ION, specs, discussion
We described NVIDIA's ION platform in a previous look right over here. Essentially, it mates the Atom chip with the company's GeForce 9400M (MCP79) graphics and shoehorns them both, preferably, into a small-sized Pico-ITXe motherboard - thereby making it possible to fit the duo into netbooks and teeny-weeny nettops.The purpose of doing so lies with the extra graphics processing ability of the GeForce 9400M graphics, which are abundantly more powerful than the also-integrated, Intel-provided graphics on the 945GSE and 945GC boards that are usually bundled with Atom. In particular, the GeForce 9400M component is a scaled-down GPU from the DX10-compliant 9-series range and, as such, has basic 3D gaming qualities allied to multimedia goodness in the form of high-definition decode help via what NVIDIA terms PureVideo HD. For what it's worth on a lower-end GPU, the GeForce 9400M is compatible with NVIDIA's CUDA architecture.
Think about it for a second or two and the low-power combination makes sense in a number of areas, from a better-equipped netbook through to a cheap-ish HTPC. Scan sent us in such a system for review. We'll roll out the specs before embarking on a visual tour.
Specification
| Scan 3XS ION | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Atom N330 (1.6GHz, 1MB L2 cache, 533MHz FSB, dual-core) |
| Motherboard | ZOTAC ION ITX |
| Memory | 4GB Corsair TwinX DDR2 (2x 2GB) PC2-6400 - 5-5-5-15 |
| Hard disk(s) | 1TB Samsung Eco Green F2, 5,400RPM, 32MB cache |
| Display/TFT | None, optional extra |
| Graphics hardware | NVIDIA GeForce 9400M (ION) |
| Optical drive | Sony Optiarc BC-5500S Blu-ray combo drive |
| Sound | Realtek HD audio |
| Modem | None |
| Networking hardware | Gigabit LAN, 802.11b/g/n WiFi |
| Ports and connectors | 8x USB2.0, VGA-out, HDMI-out, DVI-out, RJ45
(LAN), audio connectors, eSATA, coaxial and optical S/PDIF, PS/2 |
| Operating system | Windows Vista Home Premium SP1, 64-bit |
| Additional software | PowerDVD 9 Ultra |
| Notable extras | Hauppauge WinTV Nova-TD USB TV card, Compro VideoMate
remote |
| Chassis | Compucase 8K01 Mini-ITX |
| Dimensions | 268mm x 318mm x 70mm (W x D x H) |
| Warranty | One year insured on-site warranty, Second year labour and manu's extended parts |
| Price | £722.35, including VAT and delivery, as per review sample |
A couple of things to note here. Scan is attempting to woo the well-heeled HTPC enthusiast with this box of ION tricks because it uses the well-equipped ZOTAC mini-ITX motherboard as the backbone of the system. This variant has an embedded dual-core Atom, N330; twin DDR2 slots; mini-PCIe; eSATA; Gigabit LAN, and, of course, the GeForce 9400M graphics. Take a look here for the full specification. Interestingly, it costs £50 more than the single-core Atom N230 version. It misses out some features, including WiFi, but the gap does seem immense.
Scan could have used Intel's preferred combination of Atom N330 and 945GC chipset, costing a mere $63 to large-volume customers, but ZOTAC's board offers more, albeit laden with a £180 price-tag on its own.
The sample system uses a bunch of other tasty kit to show-off ION's promise, including Blu-ray player, 4GB RAM, a 1TB (3.5in) hard drive, and £50 USB-powered TV tuner. Take away many of these goodies and the price drops to around £500, which is still on the high side for an ION-based system, which can start as low as £200.
Adding up the component costs and apportioning £50 for the warranty leads to a build-it-yourself price of £680, highlighting that Scan is making a reasonably small retail margin on this specification. Of course, it pays less for the components than you do.
