Netbook users rejoice: NVIDIA has announced plans to pair Intel's Atom processor with a real mobile GPU, the 9400M. It's no secret that Intel's integrated graphics processors stink across the board, and they're the biggest weakness in the company's ultramobile platform. But by pairing the Atom processor with a 9400M, NVIDIA will be able to offer users a mobile x86 platform that supports 1080p video decoding, dual-link DVI out, DirectX 10 graphics, CUDA, and OpenCL.
The entire platformhttp://www.nvidia.com/object/sff_ion.html should draw about 18W of power, which is in the same ballpark as the current Intel Atom platform (12 watts). Note that Ion will cut the number of chips in the Atom platform down from Intel's three-chip design (Atom + 945GSE + I/O hub) to just two chips (Atom + 9400M), but the 9400M is substantially more powerful as GPU and you can't get something for nothing.
At right is a picture of the PicoITX reference board that NVIDIA has been showing off to reviewers and the press. It's remarkable that such a small board can support a full Windows Vista install, 1080p playback, and 3D gaming. Indeed, this platform will make a killer foundation for a small, power-efficient HTPC.
Ion is supposed to be available sometime in the first half of 2009.
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