Here is the Full Video of making of Sonakshi Sinha Dabboo Ratani's Calender 2011.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Sonakshi Sinha featuring in the Dabboo Ratnani's calendar .
Sonakshi Sinha featuring in the Dabboo Ratnani's calendar alongside the biggest stars.
Here are the pics of the most gorgeous actress of bollywood.
This is her second shoot after a year which she previous done for breast cancer.
Also Watch the Hot Making Video oF The Calender Click Here
Here are the pics of the most gorgeous actress of bollywood.
This is her second shoot after a year which she previous done for breast cancer.
Also Watch the Hot Making Video oF The Calender Click Here
Friday, February 25, 2011
NOXEL NXDS10M Is a 10.2-Inch HD Display
Many digital signage displays are known for being larger than any monitor or TV, but there are also such things as displays and players of smaller form factors, such as the NXDS10M, which was just unveiled by NOXEL.
The past month hasn't exactly been generous in terms of announcements of display solutions, be they consumer-oriented or intended for business, industrial usage or other venues.
In fact, one might say that there has barely been news of any kind, except, perhaps, on the mobile front, what with the MWC 2011 expo (barring the Light Peak launch and the like).
Having taken place in Barcelona, Spain, the Mobile World Congress was the site where many smartphones and tablets were officially launched or at least previewed.
Meanwhile, makers of anything else seemed to slow down as far as new releases went, and this included display solutions developers.
NOXEL doesn't seem to mind the vacuum left by this phenomenon, having issued a press release meant to promote its newest NXDS fully integrated display.
The newcomer bears the name of NXDS10M and has a screen diagonal of 10.2 inches, being meant for digital signage applications.
More specifically, it measures 270 mm by 170 mm and has a thickness of 10 mm, so as to fit in with its intended purpose.
More specifically, it is supposed to be used in public transportation, lobbies, building lifts, digital signage and digital out of home media networks, plus any other venue with space constraints.
That said, it also features a WiFi connection and a native resolution of 1,366 x 768 pixels (aspect ratio is 16:9). All these put together weigh 900 grams.
The newcomer can be found described on the official website, alongside digital signage players with which it should end up sold in a bundle. What remains to be seen is if NOXEL's newest creation ends up being as successful as it hopes.
Android 2.3.3 for Nexus One and Nexus S Available for Manual Download
A few days ago, Mountain View-based Internet giant Google officially announced the availability of a new software update for each of its two Google phones, namely the Nexus One and the Nexus S.
At the time, the software update was pushed into the wild over the air (OTA) for all users, but it seems that the actual files are already available for a manual download.
For those who might have not learned the news, the OS flavor that Google made available for its Nexus devices was Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread.
Initially, the Google said that the OTA upgrade would take for a few weeks to complete on all mobile phones out there, and the availability of these files over the web would certainly make a lot of users happy.
Previously, the Nexus One was running under the Android 2.2 Froyo platform release, which was delivered to its sometime in summer last year. The mobile phone arrived on shelves in January 2010 with Android 2.1 on board.
Nexus One users would benefit from a wide range of enhancements with the availability of the new OS version, including performance improvements, new features, and more.
As for Nexus S devices, the new software update was meant mainly at providing improved NFC (Near Field Communication) capabilities, but it also came with a load of fixes for some of the various issues the device landed on shelves with.
The smartphone was released on shelves last year with the Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS version on board, which brought the said NFC feature into the mix.
However, the handset was able only to read NFC tags at the time, and the new 2.3.3 OS upgrade is meant to enable writing of such tags as well.
The download links to the aforementioned files were brought to the spotlight by the guys over at XDA-Developers, and those interested in learning more info on them should head to this thread on the XDA-Developers forum for that.
New Galaxy S 4G Video Ad, $129.99 Price on Amazon
This week, mobile phone carrier T-Mobile has made available for purchase on its airwaves a new smartphone running under Google's Android operating system, the Samsung Galaxy S 4G, touted as the fastest mobile phone available at the moment on the US market, and a new commercial for the device is now available for your viewing pleasure.
The wireless services provider is set to show to the world that its new smartphone is indeed one of the fastest such devices on the market, and the new ad is focused on this aspect.
In this video ad, the T-Mobile beautiful spokesperson Carly presents the new device to a blogger who is not convinced that the phone would indeed feature the touted capabilities.
Among the main selling points of the Galaxy S 4G, T-Mobile points at fast YouTube capabilities, live TV, and the pre-loaded Inception film. Basically, the phone would have all that a user would want in terms of multimedia capabilities.
What should be noted here is that the new ad moves away from the previous commercials that touted the capabilities of T-Mobile's network in comparison to what AT&T had to offer.
Those videos were meant at showing that the iPhone 4 was slow on AT&T's network, and that only T-Mobile's airwaves could deliver the true advanced speeds that any mobile user was looking for.
As for the new Galaxy S 4G from Samsung, it landed at T-Mobile with a price tag of $199.99 attached to it upon the signing of a two-year contract agreement with the wireless carrier, but is currently available for purchase for much less through various retailers in the country.
For example, Amazon sells it at only $129.99 for new customers, and has it priced at $149.99 for those interested in an upgrade.
With Android 2.2 Froyo included into the mix, as well as support for speeds of up to 21 Mbps on T-Mobile's network, the handset should appeal a lot to many users.
New Opera 11.10 Barracuda Alpha Intros Speed Dial Evolution
The second Alpha development snapshot of Opera 11.10 codenamed Barracuda offers a glimpse of the evolution of Speed Dial, one of the trademark features of the browser.
Opera 11.10 Barracuda Alpha Build 2014 is now available for download to testers, and is intended to introduce what Opera Software calls just the first of additional modifications planned for Speed Dial in the Barracuda release.
Speed Dial simplifies common browsing tasks by easing access to a collection of sites that users tend to visit and revisit by placing a set of links on any new opened tab in Opera.
“Opera's Speed Dial was first introduced in an Opera 9.20 snapshot on Feb 28th 2007. The idea came about as we observed that people kept typing the same addresses for a few of their favourite websites again and again,” revealed Cezary Kułakowski, from the Opera Desktop team.
“Getting to their top web sites could mean hundreds or thousands of clicks on the keyboard in a single day. The solution we came up with was very simple, but very powerful. And today it's still one of the most loved, and copied, features in Opera.”
