Nvidia's Ion platform - A GeForce for Atom ( and the Netbooks)

The Tech Report ^ | February 3, 2009 | by Geoff Gasior

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

fyi

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

The Ion demo box

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Opening the covers of the DEMO box:

two motherboards lurking beneath its stark white exterior.

[RichardW]

I’m in the market for a good netbook. Any suggestions?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

a better look at the Ion system's two component parts: the Ion motherboard and its I/O daughterboard.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

How do you plan to use a Netbook...might want to see if this some manufacturer starts using this chipset...

I have to believe AMD might be working on a competitor to Intel's Atom...

[RandallFlagg]

I’ve been wondering about those Dell Mini-9 things. My XPS laptop’s kinda bulky, but fast as hell.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

This thread might have some info...there are a number of Freepers using netbooks.....:

Nothing but Netbook: Six Low-Priced, Fast-Selling Laptops

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

The back of the box.

[RichardW]

Mainly to sit on my lap when I am watching TV and accessing the internet. I have a laptop which I am working from in addition to two desktops but it is too heavy. The netbooks are around 2.2 pounds and would be perfect for what I need to know. I won’t be doing any heavy duty work with one. So far I have been most attracted to the Samsung NC-10 but don’t want to spend that much. I like its eight hour battery life especially. I have AMD processors in all of my current computers but on this laptop I’m lucky to get an hour and a half out of the battery. Most of the time it is just plugged in so it isn’t a big deal. But on the netbook I don’t want to mess with cords. So battery life is paramount.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Opening the underside:

Flipping the Ion box over provides access to a 2.5" hard drive bay.

[martin_fierro]

The GMA 950's game compatibility is flaky, and its performance dismal. Even worse, it's unable to accelerate high-definition video playback. That might not be the sort of thing you need in a netbook with a limited 1024x600 display resolution

Thank you, Captain Obvious.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

The Ion board measures a scant 2.95” x 3.93” (75 mm x 100 mm), which is about the footprint of a deck of cards and not-so-coincidentally also the measurements of the Pico-ITX form factor.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

As I remember you have a netbook...what are the specs?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Dell Inspiron Mini 9
REVIEW DATE:09.04.08

[RandallFlagg]

Thanks.

[CaraMiaR]

I bought an Acer netbook at Walmart.com last week for $298. It came loaded with XP. It seems to operate well for surfing the net and email. That’s what I bought it for. The type on the screen is a little smaller than I’d like, but I have a big monitor on my desktop and it’s better to be able to go online when you want to, instead of doing the impatient dance because some hog won’t give you back your computer.

[martin_fierro]

Behold!

< |:)~

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

# Computer Geeks $208.99 Yes (In Stock)

That is getting down there