Intel Selling Upgrade Card to Unlock

Intel is asking customers to pay extra if they want the full power of their store-bought silicon. An eagle-eyed Engadget reader was surfing the Best Buy shelves when he noticed this $50 card --


and sure enough, Intel websites confirm -- that lets you download software to unlock extra threads and cache on the new Pentium G6951 processor. The chip actually have a full 1MB of L3 cache that's enabled plus HyperThreading support.

This 'new' idea is similar to online games idea that let you "BUY" extra weapons and features with voucher cards. Still, it's an intriguing business model, and before you unleash your rage in comments, you should know that Intel's just testing it out on this low-end processor in a few select markets for now (United States, Canada, the Netherlands, and Spain).

In fact, this is the very first time in history, when a hardware maker enables a software upgrade. Interestingly, how much time will it take hackers to enable the application to all owners of Pentium-based systems? Or maybe that was indeed the plan to slowdown sales of CPUs by Advanced Micro Devices?

AMD Zacate Demo Video

Demonstration of AMD's upcoming Fusion architecture Accelerated Processing Unit code named "Zacate." In the video Simon Solotko demonstrates accelerated web applications, flash video, 3D gaming, and HD video playback on the 18W TDP dual core APU "Zacate."



Zacate has two x86 cores fused together with a DirectX 11 graphics engine. AMD continues to claim that this architecture will work very well in ultra mobile form factors and that it will also be affordable.

Here are some pics of a running AMD Bobcat platform, specifically a Zacate APU running City of Heroes: Going Rogue.


The Zacates compared with a coin:

AMD's new stickers

AMD is working on new stickers that manufacturers put on their computers - the stickers, which have been around a while let the consumer know what type of products are inside.


We're used to see the Intel Inside, Centrino, AMD's Better by Design stickers, AMD's Vision or nVidia's sticker and of course the one for Windows, but now things may be getting out of hand when some machines are labeled "Skype Ready".

What's worse is that these stickers are often hard to remove, and can either tear or leave a residue that requires a cleaning job. The reasoning behind the stickers is that companies pay the manufacturer for the 'ad space' of placing a sticker right on the palm rest of a laptop.

AMD knows that computer logo stickers are getting out of hand, and for that reason has consolidated many of its logos into the Vision branding program. Right now, in fact, AMD's logo stickers are optional and vendors that choose not to use the sticker are not penalized in terms of marketing dollars.

AMD is designing case badge stickers to be less sticky. The new stickers will be able to be peeled off more easily, and with little to no residue left behind. This clearly shows that they are taking it a step further and siding with the end users who take them off anyway. If only Microsoft would follow this advice. AMD's new stickers should be out sometime next year.

Toshiba's Nile-powered Satellite T235D

For someone who still considers 13" notebooks to offer the best blend of portability and functionality, we saw a lot to like in the Toshiba Satellite T235D. Weighing less than four pounds and measuring only 0.7" at its thinnest point, the larger form factor gets you not just a bigger LCD panel, but also a larger keyboard and touchpad.


Processor AMD Turion II Neo K625 1.5GHz
Memory 4GB DDR3-800 (2 DIMMs)
Chipset AMD M880G
Graphics Mobility Radeon HD 4225 integrated graphics
Display 13.3" TFT with WXGA (1366x768) resolution and LED backlight
Storage Toshiba MK3265GSX 320GB 2.5" 5,400 RPM hard drive
Audio Stereo HD audio via Realtek codec
Ports 2 USB 2.0,1 eSATA/USB 2.0 combo port,1 HDMI
1 VGA, 1 RJ45 10/100 Ethernet via Realtek controller
1 analog headphone output,1 analog microphone input
Expansion slots 1 MMC/SDHC
Communications 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi via Atheros AR9285
Input devices Chiclet keyboard
Synaptics capacitive touchpad
Internal microphone
Camera 0.3-megapixel webcam
Dimensions 12.7" x 8.8" x 0.7-1.03" (323 x 224 x 18-26 mm)
Weight 3.9 lbs (1.8 kg)
Battery 6-cell Li-Ion (61 Wh)


This particular variant of the T235D-S1345 sells for $599.99 at Newegg. The cheapest 13" laptops with Intel CULV processors, like Acer's Aspire AS3810TZ or Toshiba's own T235-S1310, are priced almost identically at around $590-600.