Author Topic: NVIDIA Ion (Read 6398 times)

fernando_montalban · « **on:** Jan 07, 2009 at 03:56 PM »

NVIDIA Ion
Saw this in another forum, might as well share it...
I'm curious to see its potential as an HTPC... and of course, how much would it cost?

- Windows Vista Premium experience
- Premium DirectX 10 graphics with advanced digital display connectivity
- CUDA technology unlocks the processing power of the GPU to accelerate video transcoding and run the most compute-intensive applications
- Premium 1080p HD video with true-fidelity 7.1 audi

Main Overview
http://www.nvidia.com/object/sff_ion.html

Specifications
http://www.nvidia.com/object/picoatom_specifications.html

Any thoughts?
PS
Where will the hdd go? 2.5"?

checkyoulater · « **Reply #1 on:** May 11, 2009 at 03:27 AM »

with an estimated 400USD this just might be the the future of HTPCs in the coming months....

ACER AspireRevo

it's not out in the market yet, but there are several reviews popping up on the net already, i'm entirely sure how much longer we'll have to wait to see on here in the philippines. but all my HTPC hunting has come to an end for now, at least until ION based products/parts start hitting the market...

link here:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_69675.html

Alfie · « **Reply #2 on:** May 11, 2009 at 07:49 AM »

Quote from: fernando_montalban on Jan 07, 2009 at 03:56 PM

NVIDIA Ion
Saw this in another forum, might as well share it...
I'm curious to see its potential as an HTPC... and of course, how much would it cost?

Where will the hdd go? 2.5"?

Seems like it'll be like the early Asus eee, you'll supply the HDD via the esata or usb port, I'm not sure if there's an installed VISTA premium with the chip, I checked the link and it' didn't say anything.

From the looks of it, if it'll be like the WDHDTV, but of the Desktop variety, wherein whenever you boot up you can change your OS(from XP to Vistra, Linux, W7 wow) , then it'll be good, it'll be the start of the versatile pc (remember the virtual drives? ), and I do hope it'll have a good affordable price, unlike the last one posted at approximatelt $400

cHess · « **Reply #3 on:** May 11, 2009 at 01:53 PM »

ang liit.

checkyoulater · « **Reply #4 on:** May 11, 2009 at 03:07 PM »

Quote from: Alfie on May 11, 2009 at 07:49 AM

Seems like it'll be like the early Asus eee, you'll supply the HDD via the esata or usb port, I'm not sure if there's an installed VISTA premium with the chip, I checked the link and it' didn't say anything.

From the looks of it, if it'll be like the WDHDTV, but of the Desktop variety, wherein whenever you boot up you can change your OS(from XP to Vistra, Linux, W7 wow) , then it'll be good, it'll be the start of the versatile pc (remember the virtual drives? ), and I do hope it'll have a good affordable price, unlike the last one posted at approximatelt $400

that little thing descried in the first post is a system all-in-one. it already housed a 2.5" sata HDD beneath. there's a video somewhere showing Nvidia demo-ing it at some electronics show. it was shown to have been running vista premium and playing a full HD 1080p file.

raptor · « **Reply #5 on:** May 11, 2009 at 03:56 PM »

this is a complete PC with NVidia graphics card that is good enough to play HD videos and Blu-ray disks ... it's got an internal HDD pre-installed with Vista

i've been eyeing this since it was introduce in www.hardwarezone.com.ph last month ... this is excellent for torrent downloading, Skype, and HTPC purpose

fernando_montalban · « **Reply #6 on:** May 11, 2009 at 10:45 PM »

Quote from: checkyoulater on May 11, 2009 at 03:27 AM

with an estimated 400USD this just might be the the future of HTPCs in the coming months....

ACER AspireRevo

it's not out in the market yet, but there are several reviews popping up on the net already, i'm entirely sure how much longer we'll have to wait to see on here in the philippines. but all my HTPC hunting has come to an end for now, at least until ION based products/parts start hitting the market...

link here:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_69675.html

A lot of speculations came out about the ION platform since I posted the topic. Some even said that the ION will only be availble with apple products, it's not pushing through, good product with no backing from the manufacturers, etc. It's good to see that almost full swing na yung ION sa market. AFAIK, some developers, other than Acer, are implementing ION na rin. Lenovo ata will produce a netbook with ION in it.

I, too, am looking forward for the Acer Revo or Hornet. What I really like about it is its size and that it can be mounted behind an LCD TV. A relatively invisible addition to your setup with full functionality of an htpc. I just hope they keep the prices down.

