1. Trying to saw a two-by-four alone looks awfully stressful: our moustachioed French hero has grown three heads in his panic. But recruiting a team of builders gets that barn made like they were Amish (though we all know the lazy French are incapable of such efficiency).
2. If you link arms, you can make kick-ass birdhouses. But watch out for the ghostly silhouettes inching ever closer.
3. Tools required to make birdhouses/barns/Core 2 Duo processors include: a chainsaw, a syringe, multiple dustpans, and a pastel scarf rakishly knotted around the neck. Optional but strongly recommended: party hats.
4. Doing basic arithmetic makes French barnbuilders very content.
5. OH GOD they've grown multiple heads again! At least people seem to be buying their barns, which apparently have shrunk into shoebox-sized models somewhere between here and the first panel.
6. Something awful has happened. Our heroic Frenchmen are now plugged directly into electrical outlets, with internal temperature monitoring. Is this some kind of Shyamalanianian twist and they were robots the entire time? This narrative ends on such a disturbing note. [Sony, thanks Christopher!]

Lenovo's X301 and HP's 2530p already use the new chips. The SL9400 and SL9300 running at 1.8Ghz and 1.6GHz, respectively, both have a 1066MHz FSB and appear to be the Core 2 Duo Low Voltage (LV) chips with a TDP of 17W, while the SU9400 and SU9300 are the ULV variants, clocked at 1.4GHz and 1.2GHz with a 10W TDP.

While the clock speeds of the LV chips are the same as the MBA's, the switch to the 45nm process and faster front-side bus should yield both performance gains and power savings. More importantly, their ready availability for all-comers could make the ultra-thin market a lot more interesting, though we're kind of afraid at this point of what Asus will do with them. [Ars Technica]

Indeed, the Core 2 Duo E8500 was comparable in performance to lower clocked quad-core chips, proving the viability of the Wolfdale architecture. The chip is likely to retail at the +$300 mark and that seems to be the only drawback—it is a little on the steep side. Regardless, the Hot Hardware fellows were still willing to give the Core 2 Duo E8500 the highly coveted "Recommended" badge, and if their test results ring true, we would not disagree. Hit the link to check out the extensive testing [Hot Hardware]

A chain partner revealed to us that a new model of MacBook is coming out as soon as next week, which is pretty ridiculous if we do say so ourselves. However, since PC makers are making the transition to Santa Rosa very soon, it's not out of the question that Apple will as well—maybe as soon as WWDC. After all, it's been more than a year since the switch to Intel, and they should be pretty good with this stuff by now. What do you think? – Jason Chen

• MacBook 1.83GHz Intel Core 2 Duo - White for $1099 - $150 instant savings = $949 shipped. 13.3-inch Widescreen Glossy LCD, 512MB RAM, 60GB hard drive, Combo Drive, iSight Camera, iLife software.
• MacBook 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo - White for $1299 - $200 instant savings = $1099 shipped. 13.3-inch Widescreen Glossy LCD, 1GB RAM, 80GB hard drive, Super Drive, iSight Camera, iLife software.
• MacBook 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo - Black for $1499 - $200 instant savings = $1299 shipped. 13.3-inch Widescreen Glossy LCD, 1GB RAM, 120GB hard drive, Super Drive, iSight Camera, iLife software.

As always, the Apple Special Deals store has Dual Core systems of all types, but we need SPEED baby! The discounts are available while supplies last. –Travis Hudson

Product Page [Via Dealhack]

Yes, it's a new-but-not-really Sony notebook, the upgraded VAIO C series with chic and totally superfluous new colors like "espresso black, shell white, coral pink, summer sky blue, urban grey and fresh green," probably chosen by Hello Kitty and the Teen Girl Squad while on tour in Japan, where they will be available in April.

