Zotac's Cedar Trail ZBOX ID80 Uses Discrete GPU

Intel announced its 32nm Atom platform for netbooks/nettops at the end of last year. Codenamed Cedar Trail the new Atom doesn't really change CPU performance all that much but includes a new GPU block from Imagination Technologies. The PowerVR SGX 545 comes with all Cedar Trail Atom CPUs by default, however it looks like due to driver issues the integrated graphics on the very first Cedar Trail systems will be disabled.

Zotac's ZBOX ID80 is the first Cedar Trail nettop we've seen announced and it ships with Cedar Trail graphics disabled. In its stead Zotac is using a GeForce GT 520M from NVIDIA. I'm hearing that fixed drivers for Cedar Trail, enabling integrated graphics, will be available sometime in February although that will really only matter for new systems as the DVI/HDMI outputs on the ID80 are directly wired to the onboard 520M.

The ID80 uses an updated version of Zotac's ZBOX chassis (no word on the changes yet) with support for two DDR3-1066 SO-DIMMs and a single 2.5" 3Gbps SSD/HDD. The ID80 Plus is the same platform but it comes equipped with 2GB of DDR3 and a 320GB 5400RPM hard drive. 

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Computex 2011: MSI's Brazos, Cedar Trail and Tegra 2 Tablets

I met with MSI yesterday, a company that has been going through a bit of an  identity crisis as of late. ASUS is the only motherboard manufacturer that really made the transition from a component vendor to something more than that. MSI is trying its best to go back to its roots and develop a strategy that will work for it in the long run.

Tablets are of course a big deal these days and MSI had a number of tablets in its Windpad line on display.

 First off we have the Windpad 120W, a Cedar Trail based tablet (32nm Atom). Unfortunately, although Intel promised fanless designs for Cedar Trail it looks like the Windpad 120W will use a small, slow spinning fan to help keep it cool. The 10-inch tablet will have WiDi support for wireless video streaming similar to what you can get on an Arrandale or Sandy Bridge notebook today. It's unclear what formats or resolutions will be supported. Presumably Cedar Trail isn't going to have the transcoding performance of a Sandy Bridge so you should lower your expectations for WiDi on Atom accordingly. Pricing and availability are TBD on the 120W.

 Next up is a Brazos version of the 120W, the Windpad 110W. We get a similar chassis but a C-series APU inside. Pricing will be around $599 for the Windows 7 equipped tablet. Finally, MSI also has its Windpad 100A, a Tegra 2 based tablet running Android. Currently the tablet is running 2.3.3, however MSI's goal is to release it either with Honeycomb or Ice Cream Sandwich late this year. The industrial design on the Windpad will change by then, hopefully to a thinner form factor. 

 We'll see a sooner release from MSI running Gingerbread, in a chassis that likely looks very similar to what you see here. {gallery 1106}]]>

Computex 2011: MSI's Brazos, Cedar Trail and Tegra 2 Tablets

I met with MSI yesterday, a company that has been going through a bit of an  identity crisis as of late. ASUS is the only motherboard manufacturer that really made the transition from a component vendor to something more than that. MSI is trying its best to go back to its roots and develop a strategy that will work for it in the long run.

Tablets are of course a big deal these days and MSI had a number of tablets in its Windpad line on display.

 First off we have the Windpad 120W, a Cedar Trail based tablet (32nm Atom). Unfortunately, although Intel promised fanless designs for Cedar Trail it looks like the Windpad 120W will use a small, slow spinning fan to help keep it cool. The 10-inch tablet will have WiDi support for wireless video streaming similar to what you can get on an Arrandale or Sandy Bridge notebook today. It's unclear what formats or resolutions will be supported. Presumably Cedar Trail isn't going to have the transcoding performance of a Sandy Bridge so you should lower your expectations for WiDi on Atom accordingly. Pricing and availability are TBD on the 120W.

 Next up is a Brazos version of the 120W, the Windpad 110W. We get a similar chassis but a C-series APU inside. Pricing will be around $599 for the Windows 7 equipped tablet. Finally, MSI also has its Windpad 100A, a Tegra 2 based tablet running Android. Currently the tablet is running 2.3.3, however MSI's goal is to release it either with Honeycomb or Ice Cream Sandwich late this year. The industrial design on the Windpad will change by then, hopefully to a thinner form factor. 

 We'll see a sooner release from MSI running Gingerbread, in a chassis that likely looks very similar to what you see here. {gallery 1106}]]>

Cedar Trail from Intel to go ahead Intel’s Oak Trail

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Intel Atom platform, codenamed Oak Trail is already success in the market to fulfill consumer need and Intel also claimed it has racked up over 35 innovative tablet and hybrid designs from multiples companies, including Evolve III, Fujitsu Limited, Lenovo and etc.

In the future, Intel convince to consumer that they will give a sneak peak of it’s next-gen, 322nm platform, codenamed Cedar Trail. It will help to enable a new gen of fanless, cool and quite, sleek and innovative netbook, entry-level desktop, or even a smartphone.

Cedar Trail will have some feature improvements in graphic capabilities, Blue-Ray 2.0 support, a dedicated media engine for full 1080p playback, and additional digital display HDMI output, and Display Port. And the other features is that they will include Intel Wireless Music, Intel Wireless Display, PC Sync, and Fast Boot.

 And Intel also said that they will launch their new product in mid-range of 2011. So, just wait and see how this shows it abilities.