Intel Corp (INTC)

[ChipGeek]

Well, I am doing my part in the ultrabook ramp.

I ordered this a couple weeks ago to replace my wife's netbook (she plays Diablo 2 on it, and needs something to play Diablo 3...plus real work, of course ;), and it's all set to arrive tomorrow:

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-NP900X4C-A03US-15-Inch-Ultrabook-Mineral/dp/B0082PZ1JU/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1342636854&sr=8-8&keywords=samsung+series+9

Core i7-3517U 1.9GHz Ivy Bridge
8GB RAM
256GB SSD
15" 1600x900 display
3.5 pounds
Price: $1,799

Amazon says it ships in 3-5 weeks, but it actually took more like 1.5 weeks.

I shelled out an extra $400 over the next-lowest model, which has a 128GB SSD and an i5 CPU. The bigger SSD will be nice (very nice!), but my main motivation for upgrading was the CPU. I think Intel could do a better job of marketing the fact that the GPU in the Ivy Bridge i7 runs almost 10% faster than in the i5 (1150MHz vs 1050MHz). Oh, and there's an extra MB of last-level-cache (4MB vs 3MB).

You don't find this info in any marketing specs (only CPU core speed), but I think a 10% across-the-board performance increase is signicant when the HD4000 graphics are right on the cusp of being able to play modern games (albeit at lower settings). I'm still getting mixed reviews on whether Diablo 3 is playable on HD4000 graphics (especially in later acts), but I feel better about my chances with the extra i7 performance.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to playing with our new toy tomorrow...