Thankfully, there's more than colors in the air and they have refreshed processors too, starting with the Celeron M 430 at 1.73 GHz and reaching up to the 2.16 GHz Core 2 Duo T7400. Sadly, the new versions have the same 1.280 x 800 pixels 13.3-inch display, although this time the top of the line is powered by the NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400 card instead of the previous (and lame) Intel GMA 950 chipset. And of course, they all come with yet another license of Windows Vista Home Premium, so Steve can get his cake and eat it too. – Jesus Diaz

Press release (Japanese) [Sony via Akihabara News]

I chose my favorite up top made by team BICOM. It has a laser-cut touch-sensitive front panel that provides force-feedback when your fingers come close to the buttons (hit the jump for a vid on how it was made). The others, to me, are looking a little fugly. What do you guys think?

– Louis Ramirez
Voting Page [via Reg Hardware]

It's actually pretty cool, that is unless you're this guy. Just kidding we're not particularly good dancers here at Gizmodo, that's why you didn't see us dancing.– Ben Longo and video by Richard Blakeley

P.S. Any green screeners out there want to take a crack at this? Let us know Ben@gizmodo.com

All this durability comes at a price, though: depending on configuration, you'll spend around $4000 for the 10.4" screen Toughbook-19, and around $4500 for a fully-equipped Toughbook-30 (pictured above) with its 13.3" screen. Still, it's probably worth it if you're taking your laptop along when you go bungee jumping. – Charlie White

More luminous TOUGHBOOKs! [Akihabara News]

AMD [Press Release]

The Pursuit goes for $999, and has a 15.4-inch screen, 80GB hard disk, 1GB of RAM, DVDRW, Intel Extreme Graphics 2, a 1.3-megapixel webcam, and a 1.66GHz Core 2 Duo T5500. Good for your home office or for your kids as Christmas presents, seeing as they're tired of bumming laptops off their dorm-mates because you were too cheap to buy one for back-to-school. – Jason Chen

Update: Not the first Core 2 Duo under a grand. Thanks Xavier.

Product Site [Systemax via Mobile Mag]

If you're in the mood for a 12-inch PowerBook, they still have refurbished models of those going for $1199 down from their old original price of $1699. – Jason Chen

Refurb Store [Apple]

The other upgrades: Larger allotments of RAM in the standard configs, up to 200 GB of HD, and a dual layer DVD-burning Superdrive. That's it.

I will declare it: The golden age of mind blowing Apple computer hardware announcements are dead...until the next keynote. –Brian Lam

Macbooks get Core 2 Duo [Apple]

Scoring times in photoshop a full 24 seconds faster in Photoshop, and 45 seconds faster in Compressor, the Core 2 Duo models quite speedy, but not 39% faster. In fact, in some tests they were only marginally faster (a time of 1:06 down to 1:01, time of 0:58 to 0:54, and frame rate of 59 to 63.9). In tasks that were more processor oriented, the Core 2 Duo's speed improvements were "substantial". In disk or graphics intensive tasks, were quite a bit smaller. Just be aware what kind of performance gains you're getting when you upgrade to a Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro. – Jason Chen

Benchmarks: MacBook Pro gets its Core 2 Duo boost [MacWorld]

The refurbs offer the same warranty as new models, so you get the same protection if this ever dies. If you're not impressed with the marginal speed increases of Core 2 Duos, or if you're looking to save a few bucks, go with these. – Jason Chen

Apple Store [via TUAW]

The diminutive PCs are aimed at home theater users, and if they can just keep that fan noise down, these might be the worthy addition to that shelf of components. However, topping off at a hard disk capacity of 320GB, apparently these home theater PCs (HTPC) aren't aimed at HDTV users.

Although Trigem's a Korean company, we're hoping US designers will follow the lead of Trigem and take notice of this pleasing form factor. Some already have. Case in point: WinBook, whose $1200 Jiv Mini HTPC is undoubtedly on the right track. Gentlemen, start your copiers, and while you're at it, keep them quiet, and make them HDTV CableCard-ready DVRs. – Charlie White

More pics of the lovely ladies and close-ups of the PCs, after the jump.