According to the Norway-based browser maker, codenamed Barracuda offers an excellent opportunity for Speed Dial to be kicked up a notch.
Kułakowski notes that with the advent of Opera 11.10, users will be able to take advantage of an evolved Speed Dial.
“We are going to make Speed Dial more fluid, dynamic and easier to use! What is included in this snapshot is the new flow layout. Please remember this is just a first peek at the changes we are making. Many very smart and innovative solutions are on the way,” he stated.
Since Opera packs a range of additional excellent features in addition to Speed Dial, the browser maker is also introducing changes designed to make them more discoverable.
“Don't worry; there won't be any pop-up bubbles or constant nagging. Instead we are going to have subtle animations and messages to remind you of features you can use in Opera,” Kułakowski promised.
Opera 11.10 codenamed Barracuda Alpha for Windows is available for download here.
2011 MacBook Pros Arrive with Thunderbolt, New Core CPUs & Graphics
Apple has finally confirmed rumors of an upgraded MacBook Pro family by introducing new versions featuring next-generation processors and graphics, high-speed Thunderbolt I/O technology and a new FaceTime HD camera, replacing the old iSight.
According to the Cupertino giant maker, the new MacBook Pro line is up to twice as fast as the previous generation thanks to the latest dual-core and quad-core Intel Core processors.
Specifically, the 13-inch model features Intel Core i5 and Core i7 dual-core processors up to 2.7 GHz and Intel HD Graphics 3000.
The 15-inch and the 17-inch versions of the MacBook Pro have quad-core Core i7 processors clocked at up to 2.3 GHz, and AMD Radeon HD graphics processors with up to 1GB of video memory.
The 15-inch and 17-inch systems are aimed at high performance gaming, pro-video editing and graphics intensive applications, Apple said.
Confirming a recent hot rumor, new MacBook Pros all have a new I/O port - ‘Thunderbolt’.
Known as Light Peak technology, it was developed by Intel in collaboration with Apple to enable expandability. It is implemented as ‘Thunderbolt’ on MacBook Pro computers.
It features two bi-directional channels with transfer speeds up to 10Gbps each, delivers PCI Express directly to external high-performance peripherals such as RAID arrays, and can support FireWire and USB consumer devices and Gigabit Ethernet networks via special adapters, Apple explains in today’s official report.
The Thunderbolt port also supports Apple’s Mini DisplayPort connections. Apple expects Thunderbolt to be adopted widely.
“The new MacBook Pro brings next generation dual and quad Core processors, high performance graphics, Thunderbolt technology and FaceTime HD to the great design loved by our pro customers,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing.
“Thunderbolt is a revolutionary new I/O technology that delivers an amazing 10 gigabits per second and can support every important I/O standard which is ideal for the new MacBook Pro.”
Prices for the new MacBook Pros remain unchanged, with the base 13-inch model starting at $1,199 for a 2.3 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 processor and a 320GB hard drive.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
New Leaked Pictures Show 13-inch MacBook Pro and Specs
A new batch of MacBook Pro leaked images have surfaced, this time with their sources confirming the existence of a 13-inch model with the rumored ‘Thunderbolt’ (Light Peak technology), a 2.3 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with a 3MB shared level 3 cache, an optical drive and more.
Debated over at the MacRumors forums, the pictures seem to corroborate some recent claims that Apple’s new MacBook Pros have Light Peak technology built right into them through a “Thunderbolt” port.
What isn’t quite consistent with recent rumors is the list of technical specifications found on the system’s alleged box.
Early rumors said Apple would ship new MacBook Pros equipped with dual-storage solutions.
One would be SSD-based for the OS, the other HDD-based for the user’s files.
If these rumors are true, at least the 13-inch model appears to have a single 320GB hard disk drive spinning at 5400-rpm. Whether or not its bigger siblings are equipped with additional storage options remains to be seen.
The new laptop is said to ship with 4 GB of 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM as standard, and an Intel HD Graphics 3000 processor with 384MB SDRAM shared memory.
The screen has a 1280x800 resolution, and there’s a built-in “FaceTime HD” camera now, which should mark the end of iSight as we know it.
Going by the same list of hardware specs, Apple is holding on to the optical drive still.
The same 8x slot-loading SuperDrive that exists on current generation MacBooks is listed in the purported imagery of Apple’s new 13-inch MacBook Pro.
Finally, the Thunderbolt port supporting High-Speed I/O and Mini DisplayPort connections is mentioned.
Apple is expected to unveil the new systems soon. The company has confirmed a special event for next week, though the focus appears to be the iPad.
Xperia arc, Optimus Pad and MEDIAS N-04C in NTT DOCOMO's New Lineup
Thee new devices are on their way to NTT DOCOMO, INC. in Japan, including the MEDIAS N-04C and Xperia arc SO-01C smartphones and Optimus Pad L-06C tablet computer, the wireless carrier announced today.
According to the company, all of these devices should become available for purchase on its airwaves sometime in March or thereafter.
The mobile phone carrier did not offer additional info on the arrival of these devices, nor on their price tags, but more should emerge in the not too far future.
[ADAMRK=1]The MEDIAS N-04C has emerged into the wild not too long ago as the world’s thinnest 3G smartphone. The handset measures only 7.7 mm, and weighs in at only 105 grams.
“It is equipped for popular services such as mobile wallet (Osaifu-Keitai) and One-Seg mobile digital terrestrial television, convenient infrared-based data exchange, and much more,” the wireless carrier announced.
The company also notes that the MEDIAS N-04C would come with a quick-shot photo function, which enables it take consecutive shots every 1.1 seconds. The smartphone should become available for purchase on March 15th.
The Xperia arc SO-01C is another handset the carrier would launch soon. Added recently to Sony Ericsson's Xperia series, the phone runs under Google's Android 2.3 operating system.
“It will achieve a maximum downlink of 14 Mbps as the first handset compatible with DOCOMO’s enhanced extra-high-speed downlink service, which is set to launch in HSDPA service areas this June,” the wireless carrier notes.
The Xperia arc SO-01C is expected to become available in Japan starting with March 24th, the company added.
The third new device running under Android that NTT DOCOMO announced for the Japanese market is the LG Optimus Pad L-06C, which should be put on sale in late march.