Geren · « **Reply #7 on:** May 12, 2009 at 07:49 AM »

I've been waiting for this baby too since i plan to buy an nmt soon.

See the inside of this unit with more interesting info.
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2009/04/27/inside-the-acer-revo/1

Alfie · « **Reply #8 on:** May 12, 2009 at 08:39 AM »

Ok sana kung $200 lang.

I think the last estimate for an Atom Clone in Gilmore is Php8K.
Iyun' ng alang mas malaki ang casing.

(pero sa totoo lang maliit na rin eh')

checkyoulater · « **Reply #9 on:** May 12, 2009 at 09:54 AM »

£149.99, according to Acer, running Linux with only 1GB of RAM and 8GB of solid-state storage
(approx 10-12k)

there's the £249.99 Revo, sporting 2GB of RAM, Windows Vista and a 160GB hard drive
(approx 18-19k)

*there's a thrid model that includes some wireless thing that is priced at £299 + £49.99 for the controller, not really something worthwhile IMO.

after seeing that inside pic previously i would go get the cheap one (£150) and replace the hard drive with anything that can install and run XP then pair that up with externals. I can't remember if 8GB is enough to run XP efficiently, is it?

though what i'm really hoping for is the availability to MoBos with that ion chip locally so that i can build a media server at home to double as an HTPC.

fernando_montalban · « **Reply #10 on:** May 12, 2009 at 01:39 PM »

Quote from: checkyoulater on May 12, 2009 at 09:54 AM

after seeing that inside pic previously i would go get the cheap one (£150) and replace the hard drive with anything that can install and run XP then pair that up with externals. I can't remember if 8GB is enough to run XP efficiently, is it?

though what i'm really hoping for is the availability to MoBos with that ion chip locally so that i can build a media server at home to double as an HTPC.

I just saw the pictures as well and the upgradability of the unit really looks promising, especially the hdd. I know it's upgradable (mini pci-e) but I sure would have hoped that a wireless-n would have been a standard or at least an option. HD playback on a wireless network is one of my main objectives if ever I decide to buy one. Quite excited about it though.

+1 on the mobos with ION in them. If available, I'd rather build a media server/HTPC by the part and not an OEM package.

fernando_montalban · « **Reply #11 on:** May 13, 2009 at 04:00 PM »

Quote from: checkyoulater on May 12, 2009 at 09:54 AM

though what i'm really hoping for is the availability to MoBos with that ion chip locally so that i can build a media server at home to double as an HTPC.

Our wish has been answered bro. Medyo malabo lang ng konti kung kelan ang availability "locally". Out na yung board this month abroad. hehe

The review was actually complete as to included its performance as an HTPC. Plus it can be a noiseless setup due to the option to have a power brick and not use an internal fan on the heat sink. Complete silence, well, except for the spinning of the hdd. Can't wait.

Zotac's Ion: The World's First mini-ITX Ion Board
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3562&p=2

Thanks to gekiganger of TPC for the heads up.

checkyoulater · « **Reply #12 on:** May 15, 2009 at 04:19 PM »

wow, nice....can't wait to hear how much they'd be retailing that locally. if it really does do smooth 1080p hopefully there's a way to exand it's sata ports to hold 4+ HDDs making it perfect for doubling as both an HTPC as well as a NAS.

Verbl Kint · « **Reply #13 on:** May 26, 2009 at 09:00 PM »

They just released a netbook with the ION.

http://gizmodo.com/5268833/lenovo-s12-is-the-first-netbook-with-nvidia-ion-priced-under-500

dm1179 · « **Reply #14 on:** Jun 08, 2009 at 10:57 PM »

check-out my item: Asrock ION 330 -- NVDIA 9400M + Atom 330 Dual Core [Windows 7 Ready]

http://www.pinoydvd.com/index.php?topic=96949.0

post updated.

paolorenzo · « **Reply #15 on:** Jun 09, 2009 at 11:41 PM »

Quote from: dm1179 on Jun 08, 2009 at 10:57 PM

check-out my item: Asrock Nettop S330 -- NVDIA ION + Atom 330 Dual Core [Windows 7 Ready]

http://www.pinoydvd.com/index.php?topic=96949.0

Nice item dm1179. Very tempting. Baka puwede na upgraded to 4GB ang memory.

