A European online retailer has started selling Intel's first six-core processor for desktops before the chip's official release by the hardware giant. A German retailer Alternate is selling the Intel Core i7-980 Extreme Edition processor, code-named "Gulftown," for €1.099 (US$1,483). The chip is targeted at desktops used by enthusiasts like gamers.

Many of us now use our laptops or desktop PCs to watch and record live TV or to catch up with programmes we have missed through online services such as BBC iPlayer or 4oD. Microsoft's recently launched Windows 7 operating system comes bundled with a much-improved version of Windows Media Center.

Novelty USB flash drives can be the perfect example of geeky utility. Aside from Transformers USB that actually transform, the next coolest thing could be USB Lightsabers that actually light up.

A 100-GHz transistor has been demonstrated by IBM Research. Fabricated on new 2-inch graphene wafers and operating at room temperature, the RF graphene transistors are said to beat the speeds of all but the fastest GaAs transistors, paving the way to commercialization of high-speed, carbon-based electronics.

After this years CES, it's clear that USB 3.0 is here to stay. Wtih a tidal wave of consumer devices looming on the horizon, we've decided to help clear up confusion about USB 2.0's successor. Here's all the information you need to know about USB 3.0, organized into a brief FAQ.

A relatively unheard-of Cambridge company has sparked speculation that British brains may be behind the hi-tech chip powering Apple's new iPad.

Thin and light = performance compromise, right? Wrong...

C prices have fallen - or at least stayed the same - for many years now, but some analysts believe this year will see them become more expensive.

USB 3.0 has a transfer rate of 5 Gbps, which makes it about ten times faster than USB 2.0 (which has a transfer rate of 480 Mbps). Because it's so much faster, devices using it consume less power than with USB 2.0.

Samsung has launched a series of netbooks designed to offer longer battery life and better productivity for mobile workers through quicker booting times.

The latest portable hard drives have astonishing capacity--and some new features. Here's what to look for in a miniature storage device.

amers are often devided into two categories: those who play on consoles and those who play on PCs. A console gamer will drop few hundred dollars for Sony's PS3, Microsoft's Xbox 360, or Nintendo's Wii, but a PC gamer who wants to purchase a desktop or laptop optimized for gaming could pay thousands just for the machine.

With prices coming down, PC gamers on the verge of buying a new machine must ask themselves: Does it look cool, and can it run "Crysis"?

The next iteration of Atom processors combine memory controllers and graphics, reducing heat generation, cost and power consumption, according to Intel.

This year has seen a large number of interesting new digital cameras appear - digital camera's had to innovate this year just to get noticed.

Not 3, not 5, not 10 But 17! Yes Intel is going to release 17 New processors on 7th of January 2010. Among these are chips based on the company' s new 32 nm manufacturing technology, which gives the manufacturer headroom to up features and performance, while maintaining low thermal and energy footprints [...]

Dell announced on Thursday that it is offering a memory module called Laitude ON Flash that can boot a up a computer in seconds as an option for some laptops.Dell's Latitude On Flash module snaps into an internal mini-card slot and allows computers to boot in a few seconds, using the laptop's main x86 processor instead of a separate Arm [...]

Inventing a new echelon in Engadget's Holiday Gift Guide, Stuart Hughes has managed to Supreme-ize a Nintendo Wii, covering it in over 2,500 grams of solid 22 carat gold and an aggregate total 19.5 carats of flawless diamonds for the three front buttons. Three have been made and were done so reportedly over the span of six months. Asking price is £299,995.

A white LED breakthrough at the University of Cambridge could lead to mass production in the UK.

A Korean company called Xenics plans to launch December 21 a gadget that transforms just about anything into a speaker. The device has a little pod thing tethered to the main unit, which attaches to things, then transfers vibration.