Google Apps Debuts a Certification Program
Google has been making strides in the enterprise market, but it's still a very small player. One way of growing the business is by having people 'on the ground,' so to speak, to promote and sell Google Apps to businesses which may not have heard of the suite or which don't have the personnel to make the switch.
That's the reasoning behind the Google Apps Authorized Resellers program. Now, Google is going one step further with the Google Apps Certification Program which enables specialists to earn an official certification from Google.
"As our partner community has more than doubled in the last year to over 2,500 partners in over 70 countries, partners have been seeking opportunities to demonstrate their expertise and competence to a growing customer base," Stephen Cho, Director, Google Apps Channels, wrote.
"We are therefore happy to announce the Google Apps Certification Program, which recognizes IT professionals for demonstrated abilities to sell, deploy, develop, and support Google Apps," he announced.
The resellers program is a great way of getting companies from around the world, which may not be inherently tech-oriented, to understand the benefits of Google Apps, by having sales representatives and experts available in the countries and cities where they operate.
The new certification program makes it easier for those companies to know which resellers they can trust the most and also helps the resellers differentiate themselves. For now, only one certification is available.
"Available today globally, is the first of these certifications, the Google Apps Certified Deployment Specialist, which certifies IT professionals who have demonstrated the fundamental knowledge and skills required to migrate to, configure, and deploy Google Apps," Cho explained.
The certification can be obtained completely online. The exam can be taken online as well and costs $100. It's only available in English for now, but Google plans to add support for other languages as well.
Motorola XOOM Now On Sale for $599.99 at Verizon
Motorola XOOM, the first tablet PC that Motorola brought to the market, and also the first such device in the world to come with Google's Android 3.0 Honeycomb operating system, is now available for purchase in the United States via Verizon Wireless.
The 10.1-inch tablet PC went on sale with a price tag of $599.99 attached to it upon the signing of a contract agreement with the wireless carrier, but users can also opt for acquiring the device free of contract, case in which they would have to pay $799.99 for it.
Some argued that Verizon and Motorola priced the device too high, but the features list it comes with to the market would certainly worth every penny.
A list with a series of main features of this device would include:
- A multi-touch holographic user interface with a sleek 3D experience
- Completely customizable from a single location: view all 5 home screen panels as well as all available widgets, app shortcuts, wallpapers and more in one place
- Offers the best of multimedia and the Internet with a powerful desktop-like browser with Flash 10.1 support (the software will be released later this year)
- A platform that offers true multitasking and access to over 100,000 apps in the Android market
- Access to over 3 million eBooks with Google Books
- You can also buy apps from the web-based store on www.google.com and the app will show up on your app tray
- Video chat with friends using the front facing camera
- Console-like gaming with rich graphics and a built-in accelerometer and gyroscope
The specifications list of Motorola XOOM would include a dual-core 1 GHz processor that enables fast responsiveness, especially since it was coupled with 1GB of RAM.
Moreover, the tablet PC comes with a 5-megapixel photo snapper on the back, with HD 720p video recording capabilities, and with a front facing camera for video calling.
Currently packing 3G (CDMA EV-DO Rev A) connectivity, the tablet PC is 4G Upgradable (LTE). It also comes with WiFi 2.4 GHz & 5GHz 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR + HID capabilities, as well as with HDMI port, or 3.5mm headset jack.
Other features of the new device include Google Maps 5.0 with 3D interaction, Google Talk with Video Chat, Google eBooks with over 3M titles, Android Webkit HTML5–based browser with tabbed browsing, Push Email Support, and more.
The Motorola XOOM is available for purchase from Verizon Wireless' website here.
Billy Ray Cyrus Apologizes for ‘Explosive’ GQ Interview
After a few days in which speculation on the Cyrus family ran rampant after Billy Ray turned on Disney in a recent GQ interview, he’s finally speaking out: he knows that he made “explosive” statements, but this wasn’t his intention.
In a statement to celebrity magazine People, Billy Ray apologizes for making those harsh comments on Disney and his daughter Miley, and insists that he didn’t deliberately set out to do so.
“It is very important to me to work on mending my family right now,” the singer says when asked about his plans in the aftermath of the interview.
The comments he made to GQ in the interview that was taken in December were “explosive, but unintentionally so,” Billy Ray adds.
Unfortunately, they have also affected his family and he should have thought of that first before speaking and going on the record with everything.
“My family is the most important thing I have, and we are working together to make sure our future is stronger and healthier,” he says.
Right now, Billy Ray is spending time with his soon to be ex wife Tish and their 11-year-old daughter Noah in Los Angeles.
“It is all a learning process, and we thank everyone for their support and respect of our privacy as we sort through very important family issues,” he says of the divorce and his interview.
As we also noted at the time, in December last year, Billy Ray sat down with GQ for an interview that came out in the latest issue of the magazine.
In it, he said that Disney and “Hannah Montana” had ruined his life and destroyed his family, and then said that his daughter Miley was a “trainwreck” that would probably end like Anna Nicole Smith, Michael Jackson or Kurt Cobain.
Billy Ray said Disney had cut him off from Miley and that she was now surrounded only by people who cared more about her money than about her well-being and that this thought “scared” him.
Shortly after the interview came out and Miley learned about it, she was said to be “furious” with her father for what she considered to be the “ultimate betrayal.”
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Mobile Intel Sandy Bridge Full Review: Core i7-2820QM Tested
After seeing just how much of a performance improvement Sandy Bridge has brought to the desktop space, it's now time to witness what Intel's new architecture can do for the mobile market.
In our initial review of the Sandy Bridge architecture, we mentioned how more than half of the processors Intel launched on January 3 were actually destined to be used in mobile platforms, 15 out of the 29 CPUs released coming as notebook parts.
The high level of interest shown by Intel to the mobile space is by no means surprising considering that, in the recent years, notebook shipments have outgrown desktop computers by a ratio of 2 to 1.
And this is only the beginning as the gap between these two types of computing systems will continue to grow, and the Santa Clara-based company is well aware of this fact.
Moving back to the mobile Sandy Bridge CPUs, just as before, Intel decided to split the SKUs into two distinct series: regular and low-voltage/ultra low-voltage parts.
As their name implies, LV and ULV chips are meant to be installed in notebooks and laptops where battery life is of the utmost importance, so they carry reduced TDPs, fewer cores (only two compared to the four found in some of their more powerful counterparts), and pack lower operating frequencies for the core as well as for the integrated graphics.
