Nvidia Ion Platform

dhwwwops · 4th February 2009, 10:54 AM

There is slowly more good info coming out about this NVIDIA Ion platform.

I think OCAU should keep an eye on this platform for when the platform is released in both netbook and nettop, there will possibly be a lot of interest from OCAU members, for torrent boxes, firewalls, routers, HTPC's, NAS's etc.

A good opportunity to hit the sponsors up for a bulk buy perhaps?

They are a fair way away sadly, what alternatives are you aware of for the devices mentioned above?

303-Acid · 4th February 2009, 11:08 AM

Quote:

A handful of sites have managed to get their mitts on a miniature test PC equipped with NVIDIA's Ion platform, and it looks like the line between netbook and laptop just got a whole lot blurrier. According to the testers, the setup delivers smooth HD video playback and could be a boon for the Home Theater PC market. It won't play Crysis, but the DirectX 10-compatible chipset should do World of Warcraft and Left 4 Dead justice. Though the company claims it'll only use 12% more power than comparative Intel 945GM/E-based solutions, PC Perspective found the test units to consume twice the wattage -- of course, it might be a different story when Ion-equipped PCs hit retail channels. NVIDIA says the platform will tack on about $50 to $100 compared to similarly-spec'd 945GM/E models, and the first two computers to use it -- one desktop and one netbook -- should be out early summer.

Above quoted from Engadget.

Links to a few articles on it:
http://hothardware.com/Articles/NVID...-Dive-/?page=1
http://www.laptopmag.com/review/lapt...pc.aspx?page=1
http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=663

dhwwwops · 4th February 2009, 11:11 AM

HaHa Thanks, I forgot to add the link

stmok · 4th February 2009, 11:23 AM

More links...
http://anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3509
http://techreport.com/articles.x/16340

dhwwwops · 12th February 2009, 9:42 AM

Microsoft Endorses Nvidia ION platform
http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?op...11989&Itemid=1

Five Reasons Nvidia ION Will Supercharge Netbooks
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscente..._netbooks.html

First NVIDIA Ion system a desktop, due in spring (US spring)
http://www.electronista.com/articles....launch.plans/

NVIDIA ION mini-notebooks coming this Summer at only $299
http://www.i4u.com/article23192.html

Nvidia ION platform gets Microsoft Vista certification
http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/ne...fication.phtml

Mau1wurf1977 · 12th February 2009, 9:58 AM

I don't get what is so exciting about this. VIA has dominated this segment for such a long time...

Along come Nvidia and Intel and suddenly it's a must have thing...

stmok · 12th February 2009, 1:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mau1wurf1977

I don't get what is so exciting about this. VIA has dominated this segment for such a long time...

Along come Nvidia and Intel and suddenly it's a must have thing...

(1) People are easily led by small things.

(2) Marketing. (You can sell anyone anything with the right attitude).

(3) VIA is not able to deliver things in a short period after announcement. (They lost support for Nvidia's first generation Ion as they weren't able to deliver the necessary software infrastructure for their hardware in a timely manner. Nvidia is now waiting for them with Ion 2, or whatever it will be called).

VIA is a fabless company. They lack the resources of Intel. Their biggest problem is they accept "adequate" as being the norm. (Not the "best we can possibly give").

This "adequate" perspective is costing them in potential sales. Despite them having the better performing processor in this class. (ie: VIA Nano CPU).

dhwwwops · 19th February 2009, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mau1wurf1977

I don't get what is so exciting about this. VIA has dominated this segment for such a long time...

Along come Nvidia and Intel and suddenly it's a must have thing...

Well pricing per performance per form factor will be very interesting.

SLATYE · 19th February 2009, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mau1wurf1977

I don't get what is so exciting about this. VIA has dominated this segment for such a long time...

Along come Nvidia and Intel and suddenly it's a must have thing...

Two main reasons from my point of view:

Price. Via used to charge about $300 for their ITX boards. Intel charge about $100, or $140 if you want a dual-core.
Performance. Via's current fastest CPUs (excluding Nano because it's not available) can just about keep up with a Pentium 3. Their onboard video is probably about as fast as a Geforce 4 MX, but with DX9 support.

Now Intel's turned up with a CPU that'll beat some of the P4s and is also available as a dual-core. Intel's onboard video isn't great, so gaming or playing HD video is difficult. Then Nvidia turns up and offers a reasonably quick DX10 GPU with built-in HD video decoding to take the load off the CPU.

Essentially, Intel offered a much faster system than Via for less than half the price. It's obvious why that was popular. Now Nvidia's organised a chipset that gives these super-low-budget systems adequate gaming performance and the ability to play Blu-ray. For people who don't need a huge amount of processing power (like pretty much any home user) this is perfect.

BurningFeetMan · 25th February 2009, 8:39 AM

Oh man... Do I buy a MSI Wind U1000 this week, or do I wait ... how long? For the Nvidia Ion...

Halp!

Article on Slashdot,

http://mobile.slashdot.org/article.p.../02/03/1642238

SSJX · 25th February 2009, 9:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dhwwwops

They are a fair way away sadly, what alternatives are you aware of for the devices mentioned above?

