ON ZDNet: Robot with a biological brain
CNET Networks Entertainment:
GameSpot
GameFAQs
SportsGamer
MP3.com
TV.com
Metacritic

GameSpot's Tech Blog

  • Intel Core i7 Hands-On Preview

    Intel has been unchallenged on the desktop and laptop front since launching the Core architecture in 2006. The Core architecture trounced AMD at the high-end, forcing the Phenom manufacturer to fight back with aggressive value pricing. For the better part of two years, AMD has struggled to compete with Intel's mainstream processors, leaving the performance and extreme categories completely unchallenged for Intel. Now with the release of Intel's newest Core i7 CPU and the Express X58 chipset, the gap widens ever further.

    core i7

    The Core i7 CPU lineup will be released in three flavors: Core i7-965 Extreme Edition, Core i7-940, and Core i7-920. All of the processors will arrive with four CPU cores, Hyper-Threading, 8MB of L3 cache, and they will be built on Intel's 45nm manufacturing process. All of the processors will run on a 1066MHz front-side bus. The 965 Extreme Edition will run at 3.2GHz, and like other Extreme Edition processors, it will come with an unlocked multiplier that allows for easier overclocking. Intel's Core i7-940 and Core i7-920 will run at 2.93GHz and 2.66GHz, respectively. The new CPU architecture brings with it a new LGA 1366 socket; older LGA775 motherboards that supported the Core 2 CPUs won't be compatible with the Core i7.

    Like the other Extreme Edition processors before it, the Core i7-965 will cost $1,000. The Core i7-940 and Core i7-920 will cost $562 and $284, respectively.

  • Xbox 360 hard drive game installation testing

    About seven minutes, give or take.

    We spent more time investigating the hard disk game installation feature included with the New Xbox Experience. We pulled The Orange Box, Command & Conquer 3, NBA Live 09, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed out of the GameSpot game library to measure installation times and to see how game load times improved with hard drive installations.

    We found that installation time varies depending on the size of the game which isn't surprising because the installation process copies the data from the DVD to the hard drive--bigger games are going to take longer to rip. Installing the 4.7GB Orange Box disc took 6 minutes and 57 seconds while it only took 5 minutes and 35 seconds to get Command & Conquer 3's 3.6GB onto the hard drive. The Force Unleashed, weighing in at 6.6GB, extended out the installation time to 9 minutes and 47 seconds and it took 9 minutes and 7 seconds to install NBA Live 09's 6.3GB of data.

    The load time benefits are fairly respectable, but you're not going to see anything close to instant game loads. Getting Orange Box from the dashboard to the game's start menu took 30 seconds when playing from disc, but only 25 seconds when launched from the hard drive. Command & Conquer 3's game launch time improved the most, dropping from 33 seconds to 17 seconds. NBA Live 09 only improved by 8 seconds, going from 45 seconds to 37 seconds. The Force Unleashed yielded a larger percentage drop, going from 33 seconds to 25 seconds.

  • New Xbox Experience Hands-On

    We've seen the New Xbox Experience twice this year, at E3 2008 where Microsoft first announced the update and later at a press briefing in San Francisco. We got the opportunity to install the New Xbox Experience on a console here in the GameSpot offices three weeks before the update's official launch on November 19. We've already written about most of the new features in past previews but we can now post screenshots of everything now that Microsoft PR isn't controlling the flow of pictures.

    The new dashboard interface expands out to take advantage of high-resolution displays, and menus now display more information through graphics rather than through text.

    Movies

    Detail movie view

    Games and movies show up with full box cover art instead of nondescript text listings.

    Xbox Guide

    The new menu system is a little disorienting at first when we tried to overcome years of trained menu navigation, but we got accustomed to the new menus after a few sessions. It also helped that the new Xbox Guide is a miniaturized version of the old bladed menus. Whenever we got lost, we pulled up the Guide like a trusted map.

    Achievements

    It might take some exploration, but you'll find everything eventually.

More Tech Features