In 2009, a lot more notebook PCs from Lenovo and other big manufacturers will implement Intel's game- and video-friendly Switchable Graphics, predicted Michael Trainor, chief technology evangelist at Intel.

In 2009, a lot more notebook PCs from Lenovo and other big manufacturers will implement Intel's game- and video-friendly Switchable Graphics, predicted Michael Trainor, chief technology evangelist at Intel.

In a demo, the technology evangelist showed how the Centrino 2-based technology lets users switch between Intel's own built-in graphics and a graphics card from ATI, a division of Intel competitor AMD.

"You get the best of both worlds," Trainor said, speaking with Betanews at CES. Users can run the ATI card for applications such as 3-D games and video, which demand high-speed polygon rendering. Alternatively, you can use Intel's graphics to conserveenergy for "still" graphics and other applications.

Lenovo, Sony, and Toshiba are among the vendors that implemented Switchable Graphics in 2008. Lenovo's T400 Thinkpad, for example, uses the new technology."But typically, manufacturers started out by [implementing] Switchable Graphics on only one or two models. Now, you'll start to see [Switchable Graphics] across broader segments of their line-ups," Betanews was told.

Trainor acknowledged that there's one hitch, at this point. You can't switch back to Intel graphics while a 3-D game is running, for instance. "But you probably wouldn't want to do that, anyway," he noted. "And we'll be perfecting the technology in future generations."

Intel's own built-in graphics consume only about one-half the energy of ATI's, according to the Intel exec.

Meanwhile, Intel's been focusing on anti-aliasing and other technologies for enhanced visual quality in still graphics.

Intel conducted the demo at CES on a notebook PC running Intel Core 2 Quad (Q9000) mobile processor technology for Centrino 2. Aside from ATI, Nvidia is another graphics hardware manufacturer that's rolled out an implementation of Switchable Graphics.

OCZ has announced a new addition to its Do-It-Yourself lineup of notebooks based on Intel's Centrino 2 platform, the new 15.4-inch DIY gaming notebook.

The new DIY notebook comes with a 15.4-inch display with a native resolution of 1280x800 pixels and can accommodate Intel's latest CPUs including the Intel Core 2 Extreme mobile processor. The graphics part is AMD's Radeon HD 3650 with 512MB of dedicated GDDR3 memory, which should be more than enough for a 15.4-inch screen.

The rest of the specs include up to 8GB of DDR2 memory, up to 500GB of storage, either a DVD writer or Blu-Ray player, HD surround sound, A4-sized keyboard with a Vista key and a 6-cell battery.OCZ gives one year of warranty for the notebook, as well as the same one year warranty for both LCD and the battery.

Intel is going to update its Montevina notebook PC platform in April, 2009 with the introduction of the Montevina Refresh platform, according to a DIGITIMES report, which cites unnamed sources within Intel. The launch of the platform will be accompanied by two new processors, the Core 2 Duo T9900 and P8800.

Intel also plans to unveil its GM47 chipset for high-end notebooks in first quarter of next year. Entry-level and small form factor (SFF) PC will also not be over looked, as Intel will launch the GL43 and GS40 chipsets in July or August.A deluge of new processors for the Centrino 2 platform are soon going to be made available by the world’s leading chip maker. Also, the GM55 chipset for Intel’s upcoming 6th generation Centrino platform, Calpella, will become available in July or August next year.

Just when you thought your portable computer system was cool, fashionable and, at the same time, offering you the level of computing performance you require, MSI goes and launches something like this, the new PX600 Prestige Collection. You will probably ask yourself what is so special about the new portable PC from MSI – so, how about a combination of fine, tender leather with a brushed aluminum texture? And, in addition to that, we should also mention the Centrino 2 platform upon which the new PX600 has been built.
Now, the technical specifications on this thing are definitely cool, but when you get right down to it, you are likely to choose this notebook because of its distinctive design features over its performance capability. That's because MSI has gone to great lengths to produce the new PX600 Prestige Collection notebooks series, so much so that it took no less than 2 months to produce it. According to MSI, the PX600 has been designed with real, handmade craftsmanship, combining the leather texture with the brushed aluminum thread featured on the touch pad area.
All in all, MSI's recently announced portable computer system will certainly allow its potential customers to distinguish themselves from other laptop users. Furthermore, aside from the unique design features, the PX600 has been developed to deliver the performance level achieved by most of today's notebook systems, all thanks to the use of the Centrino 2 platform.Performance-wise, you are looking at a 15.4-inch notebook that will be powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, and that has 4GB of DDR2 800MHz memory, a 320GB SATA hard drive, DVD optical drive, 4-in-1 card reader, and an NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS graphics card with 256MB of DDR2 memory. In addition, the system also features 2 integrated speakers, a 2.0MP webcam, Gigabit LAN and wireless 802.11 a/g/n networking with optional Bluetooth 2.0.

No word on pricing just yet, but the system weighs in at 2.7kg, when equipped with a 6-cell battery. There's also an option for a 9-cell battery that will deliver an improved battery life, although it will also raise the system's overall weight.

Intel has just officially announced the Montevina mobile platform, their 5th generation of the underlying technology that makes up the company's Centrino 2 mobile architecture. Like previous iterations, the Montevina platform consists of a processor, chipset, and a specific wireless network module. New with Montevina, however, are also a fresh batch of 45nm Penryn-derived mobile processors with Front Side Bus frequencies up to 1066MHz, the Mobile 4 Express Series of chipsets, (GL40, GS45, GM45, GM47, and PM45) some with GMA X4500 DX10 graphics cores, and a number of WiFi / WiMax-enabled wireless network modules, including the Shirley Peak controller pictured here. Although we should note, Intel is still waiting on certifications from the FCC to intro some of the WiMax enabled controllers, and they won't arrive until a bit later in the year.Notebooks based on the Montevina platform will fall under the Centrino 2 brand. And enterprise targeted notebooks with additional security and manageability features built in will carry the Centrino 2 vPro moniker. The processors for the platform don't differ much from current offerings, except for their FSB frequencies and final clock speeds. The new Mobile 4 Express Series of chipsets, however, bring a number of new features to the table. For one, the chipset's MCH can support DDR2 and DDR3 memory technologies, so high-speed DDR3 memory will be coming to the mobile space finally.
The chipset also sports a new DX10 graphics core, capable of offloading all of the major HD video codecs from the host CPU. We recently met with Intel and briefly got to see a Montevina-based notebook playing back a Blu-Ray movie. CPU utilization was expectedly very low. Intel reps were also eager to point out the video-playback image quality of the platform, which can output deep, artifact-free black tones among other enhancements.

Those excited about Intel's upcoming chip "Montevina" alias "Centrino 2" are in for some disappointment. Reports say that yesterday, Intel announced a delay in the launch of this new notebook platform, which was due earlier for a June release.

The company said they'd delayed the "Centrino 2" platform launch so as to buy time to fix issues related to the chip set as well as the antenna used with the wireless chip set.Centrino 2 aka Montevina is the next version of Intel's popular Centrino platform for laptops. Computer makers are expected to begin shippingCentrino 2 systems to retail shops in July, with production expected to reach high volumes during the first week of August, an Intel spokesperson was reported saying.

The Centrino 2 platform includes new Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme mobile processors, as well as an updated chip set with integrated graphics. On the wireless side, Centrino 2 will offer support for Wi-Fi, with WiMax being offered as an option.

Meanwhile, Intel maintains there are no major issues with Centrino 2, just that it does not want to launch sub-standard products in the market.