The rest of the mobile Sandy Bridge lineup is comprised of no less than ten processors that feature either two or four cores and range in speed from 2GHz to 2.7GHz.
Of all the available models, only one chip comes without Turbo Boost support, the entry-level Core i3-2310M.
All, however, carry the more powerful Intel HD 3000 integrated graphics which features 12 EUs (execution units), so gaming performance should only be affected by the speed the CPU runs at.
The rest of the feature list is pretty much similar with that of the desktop version of Intel's second generation Core architecture, meaning that Quick Sync has also been added to the mix.
In case that you have missed our initial review of Sandy Bridge, Quick Sync is a technology which speeds up video transcoding by using a dedicated hardware enabled accelerator as well as the processing power of the integrated graphics.
The speed increase over regular CPU-only transcoding is dramatic and image quality is also up to par, making it one of the most important features packed inside the Sandy Bridge architecture.
But this is by no means the only improvement brought by Sandy Bridge to the table, in the desktop space Intel's new processor managing to bring mainstream performance almost on par with that of more expensive enthusiast systems built on the Nehalem core.
In the mobile market, the speed increase should be even more dramatic as Sandy Bridge is a huge step in the right direction compared to Arrandale and Clarksfield.
Furthermore, the on-die GPU should also help with the power consumption of the platform making this chip even better suited for life on the go.
Hardware Specifications and Testing Methodology
If everything is pretty basic when it comes to testing a desktop platform, things are a little more tricky when notebooks and laptops are involved as choosing the right model to showcase the capabilities of a certain platform can be a daunting task.
Fortunately, for Sandy Bridge, Intel has made our job a lot easier as the Santa Clara giant built a system specially designed to showcase the might of its latest processing architecture.
The notebbok is built by Compal and it's just a proof of concept, so it will never reach the mainstream market.
Intel notebook system specifications:
Processor: Intel Core i7-2820QM (2.3GHz, 8MB L3, 3.40GHz Max. Turbo Boost frequency, 45W)
Chipset: Intel HM65
Memory: 2x2GB Hynix DDR3-1600
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 3000 (12 EUs, 650-1300MHz clock speed)
Display: 17.3" LED Glossy 16:9 HD+ (1600x900)
Hard Drive: 160GB SSD (Intel X25-M G2 SSD)
Optical Drive: BD-ROM/DVDRW Combo
Networking: Gigabit Ethernet (Atheros AR8151 PCIe)
802.11n (Centrino Wireless-N 1030)
Battery : 8-Cell, 14.8V, 4.8Ah, 71Wh
As you can most certainly see, the configuration of the systems is pretty much what anyone would expect to see from a high-end notebook, the only thing missing being a dedicated graphic card , making this more of a mobile workstation than a desktop replacement.
This, however, was expected considering that the laptops was especially built to showcase the power of the Sandy Bridge architecture.
The rather small display resolution is also understandable considering the limited power available to the on-die graphics core.
Still, what we do get is a top of the line Intel X25-M G2 SSD that provides the laptop with 160GB of storage space as well as 4GB of Hynix memory that runs at 1600MHz.
Considering that the processor integrated graphics uses part of the system memory as a video buffer is clear why Intel decided to go on this route when choosing the notebook's memory.
As for the processor itself, the Core i7-2820QM is Intel's second fastest processor in its mobile lineup and packs four processing cores, 8MB of L3 cache shared between all cores, and a 45W TDP.
The processor's operating frequency is set at 2.3GHz, but it can go as high as 3.4GHz depending on the number of cores being used, and the on-die GPU works at 650MHz (1300MHz maximum dynamic frequency).
All the Intel specific technologies that made their way into Sandy Bridge have also been kept for the mobile version of the processor, including the AVX instruction set, AES encryption, virtualiazation support as well as Intel's Quick Sync media accelerator.
In addition, the mobile platform has gained support for Intel's second generation WiDi technology which enables 1080p wireless streaming.
This is still compressed, so the delay that has come to be associated with WiDi won't disappear, but this isn't going to hurt you if you plan to stream a movie to the HDTV.
The on-die graphics is based on the Intel HD 3000 GPU that packs 12 EUs.
Why Intel chose to go with the Core i7-2820QM processor and not with the top of the line 2920QM is a bit of a mystery, but considering the close specifications of the two I am sure that the performance difference isn't really noticeable.
One possible reason for this decision could be the additional 10W required by the 2920QM for the extra 200MHz provided at base clock.
Pricing could also be a reason as I am sure that not so many users are interested in seeing how a $1100 US mobile processor performs, considering that for that much money you could actually buy a more than decent laptop.
Sandy Bridge architecture
However, we're going to have a quick look at Intel's newest architecture and we'll start with the front-end since it becomes apparent that quite a bit of work has been done to the Nehalem core that sits at the heart of SNB.
The first change operated by Intel to this part of the chip was to add a so-called “L0 instruction cache” to the decode path that caches instructions as they are decoded and features an 80% hit rate for most applications.
This means that every time the chip receives an instruction, it will first check to see if this is found inside this micro-op cache, effectively cutting down power consumption and increasing performance if the instruction is found.
Furthermore, together with this micro-op cache, Intel also introduced a redesigned branch prediction unit that can hit twice as many targets and features a much more effective storage for its history.
Moving on, another significant change that Intel introduced in Sandy Bridge is a physical register file, thus reducing the Out-of-Order (OoO) processing hardware required as the chip has only pointers to move along with the instructions processed (effectively cutting down on the die size necessary for OoO execution hardware).
The resulting space allowed Intel to include AVX support in Sandy Bridge, to effectively double the peak floating performance of the chip.
Another major design change that Intel introduced together with the Sandy Bridge is the so-called “ring bus,” which connects the Level 3 cache together with all the processors cores as well as with the integrated graphics and with the System Agent (the ex Un-core).
As a result, cache latency has been reduced and the speed increased as the L3 cache is now clocked at the same frequency as that of the rest of the CPU.
However, the most interesting part about the Sandy Bridge architecture is the newly integrated graphics unit that delivers an important IPC (instructions per clock) increase.
Unlike Westmere, this is now built on the same die as the CPU and gets access to the processor's L3 cache as well as to an individual power and clock plane.