The new Little Lluon+ with a Core 2 Duo! [Akhihabara News]

In fact, we asked Apple why there was such a lengthy delay, and their response: "Our last updates were less than six months ago." Six months? Apple, thinking different [sic], is the cow's tail. – Charlie White

Just like that, and without fanfare, Apple dropped MacBook Pros with Core 2 Duo processors today. A lot of people have been waiting for these lovelies to come out, and they don't disappoint, offering a 39 percent speed boost double memory and a FireWire 800 port in the same one-inch shell.

There are two 15-inch models that are available today weighing-in at 5.6 lbs. One is a 2.16 GHz and sells for $1,999, then there is a 2.33 GHz for $2,499. The 17-inch MacBook Pro (6.8 lbs) is available starting next week for $2,799.

The highlights:
* Clock Speed up to 2.33 GHz
* 7x faster than the PowerMac G4 notebooks released one year ago
* Hard drive starts at 120GB — this is where the current MacBooks top out — and is configurable for up to 200GB

Battery life is the same on the 17-inch model, but the 15-incher takes a slight hit (shaving 30 minutes off of your wireless productivity versus the current models).

What took them so long? Just interviewed the VP of Product Marketing who responded: "Our last updates were less than six months ago." Dude, that's centuries in laptop time.

Complete specs after the jump: – Noah Robischon

The 2.16 GHz, 15-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $1,999 (US), includes:

— 15.4-inch widescreen 1440 x 900 LCD display with 300 cd/m2 brightness;
— 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor;
— 1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 3GB;
— 120GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion
Sensor;
— a slot-load 6x SuperDrive(TM) with double-layer support (DVD+R
DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
— PCI Express-based ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 128MB GDDR3 memory;
— DVI-out port for external display (VGA-out adapter included,
Composite/S-Video out adapter sold separately);
— built-in Dual Link support for driving Apple 30-inch Cinema HD Display;
— built-in iSight video camera;
— Gigabit Ethernet port;
— built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
— ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;
— two USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800 port, and one FireWire 400 port;
— one audio line in and one headphone out port, each supporting optical
digital audio;
— Scrolling TrackPad and illuminated keyboard;
— the infrared Apple Remote; and
— 85 Watt Apple MagSafe Power Adapter.

The 2.33 GHz, 15-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $2,499 (US), includes:

— 15.4-inch widescreen 1440 x 900 LCD display with 300 cd/m2 brightness;
— 2.33 GHz Intel Core 2Duo processor;
— 2GB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 3GB;
— 120GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion
Sensor;
— a slot-load 6x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+R DL/DVD+/-RW/
CD-RW) optical drive;
— PCI Express-based ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 256MB GDDR3 memory;
— DVI-out port for external display (VGA-out adapter included,
Composite/S-Video out adapter sold separately);
— built-in Dual Link support for driving Apple 30-inch Cinema HD Display;
— built-in iSight video camera;
— Gigabit Ethernet port;
— built-in Airport Extreme wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
— ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;
— two USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800 port, and one FireWire 400 port;
— one audio line in and one headphone out port, each supporting optical
digital audio;
— Scrolling TrackPad and illuminated keyboard;
— the infrared Apple Remote; and
— 85 Watt Apple MagSafe Power Adapter.

The 2.33 GHz, 17-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $2,799 (US), includes:
— 17-inch widescreen 1680 x 1050 LCD display with 300 cd/m2 brightness;
— 2.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor;
— 2GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 3GB;
— 160GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion
Sensor;
— a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+R DL/DVD+/-RW/
CD-RW) optical drive;
— PCI Express-based ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 256MB GDDR3 memory;
— DVI-out port for external display (VGA-out adapter included,
Composite/S-Video out adapter sold separately);
— built-in Dual Link support for driving Apple 30-inch Cinema HD Display;
— built-in iSight video camera;
— Gigabit Ethernet port;
— built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
— ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;
— three USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800 port, and one FireWire 400 port;
— one audio line in and one headphone out port, each supporting optical
digital audio;
— Scrolling TrackPad and illuminated keyboard with ambient light sensor;
— the infrared Apple Remote; and
— 85 Watt Apple MagSafe Power Adapter.

