GAMER PC PC : DISCUSSION

The Best Gaming Notebook Money Can't Buy
Posted in Gamer PC | June 1, 2009 9pm

I'm a bit of a Left 4 Dead addict. I have been a PC gamer for close to 27 years now, if you count those myriad hours spent banging away on my first Commodore 64, and I've come to the decision that Left 4 Dead ranks in my top three all-time guilty pleasures. I can't even fathom how much time I spent scrambling through levels in Impossible Mission on the C64. The first Unreal Tournament probably cost me my job at the time. And now, whenever I can squeeze in a few minutes of carnage, I fire up Left 4 Dead. It's just the kind of mindless fun that gets me fired up. I neither have the attention span nor time for a MMORPG and strategy games just don't do it for me. Plus, the camaraderie that develops over a round of L4D can be awesome--I've played with soldiers deployed in Iraq, young kids playing hooky from school, grouchy old, bearded bikers, you name it. Cooperative multi-player gaming is where it's at. Wouldn't you agree?
There is only one thing that would elevate my L4D experience to a whole new level--being able to play it wherever I can flip open my laptop. There are just too many shortcomings with most truly-mobile machines to make them truly ideal for work and play. That got me thinking about what features I'd like to see in my ultimate gaming notebook. Obviously a fast CPU and GPU and plenty of memory are paramount. A high-quality, fast, anti-glare screen, great integrated speakers, and an SSD would be nice as well--but you all could have guessed those things.

Left 4 Dead: I Prefer The Auto-Shotty, But The Assault Rifle Will Do
The features you can't find in any of today's gaming notebooks are what I really crave. For example, the cramp confines of a notebook make it difficult to find a comfortable hand position while gaming using the keyboard and mouse. I'd love it if a notebook manufacturer designed a split keyboard that gave users the ability to twist the WASD side of the keyboard outwards, which would allow for a more natural wrist angle. IBM used to have slide-out  keyboards on some older ThinkPads--adding another hinge to one side of a similar keyboard couldn't be that much more difficult to implement. I'd also really like to see Microsoft or Logitech wireless gaming mouse transceivers integrated into a notebook, to eliminate the need to plug in a separate transmitter. I think it would make for an interesting feature if gamers could just throw the wireless mouse from their desktop machines into their laptop bag and seamlessly pair it up with a notebook when necessary, without the need to grab the dongle / transmitter as well. I'd also love to see notebook manufactures offer some sort of packet inspection technology that prioritized gaming packets over Wi-Fi. Wireless networking isn't very gamer -friendly, but with a quality NIC and software that prioritizes the game data, the overall experience could be greatly enhanced. That's something even Francis wouldn't hate.
Here's hoping someone with some pull in high places reads this, and agrees with me. Would any of you like to see features like these available in a gaming notebook? Have some better ideas?  I'd love to hear them. Or we can just chat about gaming from back in the day...

NETBOOK PC PC : DISCUSSION

NVIDIA Ion: Supercharging The Atom
Posted in Netbook PC | May 25, 2009 9am

Intel's Atom processor has been a huge success in the netbook market. The diminutive processor virtually sips power, it doesn't put off much heat, and it's relatively inexpensive as well. All of these attributes make Atom a perfect candidate for a highly mobile, affordable, ultra small form factor PC. There are a couple of common gripes with regard to Atom, however. The first is that the processor is underpowered in light of the current generation of mobile CPUs. And the second is the Intel 945G chipset. The 945G chipset Atom is usually paired with is based on aging technology, it consumes more power than the CPU itself, and its integrated graphics controller leaves much to be desired.
Well aware of the 945G chipset's shortcomings as they relate to Atom, NVIDIA has been promoting its Ion platform for months. Ion pairs the Intel Atom processor with a single-chip core logic chipset complete with a DX10 capable graphics core. Pairing Atom to the NVIDIA Ion chipset doesn't change the Atom processor's performance per say, but it does change the performance of the entire platform and also enables new features and functionality, not possible with the Atom / 945G combination. With Ion, fluid full resolution HD video playback is possible. And so is casual gaming. Ion doesn't offer the kind of 3D performance to churn though today's hottest gaming titles--partly due to the performance limitations of the Atom processor--but the GPU is capable of running virtually game out there, whereas the 945G cannot. Being equipped with a CUDA-capable GPU also gives Ion the ability to run GPU accelerated applications like vReveal, Nero Move It, Cyberlink Power Director and many others.
To date, NVIDIA's few officially announced Ion design wins have been relegated to a mini-ITX motherboard from Zotac and a small form factor nettop PC from Acer, the Aspire Revo. By the time you read this though, news of a new Lenovo netbook platform, the S12, will have it. The S12 will feature NVIDIA's Ion platform in a 12.1" netbook form factor. When it arrives, the Ion-equipped Lenovo S12 (there are Intel and VIA based versions coming as well) will have a leg up on competing offerings outfitted with inferior graphics processors and could prove to be the next "hot" netbook to hit the market.
Pricing of the S12, which will likely be around $600, might make the machine less attractive to some consumers who may prefer to go with a full-powered notebook in that price range. Whatever happens though, I hope more manufacturers follow Lenovo's lead. The Atom processor is simply being held back by the 945G chipset and Ion helps to alleviate that problem.

