MSI has switched sides in the AMD versus Intel war, releasing a redesigned all-in-one AE2010 Desktop PC with Intel processor and Nvidia graphics.
MSI’s AE2020 has Intel and Nvidia Ion inside
The AE2010 – released in August – featured a dual-core, 1.5GHz AMD Athlon X2 3250e processor andintegrated AMD Radeon HD 3200 graphics. The machine’s successor, however, has Intel’s 2.1GHz dual-core Pentium T4300 processor and Nvidia Ion graphics.
MSI hasn’t fiddled with screen size or resolution, so the AE2020 still delivers a 20in, 1600 x 900 display. However, buyers of the latest machine get multi-touch capability as standard and, while the two machines may look identical, the AE2020 apparently has a black leather finish. Read the rest of this entry »
Review A whole heap of companies have started offering miniature Linux-powered PCs in the last few years, from Zonbu, Sumo and Koolu to DecTOP, that sells the device formerly known as AMD’s Personal Internet Communicator. A number bear an almost suspicious resemblance to x86-powered thin clients, being based around inexpensive, low-powered but cool-running System-On-a-Chip (SOC) devices such as AMD’s Geode processors, as used in the One laptop Per Child XO-1.
The Linutop 2: so quiet only the activity lights indicate that it’s in use
French vendor Linutop’s original model of its eponymous machine was the size of a Nintendo DS, with no on-board storage at all – it booted from a USB stick. It’s now been replaced with the Linutop 2, essentially a rebadged Ion A603 MiniPC from First Computer – but with European support. The new model is about twice as big – roughly the size of 4 stacked CD jewel cases – and now sports double the Ram (512MB), a power button and a whole gigabyte of internal storage. It has four USB 2 ports, VGA, Ethernet and sound in and out – and that’s it. The processor has been bumped from a 433MHz Geode LX700 to a 500MHz Geode LX800, but state of the art PC performance, this isn’t. Read the rest of this entry »
Reviews The lines between multimedia audio kit – the sort of equipment designed for use with computers, iPods and the like – and ‘proper’ audio equipment seem to be getting increasingly blurred. Edifier’s new Luna 2 speakers are a fine example of the blur, looking like run-of-the-mill Desktop PC speakers but, at £250 for a pair, costing a darn site more than this kind of kit usually does and having some pretty serious amplification built in.
Edifier’s Luna 2: beefy
Out of the box, the Luna 2 speakers certainly look and feel the part. As we’ve come to expect from Edifier, the build quality is excellent. Each unit feels like it has been carved out of stone, and looks rather smart in its black and sliver colour scheme with a brushed aluminium base. Physically, each speaker takes the form of a 118mm deep, 194mm diameter circular unit with a bite taken out of the top and mounted on a sculpted plastic base. Each weighs a beefy 2kg. Read the rest of this entry »
