General Purpose PC

Elitegroup Computer Systems has introduced one of the world’s first desktop personal computers with Intel Corp.’s Core M processor inside. The new system is very tiny and is completely silent, but it has features similar to those supported by full-size desktops. The new Liva Core personal computer is based on …

At the Computex Taipei 2015 trade-show Asustek Computer has introduced its first high-performance all-in-one personal computers. The new Zen AIO systems can deliver performance of high-end desktops thanks to usage of powerful processors, graphics adapters and solid-state drives. Asustek’s new Zen AIO personal computers look very stylish and resemble the …

Asus VivoPC comes in a number of versions. This model is the VM62B with a Core i3 processor and integrated Intel HD 4600 graphics which puts it in the middle of the pecking order. You can also buy it with a Celeron 2957U (we prefer to avoid Celerons) or Core …

Advanced Micro Devices has published specifications of its Radeon R9 300-series graphics cards intended for OEMs on its web-site. As it appears, despite of new model numbers, the graphics adapters will be powered by GPUs that are already available commercially. The company has also added two new Radeon R7 300-series …

Acer Group used to be one of the world’s top PC makers half a decade ago, but in the recent years the company’s market share dropped rather dramatically. Acer announced major reorganization efforts in 2013 and while all of them yet have to prove their viability, the company is confident …

Although Microsoft Corp. plans to make its Windows 10 operating system available to PC makers this summer, actual systems featuring the new OS will not hit the market ahead of the important back-to-school season, market analysts believe. Recently Lisa Su, chief executive officer of Advanced Micro Devices, said that Microsoft …

Although sales of personal computers in general are declining nowadays, demand for inexpensive mini desktop PCs remains strong. As a result, Intel Corp. intends to strengthen its platforms for such systems, a media report claims. Among other things, the world’s No. 1 microprocessor supplier intends to improve performance of small …

Caseking UK, a major distributor of various computer components, on Thursday said that it had been made the official distributor of Phanteks, a renowned maker of computer cases and accessories, in the U.K. Caseking UK will supply Phanteks products to retailers in the channel. “We are delighted to become official …

If you're stuck for space on your desk and you don't need a full power PC for gaming, then HP might soon be able to help. HP Pavilion Mini Desktop and the HP Stream Mini Desktop, are two new additions to it's lineup, with both due to be released in …

Intel Corp. has published images of its forthcoming new-generation NUC (next unit of computing) small form-factor personal computers based in the Core i-series “Broadwell” microprocessors. The upcoming SFF PCs will be slightly smaller than existing NUCs and will support optional technologies that are not available today. Pictures of Intel’s new …

An accelerated processing unit from Advanced Micro Devices could power yet another gaming device, chief financial officer of the company implied this week. The high-ranking executive did not provide any details, but given the revenue opportunities the company outlined with the deal several weeks ago, we are talking about a …

Global PC shipments will decline by several percent points this year, but will still total over 303 million units, according to Gartner. Therefore, many PC makers will enjoy great sales of personal computers this year and going forward. Unfortunately, profit margins of loads of smaller PC makers will decline so …

A number of executives of high-tech companies and some market observers have said that the effect of Windows XP’s end-of-life and increased sales of PCs will last for several quarters. However, Meg Whitman, chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard, believes that the effect is about to end. However, a good news …

Khronos Group, the organization responsible for multiple open-standard application programming interfaces (APIs), such as OpenCL, OpenGL and WebGL, this week announced intention to rebuild the OpenGL API from scratch. The purpose of this is to be able to compete against Microsoft’s DirectX 12, AMD’s Mantle and other possible APIs (e.g., …

Although there is a lot of buzz about Chromebooks – computers running Google’s Chrome operating system – actual sales of such systems are pretty low and will remain on that level going forward, according to Gartner. While shipments of Chromebooks do grow fast, the success of Chrome cannot be compared …

Traditionally companies like Asustek Computer and MicroStar International were focused on designing competitive mainboards, graphics cards and other computer components. However, in the recent years the DIY market began to stagnate, which is why the manufacturers started to look at alternative revenue sources. Recently Asus and MSI began to concentrate on own-brand …

The original Raspberry Pi miniature system birthed a bunch of exciting projects around the world, from teaching children the basics of programming and integration, to building quadcopters, MAME machines, time-lapse cameras and a host of others. Now though a new version has been launched, with the creators keen to point …

Xi3 Corp., a company that is mostly known for its small form-factor (SFF) Piston systems and its partnership with Valve Software, and Intel Corp. on Monday said that they would jointly work on next-generation mini personal computers. Xi3 also revealed plans to sell Intel’s NUC SFF systems. It is unclear …

Valve Software on Wednesday introduced in-home streaming for video games, a new feature of Steam software distribution service. The technology will let users to stream games from a gaming PC to an HTPC [home theater PC], a laptop or even a tablet. Many people have multiple personal computers at home, …

For years Intel Corp. has been focused to deliver the best possible chips for various mobile devices, including notebooks and tablets, whereas solutions for desktops computers were put on the back-burner. This happened for many reasons because of the lack of competition on the desktop market as well as because …

Sony Corp. and Japan Industrial Partners on Thursday announced that they have entered into a memorandum of understanding under which Sony plans to sell its PC business currently operated under the Vaio brand to the JIP investment fund. The terms of the deal are expected to be concluded next month …

Asustek Computer on Tuesday introduced its first ever desktop with Google ChromeOS operating system. The PC utilizes an Intel microprocessor based on the latest “Haswell” micro-architecture and provides all the pros and cons of the ChromeOS platform. Since the system does not use a commercial OS, it costs starting from …

Top notebook PC manufacturers have reduced their 2014 shipment estimates as the market faces some challenges on both the supply and demand fronts. It is not a secret that media and business tablets are cannibalizing sales of traditional notebooks. Meanwhile, Intel Corp. delayed shipments of its low-power Core i-series “Broadwell” …

Lenovo, one of the world’s top PC makers, decided to reorganize itself to better respond to market situation and needs. Starting from the 1st of April, Lenovo will have four business groups addressing completely different market segments. “Today, Lenovo is in one of the most important and exciting phases in …

Microsoft Corp.’s Windows 8.1 has hardly become a success on the market of traditional desktops and laptops. Some PC makers are now offering to install Windows 7 instead of Windows 8.1 on their systems, which is a catastrophe for the software giant. Therefore, Microsoft has to take immediate actions. The …

Intel Corp.’s next-generation 9 core-logic sets may not be packed with loads of innovations, but they still feature technologies not available on today’s platforms. Among those are support for higher-performing storage devices and improved security. Intel 9-series chipsets – Z97 and H97 – are expected to be shipped sometime in …

Intel Corp. reiterated plans to start volume production of its next-generation microprocessors code-named “Broadwell” using 14nm process technology this quarter. Manufacturing yields of the chips have improved, according to the company. Commercial introduction of the new chips is expected in the second half of the year. Intel’s code-named “Broadwell” central …

Jason Chen, a former executive from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. who recently became chief executive officer of Acer Group, has failed to impress investors who attended his press conference in Taiwan early on Monday. The new head of the company did not present a lot of ideas regarding the future …

Intel Corp. is not going to release its next-generation code-named “Broadwell” family of central processing units (CPUs) until later this year, but it is already working on two small form-factor PCs based on the chip. While the products are still in development, we already know that both are going to …

IBM PC architecture was designed to be modular, expandable and open from its inception back in the eighties. Still, PC designs were not designed to be completely user friendly. As technologies got more complex, it became harder for many end-users to upgrade and configure their personal computers. Razer, a leading …