NVIDIA Ion 2 already ordered up by Acer?
By Vlad Savov 
posted December 7th 2009 6:59AM
posted December 7th 2009 6:59AM
If you need yet more reason to delay purchasing a current generation netbook, we're hearing that Acer has eagerly scooped up an order for NVIDIA's Ion 2 chips, which will eventually be found partnering Intel's forthcoming Pineview hardware in machines of the future. With Intel now integrating graphics processing and the memory controller into the CPU packaging, the Ion 2 is expected to serve much more like a discrete GPU than the Ion chipset of today. Plans to support VIA processors are also still firmly in place, should you wish to experience the improved graphics performance outside of the realm of Lord Intel.
More interested to see it paired with CULV than Atom...
Ion 2, CULV, DDR3 and a SSD would be the dream netbook.
@(Unverified)
if it has those specs...i dont think it'll qualify as a netbook anymore
but we can hope they come soon!
@Kev007 Fair point...
Still would make for a nice portable with a lowish price.
@(Unverified)
But netbooks right now are good enough for what I do, and probably many others.
I think there needs to be no more improvement in the performance in netbooks anymore. What I'd like to see is longer battery life, better ergonomics, and especially, sub-$200 price tags. Getting there... Getting there...
@(Unverified) Roll everything you said in with an 11.6" convertible (like Acer's 1820), and maybe a dash of Pixel Qi, and you'd have the perfect portable computer, fast enough to even play L4D2, and switching to ereader mode is simply a screen rotation away.
@Outsider
Speak for your self. I want to see the day when I can run CS4 smoothly off my netbook.
This is going to be embarassing once released, with netbooks sporting faster gpus than thousand-dollar+ Macbooks.
@Leindurstit
True, but the ION platform took soooooooooooo long to get out to the market it was frustrating. I blame intel =(.
Hopefully they can get it out faster this time.
@Leindurstit
The HP 311 already bests the performance of the MacBook Air - at less than 1/4th the price.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/05/hp-mini-311-with-ion-benchmarked-it-goes-very-fast/
This thing is amazing for custom built SOHO firewall/routers.
@Kurian Isn't that a bit overkill for a DIY firewall/router appliance? Why would you need Ion or now an Ion2 for that?
@Kurian Atom, yes, but why would you need Ion?
I am waiting for the Asus EE PC 1201N-PU17. Looks like an amazing netbook.
@Matthew9559
I was looking forward to getting it , but now with the new atom chips and ION2 .. i dunno if i should go in for last gen technology.
@Dhruv Bhutani
Yeah, the first Ion took over a year to get to market.. I'm not waiting that long again.
I'm buying the 1201N too, and if in a year I think I need Ion 2 for some reason over Ion, I'll consider reinvesting.
But honestly, Ion is in place to do light gaming, multimedia, and HD content. What games are you going to play more efficiently with Ion 2 over Ion? It's not like we're going to get MW2 running smoothly with a small bump in Atom speed and Ion architecture.
@Matthew9559
I already have a 12" gaming PC and the screen is frustratingly small. I'm looking at getting a current gen netbook with good battery life for email and web surfing, and a 15"+ laptop to replace my desktop once I can get one with onboard USB 3.0 and a capable GPU.
Awesome. Time to bid Intel chips goodbye in my next computer?
Who's to say new generation Macbooks won't come with the Ion 2? As it stands now, they have the same mobile gpu strapped to C2D. Why wouldn't Apple upgrade the GPU, especially if Nvidia is pushing it?
@GoogleGeek85
We'll have to wait and see. I saw the line thinning out on 9400m's on the iMac. The relationship with nvidia and apple isn't all that warm but out of consumer demand Apple will have to play ball with Nvidia
ION2
Via Nano U3200, Intel SU3500 or Intel SU9600
4GB DDR3
Windows 7 Premium 64bit
12.1' and 13.3' screens @ 1366x768 or 1280x800
350-500 euros price tag
Who would resist this? ;)
So does anyone actually know what kind of performance you would be getting out of ION2? I read somewhere that it's eqivalent to 9600m GT/220M.. I would totally a laptop with one of these if they can put a decent CPU in it.
@(Unverified) I'm guessing it's gonna be close to the GeForce G 110M in performance, but with lower consumption, the 9600 and G 220 will probably be almost twice as fast as the ION2.
But as i said, it's just a hunch considering the ION current power and how much would twice of it be.
@(Unverified) I meant 30~50% faster, not twice as fast. :P
@(Unverified)
I am not sure if this is reliable .. but
http://www.brightsideofnews.com/news/2009/7/1/nvidia-ion2-chipset-to-use-g220-gpu2c-support-directx-101.aspx
According to information from the nVidia's official page for mobile GeForce chips, 32 GT200-class shaders pit this part as "GeForce G220M" or "GeForce GT220", above GeForce G210M [16 shaders, 64-bit memory controller, 12.8 GB/s] and below GeForce GT230M [48 shaders, 128-bit memory controller, 25.6 GB/s]. Given the integrated nature of the memory controller, you should expect following characteristics:
* 32 Shaders
* DirectX 10.1 Compliant
* Around 600 MHz GPU clock
* Around 1200 MHz Shader clock
* 128-bit memory interface
* DDR2-800, DDR2-1066, DDR3-1066, DDR3-1333
* 12.8 - 21.3 GB/s memory bandwidthAround 20W TDP
I'm already regretting having purchased a Zotac ION (N330) board instead of a Mini-ITX running a decent Core 2 Duo.
Since I want to use my ION system as a mini HTPC, I need it to play 1080p H264 video smoothly from within apps like XBMC but since they don't support GPU-based acceleration, no dice.
To hell with ION 2, it probably blows chunks like ION 1... Full-scale processors FTW.
@E71 the linux version of xmbc is suppose to support gpu acceleration
@Keni
It does. libavahi gives support I believe. It's all a matter of getting the right setup in the system. Just gptta configure linux right for the pretty pictures :)
@E71
I know that in Windows7 I can decode 1080p with this exact board and utilize approx. 60% cpu use.
Not bad for a HTPC system which draws 60 watts. Half of that is for the hard drive.
@(Unverified)
my hard drive only draws 8-11 watts and it runs cool
could opencl use multiple graphic cores??