Laptop in Sandy Bridge time

Laptops with the latest Sandy Bridge chips from Intel have higher performance, better graphics processing and longer battery life.

ThinkPad X220 has 12.5 inch screen resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels;SSD storage capacity of 80 / 160GB;Battery life of up to 23 hours (with an additional 9-cell external battery);Price from 899 USD.

Laptops equipped with Intel's new Core i3, i5 and i7 processors have started to be sold, including advanced features such as longer battery life and higher performance when processing graphics and running. application.

The latest Intel chips integrate graphics processors (GPUs) and CPUs right on the same chip, greatly improving performance. Laptops will keep battery life longer thanks to chip improvements and low-power technologies such as solid-state drive (SSD).

Intel started selling Sandy Bridge processors for laptops since late February 2011, and new laptops are gradually replacing older Intel chip models. Computer manufacturers including Lenovo, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Toshiba have also announced laptops using the new Core i3, i5 and i7 processors, with a starting price of $ 600 (~ 12.5 million).

Intel's new Core chips are manufactured using the 32-nm process, which increases productivity while minimizing leaks, extending laptop battery life.

The results came from the testing process for Lenovo's ThinkPad X220 ultraportable laptop line. With a black design, Lenovo's laptop reminds us of previous ThinkPads, but its advantages are improved graphics processing, performance and improved battery life compared to older Intel chip machines. than.

Lenovo said, if using 9-cell battery and add an additional external battery, X220 can run all day (up to 23 hours). The power consumption depends on the configuration of the machine, and after many test measurements show that the X220 runs between 7 - 8.5 hours with a 6-cell battery in economical screen mode (adjustable reduce brightness).

Dell and Toshiba also expanded their battery life as one of the important improvements for their new Sandy Bridge laptops. Dell's Inspiron 15R laptop, with a 15-inch screen, runs 13 hours continuously with a 9-cell battery. Toshiba said the Tecra R840 laptop, with a 14-inch screen, provides up to 11 hours of battery life, if using an SSD.

The new improvements of the chip also help increase battery life. For the first time Intel has packaged GPUs and CPUs on the same chip, and one of the ways for chip makers to increase battery life is to put more components into a single chip. New laptop also consumes less power in sleep mode or idle mode.

Intel's TurboBoost 2.0 technology greatly supports battery life enhancement. Individuals are not busy handling tasks that can be turned off to save power. Besides, this technology helps the system mobilize personnel corresponding to the processing requirements of the system to accelerate when necessary, leading to increased productivity.

Performance improvements to the Lenovo X220 laptop are evident in Windows 7 boot time: only about 20-30 seconds. Background tasks such as virus scans hardly affect the speed of other Windows applications, including heavy applications like video processing.

Intel's integrated graphics processor in the Core i5 dual-core chip can also handle high-resolution graphics (Full HD). This is an improvement over Intel's previous 32-nm Core processor based on the Westmere architecture, launched last year. Lenovo X220 laptop uses a 12.5-inch IPS screen and provides vivid colors for smooth HD display images. Some laptops sold last year integrated the Westmere Core i3 processor that performed well with standard video, but there was often a shake when playing 1080p video while some applications ran in the background.

Intel has highlighted some additional graphics features on laptops using the latest Core CPU, such as Quick Sync to quickly convert HD videos into smartphone compatible formats, and Wireless Display (Wi-Di) for Allows users to enjoy HD content from laptops on TVs via wireless connection.

With Sandy Bridge, Intel's core power is on the CPU, but it has also taken a long step in providing better graphics, and this is evident in Lenovo's X220 model. Intel's graphics processor shows the power of watching videos on Blu-ray discs and playing light entertainment games, but with 'heavy' games, users probably need to buy a laptop with a separate GPU.

However, in terms of graphics, Intel still lagged behind rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). Earlier this year, AMD launched Fusion processors that also integrated CPU and GPU on the same chip. Chip Fusion supports Microsoft's DirectX 11 - it's a collection of APIs (Application Programming Interface) to provide more realistic images in Windows 7. Sandy Bridge chips integrate a version Older DirectX, and only achieved DirectX 11 next year.

With Sandy Bridge's improvements, those who are impatient may want to upgrade their laptops now. But if you wait for a few more months, next year there will be laptops with Core CPUs based on Intel's latest Ivy Bridge architecture. Ivy Bridge chips will be manufactured according to the 22-nm process, which in turn will provide better battery life and performance for laptops. Laptops using Ivy Bridge will support DirectX 11 and integrate advanced connectivity technologies such as USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt communication, thereby enabling HD video from laptops to external storage devices in seconds.

It is very difficult to delay the upgrade of the laptop. Chips continue to improve performance, and the battery life in laptops is increasing, so users always want to upgrade their laptops when necessary.

It is also possible that some people will think about leaving a laptop to switch to a tablet computer. However, those who need to use the keyboard regularly to create and edit documents and need specific applications that are not available on the tablet will remain loyal to the laptop.

X220 will be sold this month with a starting price of $ 899 (~ 19 million), Lenovo said.