"One of the big things about Sandy Bridge is its integration of a GPU directly in the same die as the CPU. While the graphics prowess of is Intel’s best yet, it’s not enough to elbow out discrete graphics makers like Nvidia. In fact, Nvidia is boasting that it has scored 200 design wins that will pair its GeForce GPUs with next generation Core systems. Part of that is due to the integrated Intel graphics not being a DirectX 11 part.

"Google has partnered with five charities for Chrome for Cause. These are The Nature Conservancy, Doctors without Borders, Charity: Water, Room to Read, and Un Techno para mi País. To contribute, all you have to do is download the Chrome for a Cause extension for Chrome and start opening tabs. Google is only running the program from December 15 through to December 19 and it's capped at $1 million so be sure to get moving on this as soon as possible for maximum warm and fuzzy feelings.

"We finally got our hands on Google's "reference design" Chrome OS Notebook called the Cr-48. To be clear, the Cr-48 isn't ever going to be a commercial product like the Nexus One (or S) is for Android, but rather the notebook pilot program is for Google to gather feedback data in preparation for when Chrome OS hits stores in 2011 with products from Acer, Samsung, and others." | more

"Essentially, having two cores splitting the work puts less strain on each individual core as compared to having a single core shoulder the entire load. This not only allows for greater performance potential but also a generally lower power draw – provided that both cores aren't under a greater load..." | more

"Google has almost quietly upgraded the nightly builds of Chrome 10 with a new JavaScript engine. Version 3.0.0.1 is, in some applications, twice as fast as the predecessor 2.5.9.1." | more

"The current version of Adobe Flash at 10.1 offloads some of the internet video rendering to the GPU, but not all of it. Flash 10.1 offloaded H.264 decoding to hardware, and now in the next iteration at 10.2, now in beta, Adobe is moving the entire video rendering pipeline to the GPU." | more

"We're running a contest for those who download Google Chrome to have the chance to win one of two Newegg $500 gift cards. Check out the contest here, and good luck!" | more

"Although the PC is a generation ahead of the consoles, multi-platform games will suffer limitations on the PC due to console hardware restraints. ZoomIn an interview over the holidays, Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli stated a fact PC gamers already know quite well: the PC is a whole generation ahead of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. While that's a big “win” for PC gamers in the PC vs.

"So perhaps BioShock 2 is a little old. That's alright. It was one of the biggest FPS titles to hit the PC in 2010. Even better, for those who love to collect extra goodies, the $59.99 Bioshock 2 Limited Edition bundle is an ideal gift this holiday season, packing the BioShock 2 game, a 164-page hardcover art book, three vintage Rapture advertisement posters (rolled up), an audio CD featuring the game's orchestral score, and a vinyl LP featuring the original BioShock orchestral score. The bundle isn't available on GameStop's Web site.

"Image quality is a somewhat subjective thing, but benchmark results are not. When comparing graphics card performance, you want to try to get the most even test possible. Nvidia's now pointing the finger at AMD saying that its competitor uses a different image quality setting that boosts benchmark results at the expense of image quality when compared to the GeForce parts."