A new notebook computer launched by MiTac International Corp (
The company trumpeted itself as the first to launch a notebook computer with an Intel Pentium4 chip inside, but Intel has not yet launched a Pentium4 version made for notebook computers.
"Our new Pentium4s for mobile computing will come out sometime in the next two months," Kelly Wu (吳惠瑜), country manager for Intel Microelectronics Asia Ltd, Taiwan branch, said yesterday.
MiTac used the desktop computer version of the CPU, which runs much faster than typical notebook CPUs, but requires a lot of power and gives off a tremendous amount of heat. Analysts say it could be one of the years' best new products.
"We put in two fans and added an extra heat pipe to help dissipate the excess heat," said Jonathan Chen, product manager at MiTAC.
Notebook computers typically contain one fan to help cool the processing chip and a single heat pipe attached to a 'heat sink.' Measures like this ensure the chip will not burn out as it heats up from use.
Typically, computer CPU makers such as Intel and Advanced Micro Devices make separate chips for notebooks and desktops designed to extend battery life and overcome heat troubles.
The top speed for notebook CPUs from both companies is only 1.2GHz, whereas the top desktop chip, Intel's Pentium4, reaches 2.2GHz.
Desktop chips typically run much faster than notebook chips because the computers they power are far bigger -- with more space for fans and other heat-dissipating solutions -- and do not use a battery. Wall sockets provide all the power they need.
Big savings
By putting a desktop chip in its new notebook computer, MiTac could save consumers a lot of desk space and money.
"The end market price for a notebook using a desktop chip could be US$200 to US$300 less expensive," said Henry Wang, electronics industry analyst at Entrust Securities Corp (永昌證券) in Taipei.
He said he was bullish on the new "desktop notebook" concept.
Elitegroup Computer System Co (精英電腦), another Taiwanese electronics firm launched its first "desktop notebook" late last year.
It is the same size and build as a typical notebook computer, but it comes with no battery. It has to be plugged in. It takes up far less space on the average desk and can be carried around as easily as a common notebook computer.
MiTac's new notebook, by contrast, does have a battery that lasts for an hour and a half, according to Chen. It runs on a Pentium4, 1.7GHz chip and within a few months, will come equipped with the 2.2GHz version.
Whether it is a desk-top notebook made for plug in or it comes with a battery, analysts say the cost-savings to consumers, the computing speed of the chips and the small size make it an attractive buy.
Popular vape brands such as Geek Bar might get more expensive in the US — if you can find them at all. Shipments of vapes from China to the US ground to a near halt last month from a year ago, official data showed, hit by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and a crackdown on unauthorized e-cigarettes in the world’s biggest market for smoking alternatives. That includes Geek Bar, a brand of flavored vapes that is not authorized to sell in the US, but which had been widely available due to porous import controls. One retailer, who asked not to be named, because
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
CHIP DUTIES: TSMC said it voiced its concerns to Washington about tariffs, telling the US commerce department that it wants ‘fair treatment’ to protect its competitiveness Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reiterated robust business prospects for this year as strong artificial intelligence (AI) chip demand from Nvidia Corp and other customers would absorb the impacts of US tariffs. “The impact of tariffs would be indirect, as the custom tax is the importers’ responsibility, not the exporters,” TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said at the chipmaker’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Hsinchu City. TSMC’s business could be affected if people become reluctant to buy electronics due to inflated prices, Wei said. In addition, the chipmaker has voiced its concern to the US Department of Commerce
STILL LOADED: Last year’s richest person, Quanta Computer Inc chairman Barry Lam, dropped to second place despite an 8 percent increase in his wealth to US$12.6 billion Staff writer, with CNA Daniel Tsai (蔡明忠) and Richard Tsai (蔡明興), the brothers who run Fubon Group (富邦集團), topped the Forbes list of Taiwan’s 50 richest people this year, released on Wednesday in New York. The magazine said that a stronger New Taiwan dollar pushed the combined wealth of Taiwan’s 50 richest people up 13 percent, from US$174 billion to US$197 billion, with 36 of the people on the list seeing their wealth increase. That came as Taiwan’s economy grew 4.6 percent last year, its fastest pace in three years, driven by the strong performance of the semiconductor industry, the magazine said. The Tsai
RSS