NOTEBOOK PC PC : DISCUSSION

My Ideal Notebook
Posted in Notebook PC | May 18, 2009 7am

Now that I've gotten some pet peeves out of the way in a few of my previous posts, I thought it was about time to get in the WePC spirit and write about what I'd consider to be the ideal notebook. I've got some specifications and features in mind that I think will appeal to a broad range of users. Hopefully you'll all agree, the right people will see this, and I'll be able to buy the machine sometime in the not too distant future. I've got some stimulus money burning a hole in my pocket and have the itch to upgrade...
As someone who makes a living behind a keyboard, I've grown to appreciate the speed of a powerful PC, the massive desktop real estate of a large, high-resolution monitor, and the feel of quality input devices.  My ideal notebook, however, has to be relatively thin and light. And I don't want anything bulky since it'll constantly get carried around to various trade shows and industry events. With all of that in mind--and drawing on past experiences with numerous notebooks--I feel  a notebook with a 13.3" to 14.1" widescreen would be ideal. At that size, the screen could offer a high enough resolution--say something in the 1440x900 to 1680x1050 range--to be useful with multiple windows open, yet the machine would be small enough to easily fit in any carry-on luggage.  A notebook in this size range can also have a full sized keyboard with a standard layout, which is an absolute must. See my previous post titled "Enhancing The Notebook Computing Experience" for other keyboard requirements.
My ideal notebook also needs to offer high-performance and relatively long battery life. That means a fast, multi-core processor, at least 4GB of RAM running in a dual-channel configuration, discreet graphics with dedicated video memory, and an SSD for the operating system and important applications. A low-voltage, multi-core processor would be preferable to keep power consumption as low as possible. The GPU should also be relatively powerful, but gaming wouldn't be a primary use for the machine. I would like the GPU to offer full HD video offloading and acceleration for applications in the Adobe Creative Suite. The SSD for the OS would not require a high capacity, maybe something in the 64GB - 80GB range, because the notebook would also feature a secondary drive bay to house a standard, high capacity, 2.5" hard drive.  The hard drive, however, would be housed in a cartridge that's easily removable and the notebook would include a small hard drive dock that connects to my main office PC.  This would allow me to remove the hard drive from the notebook, plug it right into my desktop machine, and have access to pertinent files.
I guess I could go on and on about what I'd want in a notebook, but I think you get the gist. Small, powerful, and feature rich are the underlying themes. There's no reason a notebook can't be thin and light, and fast, if the right components are used throughout.

NETBOOK PC PC : DISCUSSION

The Incredible Shrinking Netbook
Posted in Netbook PC | May 11, 2009 12pm

When viable netbooks first hit the scene a couple of years back, Sony's SVP of the company's Information Technology Products Division in the U.S. was quoted as saying netbooks represented a "race to the bottom". The point he was trying to get across was that smaller, less powerful, systems could potentially have a detrimental impact on the overall PC market, due to the somewhat degraded user experience offered by the machines in comparison to more powerful, full-blown notebooks.
Of course, the market has spoken since then, and netbooks are an undeniable success. But that's partly because the more prolific and nimble netbook manufactures took a detour on that supposed race to the bottom.
If you remember back to the release of the original Asus Eee PC, the machines had a miniscule amount of storage and small 7" screens. They were still quite popular as secondary or tertiary mobile PCs, but a funny thing happened once consumers got their hands on the tiny systems in mass quantities. Despite the relatively low prices a large contingent of users expected more, even though they many of them went into the purchase knowing full well that a netbook wouldn't offer the same kind of computing experience as a notebook. Netbook manufacturers seems to listen to consumers closely, however.  Take Asus, for example. Over time, the Eee PC line expanded to the point where the most sought after models featured larger screens, faster processors, better keyboards, and standard mobile hard drives--just like more powerful notebooks.
Instead of racing to the bottom, netbooks have generally climbed up a few rungs on the evolutionary ladder. The market didn't become filled with smaller, cheaper, lighter netbooks, but rather the machines morphed into slightly larger, more sophisticated machines than their early predecessors. That's a great development, and one that I hope continues. As much as I can appreciate and understand the appeal of an inexpensive, ultra mobile netbook, I feel consumers are better served by the slightly larger more refined products available today. There is a point where a netbook become too small, and it hinders the experience. Where that point is will obviously differ from user to  user, but I think the vast majority of us can agree that low resolution screens smaller than 8.9" - 10.1" and keyboards so small it's difficult for an adult to push a single key at a time are pushing the limits of usefulness.