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NVIDIA ION computer was a sight to see up close

by: John -
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When I was being led around NVIDIA's booth, one of the many things that caught my eye was the ION platform computer. I mean this little box was displaying HD video on a 50-inch display and it was smooth. There were a few instances though where I saw a little distortion but I can't attribute it to what the source of the issue was but for the most part it was pretty nice. Just to see it come out of this tiny box with a GeForce 9400 GPU built in combined with an Intel Atom CPU was impressive. Even a few games were shown running albeit turned down in details but they did run well enough to play. I'd love to stick one of these in my media area coupled with two USB tuners and have a small and quiet media center machine.
NVIDIA ION RECOGNIZED AS INDUSTRY-CHANGING TECHNOLOGY BY LAPTOP MAGAZINE
NVIDIA ION Platform Named “Best Enabling Technology” of 2009 Consumer Electronics Show


SANTA CLARA, CA—JANUARY 20, 2009—CES attendees stopped in their tracks to admire breathtaking HD video running on a 50-inch display, but the real shock came when they realized that those images came from a PC the size of a paperback book. They had never seen such amazing graphics from such a tiny PC. That’s why the NVIDIA ION™ platform – which offers unprecedented capabilities in a palm-sized PC – attracted outsized attention at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show. Among a flurry of media accolades, LAPTOP Magazine named the ION platform “Best Enabling Technology” at the show.

The ION platform unlocks the power of Intel’s Atom CPU by combining it with the NVIDIA® GeForce™ 9400 GPU. Press and industry experts agree that the ION platform provides amazing capabilities for mini-notebooks, which today offer only basic functionality. With the ION platform, notebook and small form factor PCs deliver the same features as premium PCs, including superb HD video, photo and video editing, and support for popular PC games.

After seeing it in action at CES, The Tech Report wrote that the ION platform “has the potential to endow compact, inexpensive Atom-based systems with new levels of competency.” Hot Hardware considers ION “a home run in the making.” Legit Reviews called NVIDIA’s ION reference PC “one of the most interesting PC designs that we have seen in years,” and TechGage honored it with a “Best of CES 2009” award.1

In addition to rave reviews from online media, LAPTOP Magazine recognized the GeForce 9400 GPU, the foundation of the ION platform, with a Mobile Innovation Award in its January issue.

The GeForce 9400 GPU in the ION platform is up to ten times faster than existing netbooks with integrated graphics. As a result, the ION platform offers capabilities found in premium notebook PCs, including:
• Superb full-spec 1080p high definition video playback
• Support for popular PC games such as Call of Duty 4, World of WarCraft, The Sims 2, and Spore
• Windows Vista Premium and the upcoming Windows 7
• Faster photo and video editing with Adobe Creative Suite 4

The GeForce 9400 GPU provides all of these capabilities in about one-half of the space of today’s Atom CPU-based solutions with minimal affect on battery life.

A new generation of affordable PCs built around the ION platform is expected to be released by summer of 2009. Consumers should contact their favorite PC manufacturer to inquire about the availability of notebooks, net-tops, and small form factor PCs featuring the ION platform