Intel Atom N280 paired with the new GN40 chipset
http://www.slashgear.com/intel-atom-...-2009-1530573/

Other links:
http://arstechnica.com/hardware/news...40-chipset.ars

The GN40 is supposedly more powerful (in terms of HD capability & Blu-ray playback) than the the Nvidia Ion platform as well as having extremely low power usage. This combined with the 2W Atom N280 (1.66ghz) will hopefully be a winning combination.

SLATYE · 25th February 2009, 9:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SSJX

The GN40 is supposedly more powerful (in terms of HD capability & Blu-ray playback) than the the Nvidia Ion platform as well as having extremely low power usage. This combined with the 2W Atom N280 (1.66ghz) will hopefully be a winning combination.

Where did it say that? From what I've read, the Ion can handle 1080p while the GN40 can only do 720p.

akashra · 25th February 2009, 10:13 AM

I'm also really keen to get my hands on an Ion box, but there's still an important issue which hasn't been addressed by anyone - any GOOD DVB software compatible with a large range of devices. Why is there still nothing where I can plug in virtually any USB HDTV tuner (or more than one), schedule my recordings, specify where they get recorded to, play them back... why do I have to buy a dedicated device for this?
Ultimately that's what I want an Ion box for.

DiGiTaL MoNkEY · 25th February 2009, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SLATYE

Where did it say that? From what I've read, the Ion can handle 1080p while the GN40 can only do 720p.

Yep, thats the same thing i've read.

Quote:

Originally Posted by akashra

I'm also really keen to get my hands on an Ion box, but there's still an important issue which hasn't been addressed by anyone - any GOOD DVB software compatible with a large range of devices. Why is there still nothing where I can plug in virtually any USB HDTV tuner (or more than one), schedule my recordings, specify where they get recorded to, play them back... why do I have to buy a dedicated device for this?
Ultimately that's what I want an Ion box for.

As far as things go, nvidia has no intention of shipping those Nvidia ION cubes, they are only sent to people in the industry for reviews and testing and need to be returned to nvidia.

While i know a lot of people are interested in just getting the cube, i don't think nvidia really care

SSJX · 25th February 2009, 10:51 AM

whoops, my bad. i stand corrected fellas

so should we expect ion netbooks around mid 09?

4th February 2009, 10:54 AM	#1
dhwwwops Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 460	Nvidia Ion Platform There is slowly more good info coming out about this NVIDIA Ion platform. I think OCAU should keep an eye on this platform for when the platform is released in both netbook and nettop, there will possibly be a lot of interest from OCAU members, for torrent boxes, firewalls, routers, HTPC's, NAS's etc. A good opportunity to hit the sponsors up for a bulk buy perhaps? They are a fair way away sadly, what alternatives are you aware of for the devices mentioned above? __________________ ARTE et MARTE ~ HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE

4th February 2009, 11:11 AM	#3
dhwwwops Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 460	HaHa Thanks, I forgot to add the link __________________ ARTE et MARTE ~ HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE

4th February 2009, 11:23 AM	#4
stmok Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Sydney Posts: 8,873	More links... http://anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3509 http://techreport.com/articles.x/16340 __________________ "Haters gonna hate." => "I have no logical rebuttal to your criticism so I'm going to say something simple and meaningless to make myself feel better."-crabjokeman from Techreport.com forums. "The politicians don’t just want your money. They want your soul. They want you to be worn down by taxes until you are dependent and helpless."-James Dale Davidson.

12th February 2009, 9:42 AM	#5
dhwwwops Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 460	Microsoft Endorses Nvidia ION platform http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?op...11989&Itemid=1 Five Reasons Nvidia ION Will Supercharge Netbooks http://www.pcworld.com/businesscente..._netbooks.html First NVIDIA Ion system a desktop, due in spring (US spring) http://www.electronista.com/articles....launch.plans/ NVIDIA ION mini-notebooks coming this Summer at only $299 http://www.i4u.com/article23192.html Nvidia ION platform gets Microsoft Vista certification http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/ne...fication.phtml __________________ ARTE et MARTE ~ HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE

12th February 2009, 9:58 AM	#6
Mau1wurf1977 Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Country WA Posts: 12,949	I don't get what is so exciting about this. VIA has dominated this segment for such a long time... Along come Nvidia and Intel and suddenly it's a must have thing... __________________ Ultimate GOG.com DOSBox Tutorial, Roland vs Yamaha General MIDI DOS Games Music Comparison

25th February 2009, 10:13 AM	#13
akashra Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Melbourne, AU Posts: 3,324	I'm also really keen to get my hands on an Ion box, but there's still an important issue which hasn't been addressed by anyone - any GOOD DVB software compatible with a large range of devices. Why is there still nothing where I can plug in virtually any USB HDTV tuner (or more than one), schedule my recordings, specify where they get recorded to, play them back... why do I have to buy a dedicated device for this? Ultimately that's what I want an Ion box for. __________________ Punctuation is the difference between "Let's eat, grandma!" and "Let's eat grandma!". Building a Metricon Delta 21 in Craigieburn: http://homeofzero.blogspot.com/

25th February 2009, 10:51 AM	#15
SSJX Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Sydney Posts: 2,882	whoops, my bad. i stand corrected fellas so should we expect ion netbooks around mid 09? __________________ Good Trader list: click here 183 unique users and counting Add your PSN ID to OCAU's Wiki Sony Vaio Club Member #2