This makes me all happy in my underoos—I've been waiting for the Core 2 Duo MacBooks to be released so I can upgrade my ancient Dell laptop that is just waiting to explode on me. – Travis Hudson

Core 2 Duo MacBook and MacBook Pro due this November? [Engadget]

The A3110 ($1,399) has an AMD Turion 64 x2 dual core processor, and is a bit lighter at 6 pounds. The A6010 is quite similar to the A3110 but with your choice of an Intel Core Duo or Core 2 Duo processor. It's $1149. They're all pretty, and all are available now.

These notebooks look a lot like Dell's offerings inside and out (well, except for that AMD one), with similar pricing, too. Pretty soon you'll be shopping price on notebooks just like you do any other commodity. See more appealing pics of all these luscious laptops, after the jump. – Charlie White

Product Page [Fujitsu]

LifeBook A3110

LifeBook A6010

LifeBook A6010

LifeBook A6420

On Apple's online store, stock MacBook Pros are still shipping immediately, but distributors and reseller partners are getting wait times of 2 to 3 weeks for custom orders. That may just mean they're stocking up in time for the holidays, or it could mean they're ramping down the Core Duos in favor of the Core 2 Duos. We'll have to wait and see.

The new models are reported to be 2.33GHz Core 2 Duos, which should be out in time to make sure Apple has a "Core 2 Duo" notebook presence this holiday. Our recommendation is to wait a few weeks to see what they're up to, just to be on the safe side. – Jason Chen

Apple prepares for Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro ramp [Apple Insider]

Sony's built in 802.11a/b/g wireless connectivity and a DVD burner, and the laptop is nice and light, too: at five pounds, and available in five colors. That makes five reasons why you might want one. Or not. The black and urban grey models will be available next month for $1350, those purdy colors will wait until November to make their debut. – Charlie White

Press Release [Sony Style]

What isn't any clearer, of course, is exactly what kinds of technologies are being worked on. Is it MacBook-related, or is it something so different, so secret, that we can't even comprehend it? Hopefully, the blabbermouth Intel exec just wasn't referring to Core 2 Duo-based MacBook Pro that we expect to hit stores before the holiday rush. – Nicholas Deleon

Intel and Apple in cahoots on several new technologies [AppleInsider]

Nobody knows if the MacBook and MacBook Pro will be updated simultaneously, but guys who professionally guess things don't expect much of an update to either laptop save for the processor. Apparently, Intel shipped Apple a bunch of Core 2 Duos at the end of August, but Apple chose to use them for its iMac. Let's give a round of applause to hearsay! – Nicholas Deleon

Apple to update MacBook lines in time for holidays [AppleInsider]

The machine with the most acclaim? The Dell XPS M1710 Core2Duo gaming laptop. This big boy gets a 2.33Ghz CPU, an Nvidia GeForce Go 7900GTX gaming card, Wireless-N. PC Magazine's all hot and bothered by it, digging deep to come up with the "Awesome" verdict. But our review, patched together from the undead limbs of other reviews, will be better. How does the Dell compare to an HP, and a slightly less endowed Dell Inspiron? See the chart, and jump for choice quotes on each machine.

Frankenreview MEGA XTREME TIMES THREE


Dell XPS M1710 (high end)
"Continues to shine as the best gaming laptop on the market."
"When it comes to 3D games, though, the XPS M1710's new processor alone couldn't provide a performance bump"
- Low gaming resolutions will see performance bump. Higher resolutions will not.
"...quickly dispensed with processor-intensive tasks such as encoding MP3 files and multitasking"
"The biggest improvement comes in my video encoding tests. Thanks to the Intel Core 2 Duo mobile processor, video professionals should see more than a 20 percent differential."
- Edit that furry documentary you've been hanging on to.
-"The M1710's performance scores even surpassed those of the Area-51 m5550, made by Dell's recent acquisition, Alienware, even though both machines have the same processor."
-Doom 3 scores benefited the most from the processor upgrade, leaping 28 percent. Splinter Cell scores also improved by 15 percent.
-Battery life just over 2.5 hours.