Compared to the desktop version of Sandy Bridge, all mobile processors get Intel HD 3000 on-die GPUs that pack 12 EUs (a mix of shaders, cores and execution units) which should be as fast (and in some cases even faster) as some entry-level GPUs, as we have shown in our review of the desktop Sandy Bridge processor.
Another significant change brought by Intel to its second-generation core architecture is the introduction of Turbo Boost 2.0 technology.
The Cougar Point SATA bug and how it affects laptops
Right after we had finished our testing and we were getting ready to publish our findings regarding Intel's Sandy Bridge notebook, the Santa Clara company made an announcement that shocked us all.
As you all most certainly know by now, on January 31, Intel let the whole world know that it had identified a bug in its 6-series chipsets that affected almost all of the 8 million Cougar Point products shipped until then, including notebooks.
The news sent a shockwave throughout the whole industry and many manufacturers started retiring their Sandy Bridge devices from the market.
Then, after what were described as long discussions between the company and computer makers, Intel has decided that it will resume shipping the 6-series chipsets to be used in systems not impacted by the design issue.
What this basically means is that, if the system can get away with using only the two SATA 6Gbps ports that aren't affected by this flaw, it can be sold without any worries.
If, in the case of desktops, the distinction is really hard to make, for laptops and other mobile devices everything should work out just fine if no more than two SATA ports are used.
As a result, many retailers have decided to restart selling Sandy Bridge notebooks, so quite a few models are available right now for purchase from various online and brick-and-mortar retailers.
However, before going for such a laptop there is one thing which has to be taken into consideration.
I stated earlier that notebooks shouldn't have any problems getting away with only two SATA ports, and this is completely true, but there is a catch.
While very few laptops need more than two SATA ports for connecting internal storage devices (an HDD and an optical drive in the case of most models available on the market), the external eSATA ports are usually run from one of the affected SATA 3Gbps ports.
In addition, in the case of some desktop replacement notebooks which feature dual-HDDs (or solid state disks), even the optical drive is run of one of those ports.
But this doesn't have to scare any of you, as most computer makers said that during their testing they have never seen this bug show up and even Intel says that the issue will only affect 5% of the users over the course of three years.
More importantly, most computer manufacturers have set replacement programs in place, and users who have bought bugged products will be able to exchange them free of charge for models using the B3 revision of the Cougar Point chipset which is not affected by this.
So, if you want to purchase a new notebook be sure to also check out the Sandy Bridge models available on the market, but also don't forget to check the manufacturer's policy in regards to the Cougar point SATA bug.
However, if the perspective of moving your data back and forth between notebooks doesn't appeal to you, there is also the option of waiting until April to get a product based on the B3 stepping.
Real-Life Performance
As this laptop is never meant to be released onto the market, we are going to take a slightly different approach when reviewing the unit.
If normally when taking a look at mobile system we would concentrate on its ergonomics, build quality and other aspects that reflect the whole experience from an end-user experience, this time we are only going to focus on its performances.
This is why we skipped over the “Aesthetics and Design” subsection and why we have decided to put the laptop through a more extensive series of tests and benchmarks instead.
Having said that, I must admit that the build quality of the notebook is completely unsatisfactory, a large series of issues making their appearance during the tests.
I am not going to get into details as this isn't the purpose of this review, but, as an end-user, if somebody wanted to sell me a product so poorly assembled as this I would be offended to say the least.
But let's move to the actual performance of the system and see what it's capable of when put through extensive series of tests.
Starting thing off is CineBench R11.5. This highly threaded, graphics rendering benchmark is the perfect tool for showcasing the power of the mobile version of Sandy Bridge as the program scales really well with the number of cores.
As expected, Sandy Bridge is a monster chip in these tests as its four physical and four virtual cores of the Core i7-2820QM enable it to do really well, managing to beat even the high-end Core i7 960 desktop processor.
In addition, the single threaded version of the benchmark shows the 2820QM as the fastest CPU of the bunch when only one core is used.
This goes to show the huge IPC gains that Sandy Bridge carries over its predecessors and really put into perspective all the architectural enhancements that Intel brought to this chip.
The rest of the CPU benchmarks that were included in our test also go to show the performance that the mobile edition of Sandy Bridge can deliver.
Actually, this notebook did so well that it managed to surpass dome desktop chips that we have tested previously, especially in rendering and media encoding, two types of applications that benefit from having more cores at their disposal.
Speaking of media encoding, the Quick Sync technology that is built-in into Sandy Bridge further improves the overall attractiveness of the platform.
Using ArcSoft's Media Encoder 7 application (one of the few software encoding solutions available to support Intel's Quick Sync technology) to encode a 10Mbps, 720p resolution H.264 MOV video file to a 3Mbps MP4 file we measured a threefold increase in performance in comparison to using the CPU alone.
Furthermore, the image quality of the resulting file was up to par to that of the source, great news for those that find themselves doing a lot of transcoding.
Next to the reduced encoding times, another advantage of Quick Sync is that it brings power consumption down as only a small part of the chip is used contrary to four cores needed for CPU encoding.
Quick Sync is part of the on-die graphics core enclosed in the Sandy Bridge chip and during the encoding process it relays on the power delivered by the 12 EUs built inside the chip.
The same EUs are also used for gaming and Intel has decided that for its mobile Sandy Bridge CPU lineup to go with the beefier version of their integrated GPU, the HD 3000.
In the case of the 2820QM, the EUs are run at 650MHz and their operating frequency can go as high as 1300MHz if the situation demands it.
In terms of performance this means that the graphics is almost twice as fast as that enclosed in the previous Arrandale processors, at least in theory.
In the real world, this enables the 2820QM to run quite a decent series of games at the 1280x720 resolution, titles such as Resident Evil 5 and Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. being perfectly OK with Intel's integrated graphics.
Of course, one has to tinker around with the quality settings, but the notebook we had at our disposal managed to do perfectly well in this regard.
More specifically, we are able to run the DirectX 10 codepath of RE5 with decent results while even setting the “Overall Quality” of the game too high.
Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. was also a success as we were able to run the game at the same 1280x780 resolution while also maxing out most of the in-game settings.
The catch is that we had to drop into DirectX 9 mode for the game to be playable at this resolution, but the game was smooth, so the change was really worth it.
3DMark Vantage also shows what we had witnessed in our short gaming tests as the benchmark returned an Entry level score of 10694, a more than decent result considering the nature of the graphics core used.
