In late September — early October, Intel plans to update the lineup of Core i7 processors on the cores generation Ivy Bridge (22 nm). It is expected that within a few months users will witness the announcement of the CPU for laptops Core i7-3740QM, 3840QM and 3940XM, which will replace released in April 3720QM, 3820QM and 3920XM, respectively.



According to the information from web resources, the trio will receive an increase of 100 MHz from the predecessors, retaining the previous TDP and probably the recommended price. A common feature of the new processors is four x86-cores that handle data in 8 threads (Hyper-Threading).


Core i7-3940XM operates at a nominal frequency of 3 GHz, equipped with 8 MB cache of the third level, two-channel controllers DDR3-1333/1600, graphics subsystem Intel HD 4000. There is support for dynamic overclocking Turbo Boost, Virtualization VT-x and VT-d, new commands AES and instructions AVX. TDP 3940XM is 55 watts.


Core i7-3840QM has almost …

The elaboration of completely new APUs, codenamed Kaveri, compelled AMD work up one more suitable CPU socket – FM2+. Once after its launch, the leading manufacturers of motherboards have reacted on-the-fly, releasing proprietary models for a new platform. Asus, as usual, was among the first to introduce fresh solutions. Motherboard A88X-Pro is remarkable by the support of upcoming APUs, though it will be still possible to incorporate hybrid processors of the current generation for Socket FM2. For sure, this is not a mere advantage of the board. Let’s have a look at some other specs.



Key Peculiarities


Asus A88X-Pro is developed on AMD A88X chipset and houses an onboard Radeon HD 7000/8000 series graphics. The PCB allots 4 DIMM slots for DDR3 SDRAM modules. An overall capacity of modules set might achieve 64 GB, whereas an ultimate supported clock frequency makes up 2400 MHz. Expansion section is not as bright as a demanding customer would desire; nonetheless, it …

Gigabyte has replenished its line of mini-ITX motherboards with a new remarkable model: the GA-E2100N. The product is targeting the segment of small-sized desktops or home media systems. It is based on AMD Kabini platform for Socket AM1 and equipped with AMD E1-2100 SoC with passive cooling solution. Featuring 170x170 mm, the board offers the whole range of facilities any modern full-sized model avails.



The integrated into Gigabyte GA-E2100N chip comes with an in-built Radeon HD 8210 graphics core with the support for DirectX 11.1 standard and with 1 MB of L2 cache. The chip operates at 1 GHz frequency, consuming not more than 9 W power. SoC is accompanied by two slots for the installation of up to 32 GB DDR3 memory modules with the maximal frequency of 1333 MHz.


The PCB is designed according to Gigabyte Ultra Durable 4 Plus template. It presumes the employment of high-quality components serving to protect the system from humidity, electrostatic discharge, voltage …