Dell XPS M1710 Core 2 Duo Laptop Stat Smather:
Type: Gaming, Media
Operating System: MS Windows XP Media Center
Processor Name: Intel Core Duo T2600
Processor Speed: 2.16-2.33 GHz
RAM: 2048 MB
Weight: 8.8 lb
Screen Size: 17 inches
Screen Size Type: widescreen
Graphics Card: nVidia GeForce Go 7900GTX
Storage Capacity: 100 GB
Wireless: 802.11a/g
Primary Optical Drive: DVD+R D

HP Pavilion dv6000t (Midrange)
"...we love HP's QuickPlay feature for launching and controlling multimedia files"
"...deliver[ed] the best MobileMark 2005 score we've ever seen from a mainstream portable"
"The biggest differences (over 20 percent) can be found on running tasks such as video and audio encoding."
- We love our video.
"Battery life is mediocre, if not disappointing, at a mere 2 hours 27 minutes."
"Battery life was a respectable 3 hours and 39 minutes."
- FIGHT!

HP Pavilion dv6000t Stat Smather
Type: General Purpose, Media
Operating System: MS Windows XP Professional
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo T7400
Processor Speed: 2.16 GHz
RAM: 512 MB
Weight: 6.1 lb
Screen Size: 15.4 inches
Screen Size Type: widescreen
Graphics Card: nVidia GeForce Go 7400
Storage Capacity: 120 GB
Wireless: 802.11a/g
Primary Optical Drive: DVD+R DL

Dell Inspiron E1405 (cheap)
"...the performance gains I had expected from the processor upgrade really didn't come to fruition"
"It appears to be about 10% faster than the proceeding Core Duo"
"...media related tasks will benefit more than office applications will from an upgrade to a system with the T5500 chip"
- Considering the E1405's price, there might be another bottleneck going on here.
"At the end of the day...who can argue with paying the same but getting more?"
- Even if it's just a tiny bit more. – Mark Wilson

Stat Smather for the Dell Inspirion E1405
Type: General Purpose, Value
Operating System: MS Windows XP Media Center
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo T5500
Processor Speed: 1.6 GHz
RAM: 1024 MB
Weight: 5.8 lb
Screen Size: 14.1 inches
Screen Size Type: widescreen
Graphics Card: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
Storage Capacity: 80 GB
Wireless: 802.11a/g
Primary Optical Drive: DVD+R DL

PC Mag [Dell XPS]
PC Mag [HP Pav]
PC Mag [Dell Insp]
CNET
Computer Shopper
Notebook Review
Laptop Mag

Thanks to the increased screen real estate, the iMac's resolution has been upped to 1,920x1,200 and is powered by a 2.16GHz Core 2 Duo. The rest of the system's specs appear to be similar to the 20-inch version, that is, 1GB of RAM, an 8x DL DVD burner and 4MB of L2 cache.

Right now, it looks like it's taking Apple a little while to update all of its online stores to reflect the new addition to the iMac line, but, as the saying goes, the cat's out of the bag now. Converting from Euroland money, the 24-inch iMac will cost around $2,621. – Nicholas Deleon

Product Page [Apple Finland]

This laptop also comes with the essentials: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, ExpressCard, SATA, Acer SignalUp and is all housed in a pretty case. No worries for those planning ahead, this laptop is very Vista-friendly. No word on pricing or availability, but we'll keep you posted. Our guess? Probably well over $2,000 and available in the next month or two. – Travis Hudson

Product Page [Acer]

A Gizmodo reader just sent this screen shot in of task manager running on a server he built for work. It runs 4 processors, that have 2 cores each, with each of those cores hyperthreaded. So...That shows up in Windows as 16 procs. I'll stand back and let the man speak for himself:

Dell PE6800, Quad Processor Dual Core w/Hyperthreading running Win2003-R2 Enterprise. Windows sees all that processor goodness as 16 separate processors. The onboard 26GB of RAM and 3TB of local storage round out this sweet server. Price ? $25k-ish. It's going to be a kickass SQL server machine.