But when it comes to mobile computing, performance is only one part of the equation as battery life is equally important, if not more important for users who choose to go this route, especially when high-performance chips, such as the 2820QM which was installed in this notebook, are concerned, since these tend to require a lot more power than mid-range or entry-level processors.
However, I am happy to report that this won't be an issue for Sandy Bridge as even with the high performance CPU installed, the Compal-built laptop managed to surpass our expectations.
The bigger than average 71Wh battery certainly had its role in achieving this result, but most of the improvements come from the power saving technologies implemented by Intel in its latest architecture.
During the testing session we also recorded the temperatures of the processor to see how it performs in this regard.
According to our findings, the temperature varied between 53 degrees Celsius, when in idle mode, and 81 degrees Celsius when all the cores were loaded 100%.
Conclusions
As it was the case with the desktop version of the chip, the mobile Sandy Bridge processors are a success since they manage to bring far better performance to the mobile space while also increasing the battery life, a truly win-win situation for the user.
To make things even more interesting, Intel's latest notebook processor line also improves the integrated graphics to a level that we previously associated with low-end discrete GPUs while also implementing WiDi 2.0 and Quick Sync support.
Of these two, Quick Sync is by far the more interesting technology since it takes one of today's most widely spread tasks and speeds it up considerably without carrying any major downsides.
This is even more important when it comes to notebooks and other mobile computers as the technology gets the processor speed out of the equation, theoretically enabling all mobile Sandy Bridge processors to perform the same when Quick Sync is enabled.
Add to this the improved battery performance, that will be even better in the LV/ULV version of the processor, and you know that Intel has a winner on its hands.
In fact, Sandy Bridge is such an improvement over Intel's previous generation mobile processors that I wouldn't recommend anyone to buy anything else than such a laptop, provided that it fits their budget.
And this is a major issue right now as only six of the 15 processors announced at the beginning of January were officially launched, the cheapest model being the dual-core Core i5-2520M which retails for $225.
The Core i7-2820QM we tested today is priced at $568, pushing the price of the tested notebook somewhere in the vicinity of $1500, so this isn't for everyone.
A far better deal would be to go for the 2720QM, which packs the same feature set as the CPU tested today and is nearly $200 less expensive while running only 100MHz slower than the 2820QM.
End of it all, Sandy Bridge is really a great improvement in the field of mobile processors and judging by the way things go, I don't expect these CPUs to have any rivals, at least in the high-performance sector, until the introduction of the Ivy Bridge architecture in 2012.
Pros:
- High performance
- Great battery life
- Quick Sync
- WiDi 2.0
- Powerful integrated graphics
Cons:
- The high prices associated with high-end SKUs
Image Credits: Softpedia
In our initial review of the Sandy Bridge architecture, we mentioned how more than half of the processors Intel launched on January 3 were actually destined to be used in mobile platforms, 15 out of the 29 CPUs released coming as notebook parts.
The high level of interest shown by Intel to the mobile space is by no means surprising considering that, in the recent years, notebook shipments have outgrown desktop computers by a ratio of 2 to 1.
And this is only the beginning as the gap between these two types of computing systems will continue to grow, and the Santa Clara-based company is well aware of this fact.
Moving back to the mobile Sandy Bridge CPUs, just as before, Intel decided to split the SKUs into two distinct series: regular and low-voltage/ultra low-voltage parts.
As their name implies, LV and ULV chips are meant to be installed in notebooks and laptops where battery life is of the utmost importance, so they carry reduced TDPs, fewer cores (only two compared to the four found in some of their more powerful counterparts), and pack lower operating frequencies for the core as well as for the integrated graphics.
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The rest of the mobile Sandy Bridge lineup is comprised of no less than ten processors that feature either two or four cores and range in speed from 2GHz to 2.7GHz.
Of all the available models, only one chip comes without Turbo Boost support, the entry-level Core i3-2310M.
All, however, carry the more powerful Intel HD 3000 integrated graphics which features 12 EUs (execution units), so gaming performance should only be affected by the speed the CPU runs at.
The rest of the feature list is pretty much similar with that of the desktop version of Intel's second generation Core architecture, meaning that Quick Sync has also been added to the mix.
In case that you have missed our initial review of Sandy Bridge, Quick Sync is a technology which speeds up video transcoding by using a dedicated hardware enabled accelerator as well as the processing power of the integrated graphics.
The speed increase over regular CPU-only transcoding is dramatic and image quality is also up to par, making it one of the most important features packed inside the Sandy Bridge architecture.
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But this is by no means the only improvement brought by Sandy Bridge to the table, in the desktop space Intel's new processor managing to bring mainstream performance almost on par with that of more expensive enthusiast systems built on the Nehalem core.
In the mobile market, the speed increase should be even more dramatic as Sandy Bridge is a huge step in the right direction compared to Arrandale and Clarksfield.
Furthermore, the on-die GPU should also help with the power consumption of the platform making this chip even better suited for life on the go.
Hardware Specifications and Testing Methodology
If everything is pretty basic when it comes to testing a desktop platform, things are a little more tricky when notebooks and laptops are involved as choosing the right model to showcase the capabilities of a certain platform can be a daunting task.
Fortunately, for Sandy Bridge, Intel has made our job a lot easier as the Santa Clara giant built a system specially designed to showcase the might of its latest processing architecture.
The notebbok is built by Compal and it's just a proof of concept, so it will never reach the mainstream market.
Intel notebook system specifications:
Processor: Intel Core i7-2820QM (2.3GHz, 8MB L3, 3.40GHz Max. Turbo Boost frequency, 45W)
Chipset: Intel HM65
Memory: 2x2GB Hynix DDR3-1600
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 3000 (12 EUs, 650-1300MHz clock speed)
Display: 17.3" LED Glossy 16:9 HD+ (1600x900)
Hard Drive: 160GB SSD (Intel X25-M G2 SSD)
Optical Drive: BD-ROM/DVDRW Combo
Networking: Gigabit Ethernet (Atheros AR8151 PCIe)
802.11n (Centrino Wireless-N 1030)
Battery : 8-Cell, 14.8V, 4.8Ah, 71Wh
As you can most certainly see, the configuration of the systems is pretty much what anyone would expect to see from a high-end notebook, the only thing missing being a dedicated graphic card , making this more of a mobile workstation than a desktop replacement.
