CPU architecture is pitched by its makers to have 50% higher performance than existing processors such as the Core i7 950 (4 cores, 8 threads), and Phenom II X6 1100T (6 cores). Very little is known about the processor, including at what clock speed the processor was running at, much less what other components were driving the test machine.

Taking this information into account, the said Bulldozer based processor should synthetically even outperform Core i7 980X six-core, Intel's fastest desktop processor in the market. Built from ground-up, the Bulldozer architecture focuses on greater inter-core communication and reconfigured ALU/FPU to achieve higher instructions per clock cycle (IPC) compared to the previous generation K10.5, on which its current Phenom II series processors are based. The processor is backed by new 9-series core logic, and a new AM3+ socket. AMD is expected to unveil this platform a little later this year.

NVIDIA announced today that it has signed a new six-year cross-licensing agreement with Intel. For the future use of NVIDIA's technology, Intel will pay NVIDIA an aggregate of $1.5 billion in licensing fees payable in five annual installments, beginning Jan. 18, 2011. NVIDIA and Intel have also agreed to drop all outstanding legal disputes between them.

"This agreement signals a new era for NVIDIA," said Jen-Hsun Huang, NVIDIA's president and chief executive officer. "Our cross license with Intel reflects the substantial value of our visual and parallel computing technologies. It also underscores the importance of our inventions to the future of personal computing, as well as the expanding markets for mobile and cloud computing."

Here are the first pictures of Intel's new high-end CPU socket, the 2011-pin land grid array (LGA2011). A selection of pictures of an unannounced motherboard by MSI made it to the internet. LGA2011, coupled with a new chipset, the Intel X68 Express, will drive the company's new high-end and enthusiast-grade processors that feature 6, 8, or 12 cores, and quad-channel DDR3 memory controllers. At first sight, the LGA2011 is huge! Its retention clip looks to be completely detachable by unhooking the retention bars on either sides. With all LGA sockets till date, you needed to unhook one retention bar, letting you open the retention clip along a hinge.

Since the processor has four DDR3 memory channels, there's room for only one DIMM per channel on a typically-sized ATX motherboard. On this particular motherboard, we can make out that there are two DIMM slots on either sides of the socket, accommodating two channels each. With this platform, Intel transferred the northbridge component completely to the CPU package, much like LGA1156/LGA1155. Therefore, the 32-lane PCI-Express controller is housed inside the CPU package. What remains of the chipset is a PCH (platform controller hub). Like P55/H55/P67/H67, the X68 is a PCH, a glorified southbridge. It will house a smaller PCI-E hub that handles various connectivity devices, a storage controller, a LPCIO controller, USB and HDA controllers, and the DMI link to the processor. We will get to know more about this platform as the year progresses.