Of course, this appears to be confirmation of the obvious, that Apple will be updating their MacBook Pro line to include Core i5/i7 chips following the white MacBook’s Pro-level spec bump last week. (Apple will need to adopt these new chipsets to stay competitive.) Now we just need an answer to the far more important question: When? [Foro Applesana via AppleInsider]

Over at Hot Hardware, the reviewers of this Alienware dream machine are pretty clear about it.

It’s easy to see from the graphs that the parts used in this system are high-performance in every way. If money is no object, you can’t buy a faster platform than the Intel Core i7 975 with an X58 chipset motherboard.

And here’s one of those graphs.

Basically, we’re talking about the meanest gaming rig on the market. Or at least, that’s how Hot Hardware sees it, and there’s not much room for debating their findings. But it’ll cost you plenty. $US4074.

[Hot Hardware] via [Egadget]

The claim seems justified. We’re talking i7 Quad Core goodness and an nVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M with 1GB GDDR3 Video RAM on board, and that’s just to whet your appetite. All we want to know is can it handle Crysis?

Specifications
CPU
Intel® Core i7 720QM 1.60 GHz Turbo 2.80 GHz Quad Core 6 MB Cache 1333 MHz Processor
Intel® Core i7 820QM 1.80 GHz Turbo 3.06 GHz Quad Core 8 MB Cache 1333 MHz Processor
Intel® Core i7 920XM 2.00 GHz Turbo 3.20 GHz Quad Core 8 MB Cache 1333 MHz Processor
Core Logic
Intel® PM55

Display
15.6″ HD (16:9, 1366×768) Crystal Bright Screen
15.6″ HD+(16:9, 1600×900) Crystal Bright Screen

Memory
Dual channel DDR3
Two 204 Pin SODIMM sockets, support for DDR3 1333MHz
Expandable memory up to 8GB, depends on 4GB/2GB SODIMM Module
Video Controller
nVIDIA® GeForce GTX 260M
1GB GDDR3 Video RAM on board
Support PCIe x16
Microsoft® DirectX® 10 compatible
MXM 3.0, Type B
Support HDCP

Video
nVIDIA® GeForce GTX 280M
1GB GDDR3 Video RAM on board
Support PCIe x16
Microsoft® DirectX® 10 compatible
MXM 3.0, Type B
Support HDCP

Storage
One changeable 12.7mm(H) Super Multi / Blu-ray ODD, SATA interface
One changeable 2.5″ 9.5mm(H) HDD, SATA interface

Sound System
High Definition Audio
3D stereo enhanced sound system
S/P DIF digital output
Built-in microphone
Built-in 2 speakers
Keyboard & Pointing Device
Multi language
Built in Touch pad with scrolling function

I/O Ports
4x USB 2.0 ports
1x eSATAport
1x IEEE 1394a port
1x DVI-I output port
1x HDMI output port
1x headphone jack (external 5.1CH audio output supported)
1x microphone jack (external 5.1CH audio output supported)
1x S/P DIF output jack
1x RJ-11 jack
1x RJ-45jack
1x Line-in jack (external 5.1CH audio output supported)
1x DC-in jack
Card Reader
7-in-1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD/Mini SD/MS/MS Pro/MS Duo)

Slots
One ExpressCard /54(/34) slot
Two MiniCard slots (1st for WLAN module with PCIe interface, 2nd for 3.75G module with USB interface)
Communication
Built-in 56K FAX / modem
Built-in 10/100/1000Mb Base-TX Ethernet LAN
(Factory Option) Intel WiFi Link 5300 3×3 802.11AGN Half MiniCard
(Factory Option) WLAN 802.11b/g/n Half MiniCard module
(Factory Option) Bluetooth™ V2.1+EDR module
(Factory Option) 2.0M Video Camera
(Factory Option) UMTS / HSPA 3.75G MiniCard module

Power
Full Range AC adapter 120W AC in 100~240V, 50~60Hz, DC output 20V, 6.0A
Removable Polima Smart Lithium-Ion battery pack 3800mAh
Security
Kensington® Lock
(Factory Option) Fingerprint security
O.S.
Windows® VISTA™ (SP2)
Windows®7
Windows® 7 (64 bit) logo
Dimension
374(W) x 263.5(D) x 42(H) mm
3.3kg with ODD and battery
Factory Options
Super Multi / Blu-ray ODD, SATA interface
Intel® WiFi Link 5300 3×3 802 11AGN Half MiniCard
WLAN 802.11b/g/n Half MiniCard module
Fingerprint security
Bluetooth™ V2.1+EDR module
2.0M pixels Video Camera
UMTS / HSDPA 3.75G module, MiniCard module
MOFA design (W860CUF)

OEMs like AVADirect and Eurocom—who both must know that Intel will eventually release a mobile version of the i7— are both offering Nehalem laptops, starting at around $US2500, that will do all those wonderful things that i7 processors can do, centimeters from your nuts.[PCWorld via The Inq]

The Calpella platform is scheduled for launch in July or August, just like Montevina (aka Centrino 2) did earlier this year. But, because the Centrino 2 notebooks haven’t sold like hotcakes or any other kind of delicious breakfast pastry thanks to the economy and netbooks, notebook makers want more time to dump inventory. So, they want to see Calpella and its Nehalem CPUs (aka Core i7 on the desktops) in October instead of the summer, meaning you’ve got a wait another few months to get your hands on all the zoomzoom power of Nehalem in a notebook. Laaaame. [Digitimes, Image: Flickr/yomi955]

The quad-core processor was able to handle audio and video compression a few times faster than rival chips from AMD, and was the top of the heap in almost every benchmark they threw at it. Given it’s not a gaming computer, the Studio XPS did extremely well on the gaming benchmark, and yes, it can run Crysis without exploding. The downsides? The design isn’t heartstopping, as it looks like pretty much every other Dell machine out there, and DesktopReview thinks the hard drive configuration could be faster. But all in all, it’s a stellar buy if you want a fast-as-it-gets machine that can even do a little gaming on the side. [DesktopReview via Engadget]

Cnet says that the Falcon Northwest Mach V has the latest and bestest combination of components there is, which is what makes it the fastest thing on chips:

• 3.79GHz Intel Core i7 965 Extreme Edition.
• An Intel X58 chipset.
• 12GB of 1,066MHz DDR3 SDRAM.
• 2 x 1GB ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2
• 1TB 7,200RPM Hitachi hard drive.
• 80GB Intel X-25M solid-state drive.

All this comes at a pretty hefty $US8,028 price tag, including the Ferrari red paint job, which is a $US500 option. Unfortunately, the automotive-class red paint job reportedly helps you get at least three extra frames per second in Crysis. Fortunately, there’s a potential DIY fix to save those $US500: Apply a few adhesive flames to the chassis, and Bob’s your uncle. [Cnet]