By David Ponce

That image is another editor’s idea of you jizzing in your pants at the thought of being able to overclock your processor with the manufacturer’s blessings. It’s an apt metaphor, as overclocking has usually been done at your own risks. To have this condoned, well… that’s pretty awesome. Of course, Intel will charge you for these blessings, but it’s not a huge sum. As you can see from the image, anywhere from $20 to $35 will get you extra coverage should your frenzied gaming needs result in a melted chip, from select models of course:

The Performance Tuning Protection Plan being offered by Intel is a chance for you to experiment with the overclocking features of your processor without the worries of what will happen if you push the procesor too far. The Plan allows you a single processor replacement, hassle-free, from our customer support. This is in addtion to your standard 3 year warranty. In other words, if it fails under normal usage, we will replace it under the standard warranty; if it fails while running outside of Intel’s specifications, we will replace it under the Performance Tuning Protection Plan.

So what we are saying is this: Go ahead and push it, we’ve got your back.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ Technabob ]

By Shane McGlaun

I have yet to jump on the SSD bandwagon and most consumers are probably the same way. I have tested netbooks with SSDs inside and while the performance gains installing applications and booting the systems are noticeable, they aren’t enough to justify the extra cost in my book.

The price of SSDs is coming down, albeit slowly. Kingston has a new SSD upgrade kit that is now available called the SSDNow M Series that comes with all the gear you need to install an SSD inside your desktop computer or notebook.

The kit is available with a 80GB or a 160GB Intel X-25M SATA SSD, Acronis True Image hard drive cloning software, a USB enclosure for notebooks, 2.5″ to 3.5″ drive bay mounting brackets, and a SATA power and data cable extender for desktop machines. The SSDs promise read speeds of 250MB/sec and write speeds of 70MB/sec. Pricing is $427.50 for the 80GB kit and $843 for the 160GB kit.

[ Kingston ]

By Shane McGlaun

Intel has announced new Atom processors to celebrate the 1-year anniversary of the launch of the Atom line. It’s hard to believe with the Atom processor now inside so many netbooks that it has only been a year since the processor launched.

The new processors are aimed at MIDs and include the Z550 and Z515. The Z515 processor runs at 1.2GHz and uses Intel Burst Performance technology for small and sleek MIDs. The Z550 processor runs at 2GHz and features Intel Hyper Threading technology.

The new 2GHz processor is the first Atom processor from Intel that could offer significantly more performance for netbooks. The last new Atom announced for netbooks was not significantly more powerful than the N270 it replaced.

[ Intel ]

by Shane McGlaun

In your office, odds are your boss buys the cheapest computers that can be found. That $300 eMachine might work just great for the receptionist whose most taxing application is Solitaire and spends most of her time entering names into a mailing list. However, if you work in a demanding field like medical imaging or at a design firm, that cheap computer is worth less than the box it came in.

For the worker needing a really powerful workstation HP has announced its new Z series line including the Z800, Z600, and Z400 workstations. The new systems use the recently announced Intel Xeon 5500 series processors featuring Intel Turbo Boost technology and integrated memory controllers.

The machines aren’t plain like most workstations we see with a brushed aluminum exterior designed by BMW Group DesignworksUSA. Inside the chassis is a modular system that has no cables and is designed for optimal serviceability. The machines will ship on April 6 with prices starting at $1,999 for the Z800, $1,679 for the Z600, and $969 for the Z400.

[ HP ]