Meatier media
This is the year that multimedia will fully blossom on both laptops and desktop PCs. With the recent release of Windows XP Media Center 2005, CES will likely bear a slew of desktop PCs sleek enough to blend in with home-theater components and powerful enough to serve as a home's multimedia nerve center. We're also expecting more portable multimedia systems that combine a TV, a PVR, a DVD player (and recorder), a home stereo, and a computer, à la the Toshiba Qosmio. We've already laid hands on a few MCE 2005 PCs, and at CES, we're preparing for a landslide of other systems that bring all of the key multimedia components in under one roof.

Hard-core speed from dual-core chips
Perhaps the most hyped technical trend for CES is the dual-core (or multicore) processor. Both AMD and Intel are developing this technology (separately, of course), which puts two processors on one chip to improve data flow for better audio and graphics performance--an especially important innovation for gaming. Back in September 2004, at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, Intel debuted working prototypes of dual-core desktop processors, and both Xbox 2 and PlayStation 3 are said to be taking advantage of the technology.

BTX keeps it cool
Another development in the desktop world is the imminent adoption of the BTX form factor for PC cases and their motherboards. As processors and other components get faster and subsequently hotter, the old ATX motherboard layout and its variants can no longer adequately handle all of that internal heat. Although it won't be apparent from the outside, BTX will help alleviate this thermal problem, with a smarter motherboard layout that maximizes the efficiency of airflow across the components. In other words, BTX makes PCs run cooler. Gateway is already selling BTX systems, such as the 700GR and the brand-new 7200 series, and we're expecting to hear about products from other vendors soon. Don't expect the new layout to dramatically impact the way you use your computer, but it may allow for as-yet-unseen case designs, and it will definitely let parts manufacturers move forward in their pursuit of ever faster clock speeds.

More PC, less money
For the majority of people shopping for a new computer this year, the most pertinent trend is also the most familiar: both desktop PCs and laptops will continue to get faster, better, and--best of all--cheaper. Dell's bargain-bin desktop retails for $350, and both Dell and HP are shipping laptops that start around $600. At CES, we pledge to keep a budget-conscious eye out for the least-expensive laptops and desktops on the floor.

Other trends to watch

• Sonoma and Alviso
  Sonoma, Intel's follow-up to the Centrino platform, will tie together the latest Pentium M processors, Wi-Fi, and the new Alviso chipset. Alviso will deliver a faster 533MHz frontside bus for enhanced data flow, which will result in better graphics and high-definition audio. Read more about Intel's coming chip technologies.



• 64-bit computing
  Macs already use 64-bit chips, and AMD released its first 64-bit Athlon 64 processors earlier this year. Intel is rumored to be working on a 64-bit Pentium part, which might see the light of day sometime in 2005, and we're crossing our fingers that we'll see a prototype at CES. Microsoft is beta-testing a 64-bit version of Windows, which the company hopes to release next year. Then the wait begins for 64-bit apps that'll let us put our 64-bit hardware to good use.



• PCI Express
  This new desktop expansion bus technology replaces PCI and AGP interfaces and offers greater bandwidth for the latest, most powerful games and other intensive graphics task, such as editing high-definition video in real time.



• SLI
  Double the graphics cards, double the gaming fun. That's what Nvidia is thinking with its new Scalable Link Interface (SLI) technology, which lets you cram two PCI Express graphics cards onto one motherboard. Also, though we haven't heard anything substantive, we don't expect ATI to remain quiet for long on the dual-GPU front.