Category: Desktop computers
Switch view

Tablets expected to eclipse PCs in four years

by 62 comments

The latest Gartner report has global tablet shipments up some 42.7% compared to last year, while PC sales are predicted to be down 11.2%.

It’s predicted that by 2017, PCs – which include desktop computers, laptops, and ultramobiles – will become outshipped by tablets running primarily Android and iOS. Read more »

Windows 8.1 updates kick off today

by 36 comments

Microsoft is releasing its Windows 8.1 OS today. It will be available as a free update to existing Windows 8 users and will also come pre-installed on new Windows 8 PCs sold after tomorrow. The stand-alone retail version also launches on October 18.

Windows 8.1, previously known as Blue, will bring back the Start button, make the Start screen optional (boot to Desktop), will offer more customization options, new spit screen mode, IE 11, better SkyDrive integration, new apps, new connectivity options and lots of other improvements. Read more »

Apple refreshes iMac lineup with Haswell processors and GeForce 700 GPUs

by 106 comments

Apple has officially introduced its updated iMac PCs, which now features the latest generation Intel quad-core processors, new graphics, new Wi-Fi receivers and faster storage options.

The 21.5-inch entry-level iMac now comes with a 2.7 GHz quad-core Intel i5 processor and a new Iris Pro GPU. Read more »

Acer announces 24-inch Android all-in-one powered by Tegra 3

by 42 comments

The pre-IFA festivities from Acer continue, as the company has just announced the DA241HL, a 24″ Android-powered all-in-one featuring a quad-core Tegra 3 processor.

The AiO operates on the Android 4.2 build, which allows you to enjoy the latest games and apps in all their glory on the fullHD 24-inch display. Read more »

For the first time ever Lenovo sells more phones and slates than computers

by 24 comments

Lenovo has recently became the fourth largest smartphone manufacturer in the world with a 4.7% market share, just 0.3% less than LG in third. Lenovo’s success doesn’t end with its newly earned fourth place though.

According to the latest earnings report the Chinese company has sold more phones and tablets than personal computers for the first time in its history. If you think the achievement is not that impressive, you should note the fact Lenovo is currently world’s biggest PC manufacturer with 12+ million PCs shipped globally in the last quarter alone. Read more »

Samsung to announce Ativ Book 9 Lite and Ativ One at the Galaxy & Ativ event this evening

by 61 comments

Samsung’s Galaxy & Ativ event in London will start in just a few hours and we already known what to expect from the Galaxy side. We’re getting teasing glimpses of what the Ativ line will bring – the Ativ One and Ativ Book.

Meanwhile, Samsung Indonesia jumped the gun and announced that the Samsung Ativ Book 9 Lite. Read more »

AMD FX-9590 octa-core processor is the first to be officially clocked at 5GHz

by 43 comments

AMD just claimed the title “First-Ever 5 GHz Processor” with its new FX-9590 based on the Piledriver architecture. That’s the official max frequency, not the work of an overclock-happy enthusiast. But the keyword is “max” – this is how fast the 9590 goes with Turbo Core 3.0 topped out and some of the cores powered off.

The FX-9590 packs an octa-core processor (four modules of two cores) and promises “new levels of gaming and multimedia performance” for the desktop. Read more »

Apple unleashes new Mac Pro – 8 times smaller, 6 Thunderbolt 2 ports, AMD graphics

by 29 comments

Apple showed off the new Mac Pro at the WWDC 2013 floor. This is the first update in quite some time and comes in with a lot of oomph under the hood.

It features the new Thunderbolt 2 port (6 of them), new dual GPUs built by AMD, next-gen Intel XEON processors and is one-eighth of the size of the previous-gen Mac Pro. It will debut this fall with the pricing still to be confirmed. Read more »

Intel details GPU options in Haswell, announces Iris

by 24 comments

Intel has provided additional details about it’s upcoming fourth generation of Core processors (codenamed Haswell) specifically related to the GPU that will be running in these chips. But most importantly, they have also announced a new brand of high-end integrated mobile GPUs called Intel Iris.

Intel Iris is the name of a new series of graphics processors that will be integrated into the upcoming Haswell processors. Mind you, not all integrated GPUs on the Haswell processors will be designated with the Iris name. Intel is reserving this name for only their highest performing mobile GPUs, which will be integrated into the top of the line Core i7 models. Read more »

Gartner estimates drop in PC sales for Q4 2012, points finger at tablets

by 39 comments

Gartner has posted its estimated PC shipment results for 2012 and things aren’t bright for the good ol’ personal computer.

The company estimates that PC vendors have shipped more than 90 million PCs in Q4, 2012 which is 4.9% lower than what they managed in the same period in 2011. According to Gartner, the tablets are to blame. Read more »

Valve and Xi3 to bring out a Steam optimized mini-PC dubbed Piston, could be the long awaited Steam Box

by 37 comments

Valve and mini-PC maker company Xi3 have announced their collaboration on the first ever Steam-optimized mini PC.

The project, which carries the Piston codename, is still in active development, but prototypes are on display at the booths of the two companies. Read more »

Samsung Series 3 Chromebox gets a redesign

by 21 comments

Samsung launched the original Series 3 Chromebox back in May last year along with the Chromebook. The Chromebox was a desktop PC similar to the Mac mini. But perhaps it was a bit too similar, as the design was almost universally slammed for being a clone of the latter.

In the latest version, Samsung has chosen to upgrade just the design, with everything else being exactly the same. It still has the same 1.9GHz Intel Celeron B840 processor, Intel HD Graphics, 4GB DDR3 RAM and 16GB flash storage. But the design has now been changed to a very simplified white, monolithic shape that frankly looks like something placed upside down. Read more »

Apple to invest $100 million in moving iMac production to the US

by 51 comments

Designed by Apple in California. Assembled in USA. – This is what lots of new iMac owners noticed engraved on the back of their computers. A while ago there were some iMacs assembled in the US according to the retail box, not the aluminum back, but they were believed to be refurbished.

Now lots of the iMacs currently sold within the USA are actually build there too. The speculations are over, CEO Tim Cook came up with a statement on the matter. Here is what he said: Read more »

Humble Bundle and THQ join forces to offer you AAA game titles, pay as much as you’d like for them

by 18 comments

The Humble Bundle project has teamed up with leading game publishing and development company THQ to offer some amazing game titles for great value.

And this time it’s not indie games (which are still awesome) that are bundled together, but AAA games like Darksiders, Metro 2033, Saints Row: The Third, Red Faction: Armageddon, and also the whole Company of Heroes trilogy. Read more »

Apple’s new iMacs to go on sale on November 30, the 21.5-inch model goes first

by 55 comments

Apple finally came clear about the launch date of its new generation of iMacs. Thinner, faster and DVD-less, the new iMacs will hit it off this Friday, November 30.

Unfortunately, it’s only the 21.5-inch (1920x1080px) model that will ship immediately. The 27-inch iMac (2560x1444px) will join the little one in early December and it would only be available online. Read more »