We asked him to send us a picture of it loaded. Since it was a preproduction server, he had to run some apps. Namely, "defrag, scandisk /f, virus scan on all fixed disks, and finally a five minute CPU stress/reliability test" Click to the jump to see how the monster fared.

Swimmingly, I'd say!

I have ordered a Mac mini Core solo with 1GB of RAM last Saturday to use it as a server, and what a surprise when I received the box!

My Mac mini has been upgraded:
- Core Duo 1.66GHz instead of Core Solo 1.5GHz
- HD 100GB instead of 60GB
- and a SuperDrive instead of a Combo!

Thanks Apple !

On the box, the specifications are those of a Mac mini Core Solo...

Who knows if this is just a mistake, or the start of another beautiful revision. As of now, there aren't any changes to the Apple store. Anyone else have a similar experience?–Brian Lam

[Hardmac via Mac Daily News]

Looky what they did with the more-expensive ($580) E6700 Core 2 Duo chip, cranking it up an extra 1GHz from 2.66GHz to a lofty 3.66GHz. Sure, some overclockers are able to exceed 4GHz with that same E6700 Core 2 Duo, but that's only possible when using exotic, expensive and impractical water cooling systems. Without using much more than a 120mm fan and an aftermarket heat sink to cool the over-revving chip, these guys were able to achieve a 33% speedup, calling its performance "astonishing." The tweakage involved is not for the faint of heart, though. See how they did it after the jump. – Charlie White

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 and E6700 Overclocking [TechSpot]

Keep in mind this is just a rumor, and nobody knows whether Apple will do this or not. But if you can wait on your laptop purchase until the 16th of September, it's probably a good idea to. – Jason Chen

Is Next-Gen Apple Laptop Coming Soon? [Mac News World via Crunchgear]

The MP945-VXR will boast, in addition to the Merom, integrated graphics (boo!) in the form of Intel's 945GM chipset, gigabit Ethernet, DVI output, 5.1-channel sound and a DVD burner. Home theater PC, anyone? It sure is small enough to not be an eyesore. – Nicholas Deleon

AOpen mobile-on-desktop PCs enter Core 2 Duo era [The Register]

Shuttle XPC Barebone SD37P2 [Shuttle]

The employee with the older Core Duo AMD had his laptop die over Illinois, whereas the Core 2 Duo guy lasted all the way to the New York descent, where he had to close up shop due to FAA regulations-smegulations.

Check out the video to see examples of why Intel employees should stick to designing chips instead of acting. Swerving around in your seat when playing UT and placing your face in your hands like your dog just died when your laptop runs out of battery does not a convincing video make. – Jason Chen

Video: Long-lasting Intel Core 2 Duo notebooks [CNET]

Then there's our hands-on with a custom version of the Dell Precision Workstation 390. The machine was pumped so full of goods it was almost four times the price of the basic $1,050 configuration. The result? Fast and quiet.

Then there's the latest Alienware Area-51 PC, which will run you $5,000. If you're a little thriftier, there's the $2,400 Dell XPS 410 with a Core 2 Duo E6600. – Jason Chen

The GeForce7900 graphics card, dual TV Tuner, dual-port Firewire Card, and dual 320GB Serial ATA hard drives (configured in RAID0 or 1) gets you a boat-load of performance. Again, the two and a half grand price tag may put this out of range for bargain hunters, but for people who love the bleeding edge Core 2 Duo CPUs, Dell's got a juicy unit with your name on it. – Jason Chen

Dell XPS 410 (Core 2 Duo E6600) [CNET]