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Taking risks is a part of every small business, but making the move to the Windows Vista operating system isn't one of them. When you buy a new PC with Windows Vista Business or Windows Vista Ultimate, you'll receive free support, compatibility assistance, and one-on-one coaching from Microsoft to help ensure a smooth transition.
This offer will continue through December 31st, 2008, and is for small business customers who purchase PCs with Windows Vista Business or Windows Vista Ultimate after July 1, 2008.
Introducing the Windows Compatibility CenterSometimes it's hard to know what's compatible and what's not. Look to this extensive collection of compatibility information when you upgrade to the Windows Vista operating system. The compatibility center lists and labels thousands of devices and software titles to help you easily identify what will or won't work with the Windows Vista operating system. And when you're ready for a new PC, you'll find the downloads you need to run your favorite software and devices. Call your Dell Sales rep today to confirm you’re ready for Windows Vista

Intel vs. AMD: The CPU Landscape in 2009

Intel's new Nehalem processor will be closely followed by AMD's 45nm CPUs. Here's how the CPU will further evolve in the coming year, and what choices you'll face.

Choosing a processor is an exercise in predicting the future. Given the rapid pace of technology, you'd ideally like a CPU—and the other parts of the system—to last a few years. Choose a CPU that's too new and you end up on the pricey, bleeding edge of the envelope. Choose one that's been around too long and you may find yourself struggling to run new software. Whether you're buying a PC, making an upgrade, or building a new system from scratch, you'll face the same problems.
There are also different manufacturers and product lines to consider, though when it comes to the processor game, Intel has been firing on all cylinders while AMD has been playing catch-up. The coming year looks to be more of the same. Both companies are poised to introduce new product lines. Intel is moving forward with a substantially new microarchitecture, whereas AMD is just now making the move to the 45nm manufacturing process, which Intel has been using for nearly a year. The smaller architecture allows CPU manufacturers to build processors that use lower power and run at higher clock speeds, as well as cram more transistors on a CPU die.
Still, moving to 45nm should make AMD somewhat more competitive, at least in the midrange and low-end desktop market. AMD's Phenom processor line had some advantage in certain types of servers, particularly those applications that benefit from low latency memory access. Yet Intel's latest CPU, the Core i7 series, may eliminate or reduce those advantages.
Let's cut through the mystery and take a look at the upcoming year in

AMD Spider Platform Benchmarks

In November of 2007 AMD invited me out to Lake Tahoe to spend some time with its Spider platform machine. Unfortunately I was already scheduled to cover the LA Auto Show the same week so I had to pass. The fine folks at AMD sent me a Spider platform machine a few weeks back to play with and benchmark. This is a different review from what we normally do at I4U since we aren’t testing a graphics card or a CPU specifically, but we are rather testing an entire platform. If you have been wondering what the AMD Spider platform with its Phenom quad core and ATI HD 3850 graphics is all about this is the review for you.

VELOCITYmicro

Designed and crafted to be the absolute fastest gaming system, without compromise, now powered by Intel Core i7. The Velocity Raptor™ Z90 represents everything we know about ultimate performance computing. Every unique system spends one week being hand wired, tuned, tested, and benchmarked for peak output. If you demand the very best, the Raptor Z90 is the ultimate immersion into the Velocity Micro experience. If you can dream it, we can build it. It's our passion. It's in our blood. Welcome to the New PC Experience.This Velocity Raptor™ Z90 system includes:
Meticulous hand assembly and precision cable routing
Individual system performance tuning and updates
Personalized owner's portfolio for your system
Complete component documentation and driver disks
Rigorous quality control testing and benchmarkingCNET Editor's Choice Award Winner!
Your InstantPrice Update$3599
Estimated Ship Date:1/5/2009

lenovo 3000 N500(423362U) Intel Pentium dual-core 15.4 WXGA Intel GMA 4500M

lenovo 3000 N Series N500(423362U) NoteBook Intel Pentium dual-core T3200(2.00GHz) 15.4 Wide XGA 1GB Memory 160GB HDD 5400rpm DVD±R/RW Intel GMA 4500M

Acer Aspire AS6920-6508 Intel Core 2 Duo 16 Wide XGA Intel GMA X3100 NoteBook

Acer Aspire AS6920-6508 NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T5750(2.00GHz) 16 Wide XGA 4GB Memory DDR2 667 250GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi Intel GMA X3100

Intel Core i7-920: Overclocking

Being the curious sort we tried a variety of different memory and base clock settings coupled with various changes to the VCore remaining. We found that the best overclock for the Intel Core i7-920 was quite easily obtained by setting base clock rate to 180 MHz and using a 250mv default voltage override. This resulted in a clock speed of 3.6 GHz which proved to be rock stable. We were able to attain significantly higher clock speeds that approached 4.0 GHz but we had to use voltages that were a bit to close to the 1.65 Volt limit for our liking. We feel that this is a good starting point and as supporting equipment, motherboard BIOS, and drivers mature this overclock will be significantly higher. We feel that his processor should be able to easily run very close to 4.0 GHz 24-7 with the voltage staying well under the 1.65 Volt limitation and cooling the processor with a quality aftermarket cooler.
You will note in the CPU-Z images below that the multiplier is showing 21 and the core speed reflects 3.7835 GHz. We had inadvertently left turbo mode enabled and the conditions were right for it to boost the multiplier to 21, thus the increase in speed. We kept these image intentionally to show how turbo mode actually works and how confusing it can be if you don't pay attention.

We at Benchmark Reviews feel that to prove the stability of our overclocking results they need to be fully tested. Therefore we run all of our benchmarking tests using not only the stock processor speeds but also the overclocked speeds as well.

NOTE: We included overclocked results in our benchmarking tests utilizing results from our i7-965XE overclocked to 4.035 GHz. These results are fresh from our detailed review of the Intel Core i7-965 Extreme Edition.