This, however, was expected considering that the laptops was especially built to showcase the power of the Sandy Bridge architecture.
The rather small display resolution is also understandable considering the limited power available to the on-die graphics core.
Still, what we do get is a top of the line Intel X25-M G2 SSD that provides the laptop with 160GB of storage space as well as 4GB of Hynix memory that runs at 1600MHz.
Considering that the processor integrated graphics uses part of the system memory as a video buffer is clear why Intel decided to go on this route when choosing the notebook's memory.
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As for the processor itself, the Core i7-2820QM is Intel's second fastest processor in its mobile lineup and packs four processing cores, 8MB of L3 cache shared between all cores, and a 45W TDP.
The processor's operating frequency is set at 2.3GHz, but it can go as high as 3.4GHz depending on the number of cores being used, and the on-die GPU works at 650MHz (1300MHz maximum dynamic frequency).
All the Intel specific technologies that made their way into Sandy Bridge have also been kept for the mobile version of the processor, including the AVX instruction set, AES encryption, virtualiazation support as well as Intel's Quick Sync media accelerator.
In addition, the mobile platform has gained support for Intel's second generation WiDi technology which enables 1080p wireless streaming.
This is still compressed, so the delay that has come to be associated with WiDi won't disappear, but this isn't going to hurt you if you plan to stream a movie to the HDTV.
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Why Intel chose to go with the Core i7-2820QM processor and not with the top of the line 2920QM is a bit of a mystery, but considering the close specifications of the two I am sure that the performance difference isn't really noticeable.
One possible reason for this decision could be the additional 10W required by the 2920QM for the extra 200MHz provided at base clock.
Pricing could also be a reason as I am sure that not so many users are interested in seeing how a $1100 US mobile processor performs, considering that for that much money you could actually buy a more than decent laptop.
Sandy Bridge architecture
However, we're going to have a quick look at Intel's newest architecture and we'll start with the front-end since it becomes apparent that quite a bit of work has been done to the Nehalem core that sits at the heart of SNB.
The first change operated by Intel to this part of the chip was to add a so-called “L0 instruction cache” to the decode path that caches instructions as they are decoded and features an 80% hit rate for most applications.
This means that every time the chip receives an instruction, it will first check to see if this is found inside this micro-op cache, effectively cutting down power consumption and increasing performance if the instruction is found.
Furthermore, together with this micro-op cache, Intel also introduced a redesigned branch prediction unit that can hit twice as many targets and features a much more effective storage for its history.
Moving on, another significant change that Intel introduced in Sandy Bridge is a physical register file, thus reducing the Out-of-Order (OoO) processing hardware required as the chip has only pointers to move along with the instructions processed (effectively cutting down on the die size necessary for OoO execution hardware).
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The resulting space allowed Intel to include AVX support in Sandy Bridge, to effectively double the peak floating performance of the chip.
Another major design change that Intel introduced together with the Sandy Bridge is the so-called “ring bus,” which connects the Level 3 cache together with all the processors cores as well as with the integrated graphics and with the System Agent (the ex Un-core).
As a result, cache latency has been reduced and the speed increased as the L3 cache is now clocked at the same frequency as that of the rest of the CPU.
However, the most interesting part about the Sandy Bridge architecture is the newly integrated graphics unit that delivers an important IPC (instructions per clock) increase.
Unlike Westmere, this is now built on the same die as the CPU and gets access to the processor's L3 cache as well as to an individual power and clock plane.
Compared to the desktop version of Sandy Bridge, all mobile processors get Intel HD 3000 on-die GPUs that pack 12 EUs (a mix of shaders, cores and execution units) which should be as fast (and in some cases even faster) as some entry-level GPUs, as we have shown in our review of the desktop Sandy Bridge processor.
Another significant change brought by Intel to its second-generation core architecture is the introduction of Turbo Boost 2.0 technology.
The Cougar Point SATA bug and how it affects laptops
Right after we had finished our testing and we were getting ready to publish our findings regarding Intel's Sandy Bridge notebook, the Santa Clara company made an announcement that shocked us all.
As you all most certainly know by now, on January 31, Intel let the whole world know that it had identified a bug in its 6-series chipsets that affected almost all of the 8 million Cougar Point products shipped until then, including notebooks.
The news sent a shockwave throughout the whole industry and many manufacturers started retiring their Sandy Bridge devices from the market.
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Then, after what were described as long discussions between the company and computer makers, Intel has decided that it will resume shipping the 6-series chipsets to be used in systems not impacted by the design issue.
What this basically means is that, if the system can get away with using only the two SATA 6Gbps ports that aren't affected by this flaw, it can be sold without any worries.
If, in the case of desktops, the distinction is really hard to make, for laptops and other mobile devices everything should work out just fine if no more than two SATA ports are used.
As a result, many retailers have decided to restart selling Sandy Bridge notebooks, so quite a few models are available right now for purchase from various online and brick-and-mortar retailers.
However, before going for such a laptop there is one thing which has to be taken into consideration.
I stated earlier that notebooks shouldn't have any problems getting away with only two SATA ports, and this is completely true, but there is a catch.
While very few laptops need more than two SATA ports for connecting internal storage devices (an HDD and an optical drive in the case of most models available on the market), the external eSATA ports are usually run from one of the affected SATA 3Gbps ports.
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In addition, in the case of some desktop replacement notebooks which feature dual-HDDs (or solid state disks), even the optical drive is run of one of those ports.
But this doesn't have to scare any of you, as most computer makers said that during their testing they have never seen this bug show up and even Intel says that the issue will only affect 5% of the users over the course of three years.
More importantly, most computer manufacturers have set replacement programs in place, and users who have bought bugged products will be able to exchange them free of charge for models using the B3 revision of the Cougar Point chipset which is not affected by this.
So, if you want to purchase a new notebook be sure to also check out the Sandy Bridge models available on the market, but also don't forget to check the manufacturer's policy in regards to the Cougar point SATA bug.
However, if the perspective of moving your data back and forth between notebooks doesn't appeal to you, there is also the option of waiting until April to get a product based on the B3 stepping.
Real-Life Performance
As this laptop is never meant to be released onto the market, we are going to take a slightly different approach when reviewing the unit.
