Some might say that the advantage of the desktop over the laptop is that almost all the aspects of your desktop could be upgradeable. Well, Asus has that in mind, and that's probably the reason why they came up with a laptop that is user-upgradeable.

NotebookReview reports that over at the Asus labs, they were able to try out the Asus C90 desktop replacement style notebook. The C90 is one of the few customizable notebooks around and this baby will use the Intel Conroe processor platform. It would also allow customers to buy the barebones version of the C90 notebook and drop in the components that they want. But still, here are the C90's basic specs:

•  Supports Intel Conroe desktop processor platform, 1.86GHz - 2.66 GHz (E6700)
•  15.4" screen
•  2.0 Megapixel camera built-in
•  HDMI
•  Bluetooth
•  TV-Tuner integrated
•  E-SATA
•  8-in-1 media card reader
•  802.11n
•  Graphics: NVidia (???? -- we can't tell)
•  Finger Print reader
•  HD-DVD and Blu-Ray drive capable
•  3 USB ports
•  Piano gloss finish with inlaid pattern

Just what of C90's components are upgradeable? According to Asus - processor, LCD, hard drive, memory, graphics card, optical drive...yup, you name it, you could customize it. The C90 would be out by mid-May but no specific date and price tag has been revealed. Here are some of the images of the C90, feel free to click on our Read link to know more about the Asus C90.

  

Merom, which is the code name of the mobile variant of the Intel Core 2 processor, is allegedly going to replace Yonah. Yonah is another code name for the Intel Core Duo chip found in the iMac, MacBook, MacBook Pro and Mac mini, and now it is one step away from being somewhat outdated, but not obsolete.

When asked for more info on Merom, Intel could only say that it is "a mobility-optimized, dual-core processor based on the new, state of the art, Intel Core microarchitecture". Their selfishness on details resulted to more backfence talks about the product which was recently announced together with its desktop counterpart -- the Conroe. One of those rumors that have been gaining ground is that Merom will be marketed as the Intel Core 2 Duo Mobile and is destined to replace the current 2MB Yonah chips found in MacBook Pros.

Merom comes with a 667 MHz frontside bus and 4 MB of L2 cache, double the 2MB found in current MacBook Pros. Intel is offering Merom in 2.0, 2.16 and 2.33GHz clock speeds. Apple will most likely announce new Intel-based Mac Pro desktops at WWDC on August 7. And until nothing official comes out from Apple, this will just join the long list of WWDC 2006 Apple rumors.

It has been rumored that Apple will be coming up with Macs carrying Intel's Conroe Core 2 Duo. If this turns out to be true, future Mac upgraders may have to choose between the current Conroes (Conroe E6000 series) and the upcoming Conroe E4xxx models, the two being different in FSB speed.

The E6000 series have either 2MB or 4MB of L2, running over a 1066MHz FSB. The upcoming E4300 Conroe will support only an 800MHz clock, with 2MB of L2 and clocking in at 1.8GHz - 0.06 notches below E6300's 1.86GHz. It also has no Virtualisation Technology support.

On Monday, Intel, the largest chip manufacturer, took the sheets off its new dual-core Xeon Processor 5100 series. The chips, codenamed Woodcrest, are high-volume server and workstation chips which are capable of 135% performance improvement, and 40% power reduction over their previous server products. Power consumption will start at 40 watts for lower models, going up to 65 and 80 watts for the faster processors.

This is very important for Apple's view of things, aside from the obvious inclusion in future products, this would most certainly mean cheaper and lower prices for the current range of processors used in Apple machines.

The new Core micro-architecture is being implemented, which is based on the a power sensitive blueprint design. It is expected that this design will be used in two forthcoming chips for the desktop and notebook called Conroe and Merom. These are expected in July and August, but we all know about delays that can be involved. The 5100, will be shipped at speeds up to 3.0Ghz, with 1333Mhz front side bus and 4 MB of shared L2 cache. The chips are compatible with the current Bensley Platform, which means that they can be dropped in with the current pin format. The platform uses faster and more reliable memory technology, FB-DIMMs, Intel Virtualization Technology, Intel Active Server Manager and Intel I/O Acceleration Technology.

"Simply put, the Core micro-architecture is a technical marvel that is driving a new era of power efficiency without compromising on what can only be described as eye-popping dual-core 64-bit performance," said Pat Gelsinger, senior vice president and general manager of Intel’s Digital Enterprise Group.

Pricing will start at $209 to $851 in 1000 unit quantities, and Intel expect the family of processors to be the fastest-ramping ever. However, they are still loosing ground to the AMD range of processors, and are aiming to rectify things with Woodcrest, Merom and Conroe.

Intel is planning to deliver Woodcrest (the code-named successor to its Xeon server processor) this month, and sources at Apple confirm a July release the first Intel-based Xserve.

In the meantime, Apple's Power Mac systems are making the transition to Intel processors with the Core 2 Duo which has been code-named Conroe.  Intel is planning to make these processors available in July as well. Industry scuttlebutt has it that new pro systems will come out in conjunction with Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference, which takes place in early August.

If Apple follows through, it would not be the first time its Xserve has outdone the Power Mac performance-wise.  Apple started started shipping Xserve units with 2.3GHz Power PC G5 processors on the sly when the Power Mac still topped out at 2GHz.

On a related topic, Intel sources report that Merom, the laptop-friendly version of the Core 2 Duo, is still planned for an August release. A new MacBook Pro may arrive soon afterwards, depending on when Apple to install the new chip in its products.