nVIDIA’s ION platform is here, or at least on Ryan’s test bench.  Roughly the same size as a well made sandwich, it is capable of some impressive feats like, DX10 gaming support, HD video decode acceleration, 7.1 channel HD audio support, Vista Premium support, 2560×1600 resolution, CUDA and PhysX.  Read on to get the full ION experience, and see why Atom may be in deep trouble, especially for those enthusiasts willing to pay a little more for a lot more performance.

“This is not a product that will win over everyone’s heart – gaming is okay, but not great, power consumption is still questionable and costs will go up – but I think more people will give the netbook market a look once they start to see ION-based products hitting the shelves. And of course NVIDIA is not only aiming for the netbook market; I would love to see ION- based platforms show up in larger, lower-cost laptops in the 12-15″ screen size range as well as in basic HTPC designs. Even if Apple does not use the ION platform for its upcoming Apple TV and/or Mac Mini updates, another PC vendor like ASUS or Dell could easily offer a product with these features and capture the momentum in the market.”

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