I'd be very interested how this performs as an HTPC. I'm sure hindi pa nito kaya XBMC, but sana stable naman sa ibang players.

dm1179 · « **Reply #16 on:** Jun 10, 2009 at 12:02 PM »

@paolorenzo: sagad na po ung pricing e. you can pm me for possible arrangements.

bejiboys · « **Reply #17 on:** Jun 10, 2009 at 04:52 PM »

@Paolorenzo, dm1179

Is it confirmed that XMBC would not run on this setup? How about offloading other graphics-intensive processes to the GPU via VDPAU in Linux?

Also, am I correct that this uses ATX power vs. a single supply AC/DC brick?

TY.

dm1179 · « **Reply #18 on:** Jun 10, 2009 at 09:51 PM »

ASRock ION 330 Live Demo >> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgAZ67MuaK0

- 1080p Video: Harry Potter Trailer
- Game: Call of Duty 4
- Game: Need for Speed

dm1179 · « **Reply #19 on:** Jun 10, 2009 at 09:52 PM »

@bejiboys: the ION 330 uses an external AC/DC power brick, not an ATX power supply. the included accessories are:

dm1179 · « **Reply #20 on:** Jun 10, 2009 at 10:21 PM »

Quote

XBMC has greater basic hardware requirements than a traditional 2D GUI toolkit, but this basically means that it needs 3D capable GPU graphics hardware controller for all rendering; on the other hand, powerful 3D GPU chips are common today in most modern computers.

Other than that, XBMC was designed to be resource efficient and runs extremely well on what (by Intel Atom standards) are relatively underpowered OpenGL 1.4 GLSL capable systems that are x86/x86-64or PowerPC CPU based.

NVDIA ION = NVDIA GeForce 9400M + Intel Atom

3DMark06 Scores:

NVDIA GeForce 9400M = 2,000 [ASRock ION 330]
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470 = 1,574 [Asus F8 Laptop]
NVDIA GeForce 8200M G = 1,040 [Acer Aspire X3200/X1200 SFF]
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3200 = 1,037 [Compaq CQ40 Laptop]
Intel GMA 4500M HD = 803 [NEC Versa S3500 Laptop]
Intel GMA X3100 = 445 [Lenovo Y410 Laptop]
Intel GMA 950 = 129 [Intel Little Falls Mobo]

ASRock ION 330 is the world's first ION system that passed Windows 7 32-bit and 64-bit certification.

Sidenote: ASRock is manufactured by ASUS.

fernando_montalban · « **Reply #21 on:** Jun 10, 2009 at 11:36 PM »

Quote from: paolorenzo on Jun 09, 2009 at 11:41 PM

I'd be very interested how this performs as an HTPC. I'm sure hindi pa nito kaya XBMC, but sana stable naman sa ibang players.

I've seen setups of the ION platform with a single core atom running XBMC smoothly. I would think that the ASRock ION 330, a dual core atom setup of the ION, will run XBMC pretty well.

Kung meron lang budget

paolorenzo · « **Reply #22 on:** Jun 11, 2009 at 09:56 AM »

Very very nice. I always thought XBMC relies solely on the CPU, and not the GPU.

dm1179 · « **Reply #23 on:** Jun 13, 2009 at 05:23 PM »

dm1179 · « **Reply #24 on:** Jul 13, 2009 at 03:35 PM »

ASRock ION 330-BD now available. with Bluray drive.

Verbl Kint · « **Reply #25 on:** Jul 20, 2009 at 11:59 AM »

Quote from: dm1179 on Jul 13, 2009 at 03:35 PM

ASRock ION 330-BD now available. with Bluray drive.

How much and what software is included?

dm1179 · « **Reply #26 on:** Jul 20, 2009 at 01:03 PM »

^sent u pm. please see details here also:

http://www.pinoydvd.com/index.php?topic=96949.msg1034135#new

Lantis · « **Reply #27 on:** Nov 20, 2009 at 03:49 AM »

I have this, and I fully recommend this as an HTPC setup. It easily plays 1080p sources flawlessly with ubuntu/XBMC.

Ion 330+xbmc+NAS and you're in HT heaven

lestercallanta · « **Reply #28 on:** Nov 30, 2009 at 11:12 PM »

I am waiting for my HP 311 to arrive. Will be running Ubuntu in it with Hulu Desktop and Flash 10.1 . Will be using it to play MKV files and use it as a Media Centre connected to the plasma. Hope it gets delivered before Christmas so I'd have enough time to test and configure it properly.

Verbl Kint · « **Reply #29 on:** Dec 01, 2009 at 09:16 AM »

Congrats on your purchase! I hope you can share your experiences here with the HP 311 and also include the software used (& settings) so other people can learn from it.

Cheers!