Ion products incoming?

[Bateluer]

Text

I see this as positive news, both for SLI and Ion. I'd expect to see Asus have a few Ion models before the end of 2009.

» Intel licenses SLI, ION now Vista-certified

Lots of NVIDIA news today. After posting their financial results yesterday, today the company has announced that Intel has licensed SLI for use on their X58 motherboards. This means that SLI is now available for all Intel-branded X58 motherboards like the Intel DX58SO "Smackover" motherboard. Previously Smackover lacked SLI support.

This is important news for Intel and NVIDIA, as many PC manufacturers use Intel-branded motherboards inside their PCs. The official PR includes quotes from manufacturers like Novatech, Paradigit, Velocity Computers, and Scan Computers. Personally even with SLI support we're not huge fans of the Smackover board, but it is one of the cheaper X58 motherboards out there.

In other NVIDIA news, the company also announced that their ION platform for netbooks just attained Windows Vista certification. Here's a bit from that PR:

Microsoft Corp. has validated NVIDIA ION with certified Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) drivers for Windows Vista Home Premium. NVIDIA is working with Microsoft, PC manufacturers, software developers, and Windows eco-system partners to bring ION-based PCs to market by summer of 2009. ION-based mini-notebooks and compact desktop PCs will have industry-leading performance at price points as low as $299.

Mike Ybarra, general manager for the Windows division at Microsoft, states: ?Customers have told us they expect a full Windows experience across a variety of PC designs. What many people call a ?netbook? today is really a small notebook, and users expect it to perform like one. With NVIDIA?s ION platform combined with Windows Vista Home Premium, consumers can get an affordable, premium Windows experience in a small notebook or desktop form factor. From browsing the web and checking email to streaming music or watching movies, it?s an excellent solution for everyday computing.?

Microsoft has certified the NVIDIA ION platform to ensure that upcoming ION-based PCs will deliver:
# Silky smooth 1080p high definition video including Blu-ray movies
# Exciting video game play with support for Microsoft?s DirectX 10 API
# Support for premium Windows Vista features including Aero Glass and Flip3D
# GPU acceleration for faster photo editing and video transcoding

Still no design wins for ION, but a firm price point ($299 and up) is a bit of a development. NVIDIA says they're "working with Microsoft, PC manufacturers, software developers, and Windows eco-system partners to bring ION-based PCs to market by summer of 2009."

 

[IlllI]

on the first page of anandtech too http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3509

 

[xSauronx]

Originally posted by: IlllI
on the first page of anandtech too http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3509

i am continually amazed by the number of people who post like they have no idea what anandtech is.

some guy in sff asked where he could find a write up on the macbook air, ffs!

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: xSauronx
i am continually amazed by the number of people who post like they have no idea what anandtech is.

LOL, I've linked to AT articles before... usually while answering some question about further information or reviews of some random product.

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: IlllI
on the first page of anandtech too http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3509

Uh, they are two different articles covering different aspects. AT's article, which I did read, covers an net-top, engineering sample Ion. For the moment, there aren't any Ion based netbooks on the market because of licensing issues with Intel. The FS article is about Intel certifying Nvidia's SLI to function on their upcoming chipsets, which is technically old news. But it also covers Microsoft certifying the Ion platform for Vista and 7.

Anyone with half a brain in their head wants to see an Ion based netbook. The 945 is a complete joke. The Nvidia solution bests it in features, performance, and even power utilization.

 

[fatpat268]

I'll wait to see the final benchmarks on the ion, but it just might drive me to buy a netbook if the prices are the same as netbooks now.

 

[IlllI]

Originally posted by: Bateluer

Uh, they are two different articles covering different aspects. AT's article, which I did read, covers an net-top, engineering sample Ion. For the moment, there aren't any Ion based netbooks on the market because of licensing issues with Intel. The FS article is about Intel certifying Nvidia's SLI to function on their upcoming chipsets, which is technically old news. But it also covers Microsoft certifying the Ion platform for Vista and 7.

Anyone with half a brain in their head wants to see an Ion based netbook. The 945 is a complete joke. The Nvidia solution bests it in features, performance, and even power utilization.

dont tell me you actually have an issue with me posting MORE information about the ion platform for people to read. if so then that is pretty ridiculous. i figure some people might actually ~want~ to find out more info about it, than say, reading some press release about it etc.

btw if you were posting mainly about sli, then that should belong in the video card forum.

 

[Emulex]

seems like the ion is a waste since you are going to get a system on chip prob this year from intel. northbridge will be dead soon enough across most of their product line (talking about integrate memory/graphics).

nvidia is feeling the pain that is for sure.

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: Emulex
seems like the ion is a waste since you are going to get a system on chip prob this year from intel. northbridge will be dead soon enough across most of their product line (talking about integrate memory/graphics).

nvidia is feeling the pain that is for sure.

I don't doubt that Nvidia will lose sales, but from what I've read, the Intel SOC's graphics chip is still going to be anemically weak. The 9400M, and likely the 780G's HD3x00, are still probably going trounce it without breaking a sweat.

Nvidia is seeking to expand their product lines though, they see the writing on the wall for most of their lower end graphics chips.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Bateluer
The FS article is about Intel certifying Nvidia's SLI to function on their upcoming chipsets, which is technically old news.

It is actually NEW news. Sure, SLI has been available for x58 chipset boards. However, the Intel BRANDED "Smackover" board did NOT have SLI due to bickering between NVIDIA and Intel.

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: Zap

Originally posted by: Bateluer
The FS article is about Intel certifying Nvidia's SLI to function on their upcoming chipsets, which is technically old news.

It is actually NEW news. Sure, SLI has been available for x58 chipset boards. However, the Intel BRANDED "Smackover" board did NOT have SLI due to bickering between NVIDIA and Intel.

I'm more interested in Ion than SLI on any platform. I posted it more for the Ion news.