If normally when taking a look at mobile system we would concentrate on its ergonomics, build quality and other aspects that reflect the whole experience from an end-user experience, this time we are only going to focus on its performances.
This is why we skipped over the “Aesthetics and Design” subsection and why we have decided to put the laptop through a more extensive series of tests and benchmarks instead.
Having said that, I must admit that the build quality of the notebook is completely unsatisfactory, a large series of issues making their appearance during the tests.
I am not going to get into details as this isn't the purpose of this review, but, as an end-user, if somebody wanted to sell me a product so poorly assembled as this I would be offended to say the least.
But let's move to the actual performance of the system and see what it's capable of when put through extensive series of tests.
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Starting thing off is CineBench R11.5. This highly threaded, graphics rendering benchmark is the perfect tool for showcasing the power of the mobile version of Sandy Bridge as the program scales really well with the number of cores.
As expected, Sandy Bridge is a monster chip in these tests as its four physical and four virtual cores of the Core i7-2820QM enable it to do really well, managing to beat even the high-end Core i7 960 desktop processor.
In addition, the single threaded version of the benchmark shows the 2820QM as the fastest CPU of the bunch when only one core is used.
This goes to show the huge IPC gains that Sandy Bridge carries over its predecessors and really put into perspective all the architectural enhancements that Intel brought to this chip.
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The rest of the CPU benchmarks that were included in our test also go to show the performance that the mobile edition of Sandy Bridge can deliver.
Actually, this notebook did so well that it managed to surpass dome desktop chips that we have tested previously, especially in rendering and media encoding, two types of applications that benefit from having more cores at their disposal.
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Speaking of media encoding, the Quick Sync technology that is built-in into Sandy Bridge further improves the overall attractiveness of the platform.
Using ArcSoft's Media Encoder 7 application (one of the few software encoding solutions available to support Intel's Quick Sync technology) to encode a 10Mbps, 720p resolution H.264 MOV video file to a 3Mbps MP4 file we measured a threefold increase in performance in comparison to using the CPU alone.
Furthermore, the image quality of the resulting file was up to par to that of the source, great news for those that find themselves doing a lot of transcoding.
Next to the reduced encoding times, another advantage of Quick Sync is that it brings power consumption down as only a small part of the chip is used contrary to four cores needed for CPU encoding.
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Quick Sync is part of the on-die graphics core enclosed in the Sandy Bridge chip and during the encoding process it relays on the power delivered by the 12 EUs built inside the chip.
The same EUs are also used for gaming and Intel has decided that for its mobile Sandy Bridge CPU lineup to go with the beefier version of their integrated GPU, the HD 3000.
In the case of the 2820QM, the EUs are run at 650MHz and their operating frequency can go as high as 1300MHz if the situation demands it.
In terms of performance this means that the graphics is almost twice as fast as that enclosed in the previous Arrandale processors, at least in theory.
In the real world, this enables the 2820QM to run quite a decent series of games at the 1280x720 resolution, titles such as Resident Evil 5 and Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. being perfectly OK with Intel's integrated graphics.
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Of course, one has to tinker around with the quality settings, but the notebook we had at our disposal managed to do perfectly well in this regard.
More specifically, we are able to run the DirectX 10 codepath of RE5 with decent results while even setting the “Overall Quality” of the game too high.
Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. was also a success as we were able to run the game at the same 1280x780 resolution while also maxing out most of the in-game settings.
The catch is that we had to drop into DirectX 9 mode for the game to be playable at this resolution, but the game was smooth, so the change was really worth it.
|
3DMark Vantage also shows what we had witnessed in our short gaming tests as the benchmark returned an Entry level score of 10694, a more than decent result considering the nature of the graphics core used.
But when it comes to mobile computing, performance is only one part of the equation as battery life is equally important, if not more important for users who choose to go this route, especially when high-performance chips, such as the 2820QM which was installed in this notebook, are concerned, since these tend to require a lot more power than mid-range or entry-level processors.
|
However, I am happy to report that this won't be an issue for Sandy Bridge as even with the high performance CPU installed, the Compal-built laptop managed to surpass our expectations.
The bigger than average 71Wh battery certainly had its role in achieving this result, but most of the improvements come from the power saving technologies implemented by Intel in its latest architecture.
During the testing session we also recorded the temperatures of the processor to see how it performs in this regard.
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According to our findings, the temperature varied between 53 degrees Celsius, when in idle mode, and 81 degrees Celsius when all the cores were loaded 100%.
Conclusions
As it was the case with the desktop version of the chip, the mobile Sandy Bridge processors are a success since they manage to bring far better performance to the mobile space while also increasing the battery life, a truly win-win situation for the user.
To make things even more interesting, Intel's latest notebook processor line also improves the integrated graphics to a level that we previously associated with low-end discrete GPUs while also implementing WiDi 2.0 and Quick Sync support.
Of these two, Quick Sync is by far the more interesting technology since it takes one of today's most widely spread tasks and speeds it up considerably without carrying any major downsides.
This is even more important when it comes to notebooks and other mobile computers as the technology gets the processor speed out of the equation, theoretically enabling all mobile Sandy Bridge processors to perform the same when Quick Sync is enabled.
Add to this the improved battery performance, that will be even better in the LV/ULV version of the processor, and you know that Intel has a winner on its hands.
|
In fact, Sandy Bridge is such an improvement over Intel's previous generation mobile processors that I wouldn't recommend anyone to buy anything else than such a laptop, provided that it fits their budget.
And this is a major issue right now as only six of the 15 processors announced at the beginning of January were officially launched, the cheapest model being the dual-core Core i5-2520M which retails for $225.
The Core i7-2820QM we tested today is priced at $568, pushing the price of the tested notebook somewhere in the vicinity of $1500, so this isn't for everyone.
A far better deal would be to go for the 2720QM, which packs the same feature set as the CPU tested today and is nearly $200 less expensive while running only 100MHz slower than the 2820QM.
End of it all, Sandy Bridge is really a great improvement in the field of mobile processors and judging by the way things go, I don't expect these CPUs to have any rivals, at least in the high-performance sector, until the introduction of the Ivy Bridge architecture in 2012.
Pros:
- High performance
- Great battery life
- Quick Sync
- WiDi 2.0
- Powerful integrated graphics
Cons:
- The high prices associated with high-end SKUs
Image Credits: Softpedia
