While the low-voltage Core i5 chip (there's a Core i3 option), 1080p IPS-based screen, 5-megapixel rear camera and front 1.3-megapixel shooter don't scream for attention by themselves among higher-end Windows 8 slates, there's an optical trackpoint and mouse buttons that make themselves genuinely handy in the non-Metro desktop.

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On the other side of the room, four giant shelves, 4 feet deep by 16 feet wide, hold crates of dinosaur-bone castings, antique medical supplies, early-1900 Edison voltage meters and IBM core-memory boards.

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These models come with Ultrabook innards starting with low-voltage versions of the Core i5 and the NVIDIA 630M, and they also come with HDMI-in and optional TV tuners so they can be used in a living room or kitchen situation.

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Knobs and switches on its World Core synthesizer module adjust the game machine's maps, graphics, characters and even physics through voltage tweaks.

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