14 DAY TRIAL // It would seem that just because Intel's Sandy Bridge CPUs haven't even been launched yet is not enough of a reason to prevent HP from already sending out machines based on them, like a certain mobile computer.
As end-users know, Intel is getting ready to launch its new generation of central processing units with integrated graphics.
Those chips are known by the codename of Sandy Bridge and will be distributed under the Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 brands.
Their most noteworthy feature is that, in addition to strong processing capabilities and dynamic overclocking, they come with DirectX 10.1 on-die graphics.
The Santa Clara, California-based company intends to officially introduce the newcomers during the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show.
Thus, it might seem unusual for a laptop maker to already be shipping systems based on them, but this is exactly the case with HP.
The company's dv7-4290us has already been added to US online stores, where it is listed for the fairly solid price of $1,150.
It is a 17.3-inch notebook (has a 17.3-inch High Definition+ HP BrightView LED Display) which utilizes the Core i7-2630QM quad-core central processing unit and has 6 GB of RAM.
Additionally, for DirectX 11 graphics, the company put in an AMD Mobility Radeon HD 6570 graphics card.
What's more, for storage, HP threw in a hard disk drive whose capacity is of 1 TB, plus a Blu-ray combo drive.
Other specifications include a 5-in-1 card reader, Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth, a TrueVision webcam, a Beats audio system and 802.11 b/g/n WiFi.
All of these components are packed inside a brushed aluminum casing and kept running by a 9-Cell Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery whose average life is supposedly of 5 hours.
Those ordering will get the device shipped in 1-3 business days and pre-loaded with Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit, as well as backed by a one-year warranty.