Intel announces Ivy Bridge processors: specs, system refreshes, and new models

If you want to build or buy an ultrathin laptop with Intel inside, you've got a difficult choice. Right now, you can pick between a powerful Core i3, i5 or i7 processor which might not make it through your average workday, or a comparatively weak Atom chip with an estimated 10 hours of battery life. If you're willing to wait until the middle of next year, though, there might be a third option. Intel's planning to drastically reduce the power consumption of its existing Ivy Bridge silicon architecture to a TDP (thermal profile) of just 10 watts.

Currently, the ultra-low voltage Ivy Bridge processors you'll find in thin laptops like Apple's MacBook Air have a 17-watt TDP, and though Intel already provides software that can tune them down to 13 watts as well, we'd thought that we'd have to wait for Intel's next-gen Haswell design to see a 10-watt design. Not so: at the Intel Developer Forum in September, the company announced that it will be able to bring Ivy Bridge down to ultrabooks with sub-10-watt parts.

Vizio officially expands beyond the TV market today with the launch of its All-in-One PC, part of a larger PC series that also includes a new laptop and ultrabook. Officially released today at an event in New York, the desktops are available in 24-inch and 27-inch versions. As one might expect from media-focused Vizio, both come with a 1080p HD screen, up to a 1TB hard drive plus a 32GB SSD, and a pair of HDMI inputs let you use the screen with a console or set-top box. It also includes a subwoofer for 2.1 surround sound audio. It comes with a choice of Ivy Bridge Core i3, i5, and i7 processors and discrete Kepler-class GeForce graphics, matching what we saw during our hands-on at CES.

Vizio's distinctive new lineup of laptops caught us by surprise back at CES in January — the company's first foray into the PC market — and its notebook and ultrabook models are available starting today, each starting at $898. Each of the three new laptop models includes an Ivy Bridge core, SSD, and an HD display. The Vizio Notebook model is the most powerful of the bunch, featuring an unspecified Nvidia Kepler GeForce GPU, plus a 15.6-inch 1080p display, and an aluminum unibody construction. Vizio is also offering two Thin + Light ultrabook models, each with up to a 256GB SSD, and aluminum unibody construction. The 14-inch Thin + Light model has a resolution of 1600 x 900, while the 15.6-inch model features a 1920 x 1080 display, and Vizio says that all three laptop models are good for up to seven hours on a battery charge. We're still waiting on detailed specifications and a list of options for all three models, and will update you as soon as they are made available.

Update: Vizio has just given us the opportunity to see the new laptops in-person. Yes, we've seen all of these before at CES, but the hardware is now final — this is what consumers will be getting into their hands if they order one of the machines today. Unfortunately (and inexplicably), only the "thin-and-light" models were on hand, in both the 15.6- and 14-inch varieties. Both machines feature unibody construction, but they're not nearly as hefty or solid-feeling as Apple's notebooks. That's not necessarily a bad thing — these are quite a bit cheaper. Vizio says that it designed and built the keyboards on the new systems completely from scratch (a nine month process), but unfortunately they aren't the best we've felt. They're a bit too shallow for our tastes, which means that there isn't quite enough feedback when you press a key. The trackpad also leaves a bit to be desired: its plastic construction means it's too "sticky," and it couldn't track two fingers independently (e.g. using one finger to click and another to drag). The displays on both models are bright and vibrant.

Dell is extending Ivy Bridge to its less expensive Vostro line, but it'll cost you. The new Vostro 3360, Vostro 3460, and Vostro 3560 can be upgraded to include Ivy Bridge i5 and i7 processors, but all still contain Sandy Bridge chips in their base configurations. All three laptops start with a 320GB hard drive, 4GB of RAM, and Intel HD Graphics 3000. The upgrade options include up to 8GB of RAM to 750GB of hard drive space in the 3460 and 3560 models, and the 13.3-inch Vostro 3360 and the 14-inch Vostro 3460 will have the option of 4G LTE support on Dell's NetReady mobile broadband service. The 15.6-inch Vostro 3560 is available now starting at $599, and the Vostro 3360 and 3460 will be available on June 21st for $649 and $599 respectively.

Apple has just revealed its new line of 2012 MacBook Pro laptops, upgrading them to Intel's Ivy Bridge processors and Nvidia's new Kepler-based GeForce GT 650M graphics. All new models are shipping today.

The big highlight of today's show is actually the introduction of a so-called next-generation MacBook Pro with an incredible 2880 x 1800 display, however that's happening quite aside from Apple's regular hardware refresh. You'll still find your usual 13-inch MBP with a 1280 x 800 screen, only now it has a new 2.5GHz Core i5 processor as the base spec, upgradeable to a 2.9GHz Core i7 chip. Regrettably, only Intel's integrated HD Graphics 4000 are listed for the 13-inch model. Prices start at $1,199 as previously.

Welcome to Computex 2012, the coming-out party for Intel's Ivy Bridge CPU refresh and Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system. The two halves of an irresistible hardware-software combination that has dominated the PC world for so long that it has its own nickname — Wintel — came together in Taipei this week to once again reaffirm their supremacy. And AMD just stood on the sidelines, watching and scratching its head.

Think about all the marquee devices launched by the likes of Acer and Asus at this show — were any of them AMD-based? The day-zero media blitz from the local Taiwanese vendors and their international competitors was almost exclusively Intel-powered, and where it wasn't, it was because ARM-based processors were starting to encroach upon traditional x86 markets. AMD was a total absentee.

In the United Kingdom, the LX830 will come with an integrated Freeview TV tuner, which Toshiba envisions would go nicely with the optional Blu-ray player for anyone looking to create a mobile home entertainment station. Connectivity on this new PC is provided by 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 (useful for the bundled wireless keyboard and mouse), and up to Gigabit Ethernet on board. You can opt for up to six USB ports, two of them of the faster 3.0 variety, and there's an HDMI input for turning the LX830 into an external display for another computer. Availability of this machine in the UK will start from Q3 of this year, at prices of £599 (roughly $920) and up, depending on spec.

The Portégé Z935 will be available in the US on June 24, starting at $899.99. For our friends across the pond, it will arrive sometime in Q3 of this year and it will run £899.

Today, Toshiba is announcing the Satellite U845W ultrabook with a surprising 21:9, 1792 x 768 display. The U845W's LCD is 14 inches when measured diagonally, and its wide and shallow dimensions give it a compact footprint. Toshiba is touting this unusual screen as being the first laptop display to play widescreen movies without black bars, plus that extra-wide aspect ratio should make fine use of Windows 8's ability to run apps side by side.

The U845W — known outside the US as the U840W — is an ultrabook, which means that it's supposed to be thin, fast, light, and have better-than-average battery life. At just under four pounds and 0.81 inches thick, the U845W is a tad chunkier than other laptops in the ultrabook category, but that might be forgivable if Toshiba's claims of an "all day battery" are accurate. It will be powered by an Intel Ivy Bridge processor, can support up to 10GB of RAM, and comes with an interesting combination of a 500GB hard drive and a 32GB SSD for caching frequently accessed files. There are a few other nice touches to the U845W as well, like a textured metal body, USB 3.0 ports, WiDi support, and a backlit keyboard. The Satellite U845W will be released on July 15th for $999.99, and will be available in the UK sometime in Q3 for £899 (just under $1,400).

Shortly after Lenovo originally said the IdeaPad U310 and U410 would arrive, the 13.3-inch and 14-inch duo of ultrabooks we first saw at CES will be available this week. Each can be configured with i3, i5, or i7 Ivy Bridge processors and come with a combination of 32GB SSD and 500GB hard drive, though you can opt for discrete Nvidia graphics and up to 1TB of storage with the U410. You won't have the option for discrete graphics on the U310, but at 3.74lbs, you'll get a machine that's nearly a half-pound lighter than the U410's 4.18lbs. It also bears mentioning that the base model of the U310 is technically not an ultrabook because it doesn't include a SSD. While neither are as sleek (or as pricey) as some other models we've seen, both the U310 and U410 will be available today in select stores around the world and on Lenovo's website later this week for $749 and $799.99, respectively.

Fujitsu announced that several updates to its Lifebook, Esprimo, and Futro computers will be available starting today, but only in Japan. Leading the updated lineup is the Lifebook U772/E Ultrabook with a 14-inch display and measuring from 9.0mm at its thinnest point to 15.6mm at its thickest. Fujitsu's newest Ultrabook has a 9-hour battery life, boots from sleep mode in 7 seconds, and has been updated with an Ivy Bridge processor. The entire Esprimo line also gets an Ivy Bridge refresh, and will include a palm-vein sensor for additional security. Both new Lifebooks and all three Esprimos will ship in Japan later this month, while the Futro models will follow in July and August.

Other features include up to 32GB of memory and four USB 3.0 ports. The brushed magnesium aluminum chassis laptops are all rated for military grade spec for dust resistance, vibration, shock, altitude, drop, high temperature, low temperature, and temperature shock. All three models will be available this month with starting prices of $1,329, $1,449, and $1,699

Intel officially launched its Ivy Bridge laptops processors earlier this week, and now Sony is refreshing its entire lineup of VAIO computers with the new CPUs. Yes, every single model has been updated with Intel's third-generation Core processors — from the luxurious Z series to the all-new T series ultrabook to the L series all-in-one (that's not to forget the VAIO S and VAIO E laptops), and we have specs, prices, and launch dates. Let's get started, shall we?

Samsung has already released its first Ivy Bridge laptop in the form of the Series 7 Gamer, but now that Intel has officially launched its less powerful and ultra low-voltage processors, the company has decided it's time to refresh its lineup. First up is a wholly new model, an entertainment-focused laptop called the Series 5 Boost (pictured above). So far it's only been announced in Korea, but we do know a bit about the machine. It'll come in either 15- or 17-inch screen configurations, both of which have a 300-nit, 1600 x 900 panel. On the audio side of things the machines use JBL-sourced stereo speakers paired with a subwoofer. The system will come with either a Core i5 or Core i7 Ivy Bridge processor and it'll be relying on Intel's improved integrated graphics when in battery-saving mode, thanks to a switchable Nvidia graphics card. It'll have a 1TB hard drive, but, unfortunately, it's not yet known how much the Series 5 Boost will cost or when it'll be available.

Other than the all-new model, Samsung has gone through and given its Series 9, Series 5, and Series 3 laptops mild refreshes with Intel's latest Ivy Bridge processors. We heard a while ago that Samsung was going to give its super-slim Series 9 laptops the new processors, and now the new model has arrived. The 13.3-inch system is priced at $1,299.99 and its 15-inch brother will cost you $100 more. Both models are powered by Intel's 1.7GHz, ultra low-voltage Core i5-3317U processor, and have been upgraded to support Bluetooth 4.0. On the hardware end very little has changed — they have the same 1600 x 900 displays in the same beautiful, sleek body, though they're now 0.1 pounds lighter and 0.1 inches thinner.

Intel's third-generation Core processors launched over a month ago, but only the most powerful ones: today, Chipzilla's dual-core and ultra-low voltage (ULV) chips are official, meaning we'll soon start to see mainstream and ultrathin laptops on sale that include the new processors. In fact, Intel says it has a whopping 110 different ultrabooks in the pipeline now, and plans to double the number of qualifying laptops on the market (currently 21) over the course of the next month. Fully 30 of those 110 laptops have touchscreens, and 10 are convertible designs. Some ultrabooks, an Intel rep tells us, will even arrive at that promised $699 price point.

We've discussed the theoretical benefits of Ivy Bridge at length, but while we're on the subject of ultrabooks, Intel has another announcement to share: a revised definition of what it takes to build an ultrabook to begin with. Here's the full list of requirements:

Dell has been relatively quiet on the all-in-one PC front, but they haven't been idle. Today, it's announcing a fresh new look for it's Inspiron One all-in-ones, as well as lending the performance-oriented XPS brand to a new 27-inch all-in-one PC. The XPS One 27 all-in-one starts at $1,399, and it's equipped with a 27-inch display (a first for Dell) running at a 2560 x 1440 quad-HD resolution. Pixel density becomes especially important when you're dealing with a desktop this large, and during our (admittedly limited) hands on time the XPS One 27 didn't disappoint: images appeared bright and vibrant, while text and video complemented the spacious resolution well.

While attractive, the design isn't especially fresh. The edge-to-edge glass is a nice touch and complements the aluminum frame, but it sits on a fairly typical pedestal stand; you'll get a few degrees of tilt, but it lacks height adjustment options. The XPS One 27 also lacks a touchscreen — a common thread for the few 27-inch all-in-ones on the market.

Dell's business-focused Latitude series is reportedly getting an ultrabook-style makeover, with a new, slimmed down model called the Latitude 6430u. The rumor comes to us courtesy Tweakers.net, which reports that the new laptop will be just 20.9-millimeters thick (0.82-inches), making it a shade thinner than its predecessor, the Latitude E6420. The laptop will also reportedly include a 14-inch screen with a 1366 x 768 resolution, an aluminum body, 8GB of memory, and up to 250GB of storage. It'll also have a 1.74-pound battery that's easily removable, come packed with either a Core i3, i5, or i7 Ivy Bridge processor, and include a fingerprint reader and smartcard reader as optional features. The specs are quite similar to another business focused Ivy Bridge laptop — the HP EliteBook Folio 9470m. Dell has yet to officially announce the 6430u, and for now we have no details on when it's expected to ship or how much it'll cost.

Sony has announced a refresh of its VAIO S Series laptops, along with a pair of new E Series models. The S Series will come with a choice of 13.3- and 15.5-inch displays; the 15.5-inch model has a 1080p IPS screen, while the 13.3-incher doesn't have its resolution specified — we're going to go ahead and assume that, like the previous generation S Series, it'll max out at 1600 x 900. The larger model will feature a 22nm Ivy Bridge Core i7-3612QM 2.1GHz quad-core processor, 8GB of RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce GT 640M LE discrete GPU, alongside Intel's HD Graphics 4000 integrated chip. There's a generous 1TB of storage on board, along with Bluetooth 4.0, two USB 3.0 ports, a single USB 2.0 port, and a 1.31-megapixel webcam. Both models will have SSD storage options.

The 13.3-inch model is a bit of an enigma at present, but one thing known for sure is that it will arrive with a choice of Core i5 and i7 processors. Sony will sell a sheet battery add-on for both laptops that offers up to 14 hours of battery life, along with a docking station that features a 500GB hard drive. The additional storage can be used to automatically back up your data or used as a standard external hard drive.

Lenovo has refreshed their entire ThinkPad lineup for 2012, bringing Intel's 3rd-generation Core processors to bear on their business-centric hardware. Lenovo's entire refreshed lineup packs Intel's Ivy Bridge CPUs, USB 3.0, and the company's new Thinkpad Precision Keyboard.

We had a chance to get some hands-on time with these machines recently, and the revamped keyboard doesn't disappoint. It offers the comfortable, accurate typing experience we've come to expect from Lenovo's wares, coupled with optional backlighting. Lenovo is also including the latest version of their Enhanced Experience platform — version 3.0 adds the latest iteration of Lenovo's RapidBoot and BootShield technologies, which promises to keep boot times under 30 seconds. Lenovo's Rapid Charge technology makes its debut on some units; Lenovo claims it will charge a laptop's battery up to about 80 percent in as little as 30 minutes. Some models will also offer 4G mobile connectivity. On to the PCs!

Lenovo unveiled a blitz of refreshed ThinkPad laptops today, each sporting a redesigned keyboard and Intel Ivy Bridge chips, but it had one surprise in store: the ThinkPad X1 Carbon. As you'd guess, the carbon stands for carbon fiber, that exceptionally desirable material that manages to simultaneously be thin, light, strong, and stiff, and thanks to Lenovo's carbon fiber chassis, the company's crafted a 14-inch laptop that weighs just three pounds and is 18 millimeters thick at its thickest point.

Fujitsu has announced its summer lineup of Lifebook laptops for Japan, and it's full of world firsts. First up is the "world's thinnest ultrabook," the UH75, which measures just 15.9mm at its thickest point. That's actually 0.9mm thicker than the last world's thinnest ultrabook we heard about from Acer, but then Fujitsu goes on to call it the "world's thinnest LCD notebook with an integrated hard drive," so perhaps it just needs to give Intel's ultrabook specifications another read. In any case, the laptop comes in red or silver and ships on May 17th with an Ivy Bridge processor.

Next up is the SH76, which can lay claim to the title of "world's thinnest 13.3-inch wide-format LCD notebook PC with an integrated optical disk drive" at 23.2mm at its thickest point and 16.6mm at its thinnest. Fujitsu claims nearly 14 hours of battery life for the laptop, which also has 128GB of SSD storage. Like the UH75, it'll ship on May 17th in Japan